Happy Halloween!

On my way to work I pass about three different schools. Since I walked into work this morning (instead of cycling) I got a chance to see lots of kids in their costumes. Last year we didn't give away candy, but this year we are going back to it. It is kind of a pain with our apartment - we access our place by the front door, but live on the second and third floor of the house. The front door is a foyer that is about 5 feet wide where we keep our shoes, two bikes, our outerwear and the litterbox. So if we are going to give out candy, and we don't want to have to keep running up and down the stairs, you really have to just sit in that little foyer. I am hoping it will stay warm enough to sit on the front porch instead.

Since the half marathon I wanted to run filled up so quickly, I think I am going to try a 10 mile race in Ajax instead. I have never run a 10 mile race before so it will be a new experience and since it is my first time I am guaranteed a personal best time! I figured a 10 mile race is close enough to a half marathon that I won't feel like I wasted the training.

If you are looking for an endurance racing eating protocol, I saw this posted online the other day:

The issue isn't how many calories you burn, but how many you can digest and absorb. You will start the race with fuel stored in your muscles, liver, and bloodstream. You can't possibly replace the fuel as quickly as you use it (without an IV), but you start with a cushion of stored fuel. Below are my recommendations. More can be found in my book The Triathletes Guide to Run Training, available at www.Fitness-Concepts.com
Good luck, Ken

Race Day Breakfast
• Consume 10-12 calories per pound of bodyweight 4 to 5 hours prior to the start.
• Prioritize low glycemic index carbohydrates.
• Minimize fiber at this meal.
• Include about 1 gram of protein per 10 pounds of bodyweight.
• Choose foods that digest easily and do not cause gastric distress.

Pre-Race
• Eat regularly, but lightly, 100-200 calories per hour between breakfast and the race start. Emphasize low glycemic index foods with very little protein. Stay with liquid or very easily digestible foods.
• Drink a bottle of sports drink in the last hour before the race start.
• Drink a mixture that includes sodium between breakfast and the race. If you drink plain water, make sure to have a sodium source with it.

Bike
• Consume 2 calories per pound of bodyweight per hour throughout the bike segment.
• Carry all of the fuel you require, depending on aid stations only for water. It is fine to use fuel from the aid stations, but have enough with you that you don’t require fuel from any other source.
• Use solid food as little as possible throughout the race, especially during the last hour of the bike and during the run.
• Consume 1 ounce of water per 7 pounds of bodyweight per hour. Mixed drinks count as water.• Consume about 600 mg of sodium (1 gram of salt) per 150 pounds per hour on the bike and run. Getting too much salt is not a problem unless carried to excess. Remember to include sodium from all sources.
• Some athletes find that their minds wander, causing missed feedings. many are successful setting a watch to beep every 15 minutes as a reminder.

Run
• Consume at least 1.5 calories per pound of bodyweight per hour, using almost entirely carbohydrate.
• Use only plain water, not a sports drink, when consuming gels.
• Consume as much water as you can up to 1 ounce per hour per 7 pounds of bodyweight.


If you are really savvy you can put all of these great suggestions into a spreadsheet and do the calculations for your bodyweight. Then it is just a matter of figuring out which foods (and combinations of food) fit the bill and testing it out in training sessions.

Racing Bad News, Knitting Good News

Well, the bad news is that apparently the race in Markham was MUCH more of a hit than they expected. When I went to register this week the online registration tool told me that they had closed registration early due to overwhelming response. This is their first year running this half marathon and 10K and so I am glad that it is going to be so well attended. And while I am disappointed that I will not be able to race I am also really happy to see race directors willing to close their registration rather than try to make some extra money cramming too many people onto a race course. This guarantees that the people that did manage to register will have the best possible race experience. So I'm hunting around for some other fall running possibilities since no one really likes to waste their training!

My knitting projects are clipping along. I spend my free time during the week working on the poncho (it requires zero concentration since it is just straight garter stitch with no increase or decrease) and the weekends working on finishing up the shrug. I just might get it finished (or very close!) this weekend. The poncho is looking good. The yarn is a nice brown with some flecks of berry and turquoise. It is very light (since it is acrylic) but seems really warm. After this I hope to move onto a funnel neck sleeveless number that I have had my eye on.

I am also having my first 'dinner party' this evening. I am not a very social person. I socialize at work, but once I am home I am a bit of a hermit. So I'm trying to change that a bit. So I am having a two friends over for dinner. I'm making some sweet potato biscuits and roasted veggies to start. The main course will be sweet potato black bean burritos. It's a prepare-for-winter kind of thing with all the starch :)

Five Weeks Running...

I think it has been five weeks now that I have managed to be at pilates class at 7:30 on Wednesday morning. Five weeks. I enjoy the class, the instructor is very gentle and her classes have a nice flow to them. Plus, since it finishes at 8:15, and I don't start work until 9:30 it means plenty of time to sit in the steam room.

Ran with my running group last night. Hard to believe that it is now dark when we finish. We are certainly entering into the dark days of winter. I purchased a new pair of Adidas running tights yesterday on my lunch hour and ran in them last night. They are capri style and come just below my knee. It was about 12 degrees when I went out last night and they were toasty. So even though they are thin, I imagine they will be good in colder weather as well. I still need a new pair of full length tights, but I will wait a bit before I buy those. I am always shocked that I have no problem spending $75 on a pair of running tights, but I would never dream of spending that kind of money on a regular pair of pants.

Tonight I am working on having more of a social life and am going to see Goodness with an ex-coworker. The author of the play wrote a novel a few years ago that we both loved. So I am hoping that this will be just as good.

A day off...

