And the Answer is....

In my case the answer is “twice the meaning of life”  = 2 x 42 (The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything; Hitchhiker’s Guide..) = 84  
84 kilograms to be exact.

So the metrics question must be:  What is my ideal racing weight?

I’ve thought long and hard as to how to measure myself and my progress through my training to get to race day. I’ve read a lot of good advice on the internet and even bought a few books on the subject. There are so many metrics you could measure and use. There’s the simple one of heart rate variation. There are the time based metrics – swim, cycle or run over set distances/races to track improvement (or not). Then there is the more advanced stuff like VO2 Max and lactate threshold tests.

In the end I decided, for me, for something straight forward; at my age, with my lifestyle simply achieving an optimum weight for my height and build should mean that everything else will fit into place. I read Matt Fitzgerald’s book – Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance - and whilst I don’t necessary like his nutritional methods to get there I concurred that the objective is right, and especially for me.  So I calculated what my racing weight should be and I came to the answer 84kgs. That sounded about right as I had found a copy of an old medical I had done for some employment 33 years ago  and lo and behold I was 84kgs (probably with my clothes on) and I don’t remember carrying any excess baggage in those days.

I think if I do hit 84kgs then I must be having the right nutrition and doing the right amount, or at least enough, training to be able to delivery my optimum level of performance.

It sounds very easy. Eat healthily, keep up the training and there you are. But it’s not so simple. First off exactly this time last year I weighed in at 101kgs.  Although I’m 6’ 1” tall (186cm to be precise) that was quite "heavy" for me. There were reasons though. Young family, work – business lunches and drinks, international business travel (and even more eating out and drinking!) all contributed. However the 101kgs was probably mostly down to a stress fracture of my foot incurred the previous year which obviously impinged on any exercise I could do and especially the fat burning kind. With some dedication (even if I say so myself) I’m now down to 89kgs.  However, as anyone who has tried to get to that target weight will tell you, those last few kgs are the hardest. The calories in, verses the calories out must be very finely balanced. To lose weight calories out should obviously be higher than calories in. But to maintain a high level intensity in your training you need that energy from the calories. If you do that high intensity training then your body screams for “re-fuelling”.

 It’s very hard to say no to food at that time when your body is demanding it and if you do say no, is it going to have a negative effect on your recovery? I’m finding that I can just about eat as planned for breakfast, lunch and dinner but later at night (ok, later in the evening, I need a good nights sleep!) I get huge cravings for something sugary. It doesn’t have to be much, a few chunks of chocolate, but I’m not satisfied until I get it. I don’t see this as particularly bad, more like a reward. Similarly, having the odd beer or glass of wine I don’t think is such a bad thing. I’m currently trying to follow a low carb diet with lots of salads, fruit and veg. Hopefully if I hit, or get near, my racing weight I can have a few more carbs as race time approaches.

I do actually also use a HRM to try and train in the right zones and I’m even contemplating getting a VO2 Max test done. I had one done back in 1992. I would love to see how I would compare today. I’m probably a bit fitter than then but I’m sure age has taken a big toll. 

Percent	Heart Range	Run Vo2
	bpm	(ml/kg/min)
100	175 - 185	63.2
90	160 - 175	49
80	150 - 160	33
75	135 - 150	29
70	125 - 135	26
60	110 - 125

 

Age	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	Superior
13-19	<35.0	35.0 - 38.3	38.4 - 45.1	45.2 - 50.9	51.0 - 55.9	>55.9
20-29	<33.0	33.0 - 36.4	36.5 - 42.4	42.5 - 46.4	46.5 - 52.4	>52.4
30-39	<31.5	31.5 - 35.4	35.5 - 40.9	41.0 - 44.9	45.0 - 49.4	>49.4
40-49	<30.2	30.2 - 33.5	33.6 - 38.9	39.0 - 43.7	43.8 - 48.0	>48.0
50-59	<26.1	26.1 - 30.9	31.0 - 35.7	35.8 - 40.9	41.0 - 45.3	>45.3
60+	<20.5	20.5 - 26.0	26.1 - 32.2	32.3 - 36.4	36.5 - 44.2	>44.2

Numbers! Numbers!

Seeing it’s rugby international time in Wales again, so to quote Jonathan Davies -Numbers! Numbers!

6188 to be precise.  6188 seconds is apparently how long it takes me to run a half marathon. This was my chip time at the Marrakech half marathon on Sunday. It was also my chip time for the Cardiff half marathon back in October 2012. Now that is consistency. I keep a spreadsheet of results. I’d already cut & pasted the previous half marathon and changed the name and date details before the half marathon. But when I came to fill it out with the times and pace (on the plane back as it happens), it was already correct!  For those not wanting to do the maths, that’s 1hr 43mins and 8secs.

Rather sweaty but looking resplendent in my Cardiff Tri vest

 

At first I wasn’t particularly happy with the time as I thought I should have run faster but on reflection, and a few beers later, it wasn’t so bad.  Although a flat course it’s not the easiest run with changing surfaces, bends, dogs and sometimes motorbikes getting in the way. Also, although it was a bit misty at the start it soon burnt off and it must have been about 25C by the finish. That was quite warm for me but I guess it's good preparation.

It was the first race I’d run with my Garmin +HRM +Footpad.  I’m not really a gadget man but looking at the data later did indicate some good things.  The bad things were my complete inability to pace myself.  The first 2km I did at sub 4.15/km pace but the last 2km it was plus 5.30/km pace, with large fluctuations in between, depending on how I felt at the time. Hopefully, with the Garmin, this is something I can do a bit better in the future. I would love to do a negative split. The best thing was my average cadence of 90 spm over the whole distance.  And I didn’t even concentrate on it during the race. This time last year I was an over-pronating, low cadence heel striker. I can definitely now say that I’m a normal (with the help of orthotics) higher cadence mid foot striker. This is what I’ve been practising to be for the last few months.  After the race the only bit of tightness I felt was in my shoulders and I think this is because I was using my arms much more during the race. Higher back elbows and more pumping of the arms. Again this is something I’ve been working on. My average HR over the distance was 156 bpm.  I’m not really sure what I should read into this. I previously had a measured max HR of 188. So this would put the whole run into my level 4, anaerobic threshold or hard, HR range.  Which I guess is not too bad. Also this was the first half marathon I've done that my legs didn't ache for days afterwards.

Data entry on the flight home with my No. 1 supporter

 

So with all these gadgets to generate so much information and then calculate all the “metrics” that you working on through your training stages and taper to the race, what is the best criteria to manage?  Well, taking in my age, lifestyle and fitness, I’ve decided to base everything on just one metric and I’ll try and justify it in a later blog. 

However the answer is - “twice the meaning of life”    Can you tell what it is yet?