Week 2 - Day 4: Rhythm of the Pace

It was REALLY hard to get out of bed today.  I came very close to just saying "screw it".  Even after I got out of bed and was putting on my shoes, the bed was still almost too inviting.  But, I'm not gonna get in shape with that attitude so... SMACK!  Off I go.

I was still half asleep when I walked out the door this morning and I accidentally hit the 3K workout instead of 5K.  I was hoping there was a way to edit the workout, even if only to change the distance, but that option was not there.  Not wanting to cancel my current workout, I decided to trudge on. 

Still wiping sleep out of my eyes, I figured I better try to take it easy or I wasn't going to make it.  However, I am still dorking with the songs in my playlist and have found that event though I like the song, it doesn't really get my butt in gear.  This is something I will need to resolve.  I am spending too much time fast-forwarding to the next song.  I can tell by my run graph that my song choices are affecting my pace.  Too many ups and downs.  Even though I was targeting a slower pace, I would prefer it to be more consistent.

Ok, so maybe it isn't the songs as much as my fat, tired, lazy ass, but for now, I plan on using that excuse.

Mile 1:  8:49,Mile 2:  9:02, Mile 3:  9:08

Week 2 - Day 3: iPod Scare

On Tuesday night my wife took me to the mall to get some new running shoes.  I ended up with the Asics Gell-1120.  Today was my first run with them.  I have to say, they are lighter than my older Nike shoes and didn't hurt my feet one bit.  With my Nike shoes, my feet were definitely warm by the end of the run.  This was not the case today.

With my new kicks laced up and my Nike+ securely tethered (Ziploc and all) I was out the door.  However, just as I got the "Press the center button to start your workout" message all hell broke loose.  For whatever reason, my iPod froze.  I couldn't get anything to work.  I took it back in and hooked it back up to the PC.  It didn't help that Microsoft sent out an update last night that required a reboot so I had to wait for all the startup programs to complete.  My USB port would recognize the iPod, but iTunes did not.  Eventually, I did get a message saying it was corrupt and that I needed to restore my iPod.  Faced with no other choice, I pressed ok but then got another error message saying that it couldn't be restored.  Off to Google I went, pissed as hell that my iPod was screwed.  I had already tried the reset options provided by Apple so there had to be another way to do a hard reset.  I stumbled across this link and what do you know, it worked.  Thanks Collin!

Ok, so now I am faced with the decision of running today or not.  I have already wasted over 30 minutes farting around with my iPod issues and am running out of time.  What the hell, I got my new shoes to try out... off I went. Maybe I was just feeling pressed for time, but I recorded a personal best for a mile.

Mile 1:  8:36, Mile 2:  7:37

Week 2 - Day 2: Just how far is 5K?

So today I did my first 5K run.  Ok, so it is only a little further than my planned 3 mile run, but for some reason it just seemed it would be further.  From what I found, 1K = 0.62 miles.  I have to say, that hearing the 1K, 2K, click by does sound better.  I guess you just hear it more often.

Today, I also decided to venture out on the Centennial Trail.  It is a nice run down by the river, but it does include a few interesting elements I don't find while running down the sidewalks in my neighborhood.

1. The landscape is better.  I have to say seeing the various trees, plants, and the river itself are added bonuses over the cars, trucks, and landscaped yards.
2. There are more people on the trail than the sidewalks in my neighborhood.  For the most part, everyone seemed very friendly.  This includes other runners, walkers, and bicycles.
3. Bicycles scare the hell out of me...  Not the ones that I see coming at me, but the ones that come whizzing by "On your left!".

Mile 1:  7:55, Mile 2:  8:46, Mile 3:  8:20

Week 2 - Day 1

After the weekend, I embarked on my second week of running.  Once again, I woke up before the alarm, but that was in part to my forgetting to close the blinds all the way last night.  The sun beat down in the room like a spotlight in my eye.  Deciding it was nearly impossible to get back to sleep (notice I said nearly :) ), I decided to go ahead and get on with the day.  My goal for the week remains 2, 3, 2, 3, at least at a minimum.  It was cold today.  With the wind whipping through, I wished I had work a long sleeved shirt.  I will have to keep that in mind for tomorrow.

Mile 1:  8:57, Mile 2:  8:30, Mile 2.5:  4:21

Week 1 is over

With today being Friday, I am officially done running for the week.  I think trying to do 3 days in a row was too much, at least to begin with.  My goal for next week, and the weeks to come, is to run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, alternating 2 and 3 mile runs.  Maybe after a few weeks I'll be able to bump it up a bit.

Mile 1:  8:01, Mile 2:  8:21, Mile 3:  8:33

Day 3...

Ok, so today I woke up before my alarm clock.  However, I did snooze a bit.  No point in getting up too early. :)  I did finally drag myself out of bed just after the alarm went off.

I started my run at a pretty good pace, but began to really feel it pretty early on.  I really felt like I was taking it slow at first, but towards the end, a good song got me back on track.  Maybe that should be my "power song".

My legs are really sore today.  It probably didn't help that I played indoor soccer last night too.  That and the fact that my body has to be saying WTF. 

Mile 1: 9:06, Mile 2: 7:26

Wakin' Up Is Hard To Do...

Day 2 of my run started of rough.  My alarm clock went off and all I could do was think of reasons to stay in bed.  However, my wife turned to me and said "You better get going." and off I went.  I bought all this crap.  Now I have to use it.

I decided to start off with a slower pace instead of trying to burst out of the gates.  It paid off.  I reached my 2 mile goal and felt I still had more in me.  I did a total of 3 miles today.  Maybe I'll stagger my runs, 2 today, 3 tomorrow.  We'll see how it goes...

Mile 1: 8:29, Mile 2: 8:43, Mile 3: 9:08

Nike+ iPod - Initial run...

My wife and I bought ourselves (or each other) an iPod Nano (8GB) for a combined Father's Day and her birthday this weekend.  I also picked up one of the Nike+ Sport kits at Target for $29.99.  I am not an avid runner, although I still consider myself to be relatively athletic.  My intentions are to use the iPod as a running/exercise incentive.  Although I do have an older pair of Nike running shoes, they do not have the insert.  Since I didn't want to cut a hole in to the bottom of my shoes, I fashioned a "pocket" to hold my Nike+ sensor to my shoes.  Essentially, I put it in a small Ziploc bag and folded it up so that I could weave it through the first few laces on my shoe.  Once in place, I just taped it up so that it wouldn't go anywhere.  Assuming I stick with this, I will either make a more permanent "pocket" for my sensor, or purchase one online.

Today was my first run...  I decided to take it easy and just start off with a 2 mile run.  I got everything situated with my iPod, playlist, and the Nike+ sensor and  off I went.  Initially, I was thinking that 2 miles was just too short.  Certainly I could do more than 2 miles.  WOW... about 1.5 miles in to it, I was really ready to quit.  I have realized just how out of shape I am.  I did make it through the full 2 mile run without stopping, but I was very happy to reach the end of the run.

Here are my run results:

Overall, Mile 1: 8:20, Mile 2: 8:02, I walked the last .35 miles.  I thought I had ended my workout, but it kept tracking my progress.  I will have to look online for more information on how to operate this thing.  If nothing else, it has gotten me out the door and running.  At least for day 1...

Cross-Blogging on Windows Live™ Spaces

I have setup a Windows Live™ Spaces account where I plan to place all of my "work" related information.  I will continue to place both personal and work related messages on this site.  However, you may run across an errant rant which has nothing whatsoever to do with "work" (or maybe it does :)).

Here is the link to my other blog:  http://bajwork.spaces.live.com/blog/