Friday's Quick Intervals

Friday, January 03, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning and welcome to "Quick Interval Friday's", where I run 400s and 800s hitting on various running and non running topics. The weather outside is crazy so let's put on our Yaktrax, find those warm gloves and hit those intervals! Earlier this week Kathy and I went to Falmouth to bring in the New Year, staying at the Coonemmessett Inn. I highly recommend the Coonemessett as a great offseason getaway on the Cape. Falmouth is a wonderful little Cape Cod town that many runners are familiar with because of the popular marathon in the fall run there. On New Years day as I wrote earlier this week, we ran a beautiful out and back 6 miles from the Inn with 1 mile of it being on a Rail Trail along the water. Despite a strong headwind and the real feel temperature of 1 degree, we enjoyed the beauty of running along the ocean with very little activity. Great way to start out the New Year! In 2014 I would very much like to take advantage of many of the scenic running opportunities we have in New England. This year my wife Kathy, myself and my daughter Jennifer are going to train for a fall marathon that has yet to be determined. My challenge is a hip that has not been agreeable with long runs the past couple of years and I will have to work at the weaknesses through exercise and a running plan that develops increased mileage slowly. I am armed with more knowledge and experience than ever so I am hopeful. The fact that I will get to train with my daughter is very exciting as well so it should be fun! Another exciting part of this is that Kathy is going to train as well and during her training she is going to share her journey with NFLR readers. You can go to the homepage at www.nofinishlinerunning.com and check out Krazy Kathy's first post. Kathy will bring a unique prospective that will chronicle the challenges she experiences as she moves through the training. Kathy has a great deal of experience and knowledge when it comes to running and it will be fun to share in her training. Today is day 2 of my "Intermittent Fasting" challenge. I last ate around 6:30 last night and will not have any thing until 11:00 this morning. Thankfully I am able to drink black coffee so this morning I am able to enjoy my morning coffee with you. When I finish up my quick intervals I will go do my Friday morning strength training and that will be interesting on a completely empty stomach. Talking with a friend yesterday he questioned my need to lose weight? Being honest, my weight has pushed up to around 210 and ideally I would like to be under 200 pounds, so losing 11 lbs would be my goal with this intermittent fasting, but I am also interested in the other advertised effects (increased energy, mental awareness and overall healthier existence). Part of my struggles with weight (besides deserts) is often the heavier weights I lift that tend to bulk me up. I try to balance strength training with the fact that muscle adds to my frame which is not always helpful for running. So I figured out if I can eliminate fat through a healthier existence, I can hopefully offset the muscle. I will say that last night was tough because I was hungry around 9:00 and I really wanted to munch. Come 11:00 today I will be ready for and handful of almonds and walnuts! This will not be an easy goal for me, but hopefully each passing day will give me confidence. Stay tuned! Well today was a short set of intervals as I have to get my workout in before I start clearing our driveway. Stay safe today and enjoy your weekend! Mike