Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Weekly Training: January 24 - 30

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)


This was better than the previous week, but still just trying to hang on to as much conditioning as possible while this knee continues to recover.  It looks like a lot of miles, but only six of Saturday's eleven were running; the rest were cycling.  However, the cycyling was much less knee strain, and I'll take what I can get.

Don't get me wrong.  Cycling is great, it's just not comparable mile-to-mile with running.  With that in mind, instead of substituting cyling miles for running miles, I substituted cycling minutes for running miles at a ratio of 10 minutes of hard cycling for each scheduled running mile.  The rationale for this conversion was based on run training at roughly 10 minutes/mile.

By the end of the week, knee soreness was gradually improving, and I'm optimistic about working more running miles back into the mix.  Daily yoga practice is now up to 156 days.

YTD: 98.2 miles running, 104.3 miles cycling, 202.5 miles total.

Training Tips Thursday - Yoga Power Poses for Runners

Tuesday Quote of the Week

"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought."

~Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Weekly Training: January 17 - January 23

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

A pathetic week, five miles on the bike Monday and a six mile run Saturday.  I had rested a sore right knee since for a week and it felt pretty good, but soreness and a little swelling developed after Saturday's run.  I'll have to allow more recovery time.  I'm also forced to consider the possibility of dropping out of my March 12 marathon. 

I tried to maintain the activity I could, and continued with normal schedule of weights, core and yoga, even investing extra time to these activities.  My daily yoga practice is up to 149 days.

YTD: 91.9 miles running, 36.8 miles cycling, 128.7 miles total.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule # 28: "If you have the space, buy a freezer."

A freezer dedicated to longer storage than the kitchen refrigerator/freezer may allow the consumer to prolong use of the good natural foods purchased at farmers markets.  It also provides storage space if one finds a good source of natural, pastured meat that may be more economical to buy in larger quantitiy.

Training Tips Thursday

MYRTL Routine - Jay Johnson - insidenikerunning.nike.com.  A routine of 12 exercises to strengthen the hip area and increase flexibility.  I found this at http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=8190.  Pdf instructions are available at http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeplus/us/v2/en_US/pdf/myrtl.pdf.

Green Choices Wednesday - Buying Bulk

Many stores offer some of their staple items from bulk containers.  This option often reduces packagaing waste greatly. 

Our local store recently stopped carrying one of my favorite cereals, Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain Rolled Cereal wih Flaxseed.  It's like oatmeal, but has a lot of extra whole grains, and I like it better.  It's a combination of rolled whole wheat, rye, oats, barley, triticale and flaxseed.   I like oatmeal, and eat it often, but kept Bob's Red Mill on hand for a change of taste.


If I find Bob's Red Mill at another local store, I'll still buy some occasionally.  However, after looking around, my wife found an acceptable substitute, Sunridge Farms Organic Four Grain Cereal, in the bulk cereals in one of our better local grocery stores. 

Some stores will let you bring your own reuseable container for bulk items.  Our store is set up to dispense into a plastic bag that they supply and then put on their scale; it prints a label with the name, codes and price.  I'm not a fan of plastic bag waste, so we'll just peel off the label and take the empty bag back to refill again.

Tuesday Quote of the Week

"Mind is the king of the senses.  One who has conquered his mind, senses, passions, thought and reason is a king among men.  He is fit for Raja Yoga, the royal union with the Universal Spirit.  He has Inner Light."

~B. K. S. Iyengar, "Light on Yoga"

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Weekly Training: January 10 - January 16

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)


Week: 28.09 miles running, 10.0 miles cycling, 38.09 miles total.

Lowlight:  Sore knee condition, cancelled Thursday run.  Soreness was gone by Saturday morning, but returned after Saturday's run.  Cancelled Sunday run.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule # 27: "Eat animals that have themselves eaten well"

"We feed animals a high-energy diet of grain to make them grow quickly, even in the case of ruminants that have evolved to eat grass.  But even animals that can tolerate grain are healthier when they have access to green plants-- and so, it turns out, are their meat and eggs."

Training Tip Thursday

"Do you know your maximum heart rate? formulas don't work for everybody, meaning. One way to determine maximum heart rate is to measure your heart rate in the last 90 seconds of a race where you have sprinted all-out for the tape. If your heart rate hits a peak, then flat-lines for that length of time, that should offer you an accurate reading."

