All your base are belong to us

Let's hope this lasts longer than the last one.

Except for the fun run associated with the Tecumseh Trail Marathon and the 1.5 mile "test run" a week and a half ago, I haven't done anything in two months. This is really starting over.

From the 2012 Goals Thread, my goals for 2012 are:

1. Stay healthy
   
2. Train consistently
   
3. Finish MCM, secondary goal of marathon PR (<6:45)
   
4. HM PR (<2:28)
   
5. 10K PR (<55 minutes)
   
6. Pass the USAF Fitness Test
   

The last is related to the Marine Corps Marathon in that I need to pass it to stay active as a drilling Reservist. I'll be using that status to get a discount on the race and lodging.

I've never done a proper base training cycle before, so 2012 will be a Base year. The basic plan is to stay with base training for most of the year adjusted to allow a mileage peak and taper before the USAF Marathon in September and follow Hal's multiple marathon plan to lead into the MCM at the end of October (and again to lead into the Route 66 in Tulsa in November! )

Initially, I plan to start with a Lydiard style base running as many days of the week as my schedule will allow. I will start with 30 minutes each day and build up to the following:

	Monday	1 hour
	Tuesday	1.5 hours
	Wednesday	1 hour
	Thursday	1.5-2 hours
	Friday	1 hour
	Saturday	>2 hours
	Sunday	1-1.5 hours

The pace for all of these will be aerobic (practically, the pace the allows for even splits for the entire distance).

I am prepared to adjust based on how the runs feel and how my recovery works.

Races currently planned:

	Canyonlands Half Marathon	March 17	Moab, UT
	Bolder Boulder 10K	May 28	Boulder, CO
	USAF Marathon	September 15	Dayton, OH
	Marine Corps Marathon	October 28	Arlington, VA
	Route 66 Marathon	November 18	Tulsa, OK

There is the plan. It is quite simple. All I have to do is follow it.

Related to the USAF Fitness Test, I need to be able to complete 21 push-ups and 34 sit-ups in separate sessions of one minute each. I've consistently been able to meet the requirement on the push-ups, but the sit-ups requirement is the thing that is keeping me from passing the assessment.

My plan here is to do 5 sets of 20 (or as many as I can do) of push-ups and then of sit-ups every other day. This may be stretched to every third day if I do not recover well enough. The number will be adjusted based on how well I do each month on my drill weekend.

Finally, I've allowed myself to gain back most of the weight I lost the last time I was successful in losing weight. I will be starting at 180 pounds and will be looking to lose about 1 pound a week for most of the year. I expect I will find a good level after about 30 pounds, but we will see once we get there.

I think I can do most of this by making mostly minor changes. I will stay stable after the end of July until after the Route 66 Marathon. I hope to not gain too much during the 2012 Holiday season and plan to knock any remaining extra pounds off in early 2013.

This makes for an ambitious plan, but if you don't aim high, you will never get off the ground.

Distance: 2.4 miles
Time: 31:36
Avg HR: 138
Peak HR: 164
Energy: 238 kcal

Equipment: Jacket, cap, gloves, LS tech shirt, shorts, New Balance WT10s, Suunto T6c HRM

Basic out and back including 5 minutes warm-up and 5 minutes cool-down walking. I ran on a fairly level route to the local library and back. No significant issues. Temperature was just under freezing with a brisk NW wind, but the sky was clear and I was in the sun for most of the route.

Nice blog title!

Now, Move zig!

I hope to God this doesn't turn into a Strongbad thread.

Good luck with all of the goals!

An entire year on base! That's going to take a lot of discipline. Looking forward to joining you for the ride.

First Multi-Quote reply and it even worked.

Mark B wrote:Nice blog title!

Now, Move zig!

"For the Justice" just didn't work as well

healdgator wrote:I hope to God this doesn't turn into a Strongbad thread.

Not without help, I'm tapped out.

Good luck at Disney.

