[repost from my blog at www.icanrunaminute.com]

This is the 5th week in a row of weight drops which now total 18 lbs or about 3.6 lbs per week.  The running has certainly made a difference.  My average weight for this month is now at 256.8 which is nearly 10 lbs less than last month's March average weight of 266 lbs.  

2015 Wallpaper 02 half - 2015

I did add a couple pictures to my laptop wallpaper (that I intend on buying) from the LPHM (Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon) and one from the Bridge & Dam 10K which I really liked.  Once I buy those pictures I may share in a future blog when I have the original digital copies.  The prices for the Bridge & Dam pictures are phenomenal and start at only 89 cents for 4x6 copies and I've already emailed the photographer about digital copies and she said she would add those for free once she gets my order.  

I haven't blogged much about my runs and I've completed 5 so far this year.  My first two runs were pretty lackluster - not much better than anything I did last year but that Bridge & Dam 10K at the Ozarks seemed to be a bit of a game changer.  

PURE - that's the word I think of with that run.  It was the kind of experience that helped me to fall in love with running all over again.  The fact that I was able to do it non-stop was amazing for me and when I talk about Pure, I mean the run was all about running.  There are a lot of races which ....how do I put this ...they seem to have a keen slant towards entertainment which would not be pure.  The Rock & Roll events can be a great deal of fun but, having cheerleaders, pom pom girls and marching bands from every high school in a 60 mile radius of the run doesn't have a lot to do with running.  From what I understand those 5K "color runs" aren't even timed events, just people who end up with a bunch of color on their white shirts by the time the event is over.  

At the B&D 10K there were 4 or 5 cars on the shoulder of the road right after the 5K turn around point where kids held signs cheering for their Mom or Dad and a few other places had some single individuals sitting out front on a lawn chair enjoying the spectacle but, that was it - the whole thing was about running.  

The LPHM was very different also.  That run actually has pacers for times like 2:45 and 3:00.  Last year, I tried staying with the 3 hour pacers but, around mile 10 - a long, unforgiving uphill stretch of road, those pacers became like specks and eventually disappeared from my vision because I couldn't keep up with them.  This year, there were three different sets of 3 hour pacers each with different run/walk strategies.  The lady I picked had the slowest running pace and probably the shortest walking time but, I figured I had my best chance to stay with her.  It totally worked.  There was one point, maybe 8 miles in when the 3hr pace groups got ahead of me by about 20 feet but, I caught back up to them and around mile 9.5 broke away from them and never looked back.  I finished about 4 minutes ahead of those groups.  

The 15th Annual GO! St Louis Half Marathon is 3 days away and I'm hoping to come in under 3 hours again and I would be thrilled if I could do it with a bit less pain :)  For this half there are a slew of pacers up to the 2 hr 30 minute mark and then no other pacers until the 3 hr 15 mark.  However, I have found some 6 hour pacers for the full marathon advertised so I'm going to search them out on the day of the race figuring they will need to hit the 13.1 mile mark around 3 hours.  

The course for the GO! half mary is pretty cool.  The full marathon runners don't break away from the half mary runners until mile 13 so I will at least have the opportunity to stick with them for the entire half.  At the point in the race where I turn right and finish my race - those others will keep heading straight out and back for another 13.1 miles.  

I'll never forget my 2nd full marathon in 2004 when I came to that point where half mary runners turned to finish and weirdos like me ....for whatever reason, had decided to keep going straight.  I actually ran across my times for that 2004 full marathon.  I've always referred to that as my walking full mary but, I did maintain a pace of 13:04 which, was actually 25 seconds faster than my average pace for this past weekend's Lincoln Half marathon but, that last full mary was a bit over 10 years ago and I suppose I have some more work to do in order to overcome those additional 10 years of abuse that I've hoisted upon myself ;)

Results - 2004 Marathon - Copy

I wish I could get my stats for the first full mary I ran back in 1994 and I have a tendency to email and ask every race director I can find if they know of anyplace with those records but, no luck so far.  That's the race where I tell everyone I finished in about 4:30 when it was probably closer to 4:40 - either way, it was a 10:xx pace, something in the lower 10 min/mile pace.  

This year has been very different regarding the running.  There are far fewer psychological games I need to play in order to move my legs.  And, even though I ran for about an hour and a half in the B&D 10K non-stop, in my mind it seems like the base for my running would now be the adage, I can run 4 minutes, as opposed to the name of this blog, I can run a minute.  But, there is a lot you can do with being able to consistently run 4 minutes straight anytime you want.  We can push that to completing a half in under 3 hours or even run a 10K nonstop.  

I still have nearly 5 lbs I have to drop between now and the middle of next week in order to win two 1 month DietBets which I joined halfway through the games thus only giving myself two weeks to accomplish the 4% weight drop.  

There's so much people don't understand about weight.  What I'll be looking to see next week will be a preview of coming attractions.  I might get to see a 249.8 or maybe a few 10ths of a pound less.  The 3500 calorie bean counters always love to do the math, as if any instantaneous snapshot of weight has a high degree of significance.  But, I have to admit that people are a lot nicer on the DietBet website than anything I had to endure when I was on facebook where many of the messages and comments were pretty much like hate mail.  

There was a time when the HCG diets were popular so many people accused me of injecting myself with that female pregnancy hormone - what a joke.  If anyone knows anything about that particular diet then they would also know it includes a diet plan of eating around 500 calories per day.  I could drink magical water and lose weight rapidly if I was only taking in 500 calories per day.  

The fact is, I can lose weight on 2600-2800 calories per day and maintain in the 2800 to 3200 range.  You just don't build up a body capable of bench pressing over 500 pounds without retaining a bit of muscle mass - one of the basis for our resting metabolic rate.  So, even without exercise and a sub 1,000 calorie per day diet there's still a couple thousand calorie per day deficit - add in things like a 22k bike ride or a couple half marathons and that deficit goes through the roof.  

and...as I've alluded to there are previews and there are actual weights.  I'd say most people don't know the difference.  I may have to elucidate on this concept in an upcoming blog.  I've learned it's not super easy to explain.  

There are a series of weekly Wednesday night races put on by the St Louis Track Club - 12 of them and I think I'll be able to make almost all of them.  They start June 3rd and the distances range from 3K (1.86 miles) to 4.2 Miles and the best part - they only cost $1.00 per run!  Now we're talking!   :)

The runs are called the Summer Pace Series.  You predict your finish time, run without a watch then see how close you get to your predicted time.   Should be fun.  

We have had some torrential rain in the area so my Metric Half Century bike ride may have to take place next Tuesday (allowing a days rest after the upcoming 1/2 mary)  I think a bit of carbs and adequate water while being careful with what I eat should help provide some really nice looking previews of coming attractions in terms of weight.  I'm looking at a low weight on the 14th/15th, a bit higher on the 16th for my next weekly weigh-in.  There is a DB weigh in on the 21st - only need a 258.7 so that's kind of a joke but then my April 30th weigh in will need a 252.8 so that will help keep my efforts true. ...a few 5k runs then my third half mary on May 9th back in Springfield, IL....I don't have any weights listed in my Calendar for May.  I'll have to get on that but, I am looking for an average weight in the 240s for the month of May.  A good preview 5-6 days from now should help ensure that.