Maria's Running Blog

January 20, 2026

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Location:

London,UK

Member Since:

Jan 02, 2006

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

Collegiate: 100m - 13.2 (1985) 200m - 27.0 (indoors, 1989) 400m - 62.3 (indoors, 1989) Post-Collegiate: 5K - 21:37 (1998) 5mi - 35:15 (1998) 10K - 45:04 (1998) 15K - 1:11:36 (2006) 20K - 1:35:34 (2006) Half - 1:42:03 (2007) Marathon - 3:37:04 (Cal International, 2000)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Get my weekly mileage in the 35-40 range.

Long-Term Running Goals:

I guess at this point I just want to keep running for fitness and weight control.

Personal:

I was born in Moscow, Russia in '68, where I started running sprint events in '83. I moved to the US (NYC area) in '91 and didn't run again till '96 when I discovered road racing scene. I was hooked after my first 5K race. I had another break in running from '01-'04 and decided to seriously get back into it in August of '05. I'm married and have 16 year old daughter. I have moved to London in August '06, will probably stay here for a few years.

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00
Asics Gel Nimbus 9 Lifetime Miles:						354.40
Mizuno Wave Rider 9 (3) Lifetime Miles:						350.73
Adidas Supernova Cushion (2) Lifetime Miles:						293.25
Asics DS Trainer XI Lifetime Miles:						134.68
Saucony Fastwitch Endurance Lifetime Miles:						120.98
Brooks Defyance Lifetime Miles:						13.00
Asics Gel Nimbus 10 Lifetime Miles:						0.00

Wed, Jul 16, 2008

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Trainer 1 Miles	Trainer 2 Miles	Racer Miles	Total Distance
6.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	6.00

Went for a slow 6 miler this evening. Legs are pretty sore after my two days of racing, especially hamstrings. So I plodded along the best I could.

I discovered a "health assessment" machine at work, and decided to use it (it's free). It scared me - it said my body fat percentage is 30.7!! That's terribly high, although my BMI is within the normal range. And my blood pressure is 149/80 - I never had it so high in my life! It just so happens I have doctor's appointment tomorrow to discuss my cholesterol test and some other blood work, so I will ask her to measure my blood pressure again. My usual readings were about 125/75 a year ago. 149 is way too high for a systolic pressure for a person who is not overweight and running 30 miles a week. Geez. The machne also said my heart rate is 45 - too low, it may be that low first thing in the morning laying in bed, but not in the middle of the day walking around just prior to the test. So I'm not sure how accurate this machine is, but I can do this assessment again tomorrow to compare.

Total time: 55:58 (9:19 pace).

Comments

From Ian on Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 06:35:03

I enjoyed reading your race reports. It takes guts to race when you know you are out of shape and you have put that stake firmly in the ground. I believe you will improve with consistent training.

Regarding the machine, I've never found the body fat percentage measurement to be accurate, I'd take the result with a pinch of salt. 149 systolic is high, I check one a week and average 125/72. My day time heart rate is normally about 46 - I alway thought this was a good thing?

From Maria on Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 10:35:06

Thanks Ian. I did another test on the same machine yesterday, and this time my blood pressure was 120/75, and later at doctor's office it was 130/80. She said that even 149, while a little high, is not high enough to be treated with medication. She also said that it varies quite a lot during the day, so one high reading is nothing to worry about. About the heart rate, you're right, the less bpm, the better. It's just strange for me, since it was never below 65 when I was in much better shape, and it is 45 now when I'm not in good shape. I wonder if my PE affected it somehow. The doctor just said, "oh, it's a sign of fitness".

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