Three Months Out

As I knew it would, running has gotten better. I am still not back to where I want to be or feel I should be but that is ok. I don't dread going out for a run any more. I am able to get through a longer run without wanting to quit after half a mile. I'm even able to go a bit faster here and there, and also having to back off on my easy runs. I'm still slow. The confidence is starting to come back and that is most important to me. I know that the key to the upcoming races is the mental aspect. The physical part will take care of itself through consistent training and diet.

Speaking of diet, I am conducting an experiment on myself with a low carb diet. The theory being that without carbohydrates the body becomes more efficient at burning fat. During an ultramarathon it is impossible to eat and absorb enough calories to keep up so fat burning efficiency is important. I don't know if this will work but the theory seems to make sense. The science is still not shown anything conclusive so I will just have to see if it works for. Eliminating sugar and grains from the diet can be a huge change but it has not been too bad for me so far. It has made me eat more vegetables, like cauliflower, broccoli and zucchini, which I like. So far so good. I feel full and I find I'm less prone to over eat. I'm hoping to drop down to better race weight for the upcoming Slam. I have been fine with more weight during the winter races since they are slow and cold. Anyway, like I said, this is an experiment and I'm not religious about diets. Many people love to argue about diets, but I am not one of those people. I'm just trying to find something that works for me and this seems to be so far. 

There are less than 90 days to go until Western States. I've seen a couple new films on last year's race that have gotten me excited about it. My mileage is going up according to the plan I laid out. I am trying to get some strength and core work in but I am not as good about that as I should be. At some point I will have to get serious about hill climbing and leg strength. I do have a muscle issue in my right hip and down into hamstring that I am trying to fix through stretching and massage. Its nothing to stop me from running but I'm keeping an eye on it that it doesn't become something worse. That is my main concern right now. 

Next week I will be travelling for work and decided to look for some running opportunity during my trip. Yes, I look for chances to run on work trips. My trip will be to the Pacific Northwest and the Lumberjack 100 is over that weekend. They also have a 100k and 50 mile so I decided I can to sign up for the 50. This will be a rare chance to run out there so I can't pass that up. The race looks like a small, grassroots kind of thing so that should be fun. I had not planned on any races prior to Western States but this will be a good early indication of where I am at, with plenty of time to recover and work on what I need to. I'm looking forward to it. Race report and update next time.

Finally, I'll just throw some numbers out there for the record, so we can all see how they trend as the training goes. Like I said when I started this, I am writing this as much for myself as a record for future reference. 

Weight

Post Order of Hrimthurs Feb 22  -  216 lbs

Today  Mar 29  - 206.8 lbs
Goal - 195ish

Mileage

Week of March 5    31 miles

Week of March 12  33 miles

Week of March 17  49 miles

Week of March 24  40 miles