Sunday, April 08, 2007

Food
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs (204 calories)
Morning snack: Chocolate chip cookies (200 calories)
Lunch: Dumplings (jiaozi, 120 calories)
Afternoon snack: Chocolate chip cookies (200 calories)
Dinner: Spaghetti with marinara, cheesecake, brownies (700 calories)
Midnight snack: Almonds, tortilla with butter (260 calories)
Total for the day: 1684

Training
10 K run (South on Figueroa, west on Exposition, north on Vermont, east on Adams x 2)
Took me 1:11 (about 11:16/mile) and I burned around 626 calories.
Total calories burned: 2626

Summary
Yesterday's run was my first 10 K training run ever. I was excited to find a route that so exactly fit my needs. The loop I took was almost exactly 5 K (gmaps pedometer says it's actually 3.18 miles). It's not the most comfortable route, by any means; it's all within the city, and the number of cars is troubling. The air quality is poor. And especially down Adams, there's a lot of pedestrian traffic to dodge, small shops and bakeries and whatnot.

The first half of my run was the more difficult half. I was reasonably well focused and maintaining an average pace. Within the first couple miles, I had to keep reminding myself that I was on a long distance training run, and that my pace and perceived effort should be moderate; this was not a tempo run. I had to discipline myself to go slower than I might have liked. Also, although I wanted to be out on the road and was extremely motivated, even excited, to be training, I found myself boring with my run fairly quickly; I wanted to cut my run short and go back home.

But I pushed past my starting point in about 36 minutes to begin my second loop, and it felt great. I wanted to work for a negative split, so I pushed myself a little harder. For the first lap, I tried to keep my heartrate between 145 and 150 (which is Zone 1, for those who keep track of such things), but on my second lap I shot for 150-160 (still Zone 1).

On this longer training run, without the fatigue of many of my training runs, I got to be better acquainted with my body. I already knew that I hit a second wind about halfway into my third mile, but now I also know that I feel fresher after about four and a half, and that the hardest time for me is about half a mile from the end. It took a little bit of mental strength to keep going at five and a half.

Overall, a good day for training, although a relatively light load for me. The difference between my estimated calories consumed and estimated calories burned was 942, lower than normal, but still a good balance.