Giving 100%

Here's a picture of me and my friends, taken on March 17 after they had run the inaugural "Irish for a Day 5K" race. I had my own run that day, then changed and met them for breakfast. From the left is Marcia, me, Nat, and Marty. Marcia's wearing the race shirt; it says, "100% Irish."

We met at the Turtle Bread company, which is more of a bakery than restaurant, and I had a bowl of oatmeal and a butter croissant. I've managed to stay sugar-free since December 14 (I can't believe it!) yet every once in a while there's a reminder of what I'm giving up. For instance, since it's Lent, they had hot-cross buns. For the uninitiated, these are little white-flour buns filled with candied fruit and drizzled with white sugar glaze in the form of a cross. These are only available during Lent and I try to have one every year; just my little tradition. Usually they're a disappointment, but these looked good. I guess I can say that I gave them up for Lent. :-)

The no-sugar thing is paying off--I've lost over 10 pounds and my clothes fit again. I'm not sure if I'm a size 6 yet, but definitely an 8. I feel better and run better. An occasional hot-cross bun or other indulgence isn't that big of a deal, but I've learned over the years that I have no will-power. I'll start with best of intentions but soon have no self-control when it comes to sugar. So that's why I'm so rigorous about avoiding the stuff.

When I say no sugar, I've talking about sucrose--white table sugar, brown sugar, organic cane juice, etc. I sweeten my plain yogurt with honey and I eat plenty of bananas and other fruit. I pour real maple syrup on my pancakes, and take gels on my long runs. I could not be a marathoner without gels! But I don't eat the sports jelly beans because they have sugar in them, and I use Ultima sports drink because it's unsweetened.

Last week, some of us ran 9 miles, including Nat and Marcia. It was the longest run in a long time for all of us. We were fatigued at the end, but it was a good fatigue. This Saturday we're scheduled for 10 miles. Coach Gary is training for the Wells Fargo Half-Marathon, which I was going to do but can't because of a scheduling conflict. That race is in early May, so he needs to ramp up his distance. It's supposed to rain on Saturday.

In addition to the Saturday long runs, I've been running with my half-marathon training group two days a week. This coach has been great about working us out on hills and doing speed training. She provides variety. One week we ran Yasso 800s on the indoor track and last night she had us do them in a neighborhood. Next week we'll run them on an outdoor track. Yasso's, for those who don't know, are a method of speed training where you run 800 meters (1/2 miles) in a time that corresponds to your planned marathon finish time. So if you plan to finish in 5 hours, you run 800 meters in 5 minutes. After a short break (100 meters), you do it again. We did 4 of them. The idea is if you can do X number of them (I think it's 10 repeats, but it might be 12), then you'll finish the marathon in that time. They're hard, but effective.

Last Monday we got a taste of summer. It was so warm, I ran in my shorts and singlet. Bliss! It only lasted for a day, though; we're back to 50s and rain. The tulips are starting to push through and the ice is melting off the lakes, so that means winter is over. Good riddance. Bring on the color.