Too Many Numbers

Okay, maybe toys aren't good for me - because I just love all these numbers!! The good news is - the second run my new toy seemed all better. It told me I ran miles right where I thought it should. It seems to have a bit of a lag as far as knowing my pace and whether or not I'm moving - so when I turn around it seems to lose me for a little bit. Anyway, so here are my last few runs:

On Thursday Sept 7:
I did my first mile in 9:24 with a heartrate of 154bpm.
My second mile was 9:23 and 175bpm
Then I did a half mile (.51 to be exact) in 4:53 and 172bpm
So, I ran 2.51 miles is 23:41 with an average heartrate of 166bpm and a p:27/mile pace. I was pretty happy. It was a good run.

On Saturday September 9:
I ran 6.46 miles in 1:10:04 with an average of 167bpm and a 10:51/mile. I did walk a bit though!
So here's the breakdown. To start, I was running with this guy Logan from the Memorial training group. He wanted someone who ran around 10 minute miles, so that he didn't get lost. I said I was around there. He was definitely faster than I was! So we ran the first four miles together, but then he went on ahead - we had already turned around by then so he didn't need a guide anymore.
Anyway, so we did the first mile in 9:47 at 166bpm
mile 2: 9:34 at 173bpm
mile 3: 10:22 at 170bpm
mile 4: 10:40 at 167bpm
mile 5: 11:03 at 170 bpm
mile 6: 11:23 at 167bpm
then I started walking for the last .46 miles - I thought 6 was great for me that day. So the last bit I did in 7:14 (or a 15:51/mile pace) and my heart rate went back down to 155bpm.
Overall, I started out too fast, but I was happy to get in a good six miles.

On Tuesday the 12th I was holding track practice - but no one showed up. So I ran two laps for warmup and then I stretched. Then I decided that I would run hard on the straightaways and ease up on the curves. For some reason, once I started, I decided that actually I would sprint on the straights and then jog slower than I walk on the curves. I didn't remember to actually stop my watch, so I only know that I did the whole mile in 9:30 with an average heartrate of 170bpm. Then I walked two laps to cool down. It was a good workout.

On Thursday the 14th I ran 3.01 miles in 31:29 with an average of 165 bpm. I walked part of that though. And now that I'm doing this and looking at the calendar I realize - I had had my blood drawn that morning at 10:30. Maybe that had something to do with not feeling great? That and it was really hot and humid. Anyway:
mile 1: 9:20 at 156bpm
mile 2: 10:10 at 173bpm
mile 3: 11:48 at 167bpm (that's the mile I walked during)
Overall it felt really hard. I was tired and hot and yeah, just not feeling great.

On Saturday the 16th it was ridiculously hot and humid. By the end of the run my shorts were dripping, literally. It was pretty darn disgusting. So it was really hard. According to my watch I did 6.48 miles. According to the maps I supposedly did closer to 7. Who knows. I feel like my watch lost me for a bit on the trail, but maybe it didn't. I'm sure I'll be on that path again sometime! So I did the whole distance in 1:27:40 and 163bpm - but I walked the last two miles.
My goal for the long run was to run somewhere around 11/mile. They say you're supposed to train 1 to 1.5 minutes per mile slower than you would like to run the marathon. I'd love to run it at 9:30, but will be super happy with 10/miles too. So that puts my long run pace somewhere around 10:30-11:30/mile.
Anyway, here's the run:
mile 1: 10:48 at 165bpm
mile 2: 11:17 at 171bpm
mile 3: 11:50 at 168bpm
mile 4: 14:20 at 164bpm
mile 5: 15:31 at 159bpm
mile 6: 15:39 at 163bpm
.48 mile: 8:14 (17:10 pace) at 157bpm

I did also slow and talk to participants, so I wasn't unhappy with my first three or so miles. Then I just felt so tired and drained. I'm blaming it on the heat - and letting myself know that I'll do better next time!

New Toy!!

Okay, so on Saturday I ran somewhere around 6 miles. The full marathon training was 6 miles and the half was four miles. Since I'm thinking of doing Disney the first weekend in January and the Houston the second week of January, I've been thinking maybe I should train closer to what the full marathon people are training. So I ran with them.

I did a little bit like I did last Saturday - running and walking with different people - but not as much. Mostly I ran at my pace. When the whole group is there - there are definitely people faster - though a few who are right around my pace - either a little ahead or behind, but no one right at my pace. Which is okay with me, though I like to be able to offer support as a mentor.

