RE: Running

Review of the Nike+ SportWatch GPS

2011-04-18T23:47:00.001-05:00

Having been a loyal follower of the Nike+ system, I was anticipating the introduction of Nike's own GPS watch.

I've followed Nike+ not too long after it was introduced in 2006 and started using the system in 2007 (somewhat of a New Year's Resolution to get in shape). I started with a 2nd generation iPod Nano and the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, which consisted of a sensor that plugs into the bottom of the Nano, and a footpod transmitter that goes into a special pocket in Nike+ model shoes or into a footpod pouch that can be secured to the shoe across the laces.

I loved the feedback and encouragement of the instant feedback of the entire system, from the congratulatory message at end of a personal best workout, to the statistical feedback and trending from the Nikeplus website. In fact, my experience with system was documented in a Wired article back in June 2009. I even invested in a Nike+ wrist remote to control to control the iPod

I loved the system, but wanted something that was less "bulky", not that the iPod on an armband was bulky, but I wanted more of a minimalist experience.

That's when I bought the Nike+ SportBand. It's a simple, water-resistant wristband with a detachable display module that can plug into a USB port for syncing runs to the Nike+ website. It still requires the footpod transmitter but that's all you need. No iPod, but that also means no voice prompts during your run to notify you of intervals (which I use), and the SportBand display didn't have a backlight which is not useful during early morning runs or evening runs.

But because both the iPod Sports Kit and the SportBand both relied on the footpod, the accuracy of the runs have varied by up to 10%. The transmitter and sensor would track 10% more mileage than I had actually run. The big advantage that the SportBand had was that it also allowed integration with the Nike-branded, Polar heart rate monitor.

Nike then released an app that utilized the iPhone GPS chip to track run mileage. That was the close to the Holy Grail for me. Here was a package that had both accuracy, allowed me to listen to music, and still get the encouraging voice prompts. It also allowed me to upload the runs to the Nike+ website without needed to sync the runs via a computer. It also leveraged social media by posting run when I was about to go for a run and allowed Facebook friends to send virtual cheers to my iPhone. The big downside was having to carry the iPhone with me on my runs. While that's a convenience in some respect, it's added bulk and there's no visual feedback that I had gotten used to with the SportBand even though I got back my audio feedback that I had with my iPod Nano. I also had to keep the iPhone in a separate pouch with my fuel belt mainly because I didn't want to use an armband that could allow perspiration to reach the iPhone.

What I really wanted was a GPS watch like the Garmin Forerunner 405. The Forerunner 405 is a stylish GPS watch that looks like a normal watch and much more sleek than the blocky Garmin Forerunner 205. But at over $200 at some retailers, the Garmin was out of my reach and there was no similar feedback system like the Nike+ website.

In early April, Nike made the Nike+ SportWatch GPS available for sale on their website. It was a GPS watch, designed in conjunction with Tom Tom, intended to work with the Nike+ system. The primary distance tracking is performed by GPS with backup tracking provided by the venerable Nike+ footpod sensor in case a GPS signal is not available.

I took the SportWatch out for a 2-mile run for the first time last week. The distance tracking during the run was accurate and the watch provided the basic statistical information, such as time duration, distance, pace, calories burned, and heart rate (only with the Nike+ Polar HRM). The immediate feature I noticed and huge benefit, even though I didn't get a chance to use it during the run, was the backlight. It was a feature that was not available on the SportBand. The backlight is activated via a tap to the watch face display. The display itself is not a touchscreen, as it requires a decent tap for the backlight to activate.

The SportWatch has 2 run modes: distance by "laps", or intervals. The Laps mode will notify via a sound alert that you've reached a specific distance, i.e. every 1, 2, or 3 miles, which would replace my need for audio feedback every mile per my preference. The Interval mode allows you to set run-walk intervals with the watch letting you know when to walk and run. Strangely though, the number of minutes for either interval can only be set as a customization when the watch is plugged into a computer with the Nike+ Connect software installed, which is both Windows and Mac-compatible.

When initiating a run, it needs at minimum the Nike+ footpod transmitter. A run can be initiated without a GPS signal, but not without the footpod. Like most GPS watches, it requires the watch to be used outdoors where a GPS signal can be detected. I found that it took about a full minute before the SportWatch picked up the GPS signal.

The watch plugs into a computer via USB via a USB plug made through the watch band. On one of the ends of the band, the end cap flips down to reveal the USB tip that resembles the same USB plug on the SportBand. To sync your runs with the Nike+ website, you have to plug the watch into your computer with the previously-mentioned Nike+ Connect software installed. The software also allows you to set user preferences such as time settings, weight (for calorie tracking), preferred stats on the watch, setting of intervals, and preferred stat that shows up the largest on the watch's display.

At the end of the run, the SportWatch will let you know how well you did, if you surpassed any personal records, your pace, your total time and total duration.

All in all, it's a very capable device that gives the Garmin Forerunner 405 a run for its money. It doesn't feel as solid as the Forerunner 405, but the SportWatch is actually a tad heavier (at 2.33 ounces) than the Garmin 405 (2.11 ounces). The SportWatch is much sleeker and a tad more stylish than the Garmin (my opinion of course). Yes, the SportWatch does require a footpod as a backup to the GPS, which some see as a bit of lame fallback position, but Garmin does not have a backup if your GPS sensor loses its signal, which all GPS watches suffer from.

The biggest benefit that Nike has going for it within the deep field of GPS running watches is the Nike+ website and it's large community of users and its plethora of challenges to keep things interesting.

Nike+ Human Race 10K

2009-10-24T20:54:00.004-05:00

Even though this event wasn't really a "race" per se, it was my first opportunity since April to run in an event with other runners. That being the case, I was really looking forward to getting out there with other runners rather than my usual running regimen of solo training runs.

The venue was about 50 miles away and was about an hour drive from the house, and with the run starting at 7:00 am, we left the house at 5:30 am. Ick.

The event was sponsored by Luke's Locker Room so they had their folks out there with the Luke's signage promptly displayed and with their tent and the event timer. A lot of the people were regulars to Luke's or attended their organized runs. The route itself was an out and back along a newly built trail. Unfortunately, it wasn't a running trail like the Katy Trail as it was concrete and some rain water and dew made the surface kinda slippery in some places.

There were about 50 people who participated. Not a huge turnout, but it was a good-sized crowd. I was actually expecting more since it was a free event and you got free swag (sack and technical t-shirt), and heaps of food afterwards.

It had gotten down to about 8 Celsius so it was running tights weather, the first day this running season that this was necessary! Personally, I love running in the cold. It must be the Canadian in me. Also I tend to generate a lot of body heat in the first mile of a run, but I knew that it would still feel cold enough for my legs to feel cold. When it gets down to about 5 Celsius I break out the gloves, the hat, and the extra long-sleeve layer.

All in all it was a nice run. I finished the 10K in under an hour (official time of 58'51") and as usual I forgot to turn off my SportBand so it kept going for a couple of minutes before I found out and stopped it....and as usual my SportBand was about 10% off again. Geeesh.

Fortunately or unfortunately, today was my normal training run day so I got my marathon training in and participated in an event as well. I was only supposed to do 4 miles today but I may cut myself some slack and run 12 instead of my regularly-scheduled 14 miles.

At the time of this post, I am in 4,487th place. As for how many total participants, I'm extrapolating that based on 549,323 miles run for this event (according to the Nike Running website) and dividing that by 6.2, there were roughly 88,000 participants. I somehow find it hard to believe that I ended up in the top 5%...but I'd be happy if I ended up in the top 50%.

