Body Composition Analyzer & Elvis
You never know what you'll see at the Town Lake Trail. I wasn't looking forward to the Saturday walk for charity, even though I was the organizer for work. It was a walk, I wanted to run, it was on the other side of IH-35, yada, yada, yada.
I met my ex-boss and her husband at the start and it was delayed by thirty minutes. We all decided to run the thing and start 30 mintues ahead of the group as other things were going on that day. Mario knew the trails we'd be hitting and I'm glad I went. Much less people on the trail, much more scenic and peaceful. While we were running, an ultra-distance dude came up from behind and ran with us for a couple of miles. He was getting ready for a 50K. Slow and steady he said.
When we got back, Mario and Michele left for another engagement and I went over to the expo to see what food was available. Starbucks, HEB fruit and bagels. Nice. I walked over to the expo and Gold's Gym had a body composition scale available. It had been a year since I had a fat mass, fat % reading. Last time it was around 16%.
Tanita Body Composition Analyzer TBF-410
Body Type: athletic
Gender: male
Age: 45
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 170.0 lb
BMI: 23.1
BMR: 7284 kJ or 1741 kcal
Impedence 502
Fat %: 10.0
Fat Mass: 17.0 lb
FFM: 153.0 lb
TBW: 112.01 lb
Great News! The weights program is working, as is taking in more protein. Last year I weighed 154 pounds at the time of the marathon, with 16% body fat.
As I was enthusiastic about the reading, sipping my Starbucks coffee, making my way to the car as I passed by a local newsman greating a man that looked like Elvis. I heard him say, "Hi, I'm Elvis," and grinned. And I was debating with myself whether or not to sleep in.
Meet b.O.b., Bucket O' Bolts
After completing
Pawn Shop Bike, I realized I was going to need another bike as a commuter and for the trainer. Building PSB left quite a few parts on the garage floor and I thought they would make a fine beater bike. I put $10 into an old Schwinn le Tour Chicago 4130 Chromoly frame and $16 into the Shimano single speed 16T sprocket. Ah, and $4.50 into some old-school black cloth tape. All the rest came from spare parts or were gifts.
I tried to keep the styling in the "messenger bike" style, even though it gears with a freewheel and not with a fixed gear. I did put one break in the front and after this morning's commute (14.84 miles), I'll be putting a back brake on as well. People with one front brake must only ride on flat roads. I hit my first downhill this morning and quickly went through the used pads. My next hill wore the front part of my old road shoe through the leather. I was screaming all the way down the hill, not able to stop approaching the cross street, praying an 18-wheeler wasn't coming across the intersection. Luckily it wasn't and luckily I was able to make a fast right turn. I then detoured to the nearest bike shop to get some more brake pads.
Labels: beater bike, cycling, Schwinn
Motive Bison Half Marathon - Race Report
The folks at Motive really know how to put on a race. It's one of the best races in Austin and I had it on my list this year after having such a good time last year. The organizers leave no stone unturned putting this one together. They think of everything so all you have to do as a runer is show up and run.
This half marathon is not known for being one of the fastest. In fact, at mile 4.5 until getting to mile 5.5 is a 300 foot climb. Timing mats are placed at the start and finish and a race within a race is conducted. "King" and "Queen" of the Hill. Last year the hill kicked my booty and I walked a little and the hill affected my shins and calves the remainder of the race. This year, while I didn't make "King" I was able to climb the hill without stopping and it didn't affect the rest of the race.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. I woke up to 36 degrees but with no wind so it looked promising. And that's the way it stayed...no winds, no clouds with a gradual warm up making for 40+ degrees at race time. I raced in tights last year but went for running shorts and a long sleeved tech fabric shirt this year. With some gloves this was just the right thing to wear.
I had no real race strategy this time as I've been transitioning from base to strength training. I wanted to have a good time and enjoy the run. Having this as my goal seemed to work out the best and I should continue it in the future. I also hydrated a little too well the night before with Miller Lite watching UT fall to Kansas State. Eating burgers and sausage and downing suds was probably not the best pre-race food but I was lucky it didn't seem to affect me the next day.
