January 2010 At A Glance.

It seems that everyone is talking about their first month of 2010 and what it represents in their plans for the rest of the year. I usually don't put as much thought into that as I do the proceeding year.

I look back and complain about all the things that I remember going wrong with my training. I tend to lay blame on many things without actually substantiating my views. I keep very good track of my training but never seem to have the time or desire to use the data to actually form an accurate picture from which to learn by. Perhaps now with the first month behind me, I can create a solid visual for me as a guide line.

One excuse I use a lot is my weight. I complain about how heavy I get in the winter and that my summer/fall results directly relate to how well I drop that weight off. I keep telling people (and myself) that if I could drop off 10 or so pounds I would be able to run some much faster times and possibly get back to establishing some new PRs.

The other day I stepped on the scale and found my weight was creeping up again and this really bothered me. I felt it was getting out of control so to counteract that I decided to go back to my first real year running and create a slug of statistics to compare. It was quite surprising to see the results.

I started running in 2001 with the intent to trim up and get healthy. I didn't really keep any sort of records until 2002. Since 2002 I have been remarkably stable in my weight. At first that didn't make sense but as I thought about it, it does. I have lost fat but gained muscle and also, I don't "eat to run" so much as I "run to eat". By this I mean, I eat more because I can as the running helps control the weight which would be an issue if I didn't exercise.

Looking back over the years I found that January was consistently my heaviest months and my faster races were when I was the lightest. My January weight seemed to have little relation to how well or fast I ran in that year and my two lightest years were not my fastest.

I also realized that my distance totals for January did not correspond in any way to how well I would run in that year. My two lightest January's did not end up being my lightest summers, as a matter of fact my weight fluctuated very little those two years. The year of my Marathon and the 50K should have been the lightest, but they were actually my heaviest of the eight years.

I thought it might be quite interesting so I set up the graph below. Perhaps someone might be able to tell me more than I have been able to decipher from it.

-------Miles for----January---Month and-------Fastest distance
------the month----weight----lowest weight---race of the yr

Jan 2002--36.0 mi----178 lbs---Sept 169 lbs---Oct 1/2 mara(7:26p)

Jan 2003--22.7 mi----180 lbs---Aug 171 lbs----Aug B to B(7:06p)

Jan 2004--67.2 mi----178 lbs---Aug 168 lbs----Aug B to B(7:38p)

Jan 2005--126.4 mi---175 lbs---Oct 172 lbs----Feb 10 miler(8:18p)

Jan 2006--103.5 mi---175 lbs---Aug 173 lbs---Oct Marathon(9:14p)

Jan 2007--104 mi-----181 lbs---Nov 168 lbs----Oct 1/2mara(8:08p)

Jan 2008--100.7 mi---183 lbs---Aug 174 lbs---May 25K trail(10:50P)

Jan 2009--74.4 mi----183 lbs---May 174 lbs---May 50K trail(12:30P)

Jan 2010--100.7 mi---182 lbs----------------------------------------------

Points to ponder:

The year of the first 1/2 marathon, my longest race was 5 miles and my longest training run (which I ran once) was eight miles.

The year of my marathon, I actually trained for the half and switched to the marathon six weeks before I ran it, so I wasn't totally prepared for it.

The two years that I was my lightest (168 lbs) I did not run my fastest. 2004 (ran 1 PR) and 2007, (ran zero PR's).


Graph #2---- PRs in each distance Pace, weight and date.

1 Mile----------6:17pace-------172 lbs(2008)

5 K------------20:18(6:32p)----170 lbs(2003)

5K trail-------23:29(7:34p)----172 lbs(2006)

4 mile---------28:03(7:01p)----174 lbs(2004)

5 mile---------36:12(7:15p)----175 lbs(2003)

6 mi trail-----57:17(9:33)-----171 lbs(2008)

10K------------44:03(7:06p)----171 lbs(2003)

9 mi trail----1:50:29(11:18)----174 lbs(2009)

10 mile-------1:22:50(8:17p)----172 lbs(2005)

12 mi trail---2:26:12(11:48)----172 lbs(2009)

1/2 mara-----1:37:26(7:26p)----169 lbs(2002)

25K trail-----2:48:25(10:50p)---174 lbs(2008)

Marathon-----4:01:30(9:14p)----173 lbs(2006)

50K trail-----6:28:48(12:30p)---174 lbs(2009)

My health insurance company considers me overweight when looking at my height verses weight on paper. I think if this graph shows anything it is the fact that I have a pretty stable weight overall.

I am carrying at least 10 extra/unneeded pounds and personally feel my ideal racing weight is somewhere around 165 lbs. I have yet to drop to this weight to prove that and perhaps it should be a goal for this year.

As I sit here eating my second Dunkin Donut, I am shaking my head yes in agreement to my last statement....perhaps I should start by cutting out the donuts.