I've been thinking a lot over the weekend about how I can continue improving as a runner as I approach my late 40s. In your 20s and 30s, the formula is pretty simple - train harder. At my age you will, of course, improve with more consistent training. However, the need to balance hard training with rest and recovery becomes more crucial and finding that balance can be troublesome.
For me, the issue comes down to weight. In 2009 I ran a 2:52 marathon and a 1:18 half marathon with a typical race day weight of 153 pounds. In 2010 I ran a 2:43 and a 1:15 and I weighed 145 on race day. For 2011, I have set a goal of 1:13 for the half marathon (either in Austin or Salt Lake) and sub 2:40 for the marathon (at Ogden hopefully). I think I'll have to weigh around 138 to 140 to accomplish that.
I've made quite a few positive changes to my diet in the past few years which have helped me improve as a runner. However, as I think about my diet, I can still see plenty of room for improvement. So I've decided to use this blog to record what I eat every day as well as my training activities. I'm going to be completely honest and I think writing it down will help me get rid of some embarrassing habits.
So, here we go.
Breakfast - at 6 am I had two pieces of peanut butter toast on honey whole wheat bread, a glass of OJ, multi-vitamin, 2 fish oil tablets. Two cups of coffee.
Mid morning: One big banana
Lunch - A pile of pasta-noodle stuff with cauliflower, carrots and Swedish meatballs from IKEA. They sell more than furniture! Lots of water.
Afternoon snack: Cliff Bar and a few handfuls of peanuts!
Dinner: Stuffed Chicken and Rice with a sourdough roll. Water
Today's Run: 7.5 miles on the treadmill generally between 8 and 9 mph. | 