Wednesday, March 31, 2010

oh cactus, my cactus

on superbowl sunday 2008 I ran into a cactus. (when I originally wrote about said cactus I think I referred to it as an "attack")

even for me, that feels like a bizarre sentence to write. I am especially good at remembering my position in the time-space continuum. (My mother will arbitrarily ask things like "where were you during the summer of 1991" and I will have an answer. odd, huh)

yesterday, I said "hi" to my little cacti friend as I rode happily by on my motorcycle. I realize though if stinger (the motorcycle) were to collide with the cacti I'd probably still lose.

I'm not sure if the cacti really has any other significance. I still have a scar from the altercation, the cacti appears unharmed. I had been running on a bum hip for about 6 months before that morning and I think the additional weakness from the incident was my undoing.

In other news, my Garmin arrived - buying the not latest model lowered the price enough to spring for quick shipping. Next time I run there will be data. Oh, how I love looking at data, massaging it and making it tell me what I want to hear.

Oh data, my data.

Monday, March 29, 2010

ga ga for gadgets

ahh....the joy of gift certificates and gadgets.

Once upon a time I had another blog with lots of posts about my runs and how far and fast I traveled through swampy, humid Floridian mornings. And then I decided to take some time off. Or, more accurately, I think my hip decided I needed to take some time off. I did other things like yoga but mostly I lounged around. And at some point that I can't recall, without searching through my old blog, my Garmin Forerunner 201 died. I enjoyed my Forerunner 201 and except when I wore it on my wrist while biking, I was never really bothered by its size. Some people say it is like wearing a deck of cards on your wrist - I'm not sure if it is quite that bad, but it is about the size of a Kit Kat bar - though less tasty and much harder plastic. So now that I am training again I'd like a GPS-enabled training device to run along with me. I spent way too much time this weekend reading reviews online and on amazon about the newer Forerunners. Specifically the 305 and 405/405CX though I did briefly glance at the 310XT. The last one is not within my proposed budget and I don't do enough swimming to justify the purchase. (and even though it is waterproof, apparently it doesn't provide accurate readouts underwater, so what is the point anyway?)

After careful study, I think I am going to buy the 305. Except for a brief period in my life when I wanted the newest stuff - I don't even remember when this was, truthfully, but I think it did actually happen, having the newest, coolest gadget has never been that important for me. I initially wanted to buy the 405 because it is smaller and therefore must be better, but after reading the reviews I'm not convinced. The watch functions using a touch bezel rather than buttons and apparently any water on the display causes it to freeze. I sweat when I run so this might present a problem. Many reviews expressed this concern, but the one that convinced me the 305 is a better option is the one that stated the 405 freezes in humid conditions. South Florida is nothing if not humid during the summer and if the watch froze in humid conditions this would probably cause me to sit down on a run and bang my head on the concrete with frustration. And I do enough banging my head against the wall in my work life to satisfy any human being, I don't want to duplicate this behavior while running.

So, unless something drastic happens between now and the arrival of my gift certificates (I'm not sure why gift certificates being used online are arriving via postal mail courtesy of my credit card rewards program) I'll buy a Garmin Forerunner 305 and hopefully run happily off into the distance knowing my pace, heart rate, distance and total time plus probably 30 other useless data sets. What fun for a data dork like me.

Have a good Monday.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

the measuring pants part #2

well, this is very unexciting. because I have other things to do this morning and I haven't worked out and I will not have a chance to workout until later today, if I'm lucky, I haven't made the attempt to squeeze my body into the pants that are probably still not all that comfy. Perhaps later. Perhaps tomorrow. Off into the world...

Friday, March 19, 2010

the break-in

the new sneakers arrived and I did an easy treadmill workout at 15 min mile pace to break them in - I mixed in some side-stepping and backwards walking intervals at 2.2 mph (not nearly as easy) but I know my hips still need to be stronger than their current state of mind. I think I probably won't start real running until next week. Though one never knows what craziness will take over this weekend.

So, as you can see, nothing interesting to report. Back to work for the next few hours and then the freedom of a weekend.

George is busy with this new regimen, too. (a very grainy video)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

the measuring pants

I don't own a scale. Sure, there is a scale at the gym but I normally keep my distance. The last time I set foot on a scale was at a doctor's appointment in October. I am not sure when I will next use a scale. But, I do need to lose weight (or at a minimum, lose fat) so I need some method to determine progress. Thus, the measuring pants. I attended a family event last weekend and wore a pair of pants bordering on the side of "not-very-comfortable" and so those business-casual attire pants will be my measuring pants. When I can put them on and off without unbuttoning/unzippering the waist, I'll be satisfied.

New sneakers should arrive on Thursday - for now I'll hit the road on two wheels and go for a relaxing bike ride.

Happy trails Tuesday.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

been down this road before

my ankles, my knees, my hips, my back and my arms have all done this marathon thing before. the person who I am today, though, the heart, the mind, the spirit and the soul have never done the training, run the miles or crossed a finish line 26.2 miles from the start.

I question what I have inside of me. I don't have that same fire I once had- the one that fought battle after battle to keep me going.

I know I can do this, I've done it before. But the voice inside of me, that sneaky one always waiting for an opening, tells me that I can't and that I might fail and if I fail then everything is a failure.

I'm in a pre-training phase. I have a few months before I get to the full training schedule. I just ordered new sneakers for training.

I've done a 20 mile run in New York City - what is another 6 miles with 30,000 other runners on a special day in November?