Shake, rattle and roll!

I've added a second race date to my running schedule!

Shake yo' groove thang Sunday, October 8th as I run the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in downtown San José. This event promises to be a revelous good time for runners and spectators alike as it will feature live bands playing all along the 13.1-mile course!

A whole gaggle of us San José Fitters will take part in the race. The R'N'R Half fits in perfectly with our training schedule as it'll take the place of our 14-mile run.

See you there!

Dropping weight, dropping cash

I was right about the water retention: I lost four pounds yesterday!

Yesterday Sports Basement had a 20% off special for all San José Fitters. This store has great prices on all kinds of sports gear (even for other sports like camping and hiking). So I took full advantage of the discount and bought myself a new pair of running shoes that I'll start breaking in next week. Plus I got a Garmin Forerunner 205, which I'd been eyeing for the past three months - I love high-tech toys! And I got it at a great price ... score!

Item	Retail	Sports Basement
Brooks Beast running shoes	$120	$90 – 20% = $72
Garmin Forerunner 205	$250	$230 – 20% = $184

On to 25K!

How well do you hold your water?

Wouldn't you know it? As soon as I did my detailed weight-loss analysis, I hit a plateau. This morning I reached 182.2. Not only was it a spike of nearly two pounds from Friday (more than my average delta of +0.5), but it was the first time since I started this diet program that my weight increased week-to-week. I suspect the culprit was dehydration as I felt parched most of the week and felt that I wasn't drinking enough water. This can slow down your fat metabolism and ironically increase your water-weight retention because your body is trying to stock up on reserves. This leads to dehydration because that reserve water is not being used for everyday cell function.

Usually before the Saturday run I drink plenty of water before I head out the door, then sip some more while driving to the high school. Because of this, I typically go to the bathroom just before the run, then again at about 1½ miles in. It's a rather short span between bathroom breaks, but assures me that my personal water tank is "topped off." Regardless of the length of the run, however, I won't usually need to go again. This tells me I'm properly filled up with water and that I'm using it up roughly as fast as I'm drinking it. This morning however, I had to go a third time - meaning that my body today had gotten unaccustomed to getting such an influx of fluids. On a good note, it also was a sign that my body was flushing out its water-weight reserves. We'll see if this holds true on the scale tomorrow morning.

Today was a "rest" distance of eight miles. Time was 1:29:36 (11:12 pace).

Burn baby burn!

This morning the scale read 179.4 pounds - I've broken the 180 mark!

As you may have noticed, I've been losing weight at a much faster pace than originally calculated. My goal was to lose 35 pounds by October 29th (21 weeks from June 4th) and at that pace I should've weighed 188.3 this morning. In other words, I'm a whopping 8.9 pounds ahead of pace, which means:

• 20.6 lb./49 days since June 4th = 0.42 lb./day
• 35 lb./0.42 = 83.25 days to reach my target weight of 165
• Anticipated target date = June 4th + 83 days = August 26th

So why am I losing so much more weight than originally calculated? First off, here are the numbers calculated by USA Eat Fit for today:

• Baseline daily budget: 1,586 calories
• Intake reduction to reach goal: 839 calories
• Basal metabolic rate: 1,586 + 839 = 2,425 calories

The basal metabolic rate is the rate calories are burned to sustain vital functions (heartbeat, breathing, etc.), and thus represents the amount of food needed to keep one's weight constant (no gain or loss). Several factors affect BMR: weight, height, age and activity level. Of these, BMR is most affected by level of activity because regular exercise increases muscle mass, and more muscle mass burns more energy even at rest.

The BMR calculated by USA Eat Fit is based on an activity-level setting of "more active." Unfortunately, Eat Fit's weight-loss calculator has only three settings for activity level: less active, normal and more active. Most "complete" BMR calculators such as this one have additional settings for "very active" and "extremely active."

So how many calories am I actually burning? We can calculate it thus:

• Pace weight: 188.3 lbs.
• Actual weight: 179.4 lbs.
• Amount ahead of pace: 188.3 - 179.4 = 8.9 lbs.
• Allowance not eaten yesterday: 369 cal
• Extra calories burned: 8.9 lbs. × 3,500 cal/lb. – 369 cal = 30,781 cal
• Additional calories per day: 30,781 cal/49 days = 628 cal/day
• Actual BMR: 2,425 + 628 = 3,053 cal/day

Clearly, my activity level is higher than "more active." To classify it properly, let's use the Harris-Benedict formula for BMR:

• BMR (male) = 66 cal + (weight × 6.23 cal/lb.) + (height × 12.7 cal/in.) – (age × 6.8 cal/yr.)
• BMR (Tony) = 66 + (179.4 × 6.23) + (70 × 12.7) – (34.2 × 6.8) = 1,840 cal/day

This number represents BMR for a person at rest (no activity whatsoever, not even getting out of bed). Multiply this by adjustment factors for activity level:

BMR Adjustment Factors
Activity Level	Description	Adj. Factor	Adj. BMR (cal/day)
Sedentary	Little or no exercise	1.2	2,208
Lightly active	Light exercise/sports 1-3 days a week	1.375	2,530
Moderately active	Moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week	1.55	2,852
Very active	Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week	1.725	3,174
Extremely active	Very hard exercise + physical job or 2x/day	1.9	3,496

It's no surprise that my BMR falls nicely in the high end of the range between moderately and very active. USA Eat Fit's "more active" estimate of 2,425 equates to just under lightly active on this scale. It's obviously a very conservative number.

