Buckeye 50K – Training Run #2

<- My Sunday trail run. I have now found (again) how to transfer the Garmin Data to MotionBased and mix them with Google data to get maps like thsi one.

Training Run #2 was scheduled to start at Jaite. This parking lot is about 0.4 mi from the Buckeye Trail entry, off Snowville Road. Since my house is off Snowville Rd, only 1.2 mi from the Buckeye Trail, my first thought was to run from home to meet the group. This would add about 2.5 road miles to the run. But I wanted to put a bit more mileage in so I decided to start earlier from Columbia Road, thus adding 4 trail miles to the run.

I left home around 6:20 am, parked the car by the Buckeye Trail in Columbia Road and ran the 2 mi (trail) plus 0.5 mi (road) to meet the group. We then ran back to the Buckeye Trail, to Columbia Road and continued to Boston. From Snowville Road to Boston is about 5.5 miles. My legs were tired from the 10K race yesterday (even more tired than last week) so the run was a bit of a struggle for me. Things took a turn for the worse when I got near Columbia Rd in the return. I was tempted to just get in the car and go home, but I found the strength to resist the temptation and ran from Columbia and Snowville and back (total of 4 miles). My pace however had slowed to 12 min/mile! I made it home tired (very tired) but pleased.

Total: 15 miles (most all on trail) at 2:48 (11:13 pace). Mile splits: 10:47 10:09 11:19 9:50 9:31 10:41 10:21 11:55 10:37 14:41 12:01 11:21 12:19 12:20. For next week the plan is to run from Boston to Pine Lane and back, only 8 miles. I am thinking of running from home to Boston via the Buckeye Trail, a total of 13 extra miles.

Jim Klett 2008 – Race Report

<- The Jim Klett 10K route, a nice loup with some challenging rolling hills starting at mile 4.

Below: With daugther Lea, posing before the race. It was a rainy day. Wife Liz did not run because of a recent injury.





Another year, another Jim Klett race. I have been running this race since 2003. I have only skipped one year (2005) because there was conflict with something else. I had a very good race in 2004, and then last year (2007) I set a personal course record with 42:23. I knew that this year I would not be able to match this performance. I was hoping between 43 and 44 minutes, and that’s exactly what I did (closer to 44):

<- Sprinting at the end of a hard (for me) race!

2003 - 45:43 (7:19) - Fast 10K but no awards! 36/128
2004 - 43:29 (6:57) - 168 lbs! – Fast race but 41/176, 8th in age group
2006 - 45:08 (7:13) - Hot day! - 31/136, 8th in age group
2007 - 42:23 (6:47) - 23/174, 4th in AG
2008 - 43:53 (7:02) - 29/179, 3rd AG

We woke up to a constant rain. Liz is out of commission with an Achilles tendon inflammation, while Lea was looking forward to the race. The course is a nice loupe, quite scenic, but with some rolling hills in the end.

I made the mistake to challenge Mike Juppe the day before the race. Mike and I are at similar running fitness levels. He is faster in shorter races but slower in longer races. Last year I passed him in the Jim Klett race at around mile 5. This year I passed him in the Cleveland Marathon at about mile 24 (he was walking), but he did better in the Hudson 4 mi race. He is older than me so we don’t have to compete for the same age awards.

<- George and Mike, after the race. Mike was no. 1 and I was no. 2 in this "personal challenge".

The race started at 9 am. I positioned myself behind Mike. The first mile was downhill, giving me the fastest time and I went down from there. Mike increased his distance and I could not match his pace. I was competing with the top female runner, who I passed briefly, but ended up finishing behind her. At mile 4 a series of hills start. As expected, pace slows even further. Mile splits: 6:32, 6:48, 6:57, 7:01. 7:34, 7:16, 6:40 (last 0.2 mi according to my Garmin). I finished at 43:53. Liz and Lea were at the finish with the digital camera on hand.

Lea ran the 5K and managed to run the entire race without stopping. She was wearing our new Garmin 405 watch so now I know her time splits: 8:44, 10:19, 10:10. Her time was 30:21.

