Slo Jo: Could Really Go for a Hamburger

Distance: 5 miles
Pace: 10:30 avg
Temperature: 45

This morning I ran five with Coach and CC. CC had some great success at a 5K this weekend. She has been running with Coach three days a week, with her goal being one 5K per month. This month, she took an unbelievable five minutes off her run time. I ran with her to help her pace (basically, I was there to say "slow down" a lot during the first mile).

CC then made the mistake of telling Coach that she finished 7th in her age group. (Mysteriously, I am in an older age group, had the exact same time, and was not even in the teens.) Coach looked at the results and noted the number six finisher had been four minutes faster--so today was speedwork for poor CC.

We did a walk to warm up (I never do that unless I have Coach with me, especially if it is cold out). And it really wasn't that cold. Yes, I have seen the weather and understand that not every part of the nation is enjoying Phoenix's 70-degree temperatures right now. It appears some people might be a little, shall we say, chilly. But telling me to suck it up because it was only in the 40s is like thinking about starving people in China. It's theoretically likely that someone there is hungry, but if I'm not hungry, I just can't eat. Oh, who am I kidding. I can always eat.

(Super cool photograph of frozen lighthouse. Not taken in Arizona. Here's the article.)

So I wore a long-sleeved shirt, a running jacket, and my new gloves that let you work your iPhone. It felt good to start jogging; I needed the blood to start flowing. We jogged for a couple of miles, chit-chatting. My stomach started grumbling. I had eaten some dry cereal, but it was having no effect. I'm trying to lose a couple of pounds before the marathon, and my body was complaining about lack of fuel.

I just read an interview with "exercise immunology expert" David Nieman in Runners World in which he stated that while runners are told to restock their glycogen after a workout, it isn't really necessary. He said that while studies on glycogen restocking are valid:

The issue is that this finding doesn't apply to 99 percent of us. It's for Ironman triathletes and marathoners doing double workouts and 120 miles a day. These folks are never more than a few hours away from their next workout, and for them it's important to practice maximal re-stocking.

Well, I *am* a marathoner (I hope), but I'm not doing double workouts or anything too crazy. All I did was five miles today. So what is better than glycogen restocking? 

For the 99 percent of us, it's more important to practice maximal food restraint. We'd be better off losing a couple of pounds than re-stocking in world-record time... 

Nieman nodded his agreement with me..."I've looked at those studies, and the glycogen gain is very modest. Most people will run better in their next race if they lose a pound of body fat."

I also read Matt Fitzgerald's book, Racing Weight, that devotes about 300 pages to one concept: lean runners run faster. I GOT IT IN THE FIRST FIVE PAGES, MATT. 

And in Iron War, a book I have plugged before, one of the top Ironmen is so devoted to being lean that he rinses his cottage cheese before eating it. Well! That is...devoted.

So a pound of body fat it is! Maybe even TWO pounds. Seems easier just to drink chocolate milk after running instead. But I'm gonna try. But as a result of my calorie restrictions, I was hungry on this run.

After 1.75 miles, CC and Coach turned around, and they planned to do speedwork. I was grateful that I had a really good excuse not to participate in speedwork. I HATE IT. So I motored on without them. I took my speed up, because I was cold, and ran mile 3 at 10:30 and mile 4 at 10:20. These are good times for ol' Slo Jo. I was trying for negative splits, but I ended up slacking on mile 5 and turning in a 10:40. Perhaps FUEL would have helped me push through--but NO! I'm on a diet.

I got back to the car and did my stretches, then went home and scrambled some eggs. It wasn't glycogen restocking, Mr. Nieman. We call it breakfast. Or second breakfast. Is it lunchtime yet?