Now given this mountain of data, what should I do? Should I add 628 calories per day to my diet to ensure I fuel my runs and satisfy my appetite sufficiently? Or do I plow forward the way I've been going to ensure I reach my target weight?

So far I've been able to fuel my runs well enough with my current plan, so I'm going to opt for the conservative route. It would certainly be great to reach 165 pounds by August 26th. Besides, running my 30K distance on August 19th somewhere under 170 would mean two less bowling balls stressing my knees over 18.6 miles. How good would that be?

Third milestone: TWENTY KILOMETERS!

In reverence to today's "kilometerstone," this post has been metricated.

It was rough going today but I hit the 20K mark! Man it was hot! When I got to the high school at 7:10 this morning, the temperature was already 25°C (77°F). As planned, I decided to try running the entire distance without stopping - big mistake, especially in this weather. My 5/1's (5 minutes run, 1 minute walk) started becoming 4/2's at about kilometer 15.5 (mile 9.5). As you may recall, I decided to try running non-stop because I felt my muscles were tightening up when I started back running again. Today, I realized muscle tightness is preferable to muscle depletion: working muscles loosen, but they don't re-energize.

It looks like 13-14.5 km (8-9 miles) is about as far as I can run before having to rest, so this will be my M.O. going forward as I fine-tune my routine. I also realized the trail isn't as shady as I thought, and all my drinks got warm; next week, I'm going to freeze them the night before. Time: 2:22:23. Pace: 7:07/km (11:27/mi.).

I finally got my electrolyte pills today. I took some as soon as I bought them and they helped my light-headedness. My skin felt gritty and dusty later on and I discovered that it was the salt my sweat left behind after it evaporated! I'll have plenty of electrolyte pills with me on next week's 13K'er (eight-miler) to be sure.

As for the rest of today, I'm content to spend it with the A/C blasting at 22°C (72°F).

Thanks for all your comments!

Two days ago, I published my blog to the world as an RSS feed. Since then, I've gotten lots of visitors and plenty of encouraging comments. Thanks to everyone who's been stopping by and writing me a message; it keeps me motivated! I'm definitely going to need it tomorrow. On that note, I told my fellow runners the other day:

"Don't think of it as twenty kilometers - think of it as a 24-ounce porterhouse!"



Wish me luck!

The power of moderation: 183 pounds

This morning the scale read 182.8 - I've been under 185 for four straight days!

Here's proof that you can enjoy indulgent, heavy foods as long as you plan for them and eat them in moderation. (For psychological reasons, I avoid the term "cheat meal.") In fact, you probably even need those meals to keep your metabolism in full gear. It's all a matter of planning and staying aware of what you're eating.

Splurges This Week
Date/Meal	Foods Eaten	Calories
7/09 brunch	General Tso's chicken over white rice with wonton soup and fortune cookie	1,334
7/09 dinner	British banger sausage on French roll with fries	1,151
7/11 lunch	San José Giants company outing: turkey burger with cheese (plenty of condiments but no mayo), chicken-apple sausage, mixed fruit cup, two 20-ounce beers	1,259
7/15 lunch	Cheeseburger with condiments (no mayo), Pringles fat-free sour cream and onion (3 oz.)	673
7/15 dinner	Pot roast, mashed potatoes with gravy, Caesar side salad with croutons	901

Yesterday's run was an easy-going 8 miles. I ran the distance with Emily, one of our more svelte runners whom you'd think from looking at her that she was a cross-country star in her previous life. (Sorry guys, she's taken.) But just like me, her personal record is also 11 miles, set last week. She and I helped each other push our limits toward the end as we finished in a scant 1:25:28 (10:41 pace). The next big milestone is next week: on to 20 kilometers!

Weight-loss trends by the numbers

An interesting look at how my weight loss correlates to exercise:

Average Daily Weight Change
Sunday	+0.4
Monday	-1.0	Intraweek run #1 (mid-length)
Tuesday	0.0
Wednesday	-1.0	Intraweek run #2 (longest)
Thursday	-0.4	Intraweek run #3 (shortest)
Friday	+0.4	Carb-loading day
Saturday	-1.2	Long-distance run

"These go to eleven"

I made sure not to be overly afraid of eating on Friday so I could front-load on carbs. It caused my weight to zigzag over the weekend between 186 and 188. I expected it, though, and I'm confident the weight will come back off in a few days as I realign my calorie intake with my dieting goals.