South Arlington Half Marathon

2009-10-13T20:45:00.003-05:00

It's amazing what your mind and body can do when given enough time to be trained and adjusted.

Last December I entered my first half marathon. It was an awesome experience but I felt completely exhausted afterwards. I had followed a 14-week training plan that, at most, had me run 11 miles for my longest run.

During my HM, about two-thirds through, I had injured my foot. It was sore and a bit swollen afterwards. I had to take about a month off to let it heal and by then, the thought of running was the furthest thing from my mind. I enjoyed not running for awhile, not having to follow a strict regimen of specific mileage on specific days and running routes that were just brutal (mainly because of the horrible scenery). It was hard to get motivated into running when I wasn't training for anything.

Months and months later, I'm running again, but it's different. Everything feels different now. First, I'm following a full marathon training schedule and it may be a marathon that I may not actually get to run. That uncertainty isn't really a factor. I'm not even looking forward to running the event. I mean, if I do get the opportunity to run it, I will, but it's not my main motivation for running right now.

Last week as part of marathon training schedule, I was to run 13 miles. Basically a half marathon distance. Leading up to that day of training the number itself seemed daunting. A half marathon distance? I recalled how awful I felt running that HM. I was afraid what was going to happen. Was I going to injure myself again?

So the day came. Leading up to that day I had run some miles in progressively faster times. I was really amazing myself with the pace I was running and I was afraid of starting out too quick on my long run day and petering out too fast. It was 6 am on a damp Sunday morning. The temperature was 12 Celsius - nice running weather. I had planned my route and it was pretty straightforward for me to remember.

And off I went. The first 5 miles were difficult. I wasn't sure why, but they just were. I had planned to take walking breaks at miles 5, 9, and 12...basically breaks at 5 miles, 4 miles and 3 miles. I wasn't sure what to expect from the weather and how my body was going to react to the cool weather and the higher mileage. During the first 5 miles I had caught myself trying to go too fast and purposely kept slowing myself down. I think that was what made it so difficult because my legs wanted to go faster but my brain kept telling me to slow down. Also for the first time, as I hit mile 5 for my first break, I found myself actually hungry. I had never been hungry before while running and it was odd. Good think I packed those gels because I scarfed it down and I've never been a fan of strawberry-banana flavoured gels!

After the break, I got back on pace. I have the hardest time getting back on pace after a break. It's like my body doesn't want to go back to running or wants to take another break soon after. But everything was feeling really good. So good that when mile 9 came I had plenty left in the tank and decided to delay my break until mile 10. When mile 10 hit, I got hungry AGAIN! I scarfed down another gel but I was still hungry! I had also brought some sport beans along and I downed the entire pack without breaking pace!

I pretty much cruised the next 3.1 miles (hey if you're going to run 13 miles, you might as well run the extra 0.1 miles and make it a true HM distance, right?), and just missed finishing 13.1 under a 10:00 min/mile pace by 5 seconds per mile.

The odd thing was that I felt better after this training run than I did after my HM event. Obviously the build-up of miles had a lot to do with it, but not being pressured or feeling pressure and having a different mindset during my training run also had something to do with it. Yeah, the leg muscles feel sore, but this run was more enjoyable afterwards than my HM. As much as I had a sense of accomplishment running my HM, I felt more accomplished being able to run the same distance as a training run...I definitely got more enjoyment out of it, which is odd for someone who dreads the long runs.

In the past month I actually felt like a runner, rather than someone who is trying to be a runner. My pace has been getting faster, my distance have been getting longer. Something in my body has flipped a switch. I know that the weather has been getting cooler which definitely has helped in my endurance and speed, but I'm amazed at how my body has reacted to the mileage. I was expecting it to revolt and remind me that I'm not a runner...but right now it's telling me, I'm with you all the way.

So...what's going on....

2009-10-01T20:45:00.002-05:00

So I've been really negligent about maintaining my regimen of running. I suck.

Quite a bit has happened since I last blogged.

First, I had intended to run the Chicago Marathon in October, but life happened and I won't be going. There's always next year, right?

Second, I was included in an article in Wired Magazine that featured the Nike+ technology. No, not just an article on the website, but the actual printed publication. The article can be found here.

Third, I *may* be doing the Dallas White Rock Marathon, *IF* we can find a sitter for the kids and *IF* there are any spots left. If not, I'm going to try a different event in early 2010...maybe the Cowtown or maybe the Austin Marathon.

So right now, I'm training with the assumption that I'll be running the Dallas White Rock marathon. I'm doing all the miles that are part of the training plan. I'll be logging some heavy miles in October, but in September I logged more miles than I had in any month before, even when I was training for the half marathon.

We'll see where life takes us now.

EA Sports Active - Review

2009-05-26T22:18:00.004-05:00

So it's been awhile since I posted, but I *have* been running...just not lately.

I had a medical procedure recently that has forced me to take it easy on my feet, including running. So while I've been just letting myself heal and get back to where it needs to be, I still can do some low impact workouts.

So lately, I've been getting back to using the Wii. Yeah, Wii Sports is a bit on the weak side if you're already in better shape than a couch potato, but EA Sports, those fine makers of the Madden Football franchise, Sims, and a whole slew of other sports-related games, have come out with a game called EA Sports Active.

It's a program (I wouldn't really call it a "game"), that gives you a good CV workout and some minor resistance training. The EA Sports Active package comes with the game disc, a resistance band, and a leg strap that allows you to holster your Wii Remote Nunchuck.

I'm only Day 2 of the 30-day Challenge program but so far the workouts have had me do various lunges, kick-ups, running (in place), simple kickboxing, among other exercises in a 30-minute window. After the first day, I was impressed that it gave me a pretty decent workout.

So how does it compare to the Wii Fit? Well, for some of the exercises, you can take advantage of the Wii Fit Board, but it's not a necessary accessory. I would say that the Wii Fit game is good for fine-tuning your balance and the games that come with the Wii Fit Board emphasize that. EA Sports Active definitely takes it a level above Wii Fit but also in a different direction.

I think EA Sports Active addresses some of the criticisms of the Wii Fit game in that you can't really get a decent workout by training your balance. EA Sports Active does give you a better comprehensive workout by working your cardio, strength (to a limited degree with the resistance band), and your balance.

BUT...I don't think EA Sports Active can totally replace going to the gym, or actually going out and run. I would say it's a good compliment to working out and running...it may act as a substitute for going to the gym when you don't have the time or it may not be convenient. For anybody who can't afford to regularly go to the gym, or is just starting to get into shape and want to do so in the privacy of their own home, EA Sports Active is a good choice compared to the some of the other workout games for the Wii and reviews of those games.

Fort Worth Zoo Run - 5K

2009-04-18T20:44:00.004-05:00

Okay, I *have* been running, just not that much. It's been reduced to a couple of times a week and 3 miles at most, but at least it's something.

So today was the first race of my season. It was a 5K event at Fort Worth Zoo. It was also about a year ago this time that I entered this very same event for my first 5K ever so this event has some meaning for me.

Today was a pretty overcast day. A good day for running but that was offset with the moisture in the air which made it a tad humid.

I recall the same time last year I was pretty nervous, not knowing what to expect. This year's course layout was the same as last year's so I had some familiarity with it and knew what to expect.

I thought I did pretty good this year. I actually felt better this year than last year but what bit me this year were all the 5K walkers and people walking with strollers that had started near the front of the corral. This caused all the other timed 5K runners to waste energy slowing down, speeding up, dodging side to side, weaving in and out. It totally screwed up my pace at the beginning. Another thing that made it difficult to get a decent pace going at the beginning is the route for the first kilometer of the 5K. The first section actually takes you through the zoo itself, which doesn't have wide laneways. This made it a bit difficult with so many people bunched up at the beginning and getting squeezed together didn't make it easy to get a steady pace going.

