SportCount

Today we swam at the pool in Bellevue -- we timed it perfectly, arriving just as the hydrofit class was ending, and hitting the pool as the two other lap swimmers also started. We had our new SportCount timers on, which made us feel a little geeky. That said, I liked knowing exactly which lap I was on, what my lap average was, etc. We swam for 25 minutes without stopping. Not really a lengthy swim, but a good little XT workout.

4.5 miles

Just back from our 4.5 mile run... legs feel leaden. Wil's in the shower, so I'm sitting here in my sweaty clothes. Ew.

Wil didn't want to drive to Fred Meyer to start the run (admittedly, not the most eco-friendly way to do it), so we just started off walking. I fumbled with my iPod (must learn to set everything up before I put on my run gloves...) and didn't feel I had walked very briskly. But it was cold and Wil needed to get moving, so we did.

It was pretty satisfying to get to where we started the run last week and already have a mile under our shoes. We jogged through Fremont on the BGT, hitting the halfway point just before we got to the bridge. We did a loop around the Adobe campus, and then headed back, taking a minute walk break.

I felt as if we'd been running into a headwind most of the way out. Not sure if that's true, but I didn't notice any wind on the way back so it was probably behind us. Very happy to hear the half-mile mark, and of course ecstatic at 400 meters. Even the long, slow, gentle uphill at the end wasn't too bad, though I had been dreading it. I had to stop with about 50 meters to go while I waited to cross a street. Boo. But then we were happy and done.

Walked the rest of the way home, had a stretch, and am now off to the showers. Next week: 5 miles!

The Case of the Disappearing iPod

About 22 minutes in to our 35-minute run... I'm feeling okay, running at a 1.0 incline and a slow but steady 5.5 mph. I hear a funny noise next to me, and see Wil looking down at his feet, trying to stop his treadmill. He's dropped his iPod. I laugh and keep going, until I realize that his little Nano is nowhere to be seen. So I stop my machine, too.

We spend 15 minutes crawling around, trying to figure out where it's gone. There are people on nearby machines, looking at us as if we're crazy as we lie down next to them and look under their bike, treadmill, elliptical trainer. Since the thing is matte black, it's nearly impossible to see. And it simply isn't anywhere.

A woman finishes her bike ride and helps us look. By this point, I've expanded the search radius to 20 feet. I even run tests on the treadmill -- what happens to my iPod if I drop it when it's going 6.0 mph? Sadly, it just scoots off the end, landing a couple of feet behind the belt.

Where can it be? Wil says he thinks maybe it's in the machine itself. I can't imagine it. Either it would have had to cling to the belt and ride around under the machine, or he had to kick it into the tiny space between belt and frame.

Wil goes downstairs to get help. A man comes up with a flashlight, helping us look, telling us that the man who could actually take the machine apart isn't there today, but he can put an "out of order" sign on it. We're almost on the verge of saying to just forget it, but then the guy goes to get a screwdriver.

He works on taking the housing off... 6 or 8 screws, and we can open it up... and there, sitting near the motor, is the Nano.

Crazy.

It took 4 people, 25 minutes, and a philips-head screwdriver to recover the little guy... we profusely thanked the guy from the club, and, feeling foolish (and stiff and cold), we went downstairs, showered and left.

So not quite the 35-minute run we should have had (to make up for taking yesterday off...), but we did get at least a 20-minute run in. We didn't stretch though, and my shoulders feel stiff, so hopefully we'll still be up for our long run tomorrow or Sunday.

Xmas Eve XT

Did 27 minutes of sweaty riding in the basement after our walk to the zoo. Back feeling sore, as is my bottom... Taking tomorrow off for xmas... not sure when we could get a run in... too much tofurky to fix. :)

4 Miler!

Delayed our long run until Sunday... we're finding that, unless we just get right up and head out for our run, we don't do it. So Sunday morning, 8:15, we got up, got dressed, and drove to the Burke-Gilman trail. Given that the run was set as a 4-mile jaunt, I thought Green Lake would be a little depressing. ("Woo! We're around! Oh, we have to keep going?")

The BGT would give us a little change of pace, while still keeping us off the roads. We parked near the Fred Meyer, bundled up in our rain gear, and started our brisk walk. Wil had his new "hatphones" on, while I was still struggling with my headphones.

Five minutes of walking done, we started our run. Especially on cold mornings I always feel really sluggish at the start. But a few minutes in, I felt better. We ran a pretty steady pace, with a brief walk at the 2-mile turnaround so Wil could take off his gore-tex and tie it around his waist. 

I love the countdown at the end... it's so satisfying to be told "400 meters... 300 meters... 200 meters... 100 meters... workout complete." Wil had Lance Armstrong congratulating him for his longest run so far. Paula never seems to talk to me anymore. What have I done to annoy her? I mean, sure, she's busy with the new baby and all that, but still...

At the end of the run, I felt damp, tired, a bit footsore... but really pleased with myself. We averaged 9:58 per mile, ran 4 miles, and... and this is key... we were at Fred Meyer and finished our Christmas dinner shopping by 10:15. 

