On Oversleeping
2007-08-08 12:25:23

I did not wake up at 5am this morning. I woke at 4am, and then fell back asleep until the alarm roused me at 6am. So I missed my workout. Getting up just an hour earlier is really, really hard to do.

I was hoping to avoid having to set the second alarm.

If could learn to function on 4 hours sleep, I’d be able to fit it all in.

Back on Target
2007-08-06 13:35:37

After returning from Japan, my training for the Vancouver Marathon became a little bit spotty.

The balance of my spare time is spent working on major home renovations, and the time slot previously allocated for training, immediately after work, has been otherwise filled. It's really rather difficult, as it turns out, to find one full hour, four times each week, to dedicate to running.

Then, an injury, a pinched nerve in my shoulder, sustained while wielding overhead a belt sander. It's surprising how much you carry in your shoulders when you run; and as a consequence, training stopped.

But, by tremendous force of will, I am back on it, and in the mornings. As in, 5am, in the morning. But I have proof!, recorded on my heart rate monitor.

I'll use the treadmill for at least a week, keeping my distance at about four miles, and then try to recover the program, going after longer distances again.

The Royal Vancouver Marathon
2007-05-23 12:20:44

I've registered for the Royal Vancouver Marathon to be held in Victoria, British Columbia on October 7th.

Since November of last year, I've modified my lifestyle towards eating better, getting more exercise and, in general, not being fat. You may recall, I achieved my six month goal of dropping 30 pounds in just over three months, and participated in The Big Climb for Leukemia in March. Phew!

Now there's a Marathon. This is a huge, and sort of scary, new goal.

Three times during the week I'm running 4 to 6 miles and a long run greater than 10 miles on Saturday morning. Each week I'll add a couple miles to the week’s total distance until the long run reaches 26 miles and 385 yards.

Training for a long distance race has certainly put me more in tune with my body. During any given workout, I can tell how much sugar I've had during the day by how long it takes to reach the first fatigue, i.e. "Hitting the Wall".

I don't load up on carbohydrates for a run less than about 10 miles, and since I'm otherwise on a protein bias diet, I can burn through all the sugar in my body in a matter of minutes. I'd rather be metabolizing fats on these short runs anyway, so the sooner I can get throught the first fatigue, the better.

On a 10 mile run, I burn about 1200 calories, so anything longer than that, and I get a large pepperoni pizza the night before!

15 minutes 7 seconds
2007-03-19 17:09:37

Sunday morning, I raced in The Big Climb for Leukemia up a 69-flight course to the top of the Columbia Center in Seattle.

It was harder than I imagined it would be, but I made it to the top. Racers queued up, starting in ten second intervals and I got my chance at 10:45 AM.

I had an enthusiastic start, but by floor five, my lungs were on fire! I decreased the pace, realizing that I had a long way to go. I put my head down and caught up with Richard, who started 10 seconds ahead of me, at the first water stop on floor ten. I passed at least five people and was passed myself by maybe as many.

The view from the top was spectacular, but I was seriously eyeing the EMTs.

And, we beat my fundraising goal by 117%. Thanks you guys!

Hops & Props 2007
2007-03-15 17:01:36

Hops & Props at the Museum of Flight was great, again. Many of the international breweries absent from last year returned and a great many new local microbreweries were on hand.

We had some trouble organizing the carpooling, and since it is most decidedly a drinking event, I decided to be a driver. I approached the situation as one might a wine tasting event – when there are so many to taste, you can’t possible drink, and hope to be standing at evening’s end.

The idea of tasting is, basically, they pour you a sample, you taste it, then pour it out. The next brewery is more than happy to toss its neighbors' swill into the bin and pour you one of their own. Some of my compatriots where surprised to find me using this method, but an oenophile would be familiar with the practice.

By the end of the evening, I’d tried more than most, and not the least bit tipsy!

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