Once we left the zoo, we made an ascent up a small, but somewhat steep hill into a residential area that someone separated people out a bit. The residential area was pretty flat and straight which made it easier to maintain a steady pace. It was here that I felt that I was actually going at a pace that faster than normal and felt like I improved over last year.

The last third of the 5K is a downhill descent that takes you back into the zoo parking lot and to the finish line.

I finished in 29:47 (officially) which is under 30 minutes, but significantly slower than I want to be. So, there's room for improvement.

My Nikeplus sensor is AFU and only said I ran 2.4 miles so it's time to recalibrate that.

Oh yeah, I pretty much abandoned the Pose Method/midfoot running for this race. My legs just don't have the strength to maintain that consistently over a long distance. I think I may employ that during training more and "regular" running cadence during events.

Signs signs everywhere a sign...

2009-03-10T19:45:00.003-05:00

Monday was my first run since the last days of 2008. It was a simple 2-miler. I had many opportunities to go for runs, but never really did take advantage of them. Sleep sounded like a better idea. The late-night and early morning baby feedings had taken an initial toll on me.

I started getting signs it was time to start rundning again. I started getting additional magazine subscriptions to Running Times and Runner's World. I got an e-mail that the registration for the Chicago Marathon was open. I got something in the mail for a local running event. Someone was telling me something.

I completed the 2 miles without problem. It felt good to be running again. I took my usual gear with me but my Nike+ sensor had died so I wasn't able to track my pace. I consider that a sign too. Someone telling me not to worry about pace and just go out and get moving. So I did just that. It was free and easy, not thinking about pace, heart rate, or some other metric.

So, it starts today. Running is back.

So the reason I'm not running...

2009-02-03T00:45:00.002-06:00

...was just born on Friday.

Yep, Joshua Kellan was born late Friday. Mom and baby are doing awesome, and Sydney is ultra-excited about being a big sister.

Photos can be found at http://gallery.me.com/ricklawphoto/100113.

Now that everyone is home, I'm *hoping* that once everything stabilizes, I can get back to running. All I'm hoping for now is to get *some* mileage.

Mile 1 attempt, coming to a weekend near you...maybe...

2009-01-15T20:35:00.004-06:00

It's been 15 long days since I ran anywhere. Given my childcare situation, it makes it difficult to actually go out and run.

It *was* my intention to go running this weekend, albeit at 24 Hour Fitness, it's still a run. They have Kids Club there that allows its members free daycare while they go workout. It's convenient for those who want to work out but can't because they don't have anyone to watch their kid(s).

So then, life happens again. Sydney has a cold...nasty cough and runny nose type of cold. So there's really no way I can leave her at Kids Club and get a whole bunch of other kids sick...so that's out...at least for this weekend.

I'm hoping that Syd will pick up running soon so she can go running WITH me. :)

The craziest start to 2009

2009-01-08T00:10:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm 8 days into 2009...and not one single run attributed to it.

Why? Well, it all started with ... INJURY! Yes, after my milestone-breaking run, my ankle pain returned with a vengeance. It's only finally subsided in the past 2 or 3 days, but I'm taking some extra time off to make sure it needs the rest that's required.

Next, if I could run I would, but there are some things you can't control. Like life. Christine has been diagnosed with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, which means she's been put on bed rest for awhile. This means that your's truly is responsible for watching our DD, and caring for Christine since she's not allowed to get out of bed, save for bio breaks and food.

Thankfully, my employer and my boss is VERY understanding and has allowed me to work most days from home so that I can take care of our daughter.

All the running around hasn't given me much time or energy for running...so maybe it's all a blessing in some sort of disguise that I have to put running on the backburner until life straightens itself out which will allow my ankle to get better.

So we'll see when I'm able to get Mile 1 in...but everything that life has thrown at us so far has been awesome, so I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Shut up and run, already.

2008-12-28T16:01:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I quit all the whining and just "got 'er done" as m0mmymel indicated I should.

So as all of the 2 followers of this blog would know, I'm about to hit 400 miles for the year, and today it got done.

I didn't make it easy on myself, despite that absolutely gorgeous running weather (16 degrees Celsius) and zero wind.

Note to self: DON'T have dim sum as a pre-race meal.

Really, I didn't mean for it to happen that way...it just happened to be where we had lunch.

So yeah, dim sum for some reason is slow to digest for me. At about mile 1.5, I had digestive cramps and side stitches that seemed to progress up my GI tract. I think I slowed to a walk about 3 times to ease the discomfort.

Then with about 1/4 mile to go on my 4-mile run, I heard the song, "Desire" by U2. The song has got a very strong and complex beat which pumped me up a bit, not to mention the very appropriate song title as I hit mile 400. I was sure to make my very last 1/4 mile a strong finish for the milestone and sprinted as much as I could.

So, milestone accomplished. No fanfare except for the 2 people who follow my blog and myself. Just a simple pat on the back from myself with sense that I accomplished a lot for the year. And at a minimum, 500 miles for next year.

Not in a hurry...

2008-12-28T08:17:00.003-06:00

Getting to 400 miles for the year has been fairly difficult, not so much from a physical standpoint, but more of a mental and motivational standpoint.

I guess it's hard for me to actually get motivated to run right now with the distraction of the holidays and me not really training for anything in the coming weeks or months.

Right now I'm only 4 miles short of getting to 400 miles and it's something that I know I can do in a single run, which actually makes it less challenging since it's going to be so easy. I know, I know, I should just go out and just do it. This afternoon should be a fairly nice day so I might just go out and knock it out.

At the beginning of the year, Christine set a goal for us to run a collective 500 miles for the year, which I thought was definitely doable. That's like 3/4 of a mile a day. Little did I know that I would end up running 80% of that by myself! It's crazy now that I look back on it, but the motivation of training for a half marathon was really the catalyst for a lot of those miles.

I'm one of those people that needs that extra competitive reason to get things going, at least for right now. Having that training schedule helped and understanding that the schedule was necessary for helping me run a half marathon made the mileage more meaningful.

Right now I'm looking at some events for the early new year, some 5Ks and 10Ks further out. I'm definitely thinking of running a marathon later in the year and a half marathon thrown in their somewhere. But I'm somewhat content with getting through this year and then starting next year with a renewed effort.

2009 Goals and the Marathon Dilemma

2008-12-20T20:07:00.004-06:00

After hitting almost all my modest goals for the 2008, I'm approaching 2009 with some more aggressive goals. The main goal is a marathon, which I'll get to.

I'm planning to do more 10Ks (i actually didn't do any this year) and possibly a half marathon. I did a few 5Ks this year which were fun but I'm hoping to do some longer distance events next year, not so much to actually win them, but to do some events at the intermediate and longer distances.

I'm pretty confident I can get a PR at the 5K distance since my 5K times have been gradually improving so it's not out of reach. As much as that's a nice accomplishment I do want to do a marathon. My half marathon this year was such a great time and I had quite a sense of accomplishment afterwards, but I want to experience running a marathon.

Actually one of the goals this year for both Christine and I was to do the Walt Disney World Marathon in January, but that pretty much went out the window when we discovered we had a baby on the way that was due in February! :) Theoretically I could have still done it, but Christine wouldn't have been able to travel. I was hoping to be able to do a marathon this year, but because of all our adjusted plans, there wasn't enough time for me to properly train for one so that's been tabled 'til '09.

