Lisa Sabin’s - Running And Being

I can’t wait to watch the Olympics tonight. I will watch just about any Olympic sport, however I have a certain fondess for track and field. I thought about the Olympians today as I was struggling through my run on the treadmill. I debated whether to quit at 4 miles or run 5.

I watched television coverage on the TVs at the gym. I had my running mix on my ipod and just when I wanted to quit, Madonna’s song “Die Another Day” came on. The song is 8:35 minutes long, so it got me through the last mile. I’m glad I did it. My 10K is coming up in 4 weeks. I’ve been in active recovery since the Boston Marathon in April. Now is time to get in gear and crank it up!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/08/2008
• Time: 04:30:00
• Total Time: 00:39:30.00
• Average Heart rate: 158
• Max Heart rate: 174
• Calories: 330
• Distance: 5 miles
• Average Pace: 7:54.31/mile

Body image is a strange thing. We are constantly bombarded with unrealistic expectations about the way we should look. Celebrities swing back and forth for movie rolls. They range from the chubby “Bridget Jones” character to nearly anorexic “Roxy Hart” character in the movie Chicago. Every week there are more pictures of skinny celebrities in the tabloids.

We start to question ourselves. What is healthy? What does it mean to be fit? There is BMI, which takes height and weight into consideration. Body mass Index is calculated by kg/m2. BMI is but one measure of fitness. It doesn’t take body composition into consideration. It falls short in giving us the total picture of fitness. For example: a football player who is very muscular may fall into the overweight category, but they are actually fit. Muscle weighs more than fat, so a more muscular person would appear to be overweight using only the BMI calculation to determine if their weight is healthy.

BMI
Below 18.5 - Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 - Normal
25.0 - 29.9 - Overweight
30.0 and Above - Obese

Insurance charts have recommendations based on small, medium and large frames. These charts measure height, including 1″ heels for both men and women. These charts don’t take body composition into consideration. However, they do take anthroprometric measurements to determine small, medium or large bone structure. Height/Weight Chart.

Body composition (particularly body fat percentage) can be measured in several ways. The most common method is by using a set of measurement calipers to measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat in multiple places on the body. This includes the abdominal area, the subscapular region, arms, buttocks and thighs. These measurements are then used to estimate total body fat with a margin of error of approximately four percentage points.

Another method is bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), which uses the resistance of electrical flow through the body to estimate body fat.
A more accurate but less convenient method is using a large tank of water to measure body buoyancy. Increased body fat will result in greater buoyancy, while greater muscle mass will result in a tendency to sink.

A technique for measuring body composition has been developed using the same principles as under water weighing. The technique uses air, as opposed to water, and is known as air displacement plethysmography (ADP). Subjects enter a sealed chamber that measures their body volume through the displacement of air in the chamber. Body volume is combined with body weight (mass) in order to determine body density. The technique then estimates the percentage of body fat and lean body mass (LBM) through known equations (for the density of fat and fat free mass).

Body Composition is also estimated using cross-sectional imaging methods like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). Since MRI and CT give the most precise body composition measures to-date, many pharmaceutical companies are very interested in this new procedure to estimate body composition measures before and after drug therapy especially in drugs that might change body composition. Image Reading Center at the New York obesity research center in Manhattan is the only expert facility that utilizes DEXA, MRI and CT in Body Composition estimation for large research studies and pharmaceutical clinical trials.

Body Composition Norms

Recommended For Health
Men - 15 - 20 %
Women - 20 - 25%

Elite Level Runners
Men - 5 - 8%
Women - 10 - 15%

Minimum
Men - 5%
Women 8 - 12 %

Most runners, cyclists and triathletes are interested in being faster. They want to know if losing weight will help their performance. The answer is almost always yes, up to a certain point. There’s no denying that healthy runners will race about two seconds per mile faster for every pound they lose. However, women who lose too much bodyfat can become amenorrhoeic. This means that they stop menstuating regularly. Along with the cessation of menstruation, comes a reduction in estrogen, which goes hand in hand with loss of bone density.

