Kentucky (State # 32)

Last year in February I did a series, and little did I know these would be the last races for over a year.   This was my first race since the Covid-19 restrictions.  I was able to get one of my vaccine shots three weeks ago - so I was comfortable traveling.  I stayed in the Radisson Hotel near the Nashville airport and drive up to Bowling Green Kentucky for the race.   Left the hotel, and arrived a good hour early.  Turned in my wavier and had my temperature checked.  At the starting line, I met a couple people.  One girl from Texas - which was only trying to complete the half marathon and the other was a gentleman around my age, which had a similar story of weighing 260 lbs when he was 48 year old when he started running a half marathon and been doing it ever since.   The race was to begin at 8 AM - but because of lighting, they delayed the race 30 minutes.   I was all ready for a downpour having an emergency poncho in my pocket, but I never had to use it.   The temperature was chilly (52 degrees) before we started, but after a mile, I was quite warm.   We were supposed to be grouped in Pods, which would be sent out one by one, but because of the concern of the storm - they did not do this.  The first half of the race was relatively flat, and I was running close to a 2-hour half-marathon pace - and then the second half hit, and the hills were tough - and I had to slow down and ended up with a 2 hour, 14 minute time.  I was surprised that I ranked third place for my age group - which was cool (but the main reason was not my speed - but the size of the race).  

Slideshow of 31 races

Kentucky (State # 32) Training Plan

 

Week	Dates	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs	Fri.	Sat.
1	Jan 25-30	2 m run	Cross Training	2 m run	Rest	2 m run	7 m run
2	Jan 21-Feb 6	3 m run	Cross Training	3 m run	Rest	3 m run	7.5 m run
3	Feb 7-13	4 m run	Cross Training	5 m run	Rest	4 m run	8 m run
4	Feb 4-20	5 m run	Cross Training	6 m run	Rest	4 m run	8.5 m run
5	Feb 21-27	6 m run	Cross Training	6 m run	Rest	5 m run	9.25 m run
6	Feb 28-Mar 6	6 m run	Cross Training	7 m run	Rest	5 m run	10 m run
7	Mar 7-13	7 m run	Cross Training	7 m run	Rest	6 m run	10.5 m run
8	Mar 14-20	7 m run	Cross Training	8 m run	Rest	6 m run	11 m run
9	Mar 21-27	7 m run	Cross Training	5 m run	Rest	Rest	1/2 m Race!

Sunday:  The Christian Sabbath.  The good book says "for those who honor me I will honor".  

Monday:  Start of the week, run at an easy pace.  However easy pace does not mean poor posture.  

Tuesday:  Cross-training, meaning weightlifting, biking, elliptical training, or swimming for 35 minutes. 

Wednesday:  Pick up the pace (may want to time yourself), mind your posture, end strong.   

Thursday:   Rest your legs.  Check your feet for callous - perhaps use moisturizer if needed.  

Friday:  Easy-paced run - save your strength for Saturday.  Make every step count - good forum matters. 

Saturday:  Run a long run at 10% slower than your race-day speed.   Run hard - but don't hurt yourself.    

Target Pace For Race:  8:30 per mile or 7 miles per hour.   (10% slower is 6.4 mph)

Starting weight:  205.5 lbs
Ending weight:  ___ lbs

Target weight: 192 lbs

Gulf Coast Series FL, AL, MS, LA, TX - (states, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31)

Race:  Gulf Coast Series (with Mainly Marathons)
Location:  Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas
Bib: 127
Division: None
Weight:  191 lbs.
Times: FL=2:06:14, AL=2:56:33, MS=2:08:51, LA=2:10:04, TX=2:14:44

Distance Training:
01/25 - 13.1 miles in 01:52:04 minutes (8:33 pace, Treadmill) + 2.4 miles extra
01/20- 13.1 miles in 01:55:35 minutes (8:49 pace, Treadmill) + 0.4 miles extra
01/11 - 11 miles in 01:36:03  (8:44 pace, Treadmill)

Speed Training:
01/24 0.5 miles in: 03:37 (pace 7:13), 03:39 (pace 7:19), 03:42 (pace 7:24), 03:44 (pace 7:28) 

The Races
Weather:  Pensacola, and Alabama was sunny but cool. Ideal running conditions.   Mississippi was sunny, but windy (running half the time was against the wind).  Louisiana looked and felt like rain, but it held off.  Texas it was misty in the early morning, and then started to drizzle in the last 30 minutes of my race.  All in all - the weather was almost perfect. :)

How I felt:  I felt good all week.  Minimal limping and stiffness - and I enjoyed myself which meant I lowered by fasting to the minimum fasting 

What I enjoyed:  All the great southern foods.  Crawfish, BBQ, grits, etc ...

Training for my next series

Sitting here thinking about my next adventure, and I'm getting excided!  My next series is a little more then one month away.  I'll be running the Gulf Series, which will be a series of 5 half marathons, in the gulf of Mexico border states (FL, AL, MS, LA, TX).  Today I plan on doing a 10 mile run, and will be seeking to get to 16 miles before the race series.  One thing I'll not have to worry about is weight - I've continued my Intermittent Fasting and am somewhere between 190 - 200 lbs (but would be happy to go below 190).

Brooklyn Half (repeated state)

New Personal Record!  Official Time is 1:51:42 (8:30 min. per mile)

Race:  Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon 
Location:  Brooklyn, NY
Bib: 1965 (Corral 'C')Time: 1 Hour, 51 minutes, and 42 seconds /1,297th place (out of 5,123)
Division: M50-59 / 23rd place (out of 81)
Course:  Some elevation changes in first half, then down grade (Out-and-back, with a circle)
Weight:  192 lbs.

Distance Training:
9/28 - 8 miles in 01:05:59 minutes (8:15 pace, Treadmill)
10/5 - 10 miles in 1 hr. 30 minutes (9:00 pace, Street Run)
10/12 - 8 miles in 01:05:33  (8:12 pace, Treadmill)
___________

My Training while doing Intermittent Fasting

These pictures are comparing a pre-fasting race, with my running 6 back-to-back half marathon while fasting (after fasting for a month).  

One of the problems I have with my running is losing weight.  The reality is that my weight has a lot to do with my running times.  Basically you can run a half-marathon 1 minute faster for each pound that you lose - so I am very inspired to lose weight.  But using the old fashion counting of calories in/calories out has only worked so-so with me.   That is why I changed to intermittent fasting to lose weight on August 20th 2019.

Since I run half marathons throughout the year -  I am always in training.  So while I am in training I do a 20:4 fasting window, one meal per day while I am training, and switch to a 16:8 on the day of the race.

What about energy? I don't find fasting makes me drag at all - but instead I feel lighter and energized.  I fast from 7 PM - 3 PM - and my toughest training runs are 11 AM - 1 PM (16-18 hours into my fast).  I believe as your fasting continues, your body becomes very efficient at using body fat to run on.

Since I have been fasting I have lost 20 lbs!  I started my fasting at 215 lbs, and as of yesterday, I am 195 lbs.  My hope is to run my best half marathon in Brooklyn this October.