Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Winter is Relative
Mark reminded me in a comment to my last post that we really don’t have cold winters where I live in Germany.
I was born and raised in Upstate New York, near Utica. Our winters there were usually cold and were almost always accompanied by blowing and drifting snow from moderate to heavy wind. This area receives “lake effect snow” from Lake Ontario. Utica receives moderately heavy snowfall with an annual average just over 100 inches. The lowest recorded temperature -34F (-37C) degrees occurred on February 9, 1934. The coldest temperature that I remember was -26F (-32C) degrees which occurred in 1979 (I remember this because my car battery FROZE).
Now I live in one of the warmest parts of Germany (near Karlsruhe) where the coldest recorded temperature was -25C (-13F). The coldest temperature that I have experienced here in the last 15 years I believe was -15C (+5F). My German wife said it used to get a lot colder when she was a kid, so I guess I’ve been lucky.
So I can almost hear Mark up there in Canada snickering when I’m whining about how cold it is and it isn’t even below freezing yet. He probably still running around in his shorts and T-shirt!
Just call me a New Yorker gone soft. But all you northern USA and Canadian folks are more than welcome to come and run with me any time your toes get cold, don’t forget to bring your shorts and T-shirt, but I’ll keep my parka thank you ;-) Better yet we can all go run with David in Florida!!
Diet
Yesterday I lost the pound that I put on over the weekend, so I’m back down to 165. This week’s eating will closely resemble what I ate yesterday (see post).
Now most of you who have trained for a longer race AND have tried to lose weight know how hard this is. Our bodies demand a higher caloric intake to provide energy for all that running and cross-training. For the next 4 months or so I am going to take a serious look at the quantity and quality of food intake in the hopes of finding the ideal diet that will allow me to meet my weight goal while still providing enough energy to meet my training requirements. I should also add, without sacrificing my health.
In any case I know I need to increase caloric intake, particularly in the form of carbohydrates, at least the two days prior to and at least one day following a long run. I think it is also important that I spread my caloric intake over 5 smaller meals rather than 3 large. The biggest factor will be watching what I stuff into my mouth. The calories need to come from food of high nutritional value, not empty calories. So all those Christmas cakes, candies, chocolate, rich sauces, alcohol and anything else that tastes good are not on the list.
Running & Exercise
I am feeling really great this morning, the run last night seemed to be just the right speed, no aches and pains this morning. Tonight I want to go to the swimming pool on my way home and crank out about 1000 meters in laps (breast stroke).
I was born and raised in Upstate New York, near Utica. Our winters there were usually cold and were almost always accompanied by blowing and drifting snow from moderate to heavy wind. This area receives “lake effect snow” from Lake Ontario. Utica receives moderately heavy snowfall with an annual average just over 100 inches. The lowest recorded temperature -34F (-37C) degrees occurred on February 9, 1934. The coldest temperature that I remember was -26F (-32C) degrees which occurred in 1979 (I remember this because my car battery FROZE).
Now I live in one of the warmest parts of Germany (near Karlsruhe) where the coldest recorded temperature was -25C (-13F). The coldest temperature that I have experienced here in the last 15 years I believe was -15C (+5F). My German wife said it used to get a lot colder when she was a kid, so I guess I’ve been lucky.
So I can almost hear Mark up there in Canada snickering when I’m whining about how cold it is and it isn’t even below freezing yet. He probably still running around in his shorts and T-shirt!
Just call me a New Yorker gone soft. But all you northern USA and Canadian folks are more than welcome to come and run with me any time your toes get cold, don’t forget to bring your shorts and T-shirt, but I’ll keep my parka thank you ;-) Better yet we can all go run with David in Florida!!
Diet
Yesterday I lost the pound that I put on over the weekend, so I’m back down to 165. This week’s eating will closely resemble what I ate yesterday (see post).
Now most of you who have trained for a longer race AND have tried to lose weight know how hard this is. Our bodies demand a higher caloric intake to provide energy for all that running and cross-training. For the next 4 months or so I am going to take a serious look at the quantity and quality of food intake in the hopes of finding the ideal diet that will allow me to meet my weight goal while still providing enough energy to meet my training requirements. I should also add, without sacrificing my health.
In any case I know I need to increase caloric intake, particularly in the form of carbohydrates, at least the two days prior to and at least one day following a long run. I think it is also important that I spread my caloric intake over 5 smaller meals rather than 3 large. The biggest factor will be watching what I stuff into my mouth. The calories need to come from food of high nutritional value, not empty calories. So all those Christmas cakes, candies, chocolate, rich sauces, alcohol and anything else that tastes good are not on the list.
Running & Exercise
I am feeling really great this morning, the run last night seemed to be just the right speed, no aches and pains this morning. Tonight I want to go to the swimming pool on my way home and crank out about 1000 meters in laps (breast stroke).
# posted by Jack : 7:48 AM
Comments:
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The biggest factor will be watching what I stuff into my mouth.
Amen to this, brother.
Granted, not worrying about what I stuff into my mouth is my biggest motivator in run/bike/swim. But, wanting to drop pounds, this needs to be at the front of my mind.
Amen to this, brother.
Granted, not worrying about what I stuff into my mouth is my biggest motivator in run/bike/swim. But, wanting to drop pounds, this needs to be at the front of my mind.
I was able to lose 10 lbs by doing We!ght W@tchers while training for the 1/2 marathon. On the days I would run, I would definately add in more po!nts to compensate. After the race, it all got forgotten :( I don't know how much calorie cutting it would be reasonable to do while training for the marathon but I sure would like to drop another 10.
As for CNY weather, you probably heard we had a "mild" winter last year so the consensus is that the cosmic forces will have to balance things out this year out with a heller!
As for CNY weather, you probably heard we had a "mild" winter last year so the consensus is that the cosmic forces will have to balance things out this year out with a heller!
Well, if I was able to run, I'd be running in my short and short-sleeves and snickering at ya! ;)
Just enjoy, Jack. Enjoy the running. :)
Just enjoy, Jack. Enjoy the running. :)
When I read what everyone else has to run in, I tell myself to just suck it up and go outside in my cold, windy 58F weather. Thanks for the motivation!
Seriously, I moved my planned morning run tomorrow to this evening because the forecast calls for 31F when I wake up - and that's got to be cold for most people!
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Seriously, I moved my planned morning run tomorrow to this evening because the forecast calls for 31F when I wake up - and that's got to be cold for most people!
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