My first 5K in the "Eating Era"

My first 5K in the "Eating Era"

I had a "quick fix mentality" and I tried to lose too fast by eating too little!

I know that this is a funny title, but it is so true. I have been trying to lose weight now for 25 years. I have dropped 10-20-30 lbs to see it all come back because every time I did it ... I used a method that was not sustainable. I ate 1000-1200 calories a day and did not eat back my exercise calories. When you are 5'7" man with a starting weight of 200-210 lbs, I am sorrry, but that is way too little. --> My goal loss was always 3-4 lbs per week - I was on "fire" (so I thought).


I wandered in the fad diet, messed up, theme park

I have also tried every fad diet known to man to lose weight: Keto with keto strips, Fit for life, No meat ( but french fries - totally idiotic), slim fast shakes, only Naked juice at nights, Fasting for days... the list goes on and on. And the way I did it was always the same: Eat 800-1200 calories as long as I could stand it, go on a 10-12 day binge of 4000-5000 calories, get "tough" with myself, and do it over again. I could never run very far because I would just "lose steam". Weights were out of the question because I would get a sore throat . My immune system was shot, my nails were breaking, and my hair looked like crap. Through every one of these cycles I would bet heavier and heavier.


Still stuck in Quack fixes

This year I started out at about 203 lbs. This time I calculated my lean body mass and I realized that I needed to lose 40-50 lbs and try to preserve my lean body mass (like I knew what I was doing <<snort>>). So what do I do in May 2013 (I swear I am not making this up) - I took Raspberry Ketones!


The "Turnaround"

Finally I started reading the posts here, really digesting the succinct and factual advice from the "mean veterans" (<<joke >>and y'all know it :-) and took with a grain of salt the rainbows, glitter unicorn, and you can lose 40 lbs in 4 months just by "believing hard enough" stuff. I decided that if I was going to do it right, I would eat ENOUGH (between my BMR and TDEE) , and FUEL my exercise. I was not going to get paralyzed by "Red" days and I realized that they were inevitable. But, instead of "sweeping them under the carpet" and setting the odometer back to zero, I would log everything on a "Red" day(s) to learn my behaviors. I learn to look at a whole month like a checkbook with green blocks and red blocks. I would eat more fruits and vegetables, but I would not get paralyzed by "strict clean eating" and embrace IIFYM too! You see - I like to eat and I like pizza!


Like I said this was my first 5K in the "eating era". This is what was different this time:

1. I knew I was going to finish strong - I had been able to train for months consistently. I knew how my body responded.
2. I knew what heart rate and pace I needed to maintain to get through the race. You have to understand that back in the "Starve/Pig Out" era, I never knew when I was going to "bonk" and finish the race with my head down, my tail between my legs, and shuffling because my knees were "screaming".
3. I wasn't afraid of the hills and I knew what to do because I have been training on hills.
4. I knew to warm up before, what to eat, what to drink, and when to do the "pre-race pee"!
5. I knew to not let my ego take over when my HRM was telling me to "ease off".


The Race

I modestly set back in the rear 25% of the people. I knew what pace I wanted to run.. hopefully between 12:00 - 13:00. I placed myself in the starting "mob" accordingly; I didn't want to be "that guy" that the 7:00 and 8:00 people trip over! When the race started I let adrenaline take hold, but when my HR got to 160, I said "Whoa there big fella..slow it down". I got my HR to between 148 and 152 and set things on cruise control. After mile 1 there was a 1/4 mile b1tch of a hill. I changed my gait, let myself go to 160-165 the whole time and got up to the top without being "winded". Then, I made sure I got back in the 140's so I wouldn't get a "stitch" in my side. Thanked all the volunteers the whole way (they gave their time.. that IS a big deal). Then, I arriave at mile two and I realized I felt pretty good. I decided to "air it out" and started taking longer strides and all of a sudden....

The "Glide" kicked in!

I felt great and I looked at my HRM and it was 162 the whole time and I was "surviving"! When I saw the finish line, instead of doing a desperate "guilty" sprint, I took long confident strides and literally "bounced across" the finish line.. it was fantastic. And a bit emotional too.



Result
Result: I ran a 36:24 time at a 11:43 pace! - That is a personal best for the last 10 years. I stopped my HRM and my average HR the entire time was 154 BPM. I never would have dreamed I could keep that HR up for so long. I constantly went into the 160's and I felt comfortable the whole time.

My wife was there to greet me and she was beaming because she knew that I had done well. The results were good I finished in the last 25% of my age group, and for once I was not LAST in my age group LOL!


What is next

I am going to keep following the advice here on MFP, I am going to keep eating to lose weight, I am going to be happy with 1-2 lbs per month weight loss, I am going to start lifting more, and continue to stretch myself.

The 20 things post
I thought that this post was awesome.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1123195-20-things-no-one-tells-you-about-running

Best line: 19. Running performance is as much, if not more, about mental strength as your physical strength.

Also.. I escaped 10,13,18 LOL (If you want to find out you have to read the post!)




Great Friends Here

I have a great set of MFP friends here who are really supportive and know when to "challenge" me at the right time.. I feel very fortunate. We are all here to support each other!
Go for it everybody!