We stayed for the breakfast and awards. This year the award was a nice coaster. Quite unusual and unique. When they called Lea’s age group we did not hear her name in the first 3 places, so disappointment was setting in, BUT, they called her 4th and she got an award! (They often go deeper than 3, depending on how many runners are in the age group). For my age group I got 3rd place. This is actually my best placement in the entire history of the race. So, we went home happy!

<- An unusual award this year: A coaster with the race details printed in it.

Week 23 – Training Report

The week started with the first Buckeye Trail training run. My legs were tired from the Hudson 4mi race the day before, but I still managed to run a fairly strong training run. After the trail run, I took an ice bath. Not sure if it helped. My quads continued to hurt. I should have taken the ice bath after the Hudson race.

On Monday, Liz and I took a Yoga class. This involved a lot of stretching, especially in my hips. After the Yoga class, I played basketball with Tony and his friends. Now, I love basketball and I played all my life regularly until about 2002. Then running took over. I would like to get back but I have to do it slowly, or I have problem with my Achilles tendon. Result of the yoga & basketball: My hips and legs (bottom) were hurting for the rest of the week!

S: 1st Trail Group Run, Snowville & back, 12 mi
M: Yoga & basketball.
T: Fitness & running back slow (3 mi). Hurting!
W: 3 mi in the morning, Liz sees doctor Shah, 6 mi trail.
T: Fitness & 7 mi trail run back home
F: Rest, Liz starts Physical Therapy
S: Jim Klett 10K race.



Another highlight this week: The Garmin 405, which I had ordered for Liz in February, arrived this week. I played with it for a while and overall I am very pleased with it. I am thinking of getting the back model with the heart monitor for myself. Basically, I am getting the same information as my 205 but it looks much sleeker and it can be used as a regular watch (shows the time in “sleep mode” with satellites turned off).

Total for the week: 43 miles, 167 lbs

Buckeye 50K – Training Run #1

<- The first leg of the Buckeye 50K race, Oak Grove in Brecksville to Snowville Road. See my house off Snowville Road.

Sunday we had the first Training Run for the Buckeye 50K race in July. We met at Oak Grove in Brecksville and run to Snowville Road and back, a total 12 (6+6) miles. I am familiar with this leg of the trail because I try to run it after our fitness classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

About 40 runners showed up on Sunday 7 am. Vince talked briefly and then we started. I learned something new: The trail is marked with blue squares in the trees (I knew that) but I did not know that when there are two squares, one higher than the other, you are supposed to turn towards the side that is higher. That’s a useful tip for someone like me who gets easily lost in these trails!

My quads were hurting from yesterday so the first couple of miles felt a bit rough. I made an effort to stay with the front runners. I was following Bob Clark and Jamie Carr. We were walking the uphills, while Tracy, just ahead of us was running them. The trail was mostly dry since it has not rained for a couple of days. When we reached towards Snowville, there is a very steep downhill and I took off. Tracy said “you’ll break a knee”. I am of course very careful but I like to run the downhills fast. I then caught up with Vince in the front.

As Snowville Road I had left a cooler with cold water and an energy drink. The temperature was over 80F (maybe 90F) and it was humid, so the cold water was needed. Many people use insect repellants but I don’t feel I need them. After the water break Vince and company decided to go forward, while the rest of us headed back. The way back felt fine. I led the way for parts of it. I did not collapse in the end like I did last year, mainly because this year I carry water and I am properly hydrated.

I finished the run in almost exactly 2 hours. The pace was about 10 min/mile. Mile splits: 9:36 8:43 8:55 10:42 10:50 9:21 10:15 10:18 11:10 10:51 9:22 8:49. The first 3 miles are fast because the ground is mostly flat. Miles 4 and 5 have a lot of uphills. Mile 6 is fast because of the downhill and flat areas.

I am trying to figure out how fast can I run in these trails and what a good goal for the 50K race is. It all depends of course in the weather. If the weather is cool and dry and the trails are dry then I go faster. If the trails are muddy, I go slower and expend more energy. My times in the training runs and races, from last year:

Training Run 2007 2008
1 10:10 10:00
2 10:03
3 9:55
4 9:41
5 10:41
Summer Race 10:09
Winter Race 10:42

I cannot compare the training runs in 2007 and 2008 because the route is different, but this table gives me an idea of how fast I run these runs. A good goal for the training runs is 9:30 to 10:00 pace and a good goal for the 2008 race is 10:00 pace or better.