Sweaty Betty

Today we ran 35 minutes on the treadmills at the gym in Seattle. I am still ambivalent about treadmills. They simply must be easier than running in the real world.

We also keep trying different machines, which I think means we're going different speeds even though I try to keep a certain pace.

For example, today I started my run at 6.0 mph. After 15 minutes, however, I had to slow down -- even though I know I've run at 6.2 up to 6.5 for 35 minutes on other machines. So I slowed down to 4.5 for a minute, and then sped it back up to 5.0 for a while. Then up to 5.5. And then, for the last 5 minutes, sped up by .1 every minute to finish at 6.0.

I also started running with a heavy, long sleeved cotton top on over my workout shirt. When I slowed down after 15 minutes, I had to take the top off because I was getting so overheated. While it certainly helped cool me down, I was covered with sweat when I finished. Beads of sweat on my arms. Completely wet clothes. That gym is really warm inside, and doesn't have much in the way of air con. I'm sure people prefer the heat -- it's nice when you're lifting, and when you're stretching. But it's tiring when you're running.

Didn't feel particularly fit or speedy today, but I felt as if I finished strong. Tomorrow is a light day -- hooray!

Insensitive

Used my new armband to hold my Nano and Nike+ sensor while running on the treadmill at the DT gym. I set it up for a timed workout: 30 minutes. Being a bit uncoordinated, I wasn't really able to look at it while I was running. It kept telling me "Activity stopped.... please press the center button to continue your workout." So I'd press it, and it would restart. It was clearly keeping the normal time (or at least close to the time on the treadmill), and telling me when I was halfway done, when I had 10 minutes left, etc. But I had to keep pressing the center button.

At first I thought that maybe having the armband on my right arm and the sensor on my left foot was a problem. (Though I know that's meant to be the preferred set-up.) Then I moved the sensor to the tray on the treadmill. Nope, still stopped. Then I moved it to my left arm. Again, it stopped. 

Today I decided to do an interval workout -- which took a while for me to set up, because I kept putting in the paces incorrectly. Luckily, it was designed so that you could adjust the speed and elevation for both the fast and the slow sections, and it would remember the setting for the next interval. I didn't go particularly fast -- 4.5 mph "rests" and a 1.5% elevation and 6.5 mph "fasts" at a 1.0% elevation... raising my speed by .1 mph on each fast interval. Each interval was 2 minutes long, giving me a 30-minute workout + a 3-minute cooldown.

How fast was my average? How far does Nike+ think I've gone? Don't know. Clearly the sensor wasn't registering at all during my run. Boo. Must sort that out soon.

I don't feel tired; I have run a straight 30 minutes at a 6.5 mph pace before. So I think in the future I need to run faster "rests" and faster "fasts". 

Tomorrow is a rest day...

 

Milky Joe

Not much to say -- did 30 minutes of fast cycling in the trainer today. Feeling tired and stressed by work, the holidays, everything. Would really like to have a quiet day off to get some stuff done. I guess that's what xmas eve is for. Tomorrow we run and potentially go for a swim. Right shin is still sore, and my bum hurts from the saddle. Come springtime, however, I'll be laughing!

brrr!

This weekend's long run was set as a 3.5 - 4.0 miler... it was a very cold morning, that seemed to get colder rather than warmer. I had a sore shin from a long walk in inappropriate footwear. But we got ourselves up and dressed and over the Green Lake.

We did a brisk 5-minute walk, and then started our "workouts" on our iPods, setting the sensors for 3.5 miles. I felt very cold and brittle, like I wouldn't be able to run very far. I was slow, and kept trailing behind Wil. But on we plodded, taking three very short breaks as we felt we needed them.

I found myself waiting for a distance update from the sensor -- it told us when we had done a mile, when we had done a mile and three quarters, and when we had a mile and a half to go. Then nothing. I was sure it would tell us when we were a mile off, but it didn't. And that made me feel worried, like I'd never make it. I just kept thinking that this half mile was the longest half mile in the world. I even asked Wil to look at his iPod -- had we gone a half mile? Were we really in the last mile? Or not yet?

But we were in the last mile. In fact, we were almost in the last half mile, which the sensor soon announced. I love the glorious countdown -- 400 meters... 300 meters... 200 meters... 100 meters... workout complete.

We also discovered that while our iPods are similarly calibrated when we run, they aren't synched when we walk. So Wil was told he had a little bit farther to go than I did. But soon we had both reached 3.5 miles, and I for one was thrilled to stop. My shin was screaming, my hands were freezing, and I was tired.

With our warmup and the 3.5 miles we had gone nearly 1.5 times around the lake, but we doubled back on ourselves for the cooldown and stretch.

This week we have a lot of training, including a 4-mile run at the weekend. I hope I can last that long!

shhhh....

Okay, so I didn't get in my 25-minute walk/run today. But here's something I can barely believe, something I haven't been able to bring myself to tell many people.

We've registered for the Over the Dam Run half marathon in May. We booked a room near the dam. And both of us suddenly feel like we'll be fine. Sure, we've got a LOT of work to do before we can run that far. But if the run was tomorrow, we'd be able to run a few miles, walk a few miles, and run a few miles. And finish. So that makes me happy.