Spirit of the Marathon (documentary, 2007)

Yesterday (after my ‘long’ run) I watched the Spirit of the Marathon. The film follows 6 runners’ training for the Chicago Marathon.

I never though a documentary can be this engaging. The runners that we get to know are real persons, some of them first-time marathoners, others elite athletes. Towards the end, I really felt like doing the race with them (yeah, right, sitting in front of the screen, but still). You get to see beautiful shots of Chicago and the race. Some of the historical details were very interesting, too. All this with a very nice, dramatic soundtrack.

Watching these kind of films makes you go out and run. Train, race, whatever. Fight the pain. Take that first step out the door. I know I’m nowhere near a Marathon yet (or a half for that matter), but I dream of it many times. Even though I’m fairly late in the game (turning 40), I may still have a shot at it. Remember Jerry.

I know it would change my life forever, just like for the heroes in the Spirit of the Marathon.

Weight on previous week: 122.3 kg (269.1 lbs); Trend: 124,8 kg (274.6 lbs)

Weight on March 14th: 120.6 kg (265.3 lbs); Trend: 123.2 kg (271 lbs)

Change: -1.7 kg (-3.7 lbs); Trend: -1,6 kg (-3.5 lbs)

Total distance: 46 km (28.6 miles) – right on track with Saturday’s long run
Total time: 5:01:42
Calories burned during runs: 6081 kcal
Average pace: 6:32 / km (10:30 / mi) – last week: 6:25 / km (10:19 / mi)
Average HR:  158 bpm – last week: 161

Solid Week, But Exhausting

I did 3 new types of training, all in one week. On Wednesday, I did an interval run, which was actually quite fun. The next day I ran a short 5K tempo, with an acceptable 28:55 time. To top it off, I tried a long run on Saturday, 15K, not bad for starters. The treadmill stopped on me at 99:00 min, looks like that’s the max you can run on it in one session.

As far as diet, I stick to the plan fairly well, with an occasional slice of bread thrown in if I cannot manage my usual rice puffs. I may not get the necessary amount of protein and carb, I’ll need to do something about that.

I’m starting to get used to a little more speed (compared to myself, that is) and I really wasn’t tired at the end.

I’ve got 21 days to meet my challenge of running a 10K under an hour. I think it’ll happen!

1. 6:00 Warm-up @ 8.5 km/h (5.3 mph)
2. 1:00 High effort run @ 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
3. 2:00 Slow paced jog @ 8 km/h (5 mph)
4. Repeat 2-3 11x for a total of 12 intervals
6. 10:00 Cool down @ 9 km/h (5.6 mph)

The result was about 52 minutes and 8km (5 miles), very close to my regular steady runs. During the intervals, my heat rate went up by 20 bpm at first during the intervals, then the difference was more like 10 bpm as I became fatigued. Even the average HR was close to that of a steady run. Here is the HR graph from runnigahead.com (unfortunately, it displayes the graph averaged, but click on it, then you can turn it off):

Why Interval Training?

There are several sources on the internet that’ll tell you it helps you lose weight quicker and helps you fight the plateaus. It also makes long(er) boring runs a little bit more eventful. It all comes down to confusing the body by changing the intensity of the workout, so it won’t get used to (and become very effective at) a specific type of workload. I think it also helps getting my feet used to higher speeds.  I want to do an interval training once a week for a while and see what happens.

The weigh-in is on Monday this week, because I just got back from Vienna last night.

Weight on previous week: 124.25 kg (273.2 lbs); Trend: 127,5 kg (280.5 lbs)
Weight on March 7th: 122.3 kg (269.1 lbs); Trend: 124.8 kg (274.6 lbs)

Change: -1.9 kg (-4.2 lbs); Trend: -2,7 kg (-5.9 lbs)

Total distance: 36.4 km (22.6 miles) – less than planed due to a trip to Vienna
Total time: 3:53:27
Calories burned during runs: 4803 kcal
Average pace: 6:25 / km (10:19 / mi) – last week: 6:32 / km (10:31 / mi)
Average HR:  161 bpm – last week: 162 bpm

Managed to Pull it Off

I was afraid of this week because of the trip to Vienna. Not so easy to stay with your plan when you are out of your usual environment. But I paid attention to what I ate and was able to go for a run during my stay. Also, the night I got home (fairly early), I stopped by the gym to burn some more calories.