By the way, the Buckeye 50K registration is already closed. See the web site for a list of Entrants: http://www.buckeyetrail50k.com/ It is really amazing that the registration closed before the first training run! Last year, I waited until the last training run to register and there was still time. This means that trail running is getting more and more popular every year.

Hudson Run for the Parks 4mi Race Report

<- The race course, from my Garmin watch. The small loop towards the end is only 0.8 mi but it feels much longer. Maybe because of the all the turns and twisting or because it is later in the race. After exiting the part, the finish is only 0.5 mi away.

The Hudson Run for the Parks 4 mi race was this Saturday. The race is sponsored by Vertical Runner. I have run this race in 2004 (Inaugural) and last year (2007). This year I signed up to run with wife (Liz) and daughter (Lea). Lea had not trained well for the race, running only a mile or two, a couple of times a week. Liz has been injured since last week and could not run well but she was going to try. I was OK but have not done any speedwork since I had the marathon 3 weeks ago. Last year I ran a very fast race and I knew there was no way to match it in a hot day like this.

It was sunny and hot! Temperature at 8 am was 80F when we left home. Parking was no problem and it looked like there were less people than last year. I saw Cindy and a couple of people from the Vertical Runner group. While standing around we were trying to figure out what the chances for award were for Lea.

The race started 9:10. I was running fast behind Mike at 6:30 pace or faster. It did not feel that fast. Soon Mike pulled a bit ahead. At mile 1 we had the first water stop. I tried to grab a cup but I missed and it fell down. We continued to run through Hudson residential streets until mile 2.6 when we entered a park. This is the part where I usually do my attack. Like last year, I passed a couple of runners, including the top Female runner (Tracy) during an uphill.

Also like last year, this part inside the park feels really long (Lea agreed too) but it is only 0.8 mi long. There is water in the entry and exit (a welcome relief!) After exiting from the park we only have about ½ mile to go. The finish is on a street going downhill. I could hear someone coming from behind. I thought it was Tracy, but as it turns out it was a young kid trying to get ahead. I accelerated and entered the finish first, but the final results show me behind him.

Anyway, my time was 26:55. This was more than a minute slower than last year, but good enough to get me 10th place overall and 1st age group award, in a smaller field. Here are the results compared to previous years:

2004 26:34 (6:38) 33/298, no AG!
2007 25:47 (6:29) 14/169, 2nd AG
2008 26:55 (6:44) 10/95, 1st AG

Mile 2008 2007 Difference
1 6:31 6:15 -16
2 6:41 6:30 -11
3 6:53 6:37 -16
4 6:50 6:43 -7

So I ran each mile about 10 to 15 seconds slower than last year. I think I need some speed work to get back to faster times in short distances.

Wife Liz had to abandon the race right away. Daughter Lea did her running/walking routine and finished at 42:59 (10:45 pace). This is faster than her first 5K race (11:02 pace) but slower than her second 5K race (9:17 pace, she did not walk). She did not win an award (4th in her age group) but is still excited about running.

<- Like last year, my award was a plant! This is appropriate for a "Run for the Parks" race.

After the race we stayed around for the awards. Like last year, my award was a plant. Also, in this race instead of a shirt we got a pair of socks. And an energy drink. It is nice to get things we can use and we all have to many race shirts anyway.

Our next race is next week. Both Lea and myself have signed up for the Jim Klett race next Saturday (I am running the 10K, she is running the 5K). Liz has a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. She is a bit depressed that she is missing these races and running. Let’s hope the doctor will find out what is wrong and how to fix it.

Week 22 – Training Report

<- My new routine, running from the Brecksville RC home via the Buckeye trail. I start running up on Brecksville Rd until Prakway Rd and I get into the trail there. I end up in Snowville Rd and I run (or walk when I am tired) up home (1.3 mi) from there. It is an enjoyable run, about 6 miles in trails.

