More of the same

So I reached the end of January and more of the same will do nicely thank you very much. Started the month with the view of shedding some weight before considering starting a training cycle for ay kind of a race. Dug out my copy of Matt Fitzgerald's Racing Weight and had a quick reread. One thing that stands out for me in this book is that you cannot train on a restricted diet, so the loss comes through a change in the type of foods one puts in the mouth. While I have not gone totally mad I have made some in roads with a few small changes with regard to my food intake. We where also treated at the time to Dr Eva ranting about one,two, three spoons of sugar. Didn't like the program but the Aussie guy brought home the reality that I should and do know, You cannot out run a bad diet. Result has been a gradual loss of 3 lbs. over the month with runs getting easier as the month progressed with a Marathon in Lilliput been the total polar opposite to Portumna’s slog fest.

Trails, Friends and Sausages

Marathon Number 40 23rd Of January Lilliput Adventure Centre. I wasn't expecting much as most of my long runs in the new year had been a continuation of Portumna. Start out at 9 Min pace and just gradually get slower and slower, like the pace my mood would also do same, go south. This I put down to my recent change in diet, trying not to restricted calories but changing where they came from most likely was the root cause. The results where showing on the scales/waist but runs where tough and miserable. On this today however it was the reverse, started out slowly enough and enjoyed the company with Leslie, Jimmy, Charlotte and later Patrick. Got a shout from Mr Race Director himself Vincent that we where going too slow on the first big lap Patrick stopped for a chart with his better half and I found myself alone and the pace from here gradually picked up on each lap. Ended up clocking a relatively comfortable 3:51 just before the rain came. Really felt strong and good for the whole race and don't you just love days when running is easy and you can pick it up at will. The reward for my exertions was a sausage butty and soup. Okay white bread but you have to breakout every now and then.