…ran by a guy wearing an Ironman 70.3 shirt. He went halfsies at it. Halvesies?
Anyway. Bomb.
Month: December 2010
First run in the new hood complete!
The still-uncalibrated watch says:
- 3.64 miles
- 31:19 time
- 8:36 pace (ha! I wish!)
I’m gonna go ahead and say it was at least a 3-miler, and that’s what I was going for.
I am THRILLED with the proximity of the Burke-Gilman trail to my new place. Big time. I’d say it took about 3 minutes to run there.
Ran to Fremont and back on the Burke. Saw a guy doing yoga along the Fremont canal (love Seattle). My knees and right hip hurt a bit, but I’m gonna chalk that up to the fact that it is cold as a MOTHER outside.
Pro tip: On a beautiful, sunny, winter day, don’t wait until the sun is about to set to go for a run.
Shower. Goodwill. Boom.
Day off
Done:
- Delicious breakfast cooked and eaten (egg in a hole, plus sauteed zucchini, peppers and wilted spinach)
- Utility accounts set up (water/sewer/garbage, electricity, gas)
- Christmas chocolate sampled (oops)
- Load of dishes and laundry washed (yay, clean things!)
To do:
- Unpack and organize the rest of my bedroom (5 boxes to go)
- Clean anything still dusty/dirty from storage, plus the sliding glass door to my balcony (!!!)
- Take junk to Goodwill; buy needed.items (plates, bowls, can opener, cutting board)
- RUN around new neighborhood (3 miles)
- Shower and become presentable to other human beings (word)
Thank you, Tumblr, for helping me get organized!
Here’s a sad little run run/walk/die/walk/run/die situation for ya.
I did this on the treadmill while wearing my Sportband so I could compare the numbers on the watch to the numbers on the treadmill and calibrate the watch correctly (assuming the treadmill is correct… which I’m not sure it is).
I didn’t count on DYING a mile and a half into the run and then struggling for the entire rest of it.
I ran the first mile at a 10:00 pace (so said the treadmill). That felt great, so I decided I was cool enough to try to run the second mile at a 9:30 pace (so said the treadmill). Half a mile in, I got a sharp pain in the middle of my body above my stomach. Not sure which organ/muscle/whatever that is, but it was exploding.
So I walked, tried to run again, pain exploded, walked again and then ran some more at a slower pace. I tried to bump it up at the end to finish strong, but then the pain exploded again and I finished the workout walking. Bummer.
Here are head-to-head numbers from the treadmill and the Sportband for the same workout (the timing is a little off; my simultaneous-button-pressing isn’t all that great):
Treadmill
Distance: 3.18 miles
Time: 35:00
Sportband
Distance: 3.36 miles
Time: 34:21
The Sportband is obviously a bit over on the mileage, so I’ll be able to use these numbers to make it more accurate. After this, I wonder how the Sportband will do when I run a known distance outside? I’ll need to hit a track to do a mile and see if it’s really accurate then.
Lesson from tonight: Slow and steady is better than too fast and hard. I’d rather have a longer, pain-free run than try to push too hard and have it ruin my whole run.
Sunday’s post-run lunch.
Tomato-basil soup courtesy of Safeway. Gruyere grilled cheese courtesy of heaven.
(Please excuse my looking like an alien.)
Sunday run to Green Lake, around and back (same route as last Thursday).
The watch said 5.07 miles; Map My Run says the route was 4.38 miles. I’m inclined to believe Map My Run, since I was NOT running at a 9:03 pace!
4.38 miles in 45:53 means a 10:28 average pace. Much more plausible.
Must. Calibrate. Watch.
A sunny run to and around Green Lake. Four miles down, one more to go as I head back.
Hell yes! This is awesome. On my day off, my super-awesome Nike+ Sportband-giving friend and I did a 5 mile run from my friend’s house to Green Lake, all the way around the lake and back to the house.
The graph shows pace vs. distance, so you can see that we walked for a bit when the graph dips down (click it for a larger view). I don’t know how accurate these numbers are, since I haven’t calibrated the watch yet, but the instructions say it’s 90% accurate straight out of the box.
I’m just a bit surprised by the 9:27 average pace and the overall unprecedented-ness (just go with it) of 5 miles in 47:23 for me. If that’s actually right… sweet.
I love how simple this watch is — it has all the functions I wanted in a watch (time, distance, pace and calories) and nothing more to confuse me. It’s so easy to use and doesn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable on my wrist. Plus, it gives me this great info to keep track of my runs and what will hopefully be visible progress as I try to run faster (for the 5K) and longer distances (for the 15K and half marathon).
PLUS, it actually makes me want to run more so I can see all the pretty graphs!
Sweet new gear
My super-awesome-wonderful friend gave me a Nike+ Sportband as an early Christmas present to track my distance, time, pace and calories burned as I run. Win!
Click here to see what it looks like (mine is black and yellow). I would include a picture of it here, but I don’t underestimate Nike’s ability to have me murdered for copyright infringement. Therefore, I’ll play it safe.
The screen/button portion is actually a little USB drive that handily detaches from the band and plugs right into your computer. I just plugged it in to download the Nike+ Utility software and personalize my settings; now it’s charging. Super easy!
It’ll automatically upload my runs to my account whenever I plug it in, so I can keep track of my progress and possibly even link to it here!
I have today off of work (yayyy, random PTO day!), so perhaps I’ll use it for the first time and tell you how it goes!
15K to ring in 24!
I just registered for the Seattle’s Best 15K.
It’s on May 21, 2011, also known as my 24th birthday.
9.3 miles around Lake Union sounds like a great way to start the next year of my life!
Plus, it’ll be a great training run for the Rock ‘n’ Roll half in June.
Plus, it’ll just be AWESOME.
Dev on Running 