How to reduce your half marathon time.

Last October, I ran a half marathon in about 1:58.

This year, I hope to hit under 1:45.

That's going from about a 9min per mile pace to an 8min per mile.

Here's my plan.

Step 1: use Hal Higdon Internediate 2 as a base training plan. http://www.halhigdon.com/training/64471/Half-Marathon-Walk-Training-Program-Intermediate-2

Step 2: figure out what my goal paces are using the McMillan Running Calculator. https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/

So, I plug in my race distance (half marathon) and goal time (1:45). It will spit out goal paces at various distances. For example, my calculator shows my goal pace at 5k distance to be 7:27 per mile. So, when I do interval training on the Hal Higdon Plan, I'll be doing 400m repeats at that 5k pace.

In tempo run days, I'll work up to 10k pace which is 7:44 per mile for me.

Now, I do a lot of my speed training on a treadmill. So, I use this chart to find my speed https://www.google.com/search?q=treadmill+pace+chart&safe=active&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS742US742&hl=en-US&prmd=sinv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjexqjI2I3UAhUB3YMKHV0fCVwQ_AUICigC&biw=667&bih=299#imgrc=o4bsSwwCOj948M:


Step 3: Lose weight. If we take 20 min per mile decrease per 10 pounds (https://www.google.com/amp/www.runnersworld.com/for-beginners-only/how-does-weight-loss-affect-my-running-speed%3famp) then each pound will save me 2 seconds. Last year, I was about 213 pounds for the half marathon. Right now, I'm 208.5. I plan to lose a pound a week during the training which will put me at 196.5 at race time which is 16.5 pounds less than last year which should get me 33 seconds per mile faster than last year.

Step 4: squats and deadlifts. These strength exercises have been good friends during the last year. I'll have finished a recent strength block as the running training begins. During the 12 weeks, I'll focus on maintaining strength with a once a week session for squats and once for deads.

Step 5: Fuel. I plan on running this race Keto again. I, however, will train more with UCAN superstarch to adapt my tummy to it better than last year.

Step 6: execute. Follow my plan as close as possible. It will work.

New Goals

October 21st will mark my 36th birthday. It seems like a good deadline for some goals.

I have 4.

1. Reach the "1000 pound club" (1000 pound total on the 1-rep max for squat, bench press, and deadlift)

2. Run a 5k in under 25 minutes

3. Run a half marathon

4. Be under 200 pounds.



As October approaches, I'm noticing that I'm within striking distance of all of these goals. But, number 4 is going to be tough. My weight loss has slowed. So, in order to make that goal, I'll have to really buckle down on calories.

Up till now during my 122 pound keto journey, I have basically never counted calories. That's one of the reasons keto has been so easy. I just don't eat carbs, and I lose weight! But, the truth is that I lose weight because I eat fewer calories than I need. Keto just makes that easier. As I lose weight, however, the amount of calories I need also goes down. So, my caloric deficit is shrinking and therefore so is the rate of my weight loss. All that means is that in order to maintain the same rate of weight loss, I have to adjust calories downward over time. I haven't done that.

So, if I want to get under 200 pounds by October 21st, I have about 13.5 weeks to do that. This morning I weighed in at 228 pounds. So, I need to drop 28 pounds in 13.5 weeks. That's 2.07 pounds per week.

On average lately I've been dropping about 1.7. So, I need to cut out some more calories OR up my exercise to increase my deficit.

This is possible. I just need to be more organized/focused than I have been.

At 225, I plan on doing progress pics and a goal review. We'll see what kind of strategy I can come up with in the mean time.

The short version: In 6 years I gained 100 pounds and then lost 122 and still counting.

It has been nearly 6 years since last I put metaphorical pen to page on the ol' blog of Fatty exploits. Much has happened in that time, of course. New kids. New job. Lots of stuff. 

But, let's focus on fat. In October of 2011, I did my last big race. It was the Portland Marathon. I had wanted to run a marathon at 30. I made it by a few weeks. 

The marathon was ugly. I was 250ish pounds. I ran a lot. But, all those miles at that weight was rough. I did finish the race. It took me 5 hours. I ended up 'hitting the wall' around mile 21, and I walked to about mile 24. Then I jogged to the end. 

Finishing the marathon left me beat up and feeling like I needed a BREAK from running. 

What a break! A week turned into a month. A month turned into a season. The next thing I knew, I hadn't run for 3 years. 

Fatty very quickly ballooned over those three years to around 350 pounds. The heaviest I've ever been. Furthermore, my mental health (anxiety) was terrible.