Peg Coover wrote:Good luck with all of the goals!

Thanks!

Mike MacLellan wrote:An entire year on base! That's going to take a lot of discipline. Looking forward to joining you for the ride.

Don't I know it. There will be some adjustment as I near the Fall marathons, but we shall see. Like everything, it is a progression. I hope to hold it together to the HM in March, then I'll be happy to continue it through the Bolder Boulder, etc. I'll be extremely happy
if I'm still going strong in June when I assess what I need to do to ramp up for the first marathon in September.

Thanks for visiting.

Good luck on your trek.

I lost 30 pounds during the first half of this year. I went from 225 to 195. That coupled with a lot of cross training (CrossFit), eating righter, and my times have really decreased to the tune of a minute a mile to 90 seconds a mile from a year ago.

I plan on losing another 30 this coming year.

ounce wrote:Good luck on your trek.

I lost 30 pounds during the first half of this year. I went from 225 to 195. That coupled with a lot of cross training (CrossFit), eating righter, and my times have really decreased to the tune of a minute a mile to 90 seconds a mile from a year ago.

I plan on losing another 30 this coming year.

Thanks and good luck on the weight loss plan.

Duration = 29:41
Distance = 2.00
Calories = 278
Max HR = 167
Avg HR = 150


Thursday: treadmill building-to-midlong session
Equipment: New Balance Minimus Trail (blue), shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 20:00 with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

The above was the plan. I figured that 5.5 mph should be about right based on my run yesterday. For various reasons, I decided to be conservative and started with 5.0 after the warm-up. This did well until the HRM caught up. I think the sensors on the strap loose signal until I start sweating. Once I had a good reading I was already out of the range I really wanted to be in. I finished the 1/2 mile at 5.0, but I started dropping the speed after that. I eventually got all the way down to 4.2 mph. The time when I finished 1.5 miles of running was close enough to the target of 20 minutes that I started the cool-down then. Other than some slight stiffness in my left foot and lower leg, there were no issues with this run.

I was quite surprised by how much slower I had to run. I figured that there might be some due to the grade of the treadmill because I tend to find running "for real" to be easier than my treadmill. I'm sure that was part of it. The other part, which I hadn't considered, was the temperature. I ran outside yesterday in ~35F with some wind. The temperature in the basement where I keep the treadmill is in the upper 60s F. That was a good part of the rest.

The final item for today, and possibly related to the previous, was USAF strength training. About an hour before doing my run, I did 5 sets of push-ups and 5 sets of sit-ups. These were done to temporary muscle failure in the later sets. These completely wiped me out and required some time before I felt ready to do my run. The plan was to have done the strength training much earlier in the day, but I ran out of time. Final counts today were 41 push-ups in 5 sets (2x15, 5, 2x3) and 48 sit-ups in 5 sets (4x10, 8 ).

Duration = 31:03
Distance = 2.0
Calories = 242
Max HR = 158
Avg HR = 138

Friday: treadmill building-to-short session
Equipment: New Balance Minimus Trails, shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 20:00 @ 4.2 with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

This we originally planned as 20 minutes of 4.2, but after 10 minutes I was only up to 145 bpm, so I increased the speed to 4.4 mph. I went ahead and completed the last little bit to have another 2 mile session. The temperature was in the low 60s and that may have helped keep the hear rate down. I'll try 4.4 continuous tomorrow to see if that bring me in on target. I'm quite happy with this run. My left calf was still a bit stiff, but maybe a bit better than yesterday.

Earlier in the day, I spent 26 minutes walking with my wife in the local neighborhood. We covered 1.5 miles while we were at it.

A couple of questions, if I may, to sort of color the landscape a little for me.

What figure are you using as a heart rate max, if at all?

How do you like the NB Minimus shoes? I'm curious if you think you're a 'heavy pounder' to your shoes, i.e. do you feel cushioned enough? I haven't really thought about a minimal type shoe, as I like the cushiness. But since you're about 15-20 pounds lighter than me, I thought I'd ask.