Hal Higdon's Tip of the Day, January 11, 2010, http://www.facebook.com/halhigdon

Weekly Training: January 3 - January 9

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)


Week: 40.08 miles running, 26.8 miles cycling, 66.88 miles total.

Highlight: 20 mile run, 1/8/11.

Marathon Training - 20 Mile Run

20 Miles - 03:24:00 - 10:11 minutes/mile pace

My original plan was to run 10 miles today and 20 tomorrow. However, with 90% forecast of thunderstorms for all day tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I got my LSD run completed.  I moved the 20 miler to today, and I'll take whatever I can get tomorrow.

This run went pretty well. I planned to try to keep it a little slower, on the high side of 10:30, but I had to keep pulling myself back in the first couple of miles. I finally settled into a comfortable stride around 10:14 pace and cruised in that neighborhood through about 12 miles. I struggled a little in the low and mid teens, caught a little second wind at about 17 miles, and finished feeling good. Mile splits: 10:53, 9:59, 10:09, 10:15, 10:10, 10:13, 10:15, 10:12, 10:19, 10:15, 10:15, 10:08, 10:25, 10:23, 10:28, 10:26, 10:18, 10:06, 9:39, 9:21. More stats at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/62495323

Weekly Training: December 27 - January 2

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

Not as tough of a week as it appears by the graph.  Actually kind of a "stepback" week in marathon training, with fewer running miles, but 20+ cycling miles inflates the total.

Runs: 6/8/3 miles Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, a 3.3 mile race Saturday, and a 14.4 mile long run Sunday.  Cycling miles: 5.1/5.61/5.75/5.6 Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday.  For the week, 35.77 miles running, 22.06 miles cycling, 57.83 miles total.

Race Review - Resolution Run 5K

Resolution Run 5K Run
3.26 miles,  27:19, 8:23 pace

Nice local 5K to start the new year. 27:19 clock time/27:23 Garmin time. Finished 38th overall, won't know the number of the field until web posting later. The event's Facebook page says "about 160" No PR, 1:45 behind my best. Saw local dailymilers Tammy H., Shauna A., William F.(running barefoot!), Jeremy F.(in VFF's), and John F. Perfect temps for running, low 50's and low humidity, although north wind was gusting to almost 30 mph. Stayed ahead of PR pace through 2 miles, but finishing into strong headwind made for a slower finish. Splits were upside down, as the turn into the headwind started at 1.55 miles.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/61408059

A 2010 Running Retrospective

2010 Miles – Running: 1,900.3; Cycling: 474.75, Total: 2,375.05.

2010 Goals:
Run 1,500 miles – Done. October 30, 2010.
First marathon – Done. May 1, 2010, 4:45.
PR half marathon <2hrs – Logged PR 2:04; missed target time. December 11, 2010
PR 10K race – Missed this one by 2:24. My 2009 54:29 still stands.
PR 5K race – Done. 25:34, beat previous 26:41. May 15, 2010

2011—Bring It On!



Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."


Rule #26: "Drink the Spinach Water."


"Another bit of traditional wisdom with good science behind it.  The water in which vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other plant chemicals. Save it for the soup or add it to the sauces."

Of course, in other methods of cooking vegetables, such as roasting or sauteeing, the vitamins are not leached into water.

Training Tip Thursday

"Hill training is a form of speedwork, a way to build strength and speed. You can do hill training in two ways: 1) Run some runs on hilly courses, essential if your goal race will be hilly, also valuable for quad strength and speed, or 2) Run repeats over a single hill. It matters little how long the hill... or how steep the hill or what you do between. Make up your own workout."

Hal Higdon's Tip of the Day, December 27, 2010, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1352143337#!/halhigdon

Tuesday Quote of the Week

“The beauty of a lake reflects the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the Self is seen reflected in it.”

~B.K.S. Iyengar

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.

Weekly Training: December 20 - 26

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

A mixed bag this week, some great stuff and some not so great.

Monday - Rested the legs.  Weights and Yoga.
Tuesday - Running,  6.12 mi 00:59 09:34 pace.  A comfortable run, followed by a short yoga practice.
Wednesday - Running, 8.1 mi 01:26 10:35 pace  Ugly run.  Struggled all the way.  Weights and yoga.
Thursday - Hill Repeats, 6.37 mi 01:05 10:07 pace - Struggling in the recent hilly half marathon told me I need hills in my otherwise flat terrain training.  There are no hills in my area.  Ran about a mile from my home to the nearest rail overpass, over and back seven times for about four miles of hill simulations, fourteen uphills and fourteen downhills, and back home again.  Followed with a short yoga practice.
Friday: Rested the legs. Weights and Yoga.
Saturday - Running, 8.42 mi 01:19 09:22 pace.  A nice Christmas morning run.   Ran from home to the Gulf Terrace Hike & Bike Trail, 2 laps on the trail, and back home. Followed with a short yoga practice.
Sunday - Long run, 16.3 mi 02:44 10:03 pace.  Ran a long tour of the city's west end (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60675196).  Tired at the end, but recovered quickly. Followed with a short yoga practice.