Anyway, I did run a fair bit with my youngest mentee - his name is Casey and he's 16. I know I sure didn't have crazy ideas like running a marathon when I was 16! Anyway, he's doing pretty well so far, though was definitely tired by the end and had slowed down a lot. We finished out the run together though.

I did walk a bit on Saturday, but overall, it was a good run.

But this had nothing to do with my new toy.

On Monday, Brant and I went to REI, and with the help of some duplicate items and a gift card - we got me a Garmin Forerunner 301. Now, I know the 305 is out now, but it's $150 more! And this one is fun enough. Monday I didn't run - but I did read my instruction manual. :)

On Tuesday, I held track practice for those of us on this side of town - and had one participant show up. So we went for our 20 minute run after a quick warm up and stretching. Since it was just the two of us, I ran with her. It was a slow, comfortable jog. I took my new toy with me, but I couldn't get it to find the satellites! So I just used it for time and heart rate.

We ran for 20 minutes and I had an average heart rate of 129 beats per minute.

So tonight I went out and tried again. It still couldn't find the satellites! So I was pretty bummed. But then I turned it off and tried again - this time answering one of the questions differently. First it says it's having trouble and asks if I'm indoors. Then it asks if I've moved hundreds of miles since the last time I used it, and then it asks if today is really September 6. So this time I answered that second question differently. I had been saying no - but then I realized - it probably had moved that far since they turned it on to check it at the factory!

And it found the satellites. No problem at all. However, I think it had a bit of trouble with the trail. I'm pretty darn positive that I only ran a little over 2 miles. I'll agree that I ran for 21:16, but I seriously disagree with it saying that I ran 2.59 miles!! There is just no way.

It's still kind of cool though. I had an average heartrate of 165 and a max of 192. (It will apparently learn my heartrate so that it knows what my max rate is and what my range is for the various zones - but to do that you have to get your heart rate way up - so I sprinted at the end.) It says that I burned 202 calories.

It also says that my first mile took me 7:44, which is just laughable, because I wasn't going very hard at the beginning at all. It says I burned 75 calories in that mile and had a heart rate of 151 bpm. It says my best pace was 8:59/mile. (Does that even make sense?? If that was my best pace - how did I ever do a mile in *less* time than that??)

My second mile got my total time up to 14:53 - so another 7 minutes, basically. Again, laughable. 63 calories this time, 173 bpm and a best pace of 8:27/mile.

The third little bit (which it claims was .59 miles) got my total time to 21:16 and burned me another 64 calories. I was at 175 bpm with a best pace of 6:21/mile and an average pace of 10:45. Or maybe that's when it predicted I'd complete the mile? Not really sure - still learning this thing!!

Anyway, I'm still really happy with it, and am hoping that it will get a bit better about the whole distance thing. Maybe on stretches where it's not quite so tree-lined it will do a better job.

In any case - I'm really excited to have the heart rate monitor part, so that I can be more specific in my training. So, I'm very excited about my new toy. I'll try not to get too number happy!

Best Run Ever

So last week I had my best run ever. Well, my best timed mile run ever anyway.

First a quick recap of last week: This time around - our schedule has us running four days a week. So I ran my 20 minute runs on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Each run got progressively better. On Monday I ran 20 minutes - and made it back to my starting location, but was under 2 miles by a little bit. Wednesday I made it back to the start - and was just over 2 miles. Thursday I was just over 2 miles - and made it past my starting point. That's cool 'cause it means I'm finally getting better at pacing. Instead of heading out too fast and burning out - I'm easing into it and finishing stronger than I start. So I like that.

Tuesday we had our track night - and did a timed mile. So we went, warmed up and then stretched, and then we ran a mile. And timed it. First the excuses. I decided to eat dinner on the way to the track. So I had the Chicken Sandwich Combo at Chick-fil-A. This was not the smartest idea I've ever had. The last two laps of my run my stomach was not happy with me at all. Also it was hot.

Okay, so now onto the good part. If you've been reading this from the beginning - you know that the fastest mile I've ever done is around a 9 minute mile. And I normally run my miles more in the 10-12 minute mile range. So, I was super thrilled to run my mile in 8:21!!

I've pretty much felt cool ever since. :)