Running Motivation From Supportive Community

Today was a hill day.

The hip was still hurting from yesterday’s track workout, so the 45 minute run to the hill started off at a very easy pace until I could loosen up the locked up hamstring and inner thigh muscles.

My usual route takes me down one particular street where my fans hang out. That is right, I have fans. And after a three-week absence, they were back today.

The first fans appeared right about the beginning of May when the temperatures started getting warm, about two weeks before the Cleveland Marathon.

Smokin Speed Workout

I was lacking serious running motivation today. Monday was a zero hour day and I knew that I had to get out and run. But the hip was still bothering me and I had spent the majority of the day in a seated position doing data backups and erasing a hard drive.

Still, I had to get on the road and as it is Tuesday, that means either the track or the hill. The hill makes my hip feel better but I opted for the track since my last track workout was almost two weeks ago.

Tip For Showing Off Your 6-Pack Abs

I recently received this article in my inbox from RealAge regarding weight gain and stress. 

Apparently, excessive dieting can cause additional stress, which in turn can trigger weight gain, something we've seen in the starvation diets.

According to this article, a study that followed 121 dieters revealed a rise in their cortisol levels, a hormone commonly associated with stress.  And prolonged exposure to cortisol seems to do some pretty nasty things to the body, including inducing an increase in weight.

I guess the advice here is to eat sensibly, exercise regularly, and get your rest on and you'll strip off that blanket of belly fat that's hiding your abs.

But you still have to do your lunges and your crunches to tighten up those puppies!

RealAge: Flatten Your Belly With This Eating Habit

Wikipedia: cortisol

Marathon Preparation Long Run

Ran the 4 hour long run loop today.  First time I've been able to get the time under 4 hours since the temperature crept past 75. If I can do it again next week, I may have to add some additional distance to bring the time back over 4 hours.

Then again, the 40 hill repeats from yesterday may have helped as well.

Might be time to start thinking about cutting back on the distance and focusing more on the hills and track workouts for the rest of July and August.  The USAF Dayton Marathon is about 10 weeks away.

Hill Repeats Today

Today, had a small change in plans.  Was going to do a 4 hour long run but remembered that I had put in only one hill session this week, and it was shortened by a pending storm.

So I did a hill session today and will do the long run tomorrow. 

Today, 40 hill repeats in an hour. Total time out 2.5 hours.

Marathon Running Increases Your Risk Of A Heart Attack

I came across this fun article from Rodale Press supporting several facts and exposing a few myths regarding marathon running, exercise and general fitness.  Of particular interest was point number 6, that running a marathon increases your risk of a heart attack.

At first I thought, "I'm in big time trouble now".  Recently I've been running 4 hour long runs almost every week and the temperature over the last few weeks has been in the upper 80's and lower 90's.  So I know that there's some additional cardiac stress going on.

Training Shorts Starting Line

After keeping my training workout on several scraps of paper, 3 by 5 cards and a big whiteboard, I've finally taken the leap to keeping the training log online. Now I can also integrate interesting articles, nutrition information and ideas from other runners as well.

At the very least, I'll be able to control the proliferation of paper!

Should be an interesting ride... run.