S: Towpath 9 mi with Liz. She gets injured..
M: On my way to running trails, last dry day but Lea stopped me and did 3 each miles with her..
T: 2 mi with Lea
W: Run at noon around EH, full 8.2 mi. Then with Liz slowly in the afternoon.
T: RC and Buckeye trail in return. Trails were muddy. Time a lot slower.
F: Rest
S: Hudson run for the parks 4 mi. report to follow.

Total for the week: 36 miles, 166 lbs

Week 21 – Training Report

<- Carriage Trail (loop) picked from Towpath Trail

One week after the marathon. Logged a lot of miles! The highlight of the week is my new system of running back from the Rec Center via the Buckeye trail. I leave Brecksville Road running up. Then at the Parkway drive I enter the trail, go down, then continue on the Buckeye trail until Snowville and then run uphill home.

S: Towpath Carriage Trail with Liz, 5.2 mi.
M: Memorial Day. Ran alone from Columbia to Boston via the Buckeye Trail & back, 6 mi.
T: Fitness and back via Buckeye Trail, 8 mi, The trail is in beautiful & dry condition.
W: w/Liz Snowville down, buckeye trail, and back via Columbia, 6 mi, fun!
T: Same as Tuesday. I ran ALL the uphills! I really enjoy these trail runs.
F: Slow 2 mi with Lea.
S: Trail running 6:30 with Cindy’s group. Started at Boston and did the winter Falls part first and then the Pine lane part. It rained the night before and the trails were muddy, so they were not fun. I collapsed in the way back and started walking. Felt really hard and was eating all day long. Total of 13.5 mi.

Total for the week: 49 miles, 165 lbs

Lessons Learned from Recent Marathon

Ready for a bit of controversy? Before my marathon race I did a lot of reading. I read all the recommendations and then, as usual, I did my own thing. Here are my observations.

1- Mileage: It is disturbing to read (for example in the Cleveland Marathon official literature) that to run a marathon you need to be running 50-70 miles/week. My first 3 marathons were done with only 20-30 miles a week, peaking to 35. This year I was up to 40 miles/week, peaking at 50 mi/week. Yes, maybe you will run a better race with 70 miles/week (at what cost?) but please do not tell people that they need 50 miles/week to complete a marathon.

2. Long Runs: Yes, I know, they are important. But somehow I have managed to complete 5 marathons with basically only one 20 mile run.

3. Tapering: I never understood or experienced “Taper Madness”. For me, cutting down on mileage is a welcome relief after hard training.

After the experience of last year’s marathon, I became a believer of shorter tapering. They say that you cannot gain fitness the last two weeks before the marathon. Maybe, but you can lose fitness if you are not careful. This is what happened to me last year. An injury forced me to do very little running the last two weeks before the marathon. I did not mind it, thinking that tapering was good, and I paid for it.

This year, against the usual recommendations, I peaked mileage-wise two weeks before the marathon. A week before the marathon, 8 mi. long run is recommended. I did a 12 mile run at near marathon pace and then 7 more easy miles with my wife in the afternoon. I only tapered one week. The last week I ran every day, but shorter runs, but I did not run the last 2 days before the marathon. That's enough rest for me. And it worked well, since I had plenty of strength in the last part of the marathon.

4. Eating & Diet (my favorite topic!): Against most published advice, I went on a diet 3 weeks before the marathon. I kept the diet until the last days before the race. On Friday morning I was 162.5 lbs. I then ate well for two days. On race day (Sunday) I was 166.5 lbs. 4 lbs of glycogen and water that I needed for the race.

I am wondering about some of the things I read... "4 hours before the race eat a small meal...." Do they really expect me to wake up at 3 am to eat? All my eating was done on Saturday. When I got up on Sunday I only ate a 1/3 slide of bread with almond butter and half an orange. And a sip of water.

During the race I did not have anything to eat. No energy bars, liquid packs, gels, nothing. No food at all. It is not that I have sensitive stomach (I do not). It's just that I was not hungry, or weak, or anything like that. I did not need to eat and I was not going to force myself to eat. And I did not hit the wall. I did not come anywhere near feeling weak. I think I have large glycogen reserves. One day of eating (the day before the race or a long run) is enough for me.