Which leads me to....what marathon do I want to run for my first marathon? I am pretty much contemplating 2 possible choices: one would be the Chicago Marathon. Chicago is a fairly flat course so a decent time *is* possible. There is a fair amount of prestige with the Chicago Marathon as well as it's one of the World Marathon Major events. My other option would be to run one of the two marathons in my hometown of Toronto. One of the events in Toronto is the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon in late-September which is a run up and down Lakeshore Blvd., which has the advantage of being fairly flat. The other event is the GoodLife Toronto Marathon in mid-October (around the same time as Chicago) that has part of the course goes along Yonge St., including the deadly climb just past York Mills Rd. I've rollerbladed up that hill and it's something to behold. Anyway, I think be able to run down Yonge St. would be an awesome experience but this course would be nowhere near flat.

Given that timing for all three events are within a similar timeframe, I could train starting in April and pretty much be ready for any of them, it's just what is really going to be a priority for me as far as what marathon do I want to be my first. As convenient as it would be, the Dallas White Rock Marathon would be another option, but it would have the same meaning. You'd think I was losing my virginity or something! :) Well, in a way, I am losing my marathon virginity...so the fact that it's my first, and I want it to have some significance, means that it's going to be a tough decision.

Oh yes, today was my first recovery run since my half marathon. I would have run earlier, but I was also fighting a cold and today was the first day my sinuses didn't feel like they were filled with cement. It was a quick 2-miler and everything felt fine. All parts were working without problems.

Also I'm 9 miles away from hitting 400 miles for the year. It's going to be about a mile a day, so I think I can do a few 2-mile runs every other day until the end of the year to hit that mark. If today's run is any indication, my body seems up for the task to finish up the year strong.

Recovery Day 3 - Body Part Inventory revisited

2008-12-17T09:58:00.002-06:00

Today is Day 3 from recovering from an HM and everything is feeling better. The quads are still a wee bit sore, the one blister I did get is healed, and today is the first day without an ankle wrap.

Since I don't have an ankle wrap, obviously I'm not experiencing any ankle pain today, which means whatever pain I was feeling wasn't necessarily skeletal in nature (of course, i'm not a doctor, so it's a non-professional, solely empirical assessment), but more than likely just a lot beating on my ankle. I'm going to guess that I had some breakdown in my running form that caused me to land on my left leg differently and result in the ankle pain. Who knows.

So yeah, physically everything is recovering nicely. I just have to recover from this cold now. Yay.

I'm hoping by the end of the week, possibly Saturday, I can enjoy the balmy weather and do a jog for a mile and see if all body parts are okay and haven't fallen off.

I still haven't figured out my 2009 goals yet. I guess I should try and plan that out. I know there are some 5K's happening at the end of the year...I *might* partake in one of them just to do them...definitely not going to push myself too hard during those events.

Back to work!

Taking body part inventory

2008-12-15T22:03:00.004-06:00

Today was a dose of reality after yesterday's half marathon. Nothing like waves after waves of muscle soreness and tightness to help you relive with vividly painful realism the previous day's events.

So yesterday I provided a recap of the day's events for the half marathon. I never mentioned the previous day's events that led me to some serious stressing-out.

My in-laws were in town for my daughter's birthday so we all decided to go shopping and visit the shopping mall Santa, hit the nearby Chuck E. Cheese and go out for dinner.

We hit the Grapevine Mills mall which is a massive outlet mall. While we're waiting for Santa to arrive, we start walking around. Stupid me forgot to bring proper walking shoes and I was in my Chuck Taylor Converse low-tops for ENTIRE DAY. Now these shoes are nothing more than a layer of rubber with a canvas shell. Minimal padding at best. They look cool, but they're not really good walking shoes if you don't already have good arches. Anyway we walked and walked...did the Santa thing...then walked some more until the noon hour when we hit CEC. I was basically on my feet for about 3+ hours in those stupid canvas shoes. My feet were killing me, my sore calf was sorer, whine whine whine. I was also starting to get stressed out that all the walking on these crappy shoes were going to have an effect on my run the next day.

So I got the chance to sit down and take a load off my feet at CEC. We were there for a couple of hours and then headed back to the hotel for a nice nap.

After the nap, we headed out for dinner with basically no destination...on a Friday night....in downtown Dallas....at 6pm....for 7 people. It really wasn't going to happen.

We ended up trying to get into Maggiano's at this shopping mall not too far from the hotel, but at that hour, they weren't taking any more reservations, nor any parties with more than 4 people.

So, we walked...and walked....and walked some more around this mall. My feet were taking another pounding (yes I only packed 1 pair of shoes other than the runners for my HM the next day). I was getting stressed out again because of all the pounding again as I could feel the soreness creeping in to my feet. We finally found a TGI Friday's that was able to seat us in 10 minutes. Thankfully they also have a pretty varied menu and I found a chicken and pasta dish that would be a good pre-race dinner for a long run the next day.

The night ended rather uneventfully but I was pretty darned stressed with all the walking I did that day, and I had no idea how my feet and legs would react even with a night's sleep.

Thankfully everything felt pretty fresh the next day.

Fast forward to today, my ankle is still pretty frickin' sore, and I'm inclined to blame some of that on the unnecessary walking on Saturday. It's not noticeably swollen, but the lack of mobility in that area makes me think something ain't right. Oh yes, I have the obligatory soreness in my quads. I'm pretty much walking so gingerly it looks like I can't bend at the knees.

I've been trying to figure what I can do as far as running is concerned for this week. If everything feels right, and if my ankle pain is gone, I might do a mile or two near the end of the week, and maybe another couple of miles on Sunday.

In between now and the end of the year I'll have to think of what my runner plans will be for 2009.

Oh yeah, one last milestone for this year that's possible is that I'm about 15 miles short of 400 miles for the year. That's about a mile a day. It's a milestone that would be a nice cherry on top of the year, but I'm not going to risk a proper recovery period to hit that milestone.

My Dallas White Rock Half Marathon Race Report - Finished with some help from the Marines

2008-12-14T18:52:00.004-06:00

Today was my first half marathon run as I participated in the Dallas White Rock Marathon / Half Marathon event. The White Rock part is actually White Rock Lake that is near downtown Dallas, which, ironically, the half marathon participants don't actually go near. For this event everyone, both marathoners and half marathoners, started at the same start line, but near mile 7, the different participants split and go their separate ways. There were even two different finish lines for marathoners and half marathoners.

My DW Christine, DD Sydney and I got up at the inhumane hour of 4:45 to get to the parking lot of the American Airlines Center, which was the event headquarters. We decided to stay at a hotel near the event (well, not really...it was more of blind luck that my in-laws decided to visit us for our Sydney's birthday this weekend and booked a hotel that happened to be near the AAC) which was only a mile away from the AAC so it only took us 10 minutes to get situated with a prime, front row parking spot.

We had about 2 hours to kill before the starting gun so I chilled out in the back of the van while Christine had some breakfast and Sydney renewed her slumber that we rudely interrupted.

By the time 7:00 am rolled around, I was ready to see what was going on in the AAC...which was really a whole lot of nothing. Lots of people milling around and congregating, using the restrooms, stretching, etc.

I looked around, did my stretches and lunges, and made sure my calf sleeve was fitted right. I was wearing the sleeve because of a sore/strained calf/tendon that I had suffered the week before. I kinda broke a cardinal rule by getting both the sleeve and the arm warmers before the event and had never tried them about before until today so I had no idea of how they would or would not work. Okay okay, for breakfast I had yogurt and bananas which I also had never had for breakfast before prior to a long run. Previously I had tried Power Bars, CLIF bars, and oatmeal, and each time I ended up with side stitches. I was determined not to have side stitches because they were REALLY annoying and slowed me down significantly. Anyway, I headed towards Victory Park where all the corporate sponsors had their tents. Before I knew it was 20 minutes before the starting gun and we were strongly urged to get to our starting corrals. Since Sydney was still slumbering, I really didn't want to disturb her sleep as it has the same effect as waking a sleeping bear.