Comparing yourself to a standard may not be the best way to determine the right weight for you. You can look at the height/weight chart and see where you fall. You can take the BMI test to determine your fitness profile. I recommend a body composition test, then tracking your performance. The lowest bodyfat doesn’t always determine the best performance. You may find a healthy range where you perform your best. You may find that you perform best between 125-130lbs. There may not be a significant improvement in performance if you dropped to 122lbs. However, if you are very competitive, 1-2% may have you win your age group. Tracking your performance and your weight over time will give you an idea of what works best for you. Forget about the tabloids, the insurance charts, even body composition charts. Find what works for you. Where are you comfortable? What weight/body composition yields the performance you seek? When do you feel comfortable in your clothes? This is your healthy weight.
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http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/nutrition/profile-intro.html
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304–11903-0,00.html

I’ve got one more week of hard training before I begin to taper for the Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon.  The Half Marathon will be a good test before continuing on to train for the Boston Marathon.  My goal for the half is to have a good run, continue to stay injury-free.  I am also training a group to run this race with me.  12 of us are going down to run in December.  It will be the first half marathon for 3 of the runners in the group.  Brad is training for the marathon, hoping to qualify for Boston, and to beat Phil, who is walking the half marathon.  Brad needs to run 3:15.59, which is a 7:29 pace for 26.2 miles!  Phil will need to walk the half marathon faster than 15 minute pace to beat Brad’s time.   Walking that fast is hard.  It’s very exciting!

Our dentist’s office is right by Greenlake.  My son had an appointment today that was supposed to take 1.5 hours.  I brought my running gear with me so I could get in a run instead of hanging out in the waiting room.

I decided to do an interval/tempo run today.  I started out with an 8 minute warm up and then did some quick striders.  I picked up the pace progressively with each one.  I did 4 striders at 5K pace.  I settled in to an easy pace for 2 minutes and then ran my first tempo interval.  My goal was to run a steady pace at Rate of Perceived Exertion (R.P.E.) of 8 for 4 minutes.  I cooled down for 2 minutes and then did another tempo interval of 6 minutes, followed by a 2 minute cool down.  The last tempo interval was 8 minutes.  This took me through a nice 4 mile workout.

I like doing this workout with the GPS, because I can look down and see how fast I am running at any given moment.  I can also add on distance to get in the mileage I want. 

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/13/2007
• Time: 10:00:00
• Total Time: 00:32:19.00
• Average Heart rate: 158
• Max Heart rate: 170
• Calories: 350
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 8:04.52/mile

Why Should I Track My Workouts?

Motivation- People are motivated to work out by keeping track of their work outs.  Tracking allows you to look back and see what you have accomplished.  When you see what you have done, it motivates you towards your next goal.

Watching your stats grow can be very motivating.  Seeing how many minutes or miles you’ve put in is exciting.  You see the results, not in just how you feel, but on paper.  This makes your success more tangible.

Attention To Detail-Paying attention to what you are doing brings focus.  Do you want to get stronger?  Do you want to get faster? Do you want to eat better?  Be healthier?  The first step to making changes is to know what you are currently doing.  Once you see what you are doing, you can determine what you would like to do to and make the necessary changes.  When you track what you are doing goals are more easily realized.

Organization/Planning-Pick an event to train for, or a fitness goal.  Develop a clear idea of what it takes to get there.  Plan the work outs.  Measure what you actually do against what the plan says you should do.  For example: I want to run the Seattle Half Marathon.  In order to run the race I will need to be able to run 13.1 miles on the day of the race.  I can find a training plan in the Sweat365 library, copy it and save it.  I can plan what I need to do each day over the course of the next few months to achieve my goal.   It’s a lot easier to produce the desired outcome, when you pay attention to the details.  Listening to your body is important.  Training plans are not written in stone, sometimes you need to evaluate how you are feeling and make adjustments in your training plan.  Again, keeping a record of what you are doing and when you deviate from your original plan and why is beneficial for future training.

Record of what’s been done-Logging your workouts establishes a history of what you have done.  Noting how you are feeling, what your heart rate was, etc.  Recording this information in detail will help you know how your body responds to training.  Have you had any injuries?  What lead up to getting injured?  Can you see any patterns?  Am I training enough to achieve the goal?  Am I over-training?  What worked for me?  What didn’t work for me?  What could I have done differently?  What will I do next time?

I have been keeping a training log since 1994, when I began training for my first marathon.  The log has been invaluable to me.  I frequently refer to what I have done in the past.  I have kept records of my fastest races, my fastest training runs, as well as my bad training days.  When I began training for my first triathlon in 2000, I began logging cycling and swimming too.  I log my strength training work outs and yoga as well.  I have kept a log of injuries.  I can look back and see what has been successful for me.  I can also see where things went wrong.  I can use the information to develop a strategy that continues to challenge me and help me move forward in my fitness.

I took 4 days off training when we went on our motorcycle trip last weekend.  It was a lot of fun.  I ate, drank and hung out.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  We went to Lake Quinalt on the way back and stayed at the resort.  It was so peaceful.  We took a boat tour and saw the house where Rebecca Wells wrote Divine Secrets of Ya Ya Sisterhood. 