4. Hydration: In my opinion, hydration is overrated. :) I made no effort to hydrate before the race. The morning of race I only had a sip of water. I was not thirsty and I did not want to force myself to drink water. This extra water will only be a problem at the race. Having to pee, holding it, looking for potties, and wasting time to pee. Who needs that?

The weather is a big factor. It was rainy and 50F. That's not weather for needing water. I took a bit water and gatorade at the aid stations and that was all I needed for the race.

5. Pacing & Walking Breaks: Even pacing is a myth that does not apply for ordinary runners. There is no way you can maintain the same pace for 26 miles. You have to plan for a at least 30 seconds difference in pace between the first and the last miles. You have to run the bulk of the marathon at about 10-15 second pace faster than expected time, to account for expected slowing down later on.

My first 3 miles were slow/cautious. I then settled in a comfortable pace for the next 19 miles. This pace was 15 sec faster than projected time. I built up a 3 minute buffer which helped me psychologically. I slowed down the last miles by about 30 seconds/mile but I had enough strength to finish with a fast last mile. I finished 2 1/2 minutes faster than goal time.

In past years I had taken walking/stretching breaks, even a break to change clothes, including shoes! This year I did not need/use any of that. I even ran through the water stops (trying to drink while running, something I had not practiced before). No potty breaks either. Just running.
Considering the good outcome, I plan to stick with this plan, until I have a problem next time :)

Recovery

It’s been almost 3 weeks since the Cleveland Marathon. Recovery from this marathon went extremely well. Much better than in previous years.

In previous marathons I followed this pattern: For the first two days after the marathon I am unable to run, I am walking with difficulty, and I have a lot of pain going down stairs. The first attempt to run is usually the 3rd day after the marathon but only for a mile or so. By the end of the week I was able to run maybe 6 miles.

This year I clearly had less pain. Two days after the marathon I went running 2 miles at noon at 3 1/2 miles in the afternoon. I had very little pain. On Saturday, just 6 days after the marathon, I ran 15 miles, 5 on trails and 10 in the towpath.

Does that mean that I did not try my hardest at the marathon? Nahhh… It just means that I was better trained for this marathon than previous ones. But I am wondering about my wife. She does not have any leg pain/discomfort after her 5Ks and the recent 10K. I am telling her that if her legs/muscles do not hurt the day after the race, then she did not run hard enough. Am I right in saying this?

Cleveland Marathon 2008 - Race Report

Today was the Cleveland Marathon and I had only one goal in mind: 3:30 (my Boston qualifying time)

Mission Accomplished!

For the past 4 years I have been running one marathon a year, the Towpath marathon in October. My previous times: 2004-3:55, 2005-3:45, 2006-3:36. Last year I thought I was ready for a 3:30, but I collapsed, starting at mile 16.

This year I decided to try a spring Marathon, the Cleveland Marathon. Training was OK, with more miles than last year (40-50 mi/week) but only one 20 mile long run. I lost a bit of weight and felt prepared for the marathon.

The day did not look good, weather-wise. It was raining hard since 3 am in the morning... It was pouring while waiting in line for the start. The temperature was 50F. I was standing with shorts and short sleeves, wondering if I was under-dressed, but, I was actually fine.

The race started at 7:07 am. For the first 3 miles I followed the 3:30 pace group. The field was crowded and the roads wet with puddles. I then moved ahead, running on my own, and managed to build a 2-3 minute buffer from the desired 8 min/mile pace. I was afraid I'd hit the wall by mile 16, like last year, but it never happened. The miles were rolling rather comfortably. I was running strong, and kept running through the water stops. I did not need any gels or any food, just water and the occasional Gatorade. I did not need bathroom breaks. I actually enjoyed the route. Last year I did the half and was familiar with the west side. This year I saw the East side and it was beautiful (park, lake shore, etc).

My Garmin was lagging behind the official mile markers, by as much as 0.2 miles in the end, but it was giving me a good idea of my average pace. My mile splits (according to the Garmin):

Mile -- Time
1 8:10
2 7:32
3 7:56
4 7:26
5 7:23
6 7:55
7 7:44
8 7:44
9 7:49
10 7:41
11 7:41
12 7:30
13 7:40
14 7:56
15 7:51
16 7:48
17 7:44
18 7:27
19 7:38
20 7:54
21 8:01
22 8:07
23 8:28
24 8:16
25 8:12
26 7:55
+0.4 7:18 (0.4 mi according to my Garmin)

With some variations, due to the topography (slight up/down hills), my splits were remarkably even, averaging 7:45 from mile 2 to mile 20.


