That said, I’m going to be switching my blog over to Blogger. I’ve been working on the new blog, and hopefully I’ll have her up and running this weekend. There are lots of cool tools that will take some time to learn, but I think I can manage (although I may be asking for help from you blogspot guys).

Happy Friday!

That first run after you’ve been sick feels like it must when you’ve been freed from prison!  I felt energetic, happy and free, except for a funky pain on the top of my right foot that showed up around mile eight.  How can something be injured after not running for a week?  Oh.  Atrophy.

Anyway, I was inspired and signed up for the 50K, which will mark my 2-year anniversary of ultrarunning.  I only have a few weeks to prepare since it’s October 10th.  Hopefully there’s enough Ironman left in me to finish that sucker under six hours (I finished in 6:12 last time).  It’s going to be a hot, sticky mess, but with Ilene, Chip, Andy and all the other FUR’s out there, its sure to be a blast!

Here’s a video of last year’s John Holmes 16-mile fun run.  Ilene and I are in the video at the beginning when we turn into the trail (minute 1:40) and I’m at the finish line (minute 5:14).  Cool, eh?

But today I woke up in the land of the living…

and feel much better.  I went for a walk and ate breakfast…WOW!  I still feel a little buggy in my gut, but it looks like it’s on the way out.  So I’ll count these last four days off as a recovery weekend and get back in the groove for another three weeks before I head home for the Notre Dame – Michigan State game…YIPPEE!

PS: RUN CHASE RUN!!!

The kitties and I spent the entire day horizontal on the couch, because every time I tried to stand up I nearly passed out.  I have to say that daytime TV really stinks…although I did enjoy watching the Dog Whisperer and Dogs 101   I choked down a cup of chicken noodle soup around 3PM, then Armando was nice enough to bring me some Vanilla Bean ice cream which I ate for dinner. I struggled to stay awake to watch football, and was able to crawl back into bed by 10PM.

On Wednesday I was considering taking off two days of training because I’ve been so sluggish.  I guess the training gods decided that for me…I’ll be taking off three days.  I’m not 100% this morning, but at least I don’t feel like I’m knocking on death’s door anymore.  Then again, the longer I sit upright…ugh.  It’s gonna be a long day.

None of the usual suspects joined Ilene and me for the San Ann ride this morning.  We did have Ilene’s friend Wayne (the guys who’s chain broke in the parking lot last week) and Wayne’s friend, Carey (from Jamaica, mon) join us.  The four of us took off by 7AM and headed out for 35-hilly miles.  Neither Wayne nor Carey had been up to San Ann more than twice, so I figured Ilene and I would be 1) leading or 2) shouting directions or 3) riding easy.

We got warmed up and chatted a bit, then we rode.  And I mean WE RODE.  At Bayhead the guys flew ahead and it took every ounce of energy for me to keep up without puking (that nausea thing is still hanging on…).  We eventually reconvened at Bellamy Brothers Rd, where one of them lead through the flats (cheaters).

What I noticed early that these were the kind of guys who bust tail uphill, then recover for way too long going down and on the flats afterward.  I’m more of a let-me-just-get-my-butt-up-this-hill kind of rider, then I fly downhill and keep a consistent pace on the flats.  So, uhhh, that caused some problems.  Especially right before the Big Dude; there was a car behind and a slow cyclist ahead…and the guys chatted side-by-side and slowed to around 10mph.  I was in the back and nearly took out them and Ilene!  So I got back in front.  I guess that’s how Steve was feeling last week, leading most of the way.

On the downhill before the Big Dude I passed a different rider and yelled, “This is the fun part!“  His reply was, “It’s SCARY!“  I nearly fell off my bike because I was laughing so hard.  Six Gap hills are scary.  Pitbulls are scary.  Republicans are scary.  But going downhill at 35mph?  Not so scary.

Anyway, the fight ensued between the four of us for the second half of the ride.  When we got to Church Road Ilene and I chatted (as I huffed and puffed).  She mentioned that today was not turning out to be a “recovery day” after all.  That gave me enough energy to laugh out loud and my reply was, “Uhh, you might want to make the San Ann ride your INTERVAL day.”  Because I don’t know about anyone else, but my little heart beats hard and heavy for the majority of the ride out there.  Ilene said we could slow down, but by that point I just wanted to be done so I could barf without an audience.  We chipped away at the remaining miles and hit the parking lot in under two hours…my average speed was 18.4mph.

There ain’t no recovery in San Ann til the ride is OVER!

This is MY kind of recovery ride:)

So when Armando surprised me with tix to see them at The Hard Rock in Orlando, I was thrilled.  We saw Steely Dan there (in seats) and Audioslave (standing room only) and it is a fabulous small venue.  I was beat after our dirty run yesterday, so I dozed on the way to O-town, then again in the hotel room.  After an Orlando-style dinner (loud, fair quality and expensive) at Bahama Breeze, we made our way through Universal to The Hard Rock.

