Maria's Running Blog

One reason is the lack of sleep the night before. Neural fatigue could really throw you off. Also, anaerobic is a relative term, especially over 1000 meters. I often do not reach my threshold HR for as long as 4 miles of running at threshold pace. I would particularly worry about this work out. It is very easy to cheat or over-hold-back on 4x1000 at 10 K pace. I've had days when the first 1000 of a 10 K feels like a jog, and then I cannot hold the pace later. On the other hand, I've had days when the first 1000 felt hard, but it did not get any worse afterwards.

Some follow-up. You say 52 second pace felt hard on a 200 meter stride, and yet you held sub 56 in the 1000s and it felt aerobic. For you I would interpret this as an indicator of increasing aerobic fitness, it sounds to me that your body is trying extra hard to keep you from running anaerobically. So nothing to worry about. Just get some good sleep before the race.

Good luck on your 10K Maria! I'm predicting a great race for you. I think it is a good idea to taper and save up some of your energy so you can be really fresh.

About WW. All I know is that it works for me. It is a really healthy way to drop a few pounds. People do some pretty crazy things to try to loose weight--going completely without carbs (which is hard on the kidneys and liver), going completely without fat (which leads to excessive hunger and cravings), going without solids, going without anything except cabbage etc. WW is a very balanced approach. Everything they tell you to do is backed up by really good research and is similar to what a nutrition counselor would tell you to do.

There are two ways to calculate points when you eat out. I usually go to the restaurant's web page and view the nutritional info of each course. You can use the little calculating device to figure out points quite quickly. For people who eat out a lot, they sell a book with most restaurants and the points for each item on the menu. You are usually pretty safe with grilled meat, salads, non-fried veggies, fruit, & brothy (non-creamy) soups. Don't waste any points on drinks!

I hate being hungry. Now that I know how to live on WW (I've done it several times--every time I have a kids) I know how to pick the food that will satisfy. I starved in the beginning because I wasted all my points on whole milk, full-fat dressings and CHEESE! You can always try it! THe most valuable thing about the meetings is when the people tell about the yummy food that is low points. Low calorie is only beneficial if you can stand to eat it! Most of the leaders I have met love food, and have experience finding the good stuff. What a long post! Sorry.