I started out in the middle of the pack and took my time getting past people. In fact I didn't do my usual side-to-side-up-the-curb kind of thing. I just passed when laned became available. This caused the first mile to be a little slower at 9:55.06 but it also allowed my legs to get warmed up. I had shin issues last year and it may have been caused by going up and down the curbs zig zagging in between people. The second mile was relatively flat and the pace picked up to 8:33.33.
By the time we got to mile three we were getting into some rollers. Not big but enough to cause some slowdown or 9:28.84 for the mile. Between mile four and mile five was the big hill so mile four came in at 9:11.65 and mile five at 8:50.61. It took a couple of miles after that to get the legs settled again and try to get an even pace going. Mile six at 9:24.17 with some climbing and mile seven at 9:11.34. It was at this point I went back to a thought I had when I read about one coaches philosophy for the NY Marathon. He told his runners to act like they got dropped off at the wrong starting line for a 10K race and have to run effeciently, twenty miles and then start their 10K. I've always kept that in the back of my head but this is the first race I put it to work. I decided at mile seven to keep the even-paced miles going until mile 10 and then run a 5K.
Miles eight, nine and ten were pretty uneventful. Somewhat flat or with barely any climb I was able to increase the pace a tad to 8:51.00 for mile eight, 8:46.21 for mile nine, and 8:43.17 for mile ten. Once I hit the ten mile mark I started the 5K at an increased pace. From running a 7:40 pace at last week's 5K I wanted to see if I could do the same and also after running ten miles. Mile ten didn't reflect a quickened pace at 8:43.17 but mile 11 did at 7:51.45. Mile 12 came in at 7:46.12 and mile 13 at 7:38.24. Mile 12 was the roughest. Unlike last week where I didn't eat anything, this week I ate my usual yogurt, toast and Emergen-C. The stomach was fine for most of the race but mile 12 I seemed to loose a little energy in the legs. I hadn't stopped at any of the water/Gatorade stations and wondered if I was in need of some nutrition.
Mile 13 and the finish hurt a little as my legs felt spent, but it also felt like I had a kick. I was able to continue to pass people all the way to the finish line. I like how I felt during this race. It was almost four races in one or one with four phases. Start slow, find a good pace that can continue forever, then run a quick 5K and then finally kick for a 200 meters.
After the race there was plenty to eat and drink. Thanks go to Clif Bar, Sweet Leaf Tea, HEB Grocery, Jamba Juice and Accelerade for providing the refreshments.
Race Results
Time: 1:55:52.4 13 minutes faster than last year's time. 32 seconds slower than PR.
Position: 741 out of 1778 finishers
Age Group (male 45-49): 61 out of 110
Pace: 8:51/M last year it was 9:50/M
Labels: half marathon, motive, race report, running
Racing For The Cure
Sunday was the Komen Race for the Cure. Not a race planned for but put on my scheduled a couple months ago when I agreed to coach some co-workers and get them ready for the 5K. Many dropped the program during the eight weeks for various reasons, but three stayed in it and at least one ran Sunday to celebrate her training.
I decided to run it as well and put out an effort, even though it could have jeopardized my half marathon this coming weekend. Mainly due to a 9:14 per mile average for last year's 5K that needed to be sped up a bit I raced the race. I shot for 8:00-minute miles and came up with 7:40-minute miles. I think that could have been better if I didn't have to zig zag between 22,000 people at the start. The splits were something like 8:34, 8:04 and 7:04 for the last mile. The finishing time was 23:56.9.
I ended up 11th in my age group, right behind Mayor Will Wynn, although he was a minute faster. I was really impressed with Da Fish. The guy has run a couple of times in the last month and mainly been swimming. He put down an amazing 7:04 per mile effort with swimming as the main form of exercise. I tell ya, I'm really leaning towards the other cross training programs even though Dr. Noakes states to be a sprinter you need to sprint. Da Fish just proved you can be a swimmer and sprint.
I was talking to a co-worker after the race and she mentioned she's doing the Distance Challenge that I competed in last year. She asked, "Why didn't you sign up this year." I said, "Because of the bloody 10-miler they inserted that's run on a concrete toll road." What insanity. She then said that her shin splints got worse during that race. Doh! I told her what a perfect time to cross train and she said, Oh no, cross training will make me slower and my running guru said if I'm a runner, I need to run." I need to pass along the GoodHealth.com article I wrote on running surfaces and then introduce her to Da Fish.