Armando and I walked right in and made our way as close as possible to the stage, so we could see Adam Duritz up close and personal…and he really does look comic-like in real life!

We had to wait thirty minutes before the Counting Crows along with Augustana and Michael Franti & Spearhead came on stage…all together.

This was a show like none other (well, similar to The Roots’ concerts): The two-act, three-plus hour concert was made up of group efforts, as well as individual sets by each artist.  Both ways ROCKED!  Even though I was looking forward to hearing the Crows play alone, the songs with all three bands were great fun.  Here’s the meaning behind the madness: Tour Sneak Peak.  Both Armando and I were impressed this time around and agree that we got our money’s worth!

So when the music came on in the dark hours of the morning, I was outta bed and ready to go in no time.

I met Ilene and Chip at Winner’s and we tailgated up to Croom.  When we arrive my old (literally) buddies were there ready to take off.  The group started running and three of us got ready for our own tour through the trails.  The quietness was disturbed by two loud voices coming up the street: Andy and Adam had decided to wait for us and run two loops on the 50K route.  Awesome: Cheap entertainment for the next three hours!

I’ve been feeling nauseous all week and today wasn’t an exception.

I’m not sure what’s going on exactly (…and NO, I’m NOT!), and I hoped I could make it through the hot and sticky 3-hour run without puking.  The five us us made our way laughing and joking through the first 7-miles before it got terribly hot, which helped me forget about my stomach.  It was Chip’s first run at Croom and he held up well.  Ilene is already (in Andy’s words) “Going all ultra on us” with her cool Injinji socks.  And neither of them fell…kudos!

We got back to the parking lot after an hour-and-a-half and refueled.  Chip bid us adieu and the four of us took off for another loop.  My longest run since IMS has been 10-miles and I knew adding another 6-miles would be a big leap, but I walked when I needed to…which was basically when Ilene led!  I couldn’t keep her pace so I fell off and walked.  But Adam joined me and Andy reeled in Ilene so we could keep moving together.  And since no one agreed to carry me back to the car, I had to keep going.

We made it back to the parking lot and I couldn’t wait to sit down and peel off my shoes.  My pinkie toe was sure to have a blister (and it did)…dang shoes!  We all cleaned up (not at the same time)…(well, Andy and Adam were at the shower together for quite some time…) and tried to find a shady place to plop.  I definitely didn’t feel well once I sat still, but I enjoyed chatting with everyone as they drank their beers and chatted about what’s Next.

I’m looking forward to a change in training, even though I’m slowly remembering some of the pain that ultras bring…

I’m a label reader and there is one thing I just can’t understand: The labels on food boxes (…and I won’t even get into why we shouldn’t be eating FOOD that comes in a BOX…) What I don’t get is that they (The FDA) bases the general population’s daily requirements on a 2000 or 2500 calorie diet.  “What’s so crazy about that,” you ask?

Let me give you an example: “A” is a 5’5″ woman, who weighs 131 pounds and is an endurance athlete.  Her Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR: how many calories your body uses on a daily basis to function properly, not including exercise) is a mere 1400 calories per day. So if “A” were to follow the FDA’s nutritional recommendations, “A” would be a blimp in a matter of few months!

“OK, but “A” exercises 6 days a week,” you say.  Fine.  But “A” burns an average of 500 calories per hour biking and 600 calories per hour running.  The average bike or run session is 1-2 hours.  Even  “A” can do the math here…500 x 2=1000 calories. So add 1400 + 1000 and “A” burned 2400 calories that day.  But wait…”A” ate while she biked to fuel her workout, so subtract 400 from 1000 and “A” really only burned 600 calories.  So now, 600 + 1400 = 2000 calories to maintain her weight according to the FDA.  If “A” wants to lose weight, she needs to subtract another 300-500 calories per day from that total…which brings her back down to an intake of 1500 calories per day.

If that confused you, here’s the point: People (women especially) would have to submit themselves to 2-3 (or more) hours of vigorous exercise daily in order to eat what the FDA recommends…and MAINTAIN their current weight.  BUT if that person wants to lose weight, they need to subtract another 300-500 calories per day, which is WAY below the FDA’s recommendations!

I read an article in TIME that kicked off this topic: “Why Exercise Won’t make You Thin.”  I like that fact the the author puts our bad eating habits on the table: Just because you worked out for 30 minutes doesn’t mean that you can afford to eat at Starbuck’s afterward.  But I don’t agree with the title of the article.  Exercise has more benefits than becoming thin: Activity gives way to camaraderie, it works as an anti-depressant and anti-aging agent, and it increases self-esteem.

So if you really want to lose weight, you need to know your RMR, and here’s a free but not necessarily accurate calculator: RMR Calculator.  Of course you can go have your RMR measured by a specialist (the best option) or do some crazy math (which is more accurate than the above calculator) to figure it out.  Either way, if you want to lose weight, you need to know your body’s needs first…then it’s a piece of cake