This week I have hit the exercise hard.  I’ve also hit the pavement or it has hit me.  I stepped on a stick when I was running on Tuesday.  It popped up and gauged my leg.  Wednesday I did a swim/bike brick that kicked my butt.  Thursday I went down on the bike and crashed.  I am still discovering bruises!  I am a wreck!  The worst part is the abrassion I have on my left shoulder that hurts every time I change clothes.  I am thankful that I wasn’t seriously hurt.  

I am realizing how thankful I really am.  Yesterday in my Seminar on Holistic Training, we talked about how our experiences stay with us, in our bodies.  We hold onto hurts and fears that keep us from enjoying life fully.  You see it in posture and in the way people move.  Sometimes there is a physical injury that results in compensation.  Sometimes it’s not caring for yourself.  Self love and acceptance is the first step to really caring about other people.  We did some diaphragmatic breathing exercises, similar to ones that I’ve done in yoga class.

Today I did yoga and felt much more connection and integration with my body.  Some of the movement patterns revealed a lack of integration with the upper and lower body for me yesterday.  Today I feel strong and centered.  I am grateful.

Workout:

• Type: Flexibility
• Date: 08/05/2007
• Time: 08:00:00
• Total Time: 1:30:00.00
• Average Heart rate: 98
• Max Heart rate: 136
• Calories: 275

When I was doing yoga a though occurred to me.  Heart zones are sports specific, and I have different zones for cycling vs running or swimming.  I wonder what my zones for yoga would be. 

My max HR for cycling is about 190 and running is closer to 200.  I’ll bet hot yoga would be more like a 170 max.  I’m going to try resetting my zones for yoga to see how many calories I burn.  They claim that you can burn 400-600 calories in a class, but I am always burning way less than that, even though it’s intense. 

I know that the EPOC (afterburn) keeps my metabolism elevated for quite some time after a class.  It takes a while to return to homeostasis (normal resting level) after working in the heat.

Hmmmm….

Workout:

• Type: Flexibility
• Date: 07/19/2007
• Time: 09:30:00
• Total Time: 00:01:30.00
• Average Heart rate: 104
• Max Heart rate: 151
• Calories: 275

It would really help if I made swimming part of my routine.  I only hit the pool when it starts getting close to triathlon season.  Maybe this is why I only do the sprint distance, because I never really build endurance in the water. 

Today I went to the pool with the intension of swimming 1/2 mile.  I slide into the cool water, put on my goggles and begin my first lap.  Unfortunately, I brought some leaky goggles.  I kept having to adjust them and I still had a bit of water coming in. 

I’m almost half way through my work out when this young woman in a orange speedo asks to share a lane with me.  “Do you want to circle swim or split the lane”?  She asks.  “Uhh,  let’s split it,” I answer.  It’s a good thing too because she was executing flip turns with ease and beating my by half a pool length.

Oh well, my goal is for swimming to become natural.  I don’t want to push the pace.  It feels better every time I get in the pool.  I should start swimming in the lake next week to get used to my wetsuit again.  Last year I discovered that Meydenbauer Park, in Bellevue has a really nice swimming area blocked off.

Meydenbauer Park maps.google.com

Workout:

• Type: Swim
• Date: 06/25/2007
• Time: 11:00:00
• Total Time: 00:20:00.00

Phil mentioned that we should get fitness balls to use as office chairs. They work your core. It fits in with our Sweat365 motto of having fun at work. I don’t think I can handle “multitasking” the way Jeff does. Bouncing on the ball could be fun though.

How can it be that I only burned 145 calories, swimming an hour?
That was hard work! 

Workout:

• Type: Swim
• Date: 06/08/2007
• Time: 09:00:00
• Total Time: 00:35:59.00
• Average Heart rate: 118
• Max Heart rate: 133
• Calories: 145
• Distance: 1,760 yd
• Average Pace: 2:02.48/100yd

Zappoman has some written a 3 part article about a swimming technique called total immersion. The author of the book, Terry Laughlin breaks down swimming for triathletes. It’s all about getting comfortable in the water. Some of the old habits I have from swimming the “Lisa Sabin” way have resulted in slow swim times, hurt bicep tendon and frustration. I am really first and foremost a runner. The only time I swim is if I am injured or gearing up for a sprint distance triathlon.

Now I find that I am eager to try using the total immersion technique. I have 2 more weeks to stay off running. I have been doing a lot of cycling, hot yoga, and strength training. Lots of triathletes claim that swimming stretches out your body and keeps it in balance, when you breathe bilaterally. My podiatrist recommends swimming because it’s not impactful, yet you still are working on range of motion.

Well…I’m off to the pool!