In the last miles we had a head wind that might contributed to the slower pace. I looked at my watch after mile 23 and got scared when I saw 8:28. I knew I had built a 2 minute time buffer but this could evaporate if my pace slowed to 9 min/mile. So I made an effort to pick up the pace in the last miles. I passed quite a few runners. I had the strength to finish with an under 8 min mile 26 and sprint to the end.

The clock was reading 3:27:11 and my chip time was 3:26:22. I was 26/179 in my age group, 232 overal and 217 among males.

So, I made my 3:30 goal and qualified for Boston!!! Now, with this out of the way, I can relax and enjoy a Fall marathon or two. (I am actually thinking of running both Akron and Towpath this year).

My wife, Liz, ran her first 10K in the same race. Her goal was to finish under 1 hour, She is rather conservative/pessimistic - last weekend she managed to run 7 miles and her time at 6.2 miles (10K) was one hour, so I told her she should aim for 57 minutes instead. And right I was! :) Her chip time was 56:49.

Her race started 30 minutes after the marathon. By the time she was done, she had to wait for me for 2 hours. The sun came out for the last hour so it was not too bad. Her job was to take a 3d picture of me at the finish. I was carrying a cell phone (in my hands actually, I like to hold something while running) so I kept her informed of my projected arrival time. But as I was sprinting at the finish line, someone was blocking the view so the picture would not come our very good. Oh well... we both had good races.

And talking about pictures, in the expo yesterday I managed to have my picture taken with; 1) John "The Penguin" Bingham, 2) Bart Yasso (I bought his new book and he autographed it for me), 3) Bill Rodgers. They were all nice, and Bill was perhaps the nicest of all. Some fun memories... These pictures are in slides, so when I get the roll developed, I will scan and post the pictures here.

My Marathon History

I have run the Marathon, 4 times so far, once a year, the Towpath Marathon. You can see my times in the table here.

2004: This was my first Marathon and my aim was 1) to finish, 2) to finish under 4 hours. I ran with worn/inferior shoes and inadequate training (19 miles longest run) but finished with a respectable 3:55. However, I developed ITBS which took several months to clear up.

2005: With good shoes, and without worrying about time, I improved my time to 3:45. No problems, but it did feel exceptionally hard and recovery was harder. Again, I did not have sufficient long runs.

2006: This was the surprise year. I was prepared for the worse since a trip to Greece had disrupted my long runs, plus my racing times (5K, 19K, 1/2M) this year were slower than the previous year. But I ran a strong race and finished at 3:36. That included at 2 ½ minutes delay to change shoes.

2007: All indicators were pointing to a terrific marathon: I had lost weight and had PRed in all distances. I was a leaner and faster runner, plus for the first time the 20 mile training runs (at 8:30 pace) felt very easy. Seemed like the 3:30 goal was easily within reach. However, minor injuries prevented me from running the last two weeks before the marathon. The first 12 miles were fast (7:30 to 7:40) – possibly a mistake - but my legs got tired and by mile 19 I was walking and was considering dropping off the race. The hot weather contributed to slower times and many runners were walking in the last miles (The marathon was the same day with the Chicago marathon that ended in a distaster). I finally finished at 3:47 and gained new respect for the distance (never underestimate the Marathon). I tried an ice bath and that helped a lot initially but recovery was rather slow. This race took a lot out of me.

2008: This is my first Spring Marathon and first all-roads marathon. I have trained OK (I could have done more long runs – 3d weekend prevented me from running a long 20+ mile run 3 weeks before the marathon). I have lost a bit of weight and my running times are better than last year’s (so far). If the weather cooperates, I think I have a shot at 3:30 but it is going to be difficult.

Detox Diet – Works for me!

<--- Since 2001 I have kept data like this one. I weigh myself every morning and then average the numbers every week. I plot this weekly weight in a graph as you see here (for 2005 in this case).