Monday is usually a day off for me (from training, not from work). So to stretch my legs a little bit and for a change of pace I often walk to work. On the walk home I dropped into the Knit Cafe and asked some quick questions about the glorious Fiesta Poncho. And so I learned something new yesterday... Even though the yarn gauge/weight suggested for the pattern calls for smaller than 12mm needles, it is the larger needles that give it the drape (like a scarf). So I picked up some 12mm needles and started in on the poncho last night using this:

http://www.bernat.com/product.php?LGC=solo

I chose the Earth colour. It is quite soft and has a little bit of kind of a brushed feel. The 12mm needles make me feel like a toddler learning to eat with a fork and spoon for the first time. You just can't hold them the same way as "normal" needles. So I am going to have to split my time between finishing the shrug and working on the poncho.

Meeting my running group this evening for about 9K. It is cooling down quite a bit now and I think that I will need to spend my lunch hour today trying to hunt down a pair of 3/4 length running tights to get me through the fall. I have my eye on a pair of REALLY nice and REALLY expensive full length tights, but I would like to get out to the store in Markham and try them on, rather than take a chance on an internet order. So I will wait until I hear from them about what they have in stock. Then I will have to convince myself to drop that kind of cash on a pair of running tights........

Monday, Monday...

Looks like fall is really setting in.

During yesterday's run it was about 10 degrees and the winds were gusting at about 55 kilometers per hour. Staying in the city meant the wind was often broken by the buildings. I went mostly west so the wind from the north was definitely dampened by the houses. I ran an easy 5K to warm up, then the next 5K I picked up the pace a little bit. At the 10K mark I did 4K at race pace and then cooled down. The batteries in my GPS died at about the 14K mark, so I really am not sure that I covered the whole 16K, but I was out for 1:30 which is good enough for me. Note to self, always charge batteries the day before the long run. Next week is a 20K long run which I just might do on my birthday!

I finished the shrug, but it was too small! But like a good knitter, I just ripped it out (about half way) and picked up again. This time, I measured the bell sleeve part and made a little diagram to figure out how long I need to knit before starting in on the bell sleeve part on the other side. So hopefully the second time is a charm. I also picked up the poncho pattern from The Knit Cafe. Really simple pattern, but I am little confused about the gauge. It says 12 stitches per inch, but knit on 12mm needles. But the yarn they recommend for the project does not take 12mm needles. So I am not sure if they are using such large needles for effect, or what. I am going to give them a call today and ask.

Gale force winds...

On my speedy bike ride home last night (aided by a strong East wind) I decided it was way too windy to get in a decent run. So I made the decision to ditch it (or at least move it). So I went home, helped with dinner preparation, then spent the evening knitting in front of the television. Thursday is Veronica Mars night, and it didn't disappoint. What an exciting life that girl leads. Although I wonder why no one is suspicious that people around her keep dying.......Being murdered no less........

Anyway, so tonight is a workout at the track - mile repeats. My running group is coming with me, so I have designed some introductory track work for them this evening. They are going to run the 10K that is part of the half marathon I am doing. I am glad to see that they really like doing races/events. It certainly makes planning training for them a bit easier :)

This woman at my gym yesterday had on this amazing little poncho/capelet thing. It was short and kind of asymmetrical with a great funnel neck. She told me she knit it herself using a pattern from The Knit Cafe and that is was very easy. It is made from pretty chunky yarn, so it would knit up quickly. So I am going to have to head over there and pick up the pattern and get going. The Knit Cafe is like 10 minutes walk from my house and they have twice weekly Stitch n Bitch sessions. They are also going to be setting up a session where you can take any project that you are stuck on and get guidance from their knitting experts. So hopefully this weekend I can get over there and see what they have.

Back to work...

Well, that's it for long weekends until Christmas! Had one Thanksgiving dinner of roast beef, potatoes and veggies galore at Shayne's dad's place and then turkey dinner with all the fixings at my parent's place the next day. The best of both worlds!

Got lots of knitting done. I am almost finished the shrug and it looks like it is going to fit. Hopefully I can get to the Walmart and find the yarn I want for the next project.

I only ran on Saturday over the weekend - a long run of 16K. Sunday and Monday I took off for holiday and travel for Thanksgiving. Back in full force this week. Pulling my running group along as they want to do the 10K that is running at the same time as the half in November. So I whipped them up a little four week schedule to get them there.

I've been terribly negligent...

Despite telling myself I was going to keep up to date on this thing, I have slacked off. The main reason is that I have started knitting again. When I start knitting I tend to let it take over my available free time. I think it is because I am impatient about the finished project. I know that it is supposed to BE something, and I want it to be what it is supposed to be.

Anyway, this is what I am working on:


I'm knitting it with variegated yarn that is very fall like. It is a Burgundy, forest green, dark tan combination. I am finished one of the sleeves and just moving onto the part that goes across your back.

In training news I am just starting to work towards hoping to run a half marathon in November. I'm just cycling on the weekends right now. Nice leisurely rides along the waterfront, nothing serious. So I'm running four days a week. A long run on the weekends, one day of speed work (kilometer repeats), on recovery run with my running group and one "moderate" pace run. I'm not currently doing any swimming which is OK with me. Swimming is the hardest thing in terms of logistics. Early morning pool times are best, but as it is getting darker and darker in the mornings it gets harder and harder to get out the door early. So I will let the swimming drop off for a while.

Not much else going on, except it appears that the CBC has reached a settlement in their lockout. This is a bit of a relief as I was really starting to dread the horrible music they were playing in the mornings and it would be nice to have something to knit by in the evenings. The agreement still must be ratified, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the next week.