13.1 DONE

It was a 55 degree overcast day in San Fran. A great morning for a run. I hit my goal of breaking 1:30 and completed the run in 1:29:20. I ended up finishing 70th out of 3,541 participants. Click on the link to the right under race results to view my finish. Once on the site choose the 2nd Half Marathon from the drop down on the left and type in my name or bib #, 15297.

Now it's time to rest and recover and get ready for the Boston half marathon in October. I will continue to update my training on the right side and post some more helpful and interesting articles. Thanks for the support!

13.1 Under the Golden Gate Sun

By The Numbers:

Since I started training for the San Francisco Half Marathon, here are some of my training numbers:

77 - Days of training
215 - miles ran
12 - longest training run
3 - shortest training run
505 - minutes of swimming
146 - miles of biking

Race day is sunday. I will post my results and let you know how it went.

In the meantime, check out this article on power foods to boost your mood.

A 5 Miler, a New Half Marathon, and 5 less flavors

I ran the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 Miler on Thursday night. Despite the hot weather I had a pretty good run. I did not go as hard as I wanted as I am saving speed for the half marathon next weekend. Click here for my results. Also, I entered the Boston Half Marathon which is on October 10th. This will be a good run to do as I prepare for the Philadelphia Marathon on 11/21.

On another note, Baskin Robbins is retiring 5 of its flavors. But don't worry, they are adding 5 more because 26 flavors is not enough. Here is the article.

Beer Here!

You probably don't think of it when you are enjoying a nice cold beer, but calories in beer add up quick, especially when you are spending an afternoon at a bbq or a night out. And let's be honest, you are usually not enjoying a beer with a low calorie salad. Some beers can have as many as 200 calories per 12 ounces. Check out this website for calorie and alcohol content of your favorite domestic beers. Click here for a breakdown of imported beers.

When Salads Go Bad...

Check out this article about on some not so light salads. You may not eat these particular salads, but pay attention to what goes into your next salad. Calories add up with the addition of meats, cheeses, and creamy dressings and of course the edible bowl.

2 Weeks Until SF Half!

I did my last long run before san fran half in 2 weeks. 12.1 miles this morning in 1:24.35. On my pace for 7 minute miles. I'm hoping adrenaline will make me faster in 2 weeks! Click here to view my route from this morning.

Benefits of Interval Training

Tired of your same cardio routine on the treadmill, elliptical, or bike? Try interval training to mix up your cardio workout. Doing short sprints for 30 seconds to a minute, or increasing the incline for a minute, raises your heart rate fast and burns more calories and increases your endurance. Quick sprints and then a 1-2 minute cool down are a great way to incorporate both your aerobic and anaerobic systems. It is important that you bring your hear rate down after the sprint to recover before starting your next interval. Give it a try and see how much faster the time goes by and also how much more you feel the burn. If you are consistent with interval training, over time you will see you will be able sprint longer and recover faster. Check out this article that goes more in depth on interval training and also offers different types of interval workouts.

BBQ and You

The BBQ is what the 4th of July is all about. With that said, here is a breakdown of calories of a typical 4th BBQ. These are ballpark calorie numbers as everyone prepares food differently. These are baseline and/or standard numbers before anything is added. Keep these numbers in mind as you step up to the plate this weekend. Happy 4th!

Hot Dog w/bun - 250 calories
Turkey Dog w/bun - 180 calories
4 ounce Grilled Chicken Breast w/bbq sauce - 300 calories
6 ounces of Pork Ribs - 500 calories
4 ounce Hamburger w/bun - 450 calories
4 ounce Turkey Burger w/bun - 220 calories

1/2 cup Potato Salad - 200 calories
1/2 Macaroni Salad - 200 calories
1/2 Cole Slaw - 80 calories

1/2 cup Hagen Daz Vanilla Ice Cream - 300 calories
Slice of Homemade Apple Pie (9" diameter) - 400 calories

It's All About The Calories

My first post to this blog a week ago was all about portion size and learning how to recognize the number of calories on your plate and how many you consume in a day. Our diets adjust each day and we need to know how many calories we take in each day in order to maintain, lose or gain weight. If you follow one of the fad diets out there, the meals associated with the diets usually keep your calorie levels at a lower number then what your body probably needs to maintain its weight. The truth is, no matter what you eat, it's all about the number of calories you eat in a day. Here is the research article that shows this. The subjects in this study were divided into 4 groups and assigned one of 4 diets to follow. Whether you skip the bread, stick to fish and chicken, or go vegetarian, it all comes down to the number of calories you eat each day. Take note of the tips in the article about how to cut out excess calories in your diet. The importance of portion control and being aware of the number of calories you eat in a day is a great start if you are trying to lose weight. I will post tips this weekend on how to recognize how many calories are on your plate.