CIDA 5k

Results are still pending, but it looks like my time was 29:38, which works out to be about 9:25/mi.

It was pretty cold today...around 37 degrees with 21 mph winds out of the NNE that pushed against us on the "out" part of the out and back course.

CJ and Rob both got a PR today, and CJ ended up with 2nd in her AG! They're both very hard working athletes, which is always very inspiring!

This wasn't the best of races for me. My legs were not feeling strong going into the run, and starting at about 2.6 miles I fought with that "oh hey, I'm going to barf" feeling that occasionally comes with running my HR in zone 4/5 for 30 minutes. I've noticed myself recovering slower lately, and today's performance may be an extension of that...it certainly felt like I needed another rest day.
Why? I'm not completely sure, but I've done some recent trending and I'm loosing weight faster than what is normally considered healthy over the last month.

I may have lost some muscle mass. That's unfortunately a very normal part of weight loss, it can't be avoided but it can be minimized by losing weight SLOWLY. Most doctors advise that a person shouldn't lose more than 1% of their body weight per week. For my "about 200 pound" self, that equates to about 2 pounds a week. My average weight loss has been 3.25 lb/week over the last 4 weeks. Needless to say I'll be monitoring that situation very closely since I'm about a month out from my first A priority race of the season. It seems that my body, for once, is more closely following the BMR/AMR models and I'll likely need to add calories.

This was my first and last run as a Clydesdale. I can't say I'm sad about that. Good riddance to all that fat.

As a reward for a race well run, I got myself another pair of new jeans. While I was out I also tried out a brand shiney new Cervelo P1. Oh My God it's awesome. Riding that bike makes me want to squeel like a 14 year old girl at an NSYNC concert (are they still cool?). It will be mine...oh yes...it will be!

Running...Sigh...

I know better, but I keep hoping that one day I'll just wake up and run at a speed proportionate to the effort I put into improving my running. It's not happening though. Running sucks more and more of my training time in, and produces virtually no results, at the expense of performance gains in my other sports. Disappointing to say the least...

Against the Wind

Tonight's run was probably the most mentally difficult training run I've ever had. I began the run in pain, having recently strained a rhomboid muscle in my back. It was in the low 50s, dark, and very very windy (21mph). In addition to that, I ran in my subdivision which is blessed/cursed with a good set of rolling hills throughout, since it's next to a golf course.

Between the wind and the hills I could have easily called it a day or went to finish the rest of my run at the gym. I thought about it, several times...but then my mind drifted back to grad school. In grad school there were alot of times I could have taken it easy and "phoned it in." By the time you get done with that much college you can't help but be pretty good at faking it. I never did though. Even when the work wasn't challenging, I found a way to make it challenging. I looked for things to learn where there weren't any. I did that because I knew that I wouldn't find success in the commencement walk without putting everything I had into it. Glory was hidden, very carefully, in the late nights doing work I really didn't have to do.

So here I am again, just like grad school, putting in that little bit extra that I didn't strictly need to do, and searching for glory here too.

St Pats. Run

Overall this was a really great "race" for me. I quoted race because I really treated it more like speed work than a race. As much as I sometimes want to run all out, for these C priority races it just isn't worth it. I hurt my training for my big events more by going hard. Hopefully thinking like that isn't an athletic faux pas.

Anyway, it was a good run, on a great day, with lots of friends to talk to afterwards. I couldn't have asked for much more really.

Time: 29:48.6


Race Report

Miller Park 5k

It was a beautiful day for a run...I like spring, and I'd like to see more of it.

Things went really well for me today, and I more than exceeded my goals. I was hoping to beat 10 minute miles and managed to do that by quite a bit.

Results:

146 Michael Bernico Bloomington IL 213 31 11 M 30-34 29:06.7 9:23/M

Race Report