Danube Canal, Vienna

I did it! I wasn’t too lazy and got up in time for an early morning run in cold Vienna. I made a loop in Augarten as planned, then ran alongside the Danube Canal. Total was 7.48 km (about 4.6 mi) in 46:17. That’s 6:15 / km or 10:04 / miles, which is pretty awesome, considering the temperature, the lack of my running gloves and the totally new terrain. True, I had had to stop a few times to get oriented, but it was expected.

Augarten, which is one of the oldest Baroque parks in Vienna must be interesting, but running through it, I found it fairly ordinary – and small. After that, running by the Kanal was nice, although the water was very murky. Not much traffic in the early Saturday hours, so I ‘jayran’ some of the red lights, which there are plenty in the inner city of Vienna.

All in all, a very nice experience, and a good feeling that I did something for my health on a business trip that is usually a time for skipping one’s regular routine. In the first half of the run I actually felt full of energy with sub-6 min kilometers.

Here’s a map of the run exported from SportTracks:

Running - Wien 2010-03-06

March begins with our annual visit to Vienna, to an important annual trade show. This year I stay for 4 days only. The hotel is a mess, a pretty rundown joint with very (and I mean VERY) basic lunch, so not a lot of options there. Each morning, I have cornflakes and one bread roll with cheese and some unidentified salami. And orange juice – I stay away from coffee this time.  At the exhibition, I have a banana at mid-morning, then a light lunch. In the afternoon another banana or an apple. Fortunately, this time we have no business partners line up for us to entertain, so dinners are reasonably okay. Although last night I had some spaghetti bolognese at a simple Italian place.

As far as exercise, I am prepared with my running gear. Of course, in the hotel there’s no such luxury as a gym or a pool.  So it leaves running on the streets of Vienna, which is quite a nice prospect – except for the temperature. It is right about freezing in the mornings. Also, I’m pretty sure the clothes soaked in sweat will not dry in the tiny room.

So far so good – but it will be interesting to see next week’s weigh-in results.

Weight on previous week: 126.5 kg (278,3 lbs); Trend: 129,3 kg (284,5 lbs)
Weight on February 28th: 124,2 kg (273,2 lbs); Trend: 127,5 kg (280,5 lbs)

Change: -2.3 kg (-5 lbs); Trend: -1,8 kg (-4 lbs)

Total distance: 48 km (29,8 miles) – same as last week
Total time: 5:13:21
Calories burned during runs: 6467 kcal (that’s almost a kg of fat in itself)
Average pace: 6:32 / km (10:31 / mi) – last week: 6:49 / km (10:58 / mi)
Average HR: 162 bpm

Not a Bad Week

Overall, this was a fairly successful week. It saw my first open-air run this year, no pain on injuries. The numbers would indicate a little bit of over-training, but I feel quite good. Weight loss is really picking up, now that I practically gave up eating bread, cut back on coffee and generally eat less. Tomorrow is rest day.

The park in autumn - now covered with mud

Weather’s beginning to cooperate where I live, and I was excited that I can take my outdoors shoes out for a spin at last. It was raining all morning, but it cleared up quite a bit in the afternoon, and I was off for a nice run in the park.

There is a park with nice trails in our town and I was hoping they were at least okay in spite of weeks of snow and rain. No such luck. The trails are covered with mud and puddles even at the better maintained areas. I daren’t even venture to the less traveled paths – it looks like this route is off the map for several weeks.

So I started off on the asphalt and took a loop around the area. At times it was really pitiful because of the wind and the uphills. You don’t get those on the treadmill.

The lowdown: 8km | 52:19 | 6:32 min/km | 1137 cal (or 4.97 |  10:32 min / mi)

Notes to self:

• Running outside is definitely less boring than on the treadmill (watching out for traffic)
• Going uphill still makes my shins sore a little
• Need to invent something to reverse the wind
• Elevation, wind, asphalt, it all adds up to a more exhausting session, although at a lower heart rate

Here’s a map from http://runningahead.com

For me, its a little bit different, though.  Yes, all of the above are true. But most people exercise to lose weight, I want to get skinny to be able to run more and a little faster. So please stick around, cheer, boo, learn from my mistakes, and see the end of this journey.

Oh, and this blog is certainly not about or doesn’t promote the evolution theory – I’m just being sarcastic with myself.

The read a little more about me, read the about page.