I tried to get back into running a little. But, at that weight, it's really tough. Your body fights you on so many fronts. I even signed up for Hood to Coast again with my wife. I was set to run it in 2015. I was up to about a brutal 4 miles at a time at a pace of 12:30-13min per mile. Plus my anxiety was through the roof. I swallowed what little pride I had and bowed out of the race. It was a good decision at the time. 

Around this same time I felt really desperate for a weight solution. I felt like I'd never win. I decided to look into weight loss surgery. I figured this might be the one way I'd ever find success. I researched. I talked to people who did it. I felt pretty sure I wanted to do it. I went to a doctor and asked him what he thought. (A previous doc had mentioned it as an option) I figured it would be a no-brainer. See a morbidly obese dude in the office who has been fat almost since birth? Seems like a good candidate, no?

Well, I was in for a surprise. 

Me: (to doc) "What do you think about bariatric surgery?"

Doc: "For what?"

Me: "...for me."

Doc: (after a brief pause) "Nah, you don't need it. Just quit eating carbs."

Then the doc goes into a rant about how modern doctors don't know squat about nutrition. He says 85% of all health problems can be fixed via diet. Weight loss is naturally easier when you drop carbs, etc.. 

Well, I quit eating carbs that day cold turkey. That was September 1st 2015. As of this morning, I have lost 122 pounds since then. 

Ok, so there are more details. The doc recommended this website and this book. I checked both out. But, the basics were straightforward. Sugar, bread, grains, and carbs cause problems. Well, it just so happened that I was a carb addict. Cereal, bread, grains, chips, some candy, and more cereal are all things I ate a lot of all my life. 

That first week I quit eating carbs back in Sept. '15, I dropped like 15 pounds. Sure, the vast majority of that was water. But, it was psychologically exciting AND--here's the best part--it felt EASY. 

The short short version is this: dropping carbs kills hunger which makes it easy to be at a caloric deficit. In other words, you naturally fewer calories because you're not hungry. At least, this is how it has been for me. 

In my further research on low-carb/paleo/primal eating, I came across my dietary bff. Keto. "Keto" is short for "ketogenic" which refers to "ketosis" which is a process/state your body uses for energy in the absence of carbs. There are lots of pros to keto. But, for me, it has been magical. The pounds melted off easily. I felt awesome. Here's another important highlight: For the first month of success, I did virtually no exercise. None. 

It has been said other places that something like 85% of weight loss is diet. The rest is exercise. I might put that number at 90%. Exercise helps. But, diet is king. I have tried to literally outrun a bad diet several times. I even found some temporary success. But, in the end, diet wins. 

Ok, this post is getting long, and there's lots I can say. But let me finish by giving the best single keto resource I've found: Reddit Keto FAQ. That thing is gold. In fact, the reddit keto subforum is a great place in general for information, questions, and inspiration. I check it out often. 

There's plenty more to the story. But, the big parts are above. I started keto last September, and I've dropped 122 pounds so far. I expect to lose 1.5+ pounds this week as well. Furthermore, Fatty has hit the exercise hard again. I'm even running again. It feels good. I'll continue to fill in the deets on this blog as I move forward. 

How Much SHOULD I Weigh???

One of the advantages to tracking body fat percentage is that it will tell you how much you SHOULD weigh- sort of.

Currently, I weigh 249 pounds. 24.8% of that is lard (61.76lbs). For men, 15% body fat and under is considered "fit". There are some made up categories now too like "average" and "acceptable" that are higher. I don't care about those. My current goal is 13%. Assuming the same lean mass, what would I weigh if I was 13% body fat and technically "fit"?

Algebra. Who said it isn't useful?

I know my lean mass is 187.24 lbs. If my body fat was 13%, my lean mass would be 87% right? SO, in order to find my goal weight:

X*.87=187.24

187.24/.87  =  X

X = 215.22lbs

Let's check our work!

215.22 * .87 = 187.24  YAY!

More Math:

215.22 * .13 = 27.98

My current bodyfat in pounds is 61.76. At 13% body fat it would be 27.98 pounds. Therefore, I have 33.78 more fat pounds to lose to get to my goal.

In summary, when I reach 215 pounds, I should be at my goal.

WAIT A SECOND!

215 pounds!!!??  That's WAAAAY to heavy RIGHT??!

Wrong. This is exactly what I should weigh.


What about the BMI Charts?

If you look up my height (5'9") on the body mass index then it appears for me to be in the middle of the "healthy" BMI zone that I should weigh about 150 pounds. Excuse me? That's 65 pounds less!!!!!!!!!!

