Last weekend I ran 16 miles. This weekend I ran 20.36 miles.
The LBJ Lake loop (minus the MoPac to Ist street 2 miles)
Total distance: 8.05 mi
Total Time: 1:34
Avg Pace: 11:40 per mi
Total Ascent: 1214 Ft
Total Descent: 1208 Ft
The Barton Creek loop
Total distance: 10.31 mi
Total Time: 2:26
Avg Pace: 14:12 per mi
Total Ascent: 3280 Ft
Total Descent: 3277 Ft
Total distance 20.36
I have a correction on the time of the running class. The class starts at 6:30 PM. Here is a link for more information.
The training is part of the
Nike Human Race 10K
11th and Congress, Austin, TX, US
Sunday, August 31, 2008
6:30 PM Race 8:30 PM Concert
If you go to the web site you will see that Austin is among several cities was picked out of all the cities around the world to participate in this event.
Besides talking about running the owner of RunTex, Paul Carrozza, discusses health and diet as well. Paul has a background in bio-chemestry. During a break in the training he was asked how much water do we need to drink. His answer surprised me. He said that most of us are drinking too much water. Most of the hydration that we need should come from fresh fruits and vegetables.
If we eat the correct balance of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and balance the source of our protein we can make our bodies less susceptible to cancer. When you get most of your protein from meat your body becomes more acidic. Cancer cells thrive in a body that is acidic. When you get your protein from other sources like vegetables and grains you body will maintain a natural PH and cancer cells do not thrive in this environment.
Please note that I have summarized Paul’s talk. What amazes me about Paul is that he is genuine in his care for everybody to be fit and healthy. He started selling shoes out of his own need to get the right fitting shoe for himself. Personally I have heard and read all my life about exercise programs and how to be healthy by eating right. None of this really motivated me to change until I started running again. That is when I noticed how my cravings for a Snickers bar at 4 PM when away as my body started to crave less sugar and craved more running.
Hope this inspires you all to keep up your efforts on being healthy.
I am participating in a RunTex free running class that meets each Thursday 6 PM meet at Stevie Ray Vaughn statue. This Thursday is meeting 2. This is the same class that folks pay big bucks for. This is the same class that was offered at HT two years ago. I was in the HT class and I went from walking a mile to running 10 to 15 miles several times a week.
This class is for all levels from walking to running. The owner of RunTex was the coach of the first class. He talked about how exercise makes your body not crave sugar. When your body is mostly inactive it craves serotonin which makes you feel good. Serotonin is found in foods that contain sugar. The best way to lose weight is to eat less sugar. The way to eat less sugar is to remove the body’s craving for it by exercising.
I will be participating in this class with my wife so I hope to see some of you in the class.
I have never been a person to make New Year’s resolutions. This year is different and I am starting the year by creating the possibility of being a runner. I have set similar goals for bike riding in the past. One year I had the goal that I would ride my bike to work more miles than I drove and I did it. I rode almost 5,000 miles that year. In one month I rode 1,000 miles.
Today I ran 10 miles around Lady Bird Johnson Lake in Austin. this was the first run of the year. My last run of 2007 was a 2.5 hour run along the beach in Port Aransas, Texas. So in order to make my goal I will have to run about 20 miles a week for 52 weeks.
So what motivates me to go out and run 10 miles before watching a football game? Well for starters it is the way I feel at mile eight when Little Feat came on my iPod singing Feets Don’t Fail Me Now. Somehow after running the first two miles that seem like death at mile eight I feel like I am invincible.
Running is really a basic activity that involves putting one foot in front of the other faster than when you walk. As an avid cyclyst I know what it is like to ride 100 miles in one day. Today I saw a lot of cyclist on the trail, but only two other runners besides me. If I had my bike I would easily ride the whole 50-60 mile length of this flat railroad bike trail. What I am so proud of is that in February 2005 I started running after 20 years of telling myself that I could not run because of my knee. I started off training to walk a 5k race and I ended up running the whole distance in April 2005.
So now this summer I have started running 10 miles regularly. I have never in my life run over 6.5 miles (10k). For me this is a huge accomplishment of what I can create as a possibility and make it real. I have proven to myself that I can create possiblities and make them real in my life around my job. Challenging your physical body at the age of 55 for me is real sweet.