I found my corral and the long anticipated waiting began. It was a fairly warm (15 C) and windy. The arm warmers I brought along were perfect as the wind was bringing a bit of chill to the air. I couldn't hear much of the starting announcements with the exception of the F-16s which buzzed the venue. I gotta admit, that put a chill up my spine and really got me pumped up.

The starting gun went off and we got the start and the immediate stop and wait. We had a slow walk up to the start line and then we were off about 8 minutes after the gun went. I had never been in a race with so many runners. In total, there were 17,000 participants in all distances...CRAZY I tell you!

Everything felt great for the first 5 miles. Pace felt good, maybe a little faster than I wanted, but comfortable. I had a problem with wiping the sweat away from my eyes. Every time I had to do so, I had to take off my sunglasses (mainly for reducing glare but it was a overcast day so the sun wasn't really a problem). After about the fifth time I did so, I just took the glasses off and tried to tuck them into my fuel belt. Well, you can guess what happened about a mile later....yep, they dislodged from my fuel belt and were on the pavement behind me. No great loss since they were cheap sunglasses as I have a bad habit of losing/breaking them.

When I got to mile 6, I had to use the restroom but the lines were about 5-deep and I didn't feel like waiting so I bypassed them and waited for the next aid station. About a hundred yards beyond the port-o-lets, some male runners made their own restroom from some bushes. The same idea was crossing my mind at that instance and I made a sharp right turn to the bushes for a bio-break. Despite the bio-break, I realized I hadn't encountered any side stitches which usually afflicted me after about 2 or 3 miles. Evidently the change in my pre-run ritual worked so I got off lucky there. Also the calf sleeve I was wearing wasn't even noticeable and it was doing its job. In addition, the arm warmers were put to good use for wiping away sweat. So I was 3 for 3 in getting off lucky with race day changes that had never been tried before.

After the marathoner/half marathoner split after mile 7, the half marathoner course consisted of a down-and-back where the runners went down the road, made a U-turn and headed back in the opposite direction. The "down" part felt like it went on for miles and miles. Each time I thought we were going to make the U-turn, it just kept going to the next intersection. In reality it was only 3/4 of a mile but it felt like it was about 3 times that distance. It was at this point I started feeling a semi-sharp pain in my left ankle. What it felt like was bone-on-bone contact in my ankle. As I'm typing this, it's still really sore and it feels pretty much like it did back after mile 7. I was hoping I would be able to run it off but it basically persisted to the end of the race. For about 10 seconds, I had thought about dropping out because the pain wasn't going away after about a mile. I could tell I was favoring it a bit and it was definitely having an effect on my running form. I was then reminded that I hadn't trained for 2 1/2 months just to drop out and I knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't suck it up...so it was up to mind over matter. In addition, the aid station nearby was being worked by some Marine volunteers and they were barking up encouragement as only Marines can do. :) I think some of that encouragement helped me keep moving.

I hit mile 10 and the course moved to a runner trail that had the nicest, softest asphalt. Ironically it turned out to be the hardest 5 kilometers of the entire race. I don't know what it was, but being on that trail was slowing me down. I don't know if it was psychological or physical, but running became difficult. I remembered at that point to text message Christine to let her know that I hit mile 10 which was her cue to make her way to the finish line. The softer surface of the trail didn't really help my left ankle that much and I was trying to keep my focus off the ankle.

The trail turned a corner at mile 13 and we could see the AAC where the finish line was. Right before the mile 13 marker I saw someone being attended to by 3 other people. It looked like she had cramped up or something because they were trying to stretch her out. I couldn't see her face to see if she was in a great deal of pain but to have that happen to you with one-tenth of a mile to go is up there in the SUCK Hall of Fame.

I remembered that Christine and Sydney were going to be near the finish line to my right so I was kinda looking for them and focusing on the finish line itself. I managed to spot them just as I passed them and I could hear Sydney yell, "Go Dadda Go!!!" I have to admit that hearing them cheer me on got me right *there*. :) I felt so proud.

As I closed in on the finish line I pulled out my shirt to hide my fuel belt and took off my headphones for the finish line photo. Every thing afterwards -- the medal, the finisher's photo, the food line -- was pretty much a blur. I texted Christine to meet me back at the van. When I got to the van I couldn't help but get a bit emotional as she was so supportive with all the early morning training runs that probably woke her up when I got up. She was definitely deserving of some of that finisher's medal. :)

Anyway, I'm back at home, icing down my left ankle. Every thing feels okay except for some leg soreness which is to be expected. I ended up finishing with a time of 2:28:56. Not stellar, but heck, I'm happy to finish. :)

*UPDATE*
Apparently I wasn't the only person disappointed with their times. It was such a windy day that it affected a lot of finishing times. In fact, the fastest finisher had the slowest finishing time since 2002 when there wasn't an elite field. YIKES.

Also, a sad outcome for a marathon participant, who collapsed at mile 21 and died a short time later. :(

Two streaks broken

2008-12-10T12:35:00.003-06:00

So I had 2 running-related streaks broken this past week - one acceptable, one not-so good.

First off, after about 3 consecutive months of diligently following my half-marathon training plan down to specific days and specific mileage, I skipped a training run Tuesday morning. It was going to be a simple 3-mile run but my daughter stayed up late the night before, which in turn, kept both myself and my wife up. I just was in no condition to do any running at O-dark-hundred in the morning. I suppose it's okay since I'm in my taper period of the training schedule with the half-marathon happening this coming Sunday.

Second, after about 3 consecutive months of being injury-free, with only 4 days before my half-marathon, I suffered my first injury during my 4-mile training run this morning. It was pretty-darn cold this morning (-3 Celsius with wind chill) so I bundled up accordingly and headed up.

About a mile into the run, I felt this twinge in my right calf. Before I knew it, it felt like my calf had tightened up and felt like there was this huge knot in my leg. I stopped and tried to massage it out but it was SO sore. I was able to run but not put a whole lot of weight on it. I tried jogging it out and it was tolerable. After about another half-mile, it felt a bit better but at that point I was trying to put it out of my mind.

I finished the 4-mile run and tried to ice it down. It hasn't improved much since then. I do notice that just keeping it immobile makes it feel a bit better, so I may have to abandon my last taper run before the half-marathon so that my calf can recover in time for the big day on Sunday.

The final week....

2008-12-09T00:53:00.002-06:00

It's the final week before my half-marathon and I can tell the reduced mileage of the tapering is having an effect on me. I'm starting to feel as if I have extra energy to burn.

For example, on my long run on Sunday, I had a "meager" 5 miles to run per my training schedule. By the time I hit mile 4, I had guestimated that if I kept my current pace, I would hit a non-competitive PR for a 10K distance if I went an extra 1.2 miles. I'm just way too competitive...I think anyone who knows me can attest to that. So what the heck...an extra 1.2 miles is not going to put me at risk for injury.

So yes, I did ignore my training program by technically over-training, but it was 1.2 miles...what could be the harm? Well, thankfully, there was no harm, but that doesn't mean the next time I could turn an ankle or take a bad step during that extra 1.2 mile trek...and then what...no one to blame but myself.

Oh yeah...I *did* have set a non-competitive 10K PR with a 1:01:56, but that's the last time I'm doing anything outside of my training schedule like that....really, I swear. :)

Seriously though, I've been on this training program for 3+ months now and there is actually too much to risk by being impatient and not keeping my energy level in check, so with a week to go and 3 training runs left, I'm going to keep things low key.