Keep crankin'!

ounce wrote:A couple of questions, if I may, to sort of color the landscape a little for me.

What figure are you using as a heart rate max, if at all?

How do you like the NB Minimus shoes? I'm curious if you think you're a 'heavy pounder' to your shoes, i.e. do you feel cushioned enough? I haven't really thought about a minimal type shoe, as I like the cushiness. But since you're about 15-20 pounds lighter than me, I thought I'd ask.

Keep crankin'!

I'm using a HRmax value of 200. I've seen higher than that at the end of the last couple of 5Ks I did. I have a couple of short (1.5 miles) time trials I have to do and we'll see what I peak at. I have a Resting HR in the low 50s. I was seeing 50 regularly the last time I was in fairly good shape.

I've found I do better with a less substantial shoe. I needed to work into them, but that is what I've been running for the last year. They do let you feel everything on the ground which was a minor issue at the end of the Tecumseh Trail run I did at the beginning of Dec. The unpacked gravel was the worst. When I started running a few years ago, I made the effort to adjust my stride to shorten it up and I'm basically a mid-foot striker now. I have a hard foot to fit, so I end up all over the place based on what I can find when I need a new pair. I noticed more issues when I was running is more controlling shoes vs the "lighter" shoes and went to the Minimus as a test. I haven't had as many issues as before, so I consider it a success. My legs are not the same mechanically, so YMMV significantly.

Duration = 30:33
Distance = 2.0 miles
Calories = 249
Max HR = 159
Avg HR = 140

Saturday: treadmill building-to-long session
Equipment: NB Minimus Trail WT10s, shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 20:00 @ 4.4 mph with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

Today we ran the plan and finished with everything where I wanted it. I did not exceed the target range. I had no issues with completing the run at the planned speed The only issue is that I still have a period early in the session, but not the start, where the HR reading goes wonky. This usually resolves itself and the post-processing handles it pretty well. For longer events, I don't think this will be a problem, but I may need to investigate conductive gels for shorter events.

Nice work to date Clark!

Both you and Doug (ounce) need to help me get my husband on track with weight loss. He unfortunately travels a lot which does not help,but he also cannot run due to a fake hip but can walk for cardio. I'm at a loss as to what he ought to "eat" mealwise on a given day, so I really use some suggestions. I think he is dreading my move to Cleveland when my daughter graduates as he thinks he is in fir serious boot camp so I need to make these suggestions kind of painless.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Nice work to date Clark!

Both you and Doug (ounce) need to help me get my husband on track with weight loss. He unfortunately travels a lot which does not help,but he also cannot run due to a fake hip but can walk for cardio. I'm at a loss as to what he ought to "eat" mealwise on a given day, so I really use some suggestions. I think he is dreading my move to Cleveland when my daughter graduates as he thinks he is in fir serious boot camp so I need to make these suggestions kind of painless.

Thanks.

I'll start with good luck. I've lost the same 20 pounds a couple of times already. I'm not going to be able to give you any specific foods or meals as I still eat pretty much anything I ever did. I just try to limit the amount I eat. I've used other tools, but I have been tracking my weight loss (and gain) using The Hacker's Diet. There is a book, downloadable in many formats, and an online tool for tracking. It is basically a calorie counting diet, but the only tracking is daily weight which is then processed into a trend which tells you what is happening. Is is much easier than it sounds. For the daily food tracking, I've used Lose It! which provides an app and a website. This tracks the specific foods and exercises and tells you where you are during the day relative to your target. I don't have an Android (or iDevice), so I can't comment on the app.

I hope that helps.

Happy New Year and good luck! I've been there too - it will be fun to follow your progress and you certainly have my support.

