Move Along

Activity: Run
Date: 11/12/08 10:02 AM
Distance: 7.21 miles
Time: 1:30:56
Speed: 4.8 mph
Pace: 12' 37 min/mile
Calories: 689

I did a run/walk at Mission Bay Park and managed to get in 2 extra miles. Since I went a little earlier than normal, I used my Ipod shuffle. I usually reserve the Ipod music for the gym treadmill, but since it was still early enough, I figured I wouldn't have to deal with as much foot and bike traffic as I would encounter on the weekends. 7 Nation Army and Mr. Brightside did come in handy to give me just that extra push.

I need to take a camera with me on my walks and/or runs. Sometimes I see things and people that just amaze me. I do have a camera on my cell phone, but it trips off the run tracker when I take a picture. Maybe the next time I go on a planned walk I'll take the monster camera.

Speaking of my cell phone... It's toast. I really need to upgrade. It used to hold a charge for days, even when using the run tracker. Now, when I use the run tracker, it holds a charge for about 2 hours if I'm lucky.

Yesterday's song:
Inspiration - Gipsy Kings

PEACE

Who Are You?

I've been released from physical therapy. My range of motion is great and (as of this morning) I had little to no limp. It's not to say that I'm completely back to normal and can hit the pavement, as I'm still sore and still healing. I'm just a little closer to, perhaps, doing a walk/run. I also finished up one more lab workup today. I hope that is the last time I have to visit the lab for a while.

With the elections nearing, do you find that phone calls to vote one way or the other are constantly making your phone ring or filling your answering machine? I've just quit answering the phone. We have caller ID. If I don't know the number, I just don't answer, and the answering machine will pick up the call. I realize this could be bad if someone I really want to hear from is trying to get in touch with me, say a friend who has moved out of state, and I don't recognize their number. On the flip side of that, if it's important, they can leave a message. It seems that most calls have been pre-recorded political messages.

Yesterday's song:
Heat Wave - Martha and the Vandellas - She Do Run Run

PEACE

Late At Night

Late yesterday afternoon, my husband called to inform me that he was given a ticket to see Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick in concert, but just one ticket from a work colleague. It didn't bother me that he was going without me, but it did seem a little weird that he was seeing Heart in concert without me. We're Heart geeks from way back in the day. I've lost count of how many Heart concerts we've been to. We've also seen Cheap Trick several times, but not deliberately. They were either opening for other bands or played at one of those all day music festivals. When we first started dating, my husband's 1960-something Pontiac behemoth vehicle did not have a working radio and we used to sing "Surrender" at the top of our lungs as we motored down the road. Amazingly, we've never seen Journey together, and the song "Open Arms" was our song for a time when we were dating. I swear, we burned a deep groove in that vinyl Escape album. My husband called me from the concert while Cheap Trick was on but I honestly couldn't tell what song was performed. Then he called back when Heart was on. He called 7 times during Heart ~ once to tell me the were on, and one time for 6 of the songs. It was almost like playing Name That Tune. I got all of the songs correct, even "Love, Reign O'er Me." (Originally performed by The Who.) Then he called several times during Journey, but the connection was choppy and cut out. I figured he couldn't hear me say "stop calling," so I finally sent him a text message to stop. Around 3 am he calls and wants me and my son to go pick up his car because he's driving his drunk work colleague home in a different car. If there is any consolation, is that my husband was the designated driver and there's absolutely no traffic at 3 am. Good times.

In food news, I had Cocoa Krispies for breakfast this morning. Yay me! (Oh, come on, now, it's food and I'm blogging about it.)


Yesterday's song:
Ready To Run - Dixie Chicks - Diary of an Aspiring Loser

PEACE

Watching The Clothes

20 minutes on the Bowflex row seat attachment.

Compared to the first time I trained for a marathon, the recoup time is much shorter than it used to be. I'm good to go after a full day of rest, provided the dog doesn't wake me up... I am now in taper mode, meaning no more super long mileage runs. I probably should have fit in a 2.5 mile run this morning before my chiropractor appointment, but I sat and ate breakfast with my grandson. Besides, I did get things going with the rows after I came home.

Another bonus to the two taper weeks is that I've quickly dropped 5 pounds since Saturday. There will be no more big carb loading until a few days before the marathon. I knew the weight gain and loss would happen, but no matter what I tell you, it still does something to the ego to see the weight go down.

I've finally received the $50 gift certificate for RRS from the Bones In Motion (wireless run tracker) people. I've been leafing through their catalog, specifically the women's running clothes section, trying to come up with something to wear for the marathon. It's a tough decision because there's so much to choose from. $50 will cover the cost of either a new shirt, a pair of shorts, or one of those running skirts that I'm interested in trying. Decisions, decisions...


Peace

It's Not Unusual

Distance - 6.45 miles
Time - 1:04:44
Speed - 5.98 mph
Pace - 10:02 min/mile
Calories 614

I'm feeling pretty happy with my run today. I got up a little too late to run at the bay, as it gets very busy with tourists, people having parties, and people enjoying the sunny weekend at the bay, so I went to the lake in the old neighborhood, which was rather quiet. I was feeling like some asthma (ass-ma , bleh!) was going to come on, which is so frustrating, especially when my legs feel good. I controlled my breathing and tried to keep an even pace when I could. My average run time at the lake is usually in the 1:06 range, so to see it under that was a nice surprise. I'd actually like to see it under an hour on a consistent basis, and I suppose that's something to work up to.