There's only a 3-miler, 4-miler, and a 2-miler before the big day...I have a feeling they're all going to feel like nothing. The only run that I might push beyond the scheduled mileage is the 3-miler. What's an extra 0.1 miles to get it past the 5K mark? It's not like I ran an extra 1.2 miles like I did on Sunday. With the 4-miler, there's no point in stretching it out to 5 miles...I'm fine with 4 miles. And 2 miles is just a short jaunt around my neighbourhood.

Another thing I found out is that the weather forecast for Sunday is going to be warm...like it ought to be 8 degrees Celsius for race morning, which is a bit warmer than I expected. It's warmer than my "tights-wearing threshold" of 5 Celsius and it's supposed to warm up significantly. We'll see what happens as the big day gets closer as I'll have to update my running wardrobe accordingly.

One of those days

2008-12-03T10:03:00.003-06:00

4:45 am and I have to run 6 miles?

It was one of those mornings when you think too much about how many miles you have to cover and it becomes a more daunting task the more you think about it. But it's running. I've run 6 miles before without problems. It's just a matter of getting through it when you're mind isn't into it.

I made it even more difficult on myself with the route I chose to take. I didn't feel like wandering too far away from the house so I ran a 2-mile loop near my house 3 times over. Running the same loop was the most boring thing I could do but at least I was in a consistently lit area. My normal 6 mile route would have been the route I use for my long runs which is a desolate boring run and I don't know how well lit it is.

The one good thing about this morning was that it was comfortable enough where I didn't have to wear running tights. It was short-sleeve shirt and shorts weather...in December! AWESOME! :) I know it's going to be short-lived though...the forecast indicates my Friday run is going to be chilly again, but at least it's not 6 miles.

I passed a milestone this morning with the 6-mile run. I have officially completed 1 mile per day for the entire year. I'm currently at 366 miles completed. It wasn't really a goal that I had set out to do at the beginning of the year, but by the time September rolled around, and with the mileage that I was piling on with my half-marathon training, I knew it was an achievable goal but it was going to be pretty close.

So I'm going to celebrate by...taking a day off.

A cold 2 miler

2008-12-02T21:18:00.002-06:00

This morning it was pretty darn cold...even for Dallas!

Anyway, what was supposed to be a run with an "easy" pace, I just wanted to PUSH PUSH PUSH. I was probably going at about a 9:30 pace at the half-way point, so I wanted to see if I could do a negative split so I pushed the pace even more in the last mile.

Even though Nike+ doesn't keep track of 2 mile paces, it was by far my fastest 2 mile at 17:39.

Another milestone I'm about to hit, and that I should hit tomorrow with my 6 mile run, is that I'll have averaged over a mile a day for the entire year. I'm currently at 359.84 miles. I had just missed out on hitting my November mileage goal of 70 miles, but I only logged 69.8 miles on the Nike+ website. Arghh.

But ultimately, the Nike+ goals and the a mile a day goal are not my ultimate destination. The half-marathon two weeks from now will be the goal for this year.

I Back...and Up and Down.

2008-12-02T20:32:00.003-06:00

After spending some time off in St. Louis for the Thanksgiving Holiday, I'm back. I didn't rest on my laurels while in "The Lou".

I competed in the Chesterfield Turkey Trot 5K and got close to my PR. Only 9 seconds off! Dang it!!! It was a really big turn-out as there were over 2,000 people there on a chilly Thanksgiving Day morning. I felt pretty good throughout the race. There were plenty of hills which I didn't have to encounter before in any other event. I felt so good that when I saw the finish line I picked up the pace. I saw someone to the left of me out of the corner of my eye and saw her pick up the pace as well. Being the competitive person that I am, that made me want to speed up. I saw her speed up. I sped up more. And she sped up. Now I didn't know this person, but she didn't want me to beat her and vice-versa.

So with about 200 metres remaining, I just went full sprint (but within control) with no looking back. I've no idea where she ended up, if she beat me to the finish line or what, but I felt totally AWESOME that I was able to sprint like that. I had so much adrenaline pumping after that sprint I felt I could have gone another mile at that pace.

I ended up finishing in the bottom half of my age group, but at least in the top half overall. The race was fun and it also served as my normally scheduled run on Fridays. Because of the holiday, our travel schedule, and the 5K event, I ended up with one less run for the week which was okay, but boy, did I end up paying for it on my long run!

So I gave myself a day off on Friday for a long run on Saturday. I was scheduled to do 8 miles that day so I mapped a 4 mile route to a certain point and then planned to run back.

Well, I couldn't even tell you how many hills there were. It felt like there were more hills in the first 3 miles than there were flats. There was a serious downward slope that I had shuffle down and I knew that on the way back I had to go up that hill. I think there were at least 5 or 6 hills in that first 4 mile leg but I was powering through them. I've never trained with hills, mainly because I live in a very flat area.

On the way back I encountered that dreaded monster of a hill that I went down during the first 4 miles. I took a short walking break before the climb to build up the energy to actually make it all the way up at a running pace. Mind you, I had just run about 6 miles at this point so my body and my legs had taken a pounding on those hills up until this point. This hill was probably a 30 to 40 degree twisty slope that was about 300 to 350 metres long.

I powered up that hill. The Pose method went out the door for that hill. With about 50 metres to go I could feel my legs burn and it felt like I had burned through whatever energy was left in my legs. I had to take another walking break when I reached the top. After that climb, the remaining 3 hills were going to be nothing in comparison, and everything was feeling fine afterwards.

If anything, the weekend was awesome because I had encountered and conquered some things that I hadn't had to deal with before.

1. Hills during a 5K, plus with plenty of gas to spare at the end for a full-out sprint.
2. Big-time hills during an 8 mile run. I wish there were more hills around here because I could use the extra training with hills because they were actually fun! I say that now, but if I had to do a lot of hills every week, I probably wouldn't be saying that.

Trotting like a turkey

2008-11-25T21:01:00.004-06:00

Today was the first sub-freezing run for me this year. I had a couple of layers on, running tights, gloves and a hat. It didn't feel like I was sweating that much but when I got back home, I was just DRENCHED. The tights felt alright. They're still a bit of an acquired taste but they also add a bit of extra support around my knee which has been feeling kinda wonky lately.

The cold air actually feels great when running since I tend to get warmed up pretty quick and the extra heat that I'm giving off makes a bit difficult to run in when it's warmer. I suppose I ought to move back to Canada if I want to have more cold days than warm! :)

Today was also my last run day before my 5K on Thursday at the Chesterfield Turkey Trot near St. Louis, MO. We knew awhile back we were going to be in St. Louis for Thanksgiving and I was going to miss out on similar events going on in the DFW area, so I went searching for any similar turkey trots going on in St. Louis. There weren't that many, but the one in Chesterfield isn't too far away and it's early enough that it's not going to disrupt any Thanksgiving activities.

So I have my running gear packed for a couple of runs while away. I'm doing one less run for the week so that I can accommodate a 5K event and a long run on Saturday. It ought to be significantly colder in St. Louis than in Dallas so I'm anticipating that's going to work to my benefit.

The 5K will be my last event before the culmination of the past year of running: The Dallas White Rock Half Marathon in mid-December. I'm weary of doing too much during the 5K and pushing too hard for the event because I don't want to injure myself before the half-marathon. After next week, I'll be tapering, so it's going to be difficult for me to keep my runs under control as well....I'm just way too competitive for my own good sometimes.

My temporary running buddy

2008-11-23T14:51:00.004-06:00

Today was not an average running day. It was about endurance and camaraderie.