Running Miles - YTD: 1,882.3; Month: 144.0, Week: 45.3.  Personal daily yoga practice now at 121 consecutive days.

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."

Rule #25: "Eat your colors."

"The colors of many vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain... so the best protection comes from a diet containing as many different phytochemicals as possible."

Training Tips Thursday

"Stepback weeks are essential if you want to progress in your training without injury or the dead feeling that comes with overtraining. In my marathon programs I train runners hard for two weeks, then allow them to step back for the next push upward. This works at shorter distances too. Once offered a brief respite, you can push to the next level. The effect is as much psychological as physical."

From Hal Higdon's Tip of the Day yesterday on his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1352143337#!/

Tuesday Quote of the Week

"Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light."

~Yogi Bhajan

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/.  As I publish this post, I see that this link still leads to last week's recipes. Hopefully, the link will be updated soon, as I'm intrigued by the photo of the Mushroom Pie!

In our personal vegetarian adventures, we recently tried seitan for the first time. It's widely used in vegetarian recipes in place of meat. Seitan is wheat protein, and not a good choice for anyone with celiac condition or a gluten allergy. We don't have any of those issues, and found seitan to be quite good in two recipes that we liked in our pre-vegetarian days. We used it in place of beef in our Chinese Pepper Steak recipe, and used it in place of chicken in our pot pie recipe. Nice to make a new discovery!

Weekly Training: December 13 - 19

(The graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.)

This week started poorly and ended well.  After resting Monday, I struggled through my midweek runs, experiencing lingering soreness from the December 11 half marathon.

I'm totally accustomed to the half marathon distance.  I run a similar distance almost every week in training, and it doesn't faze me.  However, after the half marathon race, I had considerable soreness deep in the lower abdominal muscles.  I attribute the difference to the hills on the half marathon route; I train in an area that is almost completely flat.  Because of the soreness, I ran Tuesday, Wedesday and Thursday comparatively slowly and never found a smooth running rhythm. Finally, after after another rest day Friday, I had a great 10+ miler Saturday, pushing the pace, calling it my "long-ish" pace run.  Sunday, I ran the same distance and route more slowly, calling it my weekly "long" run.

I had my fun.  I ran two races in the last three weeks.  In the process of extra pre-race rest and post-race recovery, my weekly mileage slipped from the 50 mile range into the 30s for four weeks.   Now, it's time to get in serious training mode, build miles, and get ready for my March 12 marathon race.

This marathon training cycle "officially" started in early November, with a modification of the same 18-week training plan I used for this year's marathon.  To date, I have not paid much attention to the schedule, because my routine runs follow the same general pattern, and my routine mileage has been higher than that in the first 6 or 7 weeks of the training plan.  The training plan builds mileage from week to week, so I intended to just pick it up when the plan's mileage caught up with my current in the 6 to 8 week range.

My plan will be a modified version of Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 program.  I plan to add a few miles to it, to raise the peak weeks from 50 miles to about 55 miles, and to build to the 20-mile runs earlier, allowing me to put four 20 milers in the schedule instead of three.

Running miles- YTD: 1,836.9; Month: 98.7; Week: 40.4.

Yoga Journal - "21-Day Yoga Challenge"

I just signed up for Yoga Journal's "21-Day Yoga Challenge," intended to help one start a home practice and stick with it. It runs from January 10 through January 31, 2011. I'm taking it to help reinforce my current daily practice, and for the additional instructional resources. Any of my yogi friends want to join me?

Details at: http://21daychallenge.yogajournal.com/.

Summary Description:
"Each day, we'll present original videos of yoga sequences. There are 15-minute videos for morning and night; 30-minute videos to help refine your poses, work your core, and develop strength; and a super fun 45-minute flow sequence that'll have you moving all around your mat and getting a great workout in the process. By the end of the challenge, you'll have an arsenal of practices at your disposal to use whenever and however you want."