Monthly Archives: January 2012
Putting January in the rear view mirror
I’m not happy with January for a variety of reasons, but how can I complain about it? I spent half of it not feeling well, but I still managed to accomplish more this month than any other January. Here are the highlights:
- My first-ever January race. A trail race is more of an experience than an actual race, but the bloodshed led to some good lessons learned.
- Most miles ever in January. I’m disappointed with 81.5 miles, but in comparing what I did two years ago when I was on my way to a PR in the Shamrock Half, I have more mileage — both in quantity and quality.
- My long run is back to double digits already with a 10-miler this past weekend.
- 478 push-ups.
All in all, I am in a good place heading in February. Next month is sure to be full of more miles and additional speed work as I narrow down a goal for Shamrock. I’m also eager to start my core streak.
It’s all about focusing …
Core streak anyone?
First off, this is not intentionally the next thing to spread on Twitter or a challenge in which I’m encourage others to jump all over, but if you want to join in the fun, come on.
In yesterday’s randomness post, I mentioned that I was thinking about doing a “core streak” in February. Well, here it is in official terms: I’m doing a core streak in February. I’ll label it on Twitter as #corestreak. If I can do a run streak, I can do a core streak.
The guidelines — NOT RULES — are simple. Do an exercise each day that engages the core. This can be: sit-ups, planks, push-ups, things on this website, or anything in a Google search of core workouts. This can be of any number of sets or reps or intensity.
My main goal is to set a routine of core work from this point forward. Sure I’ve done a variety of core over the years, but I’ve always lacked consistency. A core streak can only help.
No. 833
I continue to have a variety of things on my mind, nothing more dominant than the other. So for my 833rd blog post, here are a few of those things:
- January has felt like an up and down month, but in looking back at my previous Januaries since I started blogging, this may be the best first month of a year that I’ve had since January 2004 when I started running. That includes a trail race, a nice double digit long run under a 9-minute mile pace and, after tomorrow, more than 80 miles for the month.
- I’m thinking about doing an “core streak” in February — an exercise every day than engages the core. I’ll think of some guidelines in the next couple of days, but I think it would a great addition to what already seems to be working for me in the past few weeks.
- Speaking of what’s working, the 100 push-ups challenge is back in full force. I struggled a bit last night, but I’ve stayed solidly in column 2 and have seen an increase of 10 with my max test in this short time. This time around, I have realized one of major problems with not ever completing this or getting beyond 4 weeks — my goal has never been to do 100 consecutive push-ups. That defeats the whole purpose. My goal, this time, is to do that.
- I’m not ready to talk about weight gain/loss, but I have lost a very little bit each week this month. In looking back at various times I’ve written about weight, I tend to say the same thing. I just know I want to lose a few pounds and hit the Shamrock Half Marathon with weight not being at the forefront of my mind. I know that I’ll weigh less than 2 years ago when I set my PR, and getting another few pounds off me will be me an additional confidence boost.
- I haven’t talked much about my goals for Shamrock, but I will soon. I need a speed test or two to figure out if my “A” goal in my mind right now is realistic. Only 7 weeks to go!
Scott and I announced some great #runchat news last week — we are speaking at Fitbloggin’ 12. FitBloggin’s mission is “To bring together the community of health-conscious bloggers for education, networking and friendship.” You can read a little more HERE about us being at Fitbloggin’. We’ll have more details in the coming months.
First impressions
Last week I hinted at some new shoes coming in the mail – a pair of Saucony Mirage. They arrived from Holabird Sports over the weekend and I finally got to run in them yesterday.
Saucony Mirage
I will never judge a shoe by one run, but I really liked the way they felt. The lightness of the shoe was much nicer than I expected.
I got these shoes because I am a huge fan of trying something new without going too extreme. I am pretty sure I won’t get a pair of Vibram’s or anything less of a shoe than the Mirage any time soon. Notice that I’m not saying “never.”
If I can transition to this shoe quickly I will, but for now I’m not going to force the issue. I’ll have one or two runs a week in them before anything high mileage. That said, I would love to wear these awesomely green shoes for the Shamrock Half.
I also have another new product in my hands … or on my wrist – a Soleus GPS 1.0. It’s a long story about how I got this watch, but I want to thank Soleus for the opportunity to wear this.
Soleus came onto the scene recently with an affordable GPS option with a watch that is just that – a normal looking watch with GPS features. Unlike Garmin or other similar companies, you cannot download the data to a computer.
After a few runs with the watch, I like it a lot. The connection to a GPS is quick and the various screen options are nice. I do miss the data that my Garmin 205 provides, however, I never really started using those features until last year. I still don’t download my data often, but I do like looking at elevation profiles and maps on crazy runs.
I have done some comparison with the Garmin – the first run it was just .06 more on a 5.3 mile run; with a co-worker it was .15 more on a 3-mile run. I know that GPS watches read differently and aren’t 100% accurate, but I will continue to compare the two as I decide on which one I like better.
How I handle not having quick access to elevation or maps is yet to be seen. The question is, do I really need it? The quick answer is no. I did fine without it for years. Perhaps I’ll keep my Garmin for those crazier runs, although it seems ridiculous to leave it sitting around when I can easily sell it. My Garmin, though, is old and I don’t know how long it will last.
On the health side of things, I am finally feeling better. I’d say I’m about 90% now – still a little ways to go, but I’ll definitely be ready for 10 miles this weekend.
Ups and downs of feeling bad
Three weeks into the year and I can’t believe that I’m saying training for the Shamrock Half has gotten off to a bad start. Sort of.
Last weekend, I wrote about not feeling well. My mileage fell short by a few miles and I had a long run that just didn’t feel right. It was nice to push it, but it left me feeling bad later in the day.
All last week I struggled with feeling good — lots of snot, headaches and everything else associated with a cold. That led to completely skipping a run, something I haven’t done in a while.
Then yesterday I felt pretty good again. My head was stopped up, but I felt like I could think clear. I went out for 8 miles and had a great run. While it was a bit cold, I enjoyed every second of it. The super snot rockets I got out made me feel even better.
Then yesterday afternoon I took a nap that made me feel crappy again. Same thing last night; then today it’s like I couldn’t even wake up. I decided to stay home from work because going to work every day last week obviously didn’t make me feel better.
Now that it’s afternoon, I once again don’t feel too bad. This up and down and up and down thing is annoying — I feel like the end is near and I know that taking today off running will only help.
Today is all about rest and fluids. I want to run tomorrow and I want to run 10 miles this weekend. I want to have a normal week of training and get my focus back on what I want to do for the Shamrock Half.
10 things I love about running
Fellow #runchat co-moderator Scott has been in a funk lately. To give himself some motivation, he created a great list today of 10 things he loves about running.
While I haven’t been in any running funk (although I have had a bad cold all week that’s now cutting into my running), I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block lately — my mind is full of thoughts that just don’t make sense when I try to put the words down. As a longtime writer and editor, both personally and professionally, there’s nothing worse than stuck thoughts.
So to take his idea, I’ll give you 10 things I love about running. I should do this more often; I encourage everyone to make a similar list sometime soon.
In no particular order, I love …
1. … watching the sunrise while the rest of the world is asleep.
2. … having my “me” time to sort out thoughts or come up with random ideas.
3. … tackling hills in my small hometown of Bedford, Va.
4. … saying “hi” to strangers even if they don’t speak back or even look at me.
5. … experiencing euphoria at the end of a race.
6. … getting lost on a trail.
7. … getting to know strangers on a group run.
8. … very random music on those rare music days.
9. … drinking a cold Magic Hat No. 9 to reward myself for a long run.
10. … new shoes.
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