Sunday, April 22, 2007

Just checking in....

I don't have any particularly stirring musings to post today, but just wanted to check in, for the discipline if nothing else.

We've had a blast of absolutely gorgeous weather here in Chicago since Friday with temps in the upper 70s and clear sunny skies. I spent a good deal of yesterday manufacturing vitamin D in my skin!

I had my first official training run for the marathon yesterday--just 3 easy miles--but it felt good to re-establish the weekend rituals that marathon training imposes on me: healthy dinner Friday night, early to bed, early to rise Saturday morning, a good run, then a delightfully low-key, yet productive day that begins with an earned sense of self-satisfaction.

Since Tuesday I've had a great CRON week. My averages for the week are good, but not perfect: 93 calories/day over target, and short on protein and Vitamin K, but all other averages are well within acceptable (to me) parameters. This includes a bit of a splurge last night: I attended at a party where I a) drank NO alcohol; and b) nibbled very modestly on the delicious snacks, then dutifully recorded them all in CRON-O-Meter this a.m. The results weren't as bad as I'd expected.

Friday was so beautiful that I walked all the way to work--five miles. Then I did the 3-mile run on Saturday. Everything felt great! But then last night I got soooo hungry. I ate well, but it was a wakeup call: I know from experience that there is no way I will be able to function at my current target calorie level on Saturdays, particularly when my training runs start creeping up above the 5-6 mile mark. Endurance exercisers might recognize what I mean when I say there are times when you experience a deep-down-full-body-hunger that will not be denied. It's a kind of hunger most Americans rarely if ever experience, and it turns food into a kind of orgasmic magical elixir.

The fact is that burning calories at the rate one does in training necessitates the consumption of more fuel, and significant post-run refueling as well. It's just a simple fact I'll need to accept even as it conflicts with the very basic foundation of CRON. But it's a nice excuse to eat more--whoopee! And it's only for 6 months, while CRON is (theoretically) forever. We'll see!

That is all for now. I'll try to post something a bit more interesting in the coming week.

6 comments:

Illiah said...

It's going to be interesting to see just how many extra calories you end up needing to fuel those longer runs. I've been running marathons for about ten years now, so there must be a few adjustments, and I don't need more than 200-400 more on twenty mile days.(of course, I still have plenty of body fat to burn) When I first started, I read that you should add 100 calories per mile, and I would end up gaining weight!

HkGrace said...

chris,
my blog is private now so email me at hkgraceblog at g m a i l dot com if you want me to invite you to be a reader!

Mizpah Matus said...

Good luck finding that balance with your CR and fitness goals. It would be interesting to see how it goes. At least you've got some room to really boost up your nutrients there!

Anonymous said...

Please come back, Chris! We miss your wonderful writing. MoMR

Amy said...

I hope you're willing to come back for at least a quick post - I'm tagging you for the 8 Random Facts post, that April zinged me on.

Just post 8 random facts about yourself, then tag others. Miss your writing, too, BTW, though I have enjoyed your posts to the lists.

Bye for now!
Amy

Deborah said...

Ditto the 8 random facts...we're missing you terribly Chris!