It's a bittersweet day as this morning was the last of the PR Training classes. The education, coaching, training, encouragement and camaraderie I've received have taken me far beyond what I expected. I have developed a genuine excitement about what my running future holds. But now that the regular, organized accountability and structure is over, and I must develop my own structure to keep myself accountable. The unknown of the future makes me feel uneasy. On my own will I be able to sustain the motivation required? I'm sure Tammy and friends will be there to encourage and lend their advice, but ultimately it is up to me to keep up the effort that will take me across the finish line October 7 and beyond.
My tapering continues for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon this Saturday. I ran 5 easy miles Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday last week and 4 easy miles yesterday and today. I'll probably do 2-3 easy miles Thursday. I feel very ready for the race. The weather is finally terrific, and I'm having to resist the urge to run.
With the reduced mileage, I've been really concentrating on my caloric intake. I've been putting into practice a lot of the techniques I learned while I was actively involved in the weight-loss program. When I am hungry I try to determine if I'm experiencing true physical hunger or psychological hunger (hunger caused by boredom, stress, loneliness, etc.). If I think it is psychological hunger, I try to "surf the urge", that is, try to resist eating for 20-40 minutes. I learned that cravings rise in intensity like a wave for 20-40 minutes and then naturally subside. I try to drink water to help curb them. If I'm honestly still hungry after 40 minutes, I try to satisfy the craving with healthy choices instead of junk food.
I consciously try to maintain the proper balance of carbs, protein, fruits, vegetables, dairy and fat. I'm not as good about keeping a food diary as I was on the program - running has afforded me the freedom to be more relaxed about it. But, if I see the scales creeping up, I pay more attention to portion sizes, resist grabbing a cookie, avoid mindless eating and late-night binges and try to eat a higher percentage of low-density foods (foods with fewer calories for a given volume). Examples I keep in my cupboard are flavored rice cakes and high-water-content fruits like grapes, strawberries and oranges. I religiously drink more than 64 ounces of non-caloric beverages a day - I had to on the program and the habit continues - so keeping hydrated is generally not a problem for me. All this effort has paid off as I've lost 2-1/4 pounds these past 2 weeks, and I'm back to my lowest weight.
I'll leave you with a motivating quote Tammy shared with the class week 1 - "I do today what others will not do, so I can do tomorrow what others cannot do." I know I can finish the Indy Mini strong because I've done the training required to accomplish the goal.
Keep going and don't give up.
One step at a time,
Dave
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