Today I ran the longest distance I had ever run - 10 miles. For me, it was significant because it was my peak distance before I start tapering for my half-marathon in 3 weeks time. I knew I could do the distance but until I actually walked the walk, it was still a limitation in my own mind that my body had to break past.

My mind was already playing tricks on me. It was already telling me that 10 miles was a long way to go and it wasn't worth the discomfort that would ensue. Plus the constant 10 mph head wind didn't help and was not really motivating. I was trying to push and power through it but I kept worrying about how slow I was going.

Once I got to mile 3, I felt better. I stopped worrying about my pace and tried to find a comfortable rhythm that I could flow into and maintain.

It wasn't until mile 4 that I turned the corner (literally) and the head wind was no longer a problem. I was able to really focus on the running.

Everything was feeling great and I got to mile 7. I see this dog run towards me. It was probably about a year old or so...not a huge dog, but he had potential. He ran up to me and started jumping up on me, not in any type of attack mode, but as if he was really excited. Having a couple of dogs, I feel comfortable around dogs and can sense if a dog is trying to play vs. being scared and trying to be defensive. I definitely sensed the former with this dog.

I gave him a bit of attention and then started walking away. He started to follow me. The more I walked, the more he followed. I tried to run into a nearby parking lot to see if there were any cars that he might have jumped out of, or if someone was looking for him. After about 5 mins., I could tell I wasn't going to find his owner (assuming he had an owner). So I decided that I would finish the rest of my run (3 miles) and figure out what to do, assuming he was going to continue to follow me.

So off I went, with new-found, 4-legged running buddy on my heels. He kept up pretty good. He hung close to me, every once in a while my back foot would clip him. Having him run with me distracted me from thinking about the 3 miles and the hills that accompanied them.

When my iPod told me I had completed my 10 miles, I called up my wife. "Uh honey, I have a dog following me. I don't think he wants me for dinner, but he won't stop following me!" It was the weirdest problem to have. A stray that actually knew how to heel. My own dogs can't go out without a leash. They're just too out of control. This dog was on his best behaviour. Now I would have absolutely *LOVED* to take this dog in but a few things prevented that.

1. I have 2 dogs already with no more room.
2. We have a baby on the way in February and we don't need the added stress.
3. This dog was at least part pit bull. While I think pit bulls get a bad rap for their ferocity, they're bred for that trait so it's a genetic thing that no amount of socialization nor training will ever completely override.

So I asked my wife to call up the Animal Control. No luck -- they're not open on Sundays. I asked her to call up Petsmart because they usually have dog and cat adoptions on the weekends through local shelters. I was hoping that someone there could take the dog in.

While Christine was on the phone, I remembered that there was a fire station nearby. I was hoping they could provide some direction since they're an emergency service who might be able to have better luck with other local services or maybe have an idea of who I could contact.

So we walked over to the fire station and two firemen answered the door. I explained that this dog had been following me for the past 3 miles. It's not like he was attacking me...and it seemed like an odd problem to have...a dog that was a great running buddy and stayed with me. They seemed to get a kick out of that. While we were talking, the dog sat perfectly still, taped right to my leg. He was REALLY on his best behaviour, probably unsure of who these people were. He seemed content to stay with me and was almost protective of me. He didn't try to attack the firemen or anything, but he seemed to have bonded with me at some level. Anyway, they helped me out by taking in the dog and keeping him in their bay until animal control could come and pick him up. I walked into the bay knowing that the dog would follow me. One of the firemen distracted him with lots of attention and I quietly walked away out the side door.

I felt alright about leaving the dog in good hands, and I hope his owner finds him or he finds a good home.

Anyway, here's a picture of him:

I found him in this area:

View Larger Map

If you recognize this dog and he lives in this area, contact Animal Services of Arlington.

The Why

2008-11-21T21:34:00.003-06:00

Running is one of those activities where there is no team. Now that may sound selfish, but it's true. Running is not a team sport like baseball, football, or even cycling. It's about you and the road ahead and what you can accomplish with that time.

Whatever the reasons we all run for, we do it for ourselves. We might be running for someone in a 10K, a marathon or a Race For The Cure, but it's each of us who has to do the mileage. Other people might provide inspiration, but it's our bodies that we push and punish, sometimes to the limit.

We might be doing it to get back in shape, to lose weight, to change our lives. They're our own reasons.

Running allows us to accomplish things that we wouldn't be able to accomplish at work, where we're working for someone else, or within our respective families. It's our chance to pursue personal goals, push ourselves for no other reasons other than personal improvement, and to surpass limits that we may not have thought possible.

Now, I'm not an anti-social person, and I don't think runners are that way either. We appreciate the alone time, to think, to get away to recover that time we devote to other things. We aren't running away. We're running towards something that only we can define. Running can define us, and we define our running.

Holy Cramp!

2008-11-20T07:42:00.002-06:00

Oh cramp.

Well, it was close to a leg cramp yesterday. My training using the Pose Method uses more of my calf muscles than I had used them before...so either I'm not using the Pose Method correctly or I just need to work out my calves more.

I was supposed to run 12 min intervals with 100 second breaks in between, which I did, but not without great difficulty. My calves were tight that morning and it was quite chilly but not cold enough to pull on the running tights. I did ample stretching and loosened up as much as I could and I started out on my run. By the time I had completed my 2nd interval, I had contemplated calling my wife to come pick me up because my left calf was just REALLY sore. It felt like a cantaloupe in my leg!

It became one of those moments where you either decide to call it quits for the day or you tough it out. I don't usually quote Lance Armstrong that often, and this may be a paraphrase, but it summed up what I was thinking: "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever." I had stopped in the middle of runs before and regretted doing it.

This time I toughed it out the remaining intervals and I'm glad I did. By the time the 4th interval came around (albeit at a slower pace), the soreness had either worked itself out, or I couldn't feel it any longer.

The Gear

2008-11-18T21:16:00.004-06:00

Running is like any other sport or activity. People have their preferences of particular equipment. Tennis players use specific size racquet heads and string tightness. Hockey players have their preferred sticks and skates. Baseball players favor specific brands of bats, and so on.

With runners, it mostly comes down to the shoes. Like the above examples, runners chose what works for them and what feels right. That being said, I'm not endorsing one brand over and other because one is actually better than the other, but I'm just letting everyone know what has worked for me for specific reasons, and for not-so-specific reasons.

First of all, the shoes. My very first pair of shoes made for running were the New Balance 1223's. I picked New Balance because I had always heard good things about them, and my wife liked New Balance. One day we went to the New Balance Store to pick up a pair of new shoes for her and I ended up getting a pair for myself. The salesperson recommended the 1223's because of my over-pronation and the 1223's were highly-recommended stability shoes. Having never really worn running shoes, they felt odd because I had always bought athletic shoes that were comfy, almost to the point of tight-fitting. Buying running shoes are a completely different matter since your feet tend to expand 1/2 size or more while running.

The 1223's were great until I could feel them start going away. I started getting heel pain after runs and it had been about 8 months since I had bought them, even though I didn't put a ton of mileage on them.

I decided awhile back that when the time came to buy new shoes, I would go to a running store to see what other brands and models were out there. I went to Luke's Locker Room in Fort Worth for my shoe search. I had been there a few times to buy other running accessories and their staff was always very knowledgeable when it came to providing great advice. After analyzing the tread wear on my 1223's, the salesperson had me try on a pair of the updated New Balance 1224's (the successor to my existing 1223's), a pair of ASICS Gel Kayano 14's and a pair of Mizunos (I don't remember the model).