After my run, I made my way to the mall to look for an arm band for my cell phone. Much to my surprise, I had a hard time finding one. They had a zillion armbands for the Ipod Nano. I did find something close at one of the Kiosks that sells cell phone accessories, but it was on the cheesy side and almost $50... I wandered into Sports Chalet and they had a generic neoprene arm band for mp3 players that happened to fit my phone for $6.99.

When I run in my neighborhood, I really don't need a hydration pack/belt or much gear because it's usually between a 2 and 3 mile run, but I need to carry my cell phone. The cheapie mini-fanny pack I have kinda moves around too much because there's very little to weigh it down. Now, I can try out the mp3 player feature on my cell phone while using the GPS wireless run tracker.

Peace

Running to Stand Still

I'm feeling really beat up about now. Not so much from working out or running, but from all of the other physical labor I have been doing this week.

We've ordered a new refrigerator (finally). After some unscientific research and asking people about the pros and cons of their stainless-steel refrigerators, we've decided to get the LG Titanium. It's not really stainless steel, but it has the look, and it doesn't show fingerprints. EVERYONE we've talked to about their fridge said the same thing:

It looks great but fingerprints show up quickly, and they didn't think they'd have to "polish the refrigerator" frequently.

Unlike the stainless steel dishwasher, microwave and oven/range, the fridge is touched more frequently. We've received the same comments from people with kids and pets and from people without kids and pets. Hubbie and I spent time at Home Depot looking at a Maytag and the LG. We already have Maytag appliances in our kitchen, so that would have matched what we already have, BUT Maytag doesn't offer anything similar to the LG Titanium, at least not yet.



Well, now one more thing is checked off the lengthy list of things to do/buy for the house.

Yesterday afternoon I ran the approximately 5.50 miles (5.52) at the bay and tried out the wireless run tracker. It's very cool. I set it up to beep after every quarter mile. At each quarter mile, it would beep differently, and after a mile it would start the sequence over again. When I was finished with my run it showed the map/course and all of my stats. As far as yesterday's run, well, that's another story. It was rather windy in spots and it felt like I was going nowhere, running into the wind. My average mile was something like 10:44. I even felt sluggish, so I knew I wasn't putting forth a good effort and wasn't the least surprised at my much slower than normal time - my splits on the wireless run tracker definitely reflected it. I usually start out slow and finish strong, but I progressively went slower. It was actually beautiful at the bay and I did take a picture with my phone, but I need to figure out how to download it to my computer so I can post it here. I'm not very mechanically minded, so it will take a little figuring out the proper downloading procedure, but I know it can be done.

Today will be a rest day, and it's also, technically, a "free" meal dinner. I don't thing I'm going to go hog wild with the food and drink, since I did that already this week. I can still go out to dinner and keep everything clean, and save the alcohol (if at all) for the weekend.

PEACE

Call Me

I took care of my cell phone, small camera and GPS situation today. I did an upgrade and got myself a Motorola MOTOKRZR Fire. I haven't upgraded my cell phone since I replaced the one that was stolen from me back in 2003. My poor cell phone was really beat up. I went ahead and downloaded the wireless run tracker. I can't wait to use it, but it's supposed to RAIN tomorrow. GAH! It also comes with capabilities to download or add my own music, and I did get the software for that, but I need to make sure it's not going to cost an arm and a leg to use that feature. I'll definitely post a report on how everything works out once I get to actually use it.

After yesterday's run I realized that I need to make some big changes if I want to finish my next marathon under 5 hours. I'm running about the same pace I've been running for long distance training for at least 2 years, give or take a few minutes here and there. Not much has changed in my training, mostly because I've been afraid of the pain associated with arthritis, which is a big concern. I'm leaning towards joining a group or some sort of coach, just so I know I'm doing everything right. I realize I need to do so much more if I want to achieve more. You would think I would already know this, since I've been through the plateau thing before with weight loss, gaining muscle and weight training. It's really time to make a change.

AND... After yesterday's run, I found out that Anne (Run-DMZ) was at the same location with a training group! I wished I would have been a little nosey and asked what all the groups were about! I could have ran up to say hello. Oh well. I suppose there will be a next time.

Peace

Hanging on the Telephone

I've been pondering purchasing a Garmin or some sort of GPS thingy for running. I haven't put in a ton of research yet, but it's one of those gadgets that would be nice to have, and helpful for training. While I was leafing through the March 2007 issue of Runner's World, I found an advertisement for a wireless run tracker. Basically, you download the program to your phone, and your phone serves as your GPS device. Granted, it has to be a particular type of phone, but what a great idea.


I carry a cell phone with me when I run anyway, and there wouldn't be one more thing to think about. I've been wanting to upgrade my cell phone, but now I have a really good excuse to get the better upgrade. Hmmmmmm...

It's raining here. I suppose I could go out for a run but I have no rain gear. (Yeah, that's it...) Hubbie is sanding the floor in the garage storage area and I get to put down the polyurethane. It's gonna be a fun filled Sunday.

PEACE