Back in 2001 I had ballooned to 225 lbs. I then started running, to lose weight. In one year I was down to 175 lbs and fell in love with running. I never really dieted. Weight got off as I was running. Since then, I have tried to lose weight (so I can run better) without any success… I tried different things: Calorie counting, fasting, not eating after 5 pm. Each method worked for a while, but I was soon back to where I started.

Things changed about this time last year my wife introduced me to the Detox diet. Here is what I wrote about this diet last year (4/07):

----- My wife put me in this 11 day (Detox) diet, 11 days ago. She told me what to eat (and what not to eat) and she even prepared the food for me. All I had to do was eat what I was served (that's easy) and resist the temptation to snack (I cheated, of course, but only a little bit and mostly with healthy foods, and none of the forbidden sugar-loaded snacks!)
At 175 lbs 5'10" I do not really need to lose weight for health reasons but I WANT to lose weight so I can run faster. My running friends are 132 and 140 lbs. So I started with a 7 day diet, followed a fast (last Tuesday - did not eat anything, that was tough, but I made it), followed by 3 more days of diet. The last day was yesterday.
I started at 174 lbs and ended up at 168 lbs. That might not sound too much, but I was not overweight to start (I have heavy bones :)) and I have never been steadily under 170 for as long as I can remember. So it feels great!
I don't think there are any great secrets in this diet (even though the author of the book/plan puts a lot of emphasis in the "detox" part and avoiding gluten (I don't know what it is but I know I could not eat bread.)) I ate (and will continue to eat) two (organic :)) eggs for breakfast, salads & lean meat for lunch & dinner and I did not snack in-between (just drinking lots of water). We did switch to organic fruits & vegetables and filtered water. I stopped drinking the whole milk cocoa that I love (as a matter of fact, I stopped chocolate completely and I don't miss it) and sugar-loaded products. And I ate smaller portions. I think this is a change for life. In this diet I was eating something like 2,000 calories a day instead of the standard 3,500-4,000 calories I would normally eat. ------


<--- 2007 weight graph. The first drop is the first Detox Diet that help me permanently lose 6 lbs. I started at 174 lbs and ended up at 168 and managed to keep the weight off. This is the first time I was under 170 lbs. My running improved and was able to PR in every distance I raced. I tried the diet again in September but did not manage to keep off the weight.

While I was in this diet, I was of course losing weight, and was not feeling particularly hungry, but my running was definitely affected. I could not run long runs, or run fast, due to lack of energy. In the end, I lost 6 lbs (from 174 to 168 lbs) and I emerged a stronger runner, going on to improve my PR in every distance I raced, except for the Marathon.

I tried the same diet in September of last year (after my marathon) and even though I lost weight while on the diet, I gradually gained all the weight back, maybe because I returned to my old eating habits (chocolate, etc) right when the diet ended.

Spring forward one year. I decided to do the diet again... Some people might question the wisdom of dieting and losing weight 3 weeks before a marathon. I figured, a diet (aimed to lose weight, including a fasting day) is like a long training run. It would be a mistake to diet the week before the marathon. But if I do it 3 weeks ahead of time (just like the last long run), I still have time to "recover" (from the diet, meaning to regain strength and restore my glycogen supplies, not necessarily regain weight - OK, maybe a pound or two)


<--- Recent round of Detox diet has helped me lose 5 lbs. Hopefully, this loss will stick.

So I started Monday two weeks ago. My weight was 169 lbs (I had reached a peak of over 171 lbs just a week or two before). I did a fast 10 mile training run last Wednesday and I felt surprisingly strong. I was busy in a conference last weekend so I could not do a very long run and did not eat much. Tuesday was my fast day, and I went for a 10 mile run without problems. The morning after the fast I was 161 lbs!

Like last year, the thing I like about this diet is that I am not hungry. Yes, when I go to bed at night I feel a bit hungry (since I am not snacking in the evening) but overall I am fine during the day. This year, I am seeing something new: My running has not been affected, while on the diet. Of course, I have not run over 10 miles, but I feel fine running 10 miles relatively fast.

Bottom line: I lost 5 lbs (from 169 to 164) and I hope to keep it off by eating sensibly. I also hope that this weight loss will help me get closer to my goal of a 3:30 marathon.