Duration = 33:51
Distance = 2.25

Monday: treadmill building-to-short session
Equipment: NB Minimus Trail WT10s, shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 25:00 @ 4.4 mph
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

Since I like to run full "laps", I finished with the lap closest to the target time.

I forgot my HRM, so I just ran the plan. I'll need to get a few measured runs to see how I'm doing. The target progression is 5 minutes added each week until I hit my target times each day. (The shortest is 1 hour, so I have a while yet to build.) Also, I'll yield to the fact I'm over 40 and plan a rest day. Sunday was it last week. Friday will be that day this week, and I expect I can just leave Friday as a rest day as it works well with most everything else I'm doing.

Yesterday, I signed-up for the USAF Marathon. This will be my fourth time participating. The first time was my first half marathon. The other two were for the full marathon. 2010 is still my marathon PR at 6:45; 2011 was a DNF. 2012 will be run 6 weeks out from the Marine Corps Marathon. I will plan to run to the gate at Mile 21 and make a call on how I feel. Any risk to the MCM and I will ride the bus back to the finish.

Thanks for the info!!!

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Nice work to date Clark!

Both you and Doug (ounce) need to help me get my husband on track with weight loss. He unfortunately travels a lot which does not help,but he also cannot run due to a fake hip but can walk for cardio. I'm at a loss as to what he ought to "eat" mealwise on a given day, so I really use some suggestions. I think he is dreading my move to Cleveland when my daughter graduates as he thinks he is in fir serious boot camp so I need to make these suggestions kind of painless.

Michele,

Intentionally using bad grammar, it ain't gonna work if he doesn't have the motivation to do it, nor the committment. But he does have you to help him along, which is great support, when used properly.

As for a type of eating, I would recommend eating like he was diabetic. He'll eat lots of fresh vegetables, some fruit, meats, fish and dairy, little to no sugar, and low to no processed foods. You might even do the Paleo Diet for 30 days, then let him loose on the diabetic diet because if he likes the Paleo Diet, then eating like a diabetic loosens the reins a bit.

Duration = 33:58
Distance = 2.25
Calories = 278
Max HR = 158
Avg HR = 142

Tuesday: building-to-mid treadmill session
Equipment: Nike Structure 12s, shorts, tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 1.75 @ 4.4 with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

This time instead of my HRM, I forgot my shoes. Fortunately, I had a pair that I could use. This was a very good run. I can see, and feel, some improvement in conditioning. The urge to push the pace is strong, but I think I need at least another session at this pace (4.4 mph) with declining heart rates before I increase the pace. I'll likely stay here for this week and increase to 4.5 for next week. Time will tell.

Details below (each lap is nominally 1/4 mile):

Lap	Time	min HR	avg HR	max HR
1	5:04	100	111	117
2	3:22	113	133	142
3	3:24	140	143	146
4	3:26	144	149	152
5	3:23	148	151	153
6	3:26	151	153	155
7	3:24	149	155	158
8	3:26	155	156	157
9	5:00	130	139	156
Total	33:58	100	142	158

Duration = 33:53
Distance = 2.25 miles

Wednesday: building-to-short treadmill session
Equipment: NB Minimus Trail WT10s, shorts, tech shirt

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 1.75 miles @ 4.4 mph
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

Ok, today I remembered my shoes and the strap for the HRM, but I left
the watch next to the computer. This was run strictly to plan based on
pace. Only issue was some muscle spasms in the front of my left lower
leg.

Nice job on the run. I have left the garmin by the computer numerous times. Maybe we should be sleeping with it, but my wife would get jealous!

Looking at your 3Jan posting, I can't help but mention (at the risk of you already knowing this) that in my case, the heart was the first thing to get efficient, thereby heart rate decreases, whether the rest of your body is ready or not.

That reality disgusted me because I couldn't use my heart rate as a true overall measure of how I'm progressing. It was the leading indicator, though.

You and I have the same HRM of 200, which really is nice because we can increase the HR for 70% HRM, etc., so we can go faster. Carry on.