My fitness numbers

Well, here I am successfully in week 3 of my training program with about 20 weeks until the big race (Hallucination 100) and one week until my first race of the year (Trail Marathon).  I still have some training hurdles ahead of me (namely 18 days in Asia), but I'm still feeling good about my plans for the year.  Last week I participated in a study for a health sciences student at SVSU and went through a series of fitness tests.  In addition to the simple fact that I like data, I thought this might be a fun way to track the impact of my training program.  I get retested in a few months so we'll see if there is a difference.  Here are the interesting factoids about me.  Ratings (excellent, good, poor, etc.) and percentiles are based on some charts that they gave me at the fitness test and based on age.

• Blood pressure: 126/78  (prehypertensive, ug)
• Weight: 137.7 lb
• Height: 66.1 inches
• BMI: 22.2  ("normal weight")
• Total cholesterol: 220 (borderline high, also ug)
• HDL: 38
• Glucose: 89
• Skinfold (body fat): 15.7% +/- 3-4%  (75th percentile and excellent)
• Total Grip Strength: 84  (Poor)
• Sit-ups in one minute: 41 (Excellent, in fact I only needed 25 for excellent)
• Push-ups in one minute: 36 (Excellent, in fact I only needed 30 for excellent)
• Walking test (VO2): 51.3 (80th to 90th percentile)
• Sit and reach: 29.5  (Good)

First race of 2013

Well, I am officially registered for the Trail Marathon 50k at the end of April.  In order to accomplish the "No Wimps Challenge" I'm going to run the half marathon, which is held the day before.  I thought it would be a fun way to kick off my training for the Hallucination 100, in particular since the races are on the same trails.  Actually, this week marks my first week using an actual training plan.  I picked up a copy of Brian Powell's Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons.  There is a 70 mile/week 100 miler training plan that I am going to try to follow.  This is at the high end of my weekly mileage (historically I vary from 30-50 miles/week) and I'm a little uncertain as work/family/life has typically kept me from following a formal training plan.  On top of this, I'm not certain how I will get my miles in during my trip to Asia.  Still, I really want to finish the Hallucination 100 and, ideally, finish without falling apart in the last 25-40 miles as has been the case in previous races.  I also see it as a bit of a test of my self-discipline.  We'll see.  In either case, I am really looking forward to my first race of the year.  I've had a couple 20 mile runs and one 25 mile long run so I think a slow 50k shouldn't be too much trouble even following a half marathon.  My mantra will be to go slow.  I'm not sure that anyone is keeping track, but I have also switched from Daily Mile to Endomondo and put up a new widget here that accurately lists my total mileage for the year.  This is really just because I have dropped using my Garmin and started using the GPS on my phone.

International marathons?

Despite a bout of illness and a lack of any formal training plan, I think that I am grooving along pretty well and have a solid base.  With the exception of sick week, I'm averaging 30-35 miles per week with a few 15 mile long runs.  I'm hoping to get a 20 mile run in soon, perhaps tomorrow.  I'm intrigued by the "No Wimps" challenge that is part of the Trail Marathon at the end of April.  Basically, this just involves a half marathon on Saturday followed by a 50k on Sunday.  Sounds like fun so that is my short term goal with the Hallucination officially in my sights for the fall.  Besides, who doesn't want a "No Wimps" t-shirt?  In May I will be traveling to China, Taiwan, and Japan so I have kicked around the idea of running 3 marathons in 3 countries in 3 weeks.  That might be a bit much given our travel itinerary, but it is fun to dream.  Perhaps I can get one marathon in there.  It's been nice to be back in the groove and have some goals in sight.  We'll see about the international stuff, but I think I can definitely be ready for the "No Wimps" challenge, which is notably on the same trail as the Hallucination 100.