BMI is a load of garbage. Maybe if I was a starving refugee that weight would make sense. With my current make-up, it's not even possible. In fact, if I had ZERO fat- NOT EVEN AN OUNCE, I would weigh 187 pounds. That puts me in the middle of the overweight category moving toward obese.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime was something like 240 pounds when he competed. He was also about 6'1". That puts the former multi-Mr. Olympia into the obese category.

See a pattern?

BMI is STUPID. It's a height-weight calculation and nothing more. It doesn't take into consideration bones, muscle, fitness, or genetics. IGNORE IT ALWAYS. It has no value at all.

Body fat measurement owns BMI all day long every day. Focus on that.

Fatty out.

Monthly Measurements (July)

Weight: 249 (without shoes)


Body Fat %: 24.8


-Fat weight: 61.76 lbs


-Lean weight: 187.24 (muscle, bones, tendons, etc..)


Total mileage logged in the month of June: 113 miles


Total monthly fat loss: -2.98 pounds

Total monthly lean mass change: -1.02lb


Total monthly body fat % change: -0.69%




GOAL CHECK: (from 12/1/09)


1.) Lose 35 pounds of fat

Down about 25.65 pounds of fat since the first of December. This one isn't looking too great right now. Is it possible? Yes. Likely... no. But, I'll get as close as I can.


2.) Get to a consistent pace of 9:45 a mile or better


This one is straight up DONE. No prob.


3.) Be able to run 6 miles at the 9:45 pace twice twice a day.


I feel like this one is pretty much done too. I'm not worried at all.











Time Left to acheive goals: 0.5 months. WOW!

P90X may be my new BFF

Okay, so I've been doing the P90X workouts for a week and two days. Since I've begun, there has not been a time when I wasn't sore somewhere.

I'm a little hesitant to say that it's going to change my life... But, it seems like it's heading that way.

If you don't know what it is, P90X is a series of hardcore exercise videos. (the "X" stands for extreme) It's a system designed to be done for 90 days in multiple phases. The idea is to keep your body guessing, not adapting. When you do that, you get more results.

Well, my specs after week one were promising. I lost about 3 pounds. BUT, the biggest thing is that I lost almost a full % of body fat. That's amazing. It hasn't yo-yo'd back during the last few days either which means those are real results. I'll be checking in on the body fat and weight thing once a week (Sunday mornings).

Ok, this is the really weird thing. I've still been running while doing this, which is beyond what it calls for. But, my speed has increased, even at distance. I did a 7.5 mile last week. Normally my pace for that distance is going to average out to like a 10:30 per mile. I beat that by a full minute per mile. Other runs I've done show similarish increases. I can't really explain that. The only thing I've really changed is adding P90X. But, theoretically it shouldn't help with endurance running. I'm a little stumped. But, I like it. I'm pumped to see what will happen after another week or two!

Lastly, the great thing about these videos is that my wife can do them. Even better- she HAS been doing them. She's not quite as consistant, but she's starting to see changes already too. Sweet.

NEW GEAR and a SECRET WEAPON

I've been measuring my body fat using a tape measure and a formula. It works. It's a great and cheap way of tracking progress. However, I secretly wanted a body fat tester for a long time. There are lots you can use. The easiest is bioelectrical impedance. It's pretty accurate too. More so than a tape measure probably.

In honor of my pursuit of fitness and as bribary to shave the goatee thing I was sporting for a while, my wife let me buy a few things.

1.) A body fat tester. It's only about $30. You put your info in, hold it, and push a button. Easy. Now, it does measure me about 1.75% higher than the measuring tape. But, that's pretty good for a $3 piece of vinyl with inches printed on it. (Actually, I always used centimeters to get a closer measurement)

2.) A heart rate monitor. My handy heart rate watch thing died. To be most efficient in your running training, a heart monitor is super helpful. You wear a strap that watches your rate and transmits to a watch. You know right where you are at all times. This JUST arrived like 20 mins ago. I haven't even opened it. But I am pumped.. Get it?

3.) My secret weapon. For those that know me, the fact that it came from an infomercial should be no suprise. One word: P90X. This is what's going to help me shred the rest of my lard. I was a little skeptical too. But what put me over the fence is a strong endorsement from my uncle. He's done marathons, Ironman Triathalons, Ultramarathons, and now does crazy adventure races like Ecochallenge (look it up- think EXTREME). He said P90X has him in the best shape of his life. Sold. I have high expectations for this bad boy. So far, it's really good. Plus, Natalie and I have been doing it together! Bonus!

Thanks Honey!!!   :)