Why we get fat
I like to listen to audiobooks while I’m out running and the latest one I’ve listened to is Gary Taubes’s “Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.”
To be honest I didn’t really learn a lot from the book because I read “Good Calories, Bad Calories” which was his earlier book. Good Calories, Bad Calories goes into much more detail and in his forward to Why We Get Fat he states that Why we Get Fat is an updated and simplified version of the book that you can give to friends and family in order to spread the word.
Taubes’ central premise is that the key to living a leaner and healthier life is to avoid processed/refined carbohydrates (i.e. white flour, sugar and other easily digested starches).
He also goes through a lot of studies showing that our traditional advice to eat low fat and exercise more in order to lose weight is not really based on good science and that low carb lifestyles have consistently proven to be more healthy and effective.
I’m not an expert in the field but I can say that every time I’ve chosen to lose weight all I have to do is cut out wheat and sugar and then the weight sort of just disappears.
Of course I do run close to 50 miles a week but I’ve managed to gain weight before while running even more than that so I think there is something to it.
Overall I think this book is very good and I would strongly recommend that anyone who wants to live healthier reads it.
A good streak
In 2011 I let myself regain about 9 kgs (about 20 pounds) of weight which was probably not a good idea in hindsight! Most of this was gained in the last 5 months of 2011 due to excessive snacking.
Having said that I’ve made a commitment with myself to get back down to the normal BMI again in 2012. To do that I need to lose about 14kgs (about 31 pounds). My main meals are generally very healthy and my exercise regime is sound so to do that all I really have to do is abstain from unhealthy snacks.
I’ve cut out the lattes and mochachinos at work and the evening chips and the results have been as expected. I’ve managed to consistently lose weight. The only blip on my chart for this year has been Chinese New Year where I indulged in the family feast but even then not excessively.
My running over the same period has been very consistent as well:
In fact I’ve averaged more than 10km a day over the last 30 days which is not too shabby.
I’d really like to get my weight down as I would love to smash my marathon PR this year. Last year I failed to even come close to a PR and I believe that was mainly down to carrying excess flab.
Here’s hoping the streak continues!
Christchurch Marathon 2012
I’ve just entered the Christchurch Marathon which will be held on the 3rd of June this year. I’ll be aiming for a PR but to do that I’ll need to shed a few more pounds. Let’s see how it goes!
Run less, run faster
My good friend Peter has become a bit of a devotee of the “Run less, run faster” method of marathon training ever since I loaned him the book “Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster, Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary FIRST Training Program”.
It has certainly worked for him as he smashed all his PBs this year.
He’s cobbled together a spreadsheet that does most of the heavy lifting in terms of working out the timings that one needs to do. I’d strongly recommend heading over to his blog and having a look.
It’s currently metric but if you ask him nicely I’m very sure he’d modify it to include imperial units.
A view from the sidelines
One big advantage of being injured and having to take a bit of time off from running has been that I’ve been able to support my wife’s running a bit more.
Last week she did the ADRA half marathon. Originally we were both going to do it but I wasn’t running anymore so she had to do it by herself. This worked out really nicely in a way in that I could take our daughter along to cheer for her. And boy did we cheer. We drove our to a few spots around the course and cheered her on. I’m pleased to report that it seemed to help as she smashed her half marathon PR by about 5 minutes. Worryingly, the first words out of her mouth at the finish line were “Damn, I didn’t quite beat your PR!” I think I’m going to have to do a bit of speed work!
Today she did the Women’s Sculpt 6K (should be called the Sculpt 6.5K!) and we were onsite to cheer again. She was doing it with a friend from my daughter’s daycare and I got volunteered to look after the kids:
They were real little angels and had a great time.
Everything is going to be alright
This year has been a bit of a dud in terms of fitness achievements.
I did two marathons and they were both very slow and while there were valid excuses reasons for my poor performances it still rankles a bit. I’ve had to stop running (for 3 weeks before one of the marathons) due to a chest infection and that really knocked me back mentally and I resorted to a bit too much comfort food. I then picked up an injury and haven’t been running for pretty much the whole of November. So I’m finishing the year slower and fatter than I started it.
On the other hand, I did finish in the top half of an (awesome) ULTRA MARATHON! Plus, I did complete two full marathons on top of that. So it’s not like I’ve been slacking off or anything.
The good news is that I got the all clear to start running again today so I’m back. I just signed up to try and run at least 2012 km in 2012 on DailyMile. Having said that I wonder if I can get 2011km in 2011? 52km in 4 weeks…I can do that! 
Auckland Marathon!
The Auckland Marathon is on this Sunday and I can’t wait.
I’m fairly certain that I’ll be running slower this year than last as I missed pretty much all my 20 milers (except 1) due to 3 weeks off all running with a fairly nasty chest infection.
I still plan on having a blast though!
North Shore Marathon
I ran in the inaugural North Shore marathon on Sunday. This was marathon number 7 for me (8 if you include the Ultra).
The weather appeared to be quite perfect on the drive to the start as there was a thick fog blanketing Auckland. Unfortunately it burnt off reasonably quickly and we had the hottest day of the winter for most of the marathon.
The marathon course was two loops of the half marathon course and I found it pretty tough. Most of the course was undulating with a particularly nasty hill climb up North Head which is a small steep volcano cone. I found going up that really drained all energy 
and enthusiasm and the slippery grass coming down was rather treacherous. Other than that it wasn’t too bad. Lots of scenic views and the last km of each loop along the beach was pretty if not always firm underfoot.
I hit the first half bang on my target of about 2 hours. The plan had been to do a negative split but my dreams of maintaining that hit reality pretty quickly into the second loop.
I personally think I was undertrained for this marathon as my last long run was in mid June as I spent most of July wrestling with a chest lurgy. The second loop took about 2:48 which involved a fair bit of run/walking towards the end.
Overall a disappointing time but on the day I was just happy to finish. I finished 25th in my age group and 81st overall.
It was great to see fellow daily miler Danilo out on the course. He snapped the photo! I ran the first half with my running buddy Peter who did an outstanding PB of 4:03:00.
8 and a half weeks to the Auckland Marathon!
Helicopters!
I ran past the Rescue Helicopter base yesterday as one was taking off. I still get that childhood thrill from watching helicopters!
Terrible run as it was extremely windy and I’m still coughing up green stuff. 11Km in 1:12:31.
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Pictures from my runs
I’m going to go back to posting pictures from my runs for a bit. I ran inside today as I’ve had a bit of a chest condition and I’m easing back into things. 10km in 55 mins.
Daily Mile
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