The 1224's felt different than the 1223's. I couldn't pinpoint what the difference was, but it felt maybe a bit bulkier. I tried the Gel Kayanos and they felt pretty good. They were bulkier than the 1223's but they felt more comfortable than my New Balance ever did. The Mizunos didn't feel right at all so I took home the ASICS shoes. They've been great shoes so far and my legs have felt better on my rest days since I started wearing the ASICS.

I have no preference for clothing. It's pretty much anything that wicks moisture and anything that isn't too short. Since we're getting into the colder months, I've been wearing a long-sleeve Nike shirt which also wicks moisture, on top of a regular technical T-shirt. It hasn't felt too much warmer wearing two shirts so I'm probably going to invest in another long sleeve shirt so I'm not constantly washing my existing one.

Again since we are in the colder months, I've started wearing gloves, and sometimes wearing gloves when it isn't that cold. I'm not sure what it is, but I'd rather wear gloves than not wearing gloves when there's even a hint of cold weather. I've also started wearing a wool or synthetic wool toque/beanie/cap. Typically in the warmer months I don't wear hats or headbands or visors as I tend to expel a lot of heat through my head.

The last item I've acquired recently is a pair of running tights. I haven't had a chance to wear them yet since it hasn't dropped to a temperature where I thought I would need them. My cut-off point would be 5 degrees Celsius...any colder than that and they're going on! I'm confident that it's going to get that cold sooner or later. I have a 5K in St. Louis on Thanksgiving Day and I'm confident it's going to be cold enough to wear them during that run, but I'd like to give them a trial run before that event. More than likely I'm also going to wear them for my half marathon in December as well.

Lastly, I'm pretty much a poster boy of the Nikeplus system. I have an iPod Nano, the Nikeplus add-ons, the armband, and the Nikeplus wristband as well. I whole-heartedly endorse this system since you don't have to invest a lot of money ($60 for the wristband and an MP3 player if you want music) to get access to a lot of running stats and training tools on the Nike+ website. It's not as accurate as a Garmin or a GPS-based system, but it works for me. The combination of music and training prompts is great motivation and incentive for me.

Like I said, probably with the exception of the Nikeplus system, I'm not endorsing one brand over the other and they will work great for everyone. Each shoe brand fits differently and use slightly different materials and design so they are bound to be different for everyone. People perspire at different points and have different activity thresholds that cause them to perspire more. Some people don't mind cold...others are really sensitive to it. So go out and try out different things and see what works for you.

First big run after knee pain

2008-11-17T21:14:00.004-06:00

I had my first long run (6 miles) trying to do my best using the Pose Method and it went better than expected.

First, I went at a pace that was a bit faster than expected (overall 10:39/mile pace) and I went 7 miles instead of 6, mainly because I made a wrong turn and got a wee bit lost during my run.

Running with the Pose Method certainly helped me focus on form, posture and positioning during the run and take my mind off of the distance and the running itself. The miles just fell away before I knew it.

It was one of those gorgeous days for running - it was sunny, but cool enough where I didn't have to worry about over-heating. There was also a slight breeze that just made everything perfect.

I was worried about doing 6 miles as I had hurt my knee doing 8 miles last week, which I think was brought on by my running form deteriorating in the last 2 miles. When I hit the last mile, my arch in my right foot starting feeling really sore but it wasn't bad enough to make me stop. During my cool down, I could still feel my sore arch and I was still concerned about my knee.

I texted my wife to get a couple of ice packs ready and after my shower I iced down my knee and my arch hoping to avoid prolonged soreness. Thankfully, after a couple of hours with the ice packs, everything felt great again so now I'm aware of how my body reacts to icing down.

Tomorrow I start getting back to my regularly-scheduled training runs for a half marathon in 4 weeks' time.

(Re-)Learning How To Run

2008-11-14T20:49:00.005-06:00

Today was my first run after taking the majority of the week off to rest up my knee due to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, aka Runner's Knee.

It was meant to be a relatively quick jog at an easy pace, but it turned into a faster job than anticipated. It was pretty much at my medium pace over 5 kms. I guess I was just too excited about running after the injury.

I've also been reading The Pose Method book which promotes some common-sense approaches to running but describes them in a way that makes it easy to practice. I had quickly skimmed through the book and went through the basic drills so I was eager to try the method out.

Anyway, it was a good run and the Pose Method seemed to be fairly effective. I used muscles to run using the Pose Method that I wouldn't have typically used so the run was a different experience altogether.

The plan now is to

Injury Report

2008-11-10T10:28:00.002-06:00

So I had a long run as part of my half-marathon training, I did an 8-mile long run on yesterday. Everything felt pretty good. I had run 8 miles before but it felt better this time around.

It was an 8-mile run with 3 breaks spread out during the run, so I scheduled breaks at mile 3, 5 and 7. After the last walking break, I started up on my run and I could feel pain in my left knee. Eventually it went away and then I developed a blister in my arch on my right foot around the 7.5 mile mark but it was manageable.

I treated the blister and proceeded to have an early lunch. I had a can of Coke in my hand as I walked into the kitchen and it slipped and landed edge first on the top of my foot. It actually left a cut on the top of my foot and a nice swollen bruise on the top of my right foot.

My left knee is still sore this morning. A bit of self-diagnosis from the internets indicated I have Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, or runner's knee. Self-treatment would be to stop running, ice, elevation, NSAIDs, and strengthening the quadriceps muscle in that leg.

So it looks like I'm on the shelf for 5-7 days. Yay.

2008-11-10T10:06:00.002-06:00

My first attempt at running this past year didn't last very long. I can't remember what my goal was...it was something like running a mile. As with most first-timers, I started like a flash, and then the pavement caught up to me. I had to take a break just short of the 1 mile mark and subsequently 2 more rests before the 2 mile mark.

I started doing a beginner's running program that started off with walking, walking and more walking. Obviously I was itching to run, but I wanted to follow the program to make sure I was going about everything in the right way. I also start personal training sessions at 24 Hour Fitness with a trainer who has had running experience.

Fast-forward 5 months, and I'm running my first 5K. I'm as nervous as all heck but I made it with my fastest 5K. 2 months later and another 5K with another PR for that distance.

Then, it all goes to pot. We go on vacation and that disrupts my training. I stop training as the getting up at 5am to go running becomes a chore. For about 2 months I stop running. I start up again in September and it feels like I'm starting all over again.

I decide that I need goals to keep myself running. I register for a half-marathon in December. It's quite ambitious, but it has motivated me to stay with my training program and get my butt off the couch.

Fast-forward to now, I run my first 5K since June and I end up with the exact time as my first 5K. Quite symbolic that I indeed am starting all over again with running.

In the beginning...

2008-11-09T10:06:00.000-06:00

So this is actually my 2nd attempt at blogging about running. In general, I find it difficult to commit time to blogging regularly. But I figure, committing time to running takes more time than posting.

Why run?

Firstly, I'm pretty much built for running. My frame is slight, I'm fairly lean.

Second, it doesn't require a lot of equipment. No helmets, bats, sticks, padding, skates, clips or what-not. Just a pair of shoes.

Third, why not?

I got into running because of one person -- my wife. After many years of both being couch potatoes and sedentary, she decided to get in shape. It all started with exercise. She lost weight, which made it easier to exercise, which helped her lose more weight, etc. etc. I saw all the great benefits. She was active and lively, and she looked AWESOME! :) I wanted in on part of that magic.

Then more incentive...the Nike+ iPod kit. What an awesome way to track all the stats from runs and an objective way to track progress. Me being a numbers guy, it was the perfect fit.

I realize now that the numbers are just numbers, and numbers don't always tell the whole story. They don't tell what you're feeling, how hard or easy the runs are, things that numbers can't describe.

All for now, more later.