The extra food helped immensely as we did our eleven-mile run on Saturday. My time was 2:06:16 (11:29 pace), including rest stops. It was really hard to stop and start again, so next week I might keep going regardless of what the rest of the group does. Deanna fell down today and got some leg scrapes after the dogs pulled her a little too fast down a hill, but she continued on ... inspiration for everyone else! Before I realized it we'd already gotten to 9 miles without much difficulty. I maxed out the capacity of my hydration belt to 58 ounces of fluid and it turns out I didn't need it all. I did have some problems, though. First off, I experienced some tingling sensation in my extremies at the end of the run, which was a sign that I was in danger of suffering hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels). Accelerade was insufficient to offset my sodium loss, so I'll be looking into electrolyte pills in the near future. Deanna and another runner (I should've remembered his name - Paul?) recommended eating salty meals both before and after each Saturday distance run. I've also been experiencing some inflammation lately. Last Monday, my right shoelaces started pinching the top of my foot. I was clueless as to why and kept trying to loosen and retie my shoe without much help. On Wednesday I strained the back of my right knee a little bit because the pinching was affecting my gait.

On a hunch I decided to feel the upper part of my right foot and compare it with my left. Sure enough, the top of the right foot was ever so slightly inflamed. I somehow strained the foot-flexing muscle in front of my ankle (the extensor digitorum longus?) but it wasn't even painful or sore. I was a little upset when I discovered the problem because I couldn't for the life of me figure out when I might've injured it.

In any case, the inflammation on my foot is slowly going away, but the outside of my back knee is still a little strained (the oblique popliteal ligament?). It doesn't feel painful when I'm walking or jogging about, but it's enough that I can't croutch all the way down on my right knee. I'm going to have to slow down a little bit as my knee recovers. Also, in a bit of a rush I'd been skimping on some of my stretches, so I'll have to make sure to plan extra time accordingly.

On a good note, my patellofemural syndrome is almost gone. It's at the point where I could probably dance a few songs or run short distances without my knee brace, but I still wear it so that I don't risk re-injury – and of course because of the swelling on the back of my knee. Thank goodness we only have eight miles to run this Saturday.

Diet survives its first holiday weekend

Friday, June 30:.		189.6 lbs.
Wednesday, July 5:.		188.2 lbs.

Hooray!

A disappointing night

Well, here I am visiting my relatives in Granite Bay. I just drove down to MoMo Lounge in Sacramento for salsa night and it turns out they're closed for two Sundays in a row. Nothing about it on their website. In fact, the main page for Harlow's restaurant lists Sunday-night salsa for July 2nd on its calendar. Even though Harlow's is closed, the calendar clearly says that MoMo Lounge is open. Time to hire a new webmaster!

Wasting $7 in gas wasn't so bad as the fact that I've now got an extra 600 calories in my body that I wasn't planning on having around. Thanks a lot, Harlow's!

How low can you go, how high can you get?

After fluctuating between 190 and 191 the first half of the week, I finally make a solid break through the 190 barrier on Thursday. I've now made it four days in a row below 190, and this morning I managed to hit 188.8.

It was a bit of a relief as I was in danger of plateauing the week before. Between June 18th (Sunday) and 28th (Wednesday) I'd only gone down from 191.8 to 191.0, plus during that time I had gone up as high as 193.4. I searched the web and read that a cheat meal might help break through my weight-loss plateau by kick-starting my metabolism. I'd heard about this, but when I looked through my food journal it looked like I was having plenty of cheat meals yet still managing to stay within my calorie budget. Examples:

• June 19 - McDonald's steak, egg and cheese bagel
• June 22 - Mountain Mike's pizza lunch buffet
• June 23 - Cardinal fettucine alfredo (That's pasta served at the Cardinal coffee shop, not pasta with cardinal meat!)

Maybe I was having too many. But I decided to give it a try anyway. So Thursday, after making extra sure I had enough in my calorie budget for it, I ate that most satiating of all cheat meals, the In-N-Out Burger #1 meal (double cheeseburger and fries), a whopping 1,070 calories! Boy, did it feel good to eat In-N-Out again. But would it really make a difference ... and more importantly, in which direction?

Well, it seemed to work, as I ending up losing one entire pound between Thursday and this morning. So what was different this time from all those other cheat meals? Take another look:

• June 19 - 1,361 calories under budget (before McD steak bagel)
• June 22 - 660 calories under budget (before MM pizza buffet)
• June 23 - 1,414 calories under budget (before fettucine alfredo)
• June 29 - 383 calories under budget (before INO #1 meal)

(Yes, I know what you're thinking: "You, Tony, starving yourself of 1,400 calories?")

My slow weight loss June 18-28 seemed not to be so much from the cheat meals but from the fact that I was managing to completely starve myself over that time. There were plenty of times I was afraid to eat too much, especially after the cheat meals - note after the pizza buffet how I still ended up starving myself of another 754 calories. It must've really screwed up my metabolism and shut it down. So I guess the lesson here is: don't be afraid to eat!

As for yesterday's run, it was a little rough as I didn't eat enough carbs on Friday and Saturday morning. Enough said. Next week's run will be better. It has to be - it'll be 11 miles!