Monday, January 8, 2007

Friday, December 15, 2006
Christmas Comes Early!

I recieved my chistmas present early this year and couldn't be happier. Being a gadget freak I had searched out this watch sometime ago. Its called the Timex Bodylink System. It uses GPS to track speed, pace and has a Heart Rate Moniter as well. All wireless. This watch can be setup to take splits automaticly...predict finish times, zone alerts (speed & HR) interval training (with HR zones) and a lot more. Oh yah their is a fourth component in the "link" called the Data Recorder..it can be used to collect the data and then export it to PC which in turn can be anylyzed, graphed and mapped (drool). I can't wait to get that as well.
I was so excited of course I had to try it out so I fiddled with it long enough to set it up to time a 1 mile run with a pace under 10 minutes (a personal record for a slow ass like me) set it to take quarter mile auto splits...laced up the shoes and headed outside. Of course it was dark out (like that will stop me) so I had to put it in "night mode" ...it helped to see the watch but not the greatest of features (better then nothing) anyhow I pressed start (the center button) and the watch immediatly started beeping (translation get your ass moving) so I start running down the street...the beeping subsides...cool I'm on my way about a .25 mile (exactly actually) the watch beeps once....I start hauling ass even more thinking I'm running to slow..but the watch shuts up. I then realize that was just a split..I'm still good. A half mile in my neiborhood is down the street to the local pool (least according to the odometer in my Ford) so as I approached the end of the first half (the stop sign on the corner near the pool) a black dog out of know where runs at me from someones yard...as I contemplate if I'm going to kick this bastard (the dog) the watch beeps again (30 yards shy of what I thought was a half mile). I slow to a walk not to piss off the dog and then the watch starts to go bonkers!! I'll be damned if I'm going to let this mutt ruin my run. So I do a 180 and haul ass towards my house ...lucky for me fido didn't take chase. The watch quit beeping about 30 seconds later so I figured I was close. I just kept on trucking, HR was going through the roof, sweart pouring out like rain...ETC. As I ran into my yard the watch made a new sort of noise notifying me the race WAS OVER!! Yeee Haw!!! how did I do?
Well it turns out I was bit paranoid and eclipesed my original goal by almost 30 seconds as I ran a 9:31 mile....LOL..a new record for this turtle..what a great toy...I don't know how I would of done this kind of training without such a tool.
Anyway as my training goes, I'm up to running about 30 minutes with 1 minute walk break in the middle (just because the book says so) I'm very happy that I can now run more then a minute without calling the paramedics (actually 30 minutes) and look to change up my race traing schedule as the way below is to easy.
Stay tuned....

Saturday, December 2, 2006
2.6 miles done.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Ran Through The Holidays.
After arriving back to FL I was scheduled to do 2.5 miles tonight. It got late (around 9:30) before I finally got a chance to log my run. Nice night..flat..hooray!..but 73 degrees feels like a sauna..lol..oh well.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Reality Check
Oh well I'm off to Wisconsin (I live in Florida) for the weekend as I will have to do some cold weather running (for me mind you) and run some hill and perhaps a treadmill...only two workouts to sneak in so it shouldn't be to bad.
Time to partake in the American tradition known as free gluttony for all...AKA thanks giving.

Monday, November 20, 2006
Solid Effort!

Saturday, November 18, 2006
1 Mile JOGGED! (TWICE)

Thursday, November 16, 2006
Workout was a SUCCESS!
My legs felt like lead weights and I was doing what I could to go very easy I even ran on the side of the sidewalk to make it easier on my shins (try not to think about snakes,spiders,etc..LOL). My shins never gave me any shots of pain...but I think if I pushed it they would of...glad I didn't. I hope Saturday I'm full of energy and legs are in even better condition because I would like to work on my endurance without worrying about my leg pains.
Lucky for me my first race isn't until January...as I'm not progressing that quickly (which i hear is a good thing)
On the tech side of this blog I figured out how to get an rss reader to pump in a feed from my running log (http://runstoppable.com) so my workout show up on this website in real time with links to actual routes I ran...how cool is that. Down side is it took me two days to find a reader that would work http://rssfeedreader.com/ ...good site but they want real emails (no freebies) and send monthly checks...so I suspect I will have to keep on top of this one...still easy to use.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Started A Running Log Online
I added two routes (so far) one is my regular route (the grind) the other is when I run to the local apple bee's for a BEER!!...lol

Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Not a Good Start - Shin Splints Kick IN
Last weekend I bought a fancy runner's watch with a heart rate monitor and some fancy electronics. when I did my run/walks (two days in a row sat/sun) I would try to keep in my HR zone while jogging and when I hit the ceiling (the watch beeps) I would walk until I hit my floor (the watch beeps slightly different) I was able to go a long way (for me 2 miles) without feeling much pain but enough to know I was really working. I gave myself Monday off to recover as I plan to do every week and was excited to go at it after work on Tuesday.
Well I started this evenings 1.5 run at a good level 3 HRM pace (70%-75%) in fact I seemed to stay in the 'zone' fairly easy for a while I thought the damn HRM wasn't working but in fact it was so I was pretty happy about that until about .5 mile marker into my run....dread pain shot through front of my shins....got to be none other then frigging SHIN SPLINTS !
I don't think its that bad as I stopped running when they hit and walked the remainder of the course (1. mile) but I have had them before and remember they are not the easiest thing to deal with. My plan is the following and devised from this article
- No running on Wednesday
- Ibuprofen for 4 - 7 days
- Extensive stretching.
- Increased warm up times and less strenuous exercise.
- Ice them down (now)
I really hope this is just a warning signal....as I do not want to have to deal with an injury this early in my career.
UPDATE:
good resource on shin splints

Week 1 - Get in SHAPE!!
Week 1 - Get in SHAPE!!
My goal for this week it to continue to improve and strive to run for as long as I can without much discomfort.
Schedule
- Monday
Rest - Tuesday
25-Min Run Walk - Wednesday
25-Min Run Walk or Rest Depending on Feel. - Thursday
25-Min Run Walk - Friday
Rest - Saturday
30-Min Run/Walk - Sunday
45-Min Run/Walk
