Jun 30, 2013

Weekly Roundup: June 30th

Lake Barton
Gray day around the lake.
Time for another weekly roundup, this time for the final week of June. This week featured two runs at home as well as one on the road.

Training

Sunday, June 23: Rest

Monday, June 24: Rest

Tuesday, June 25: Maintenance Run
Running Statistics
Distance: 2.28 miles
Time: 33:29
Average Pace: 14:39 min / mile

Summary: I decided to try and make the most of the summer and try and run as much as possible outside while it is nice enough to do so. With this in mind, I decided to do another work from home day on Tuesday so I can then run in the morning before starting my day. I did a nice run around the small lake near by which was a nice change of pace.

Wednesday, June 26: Rest

Thursday, June 27: Maintenance Run
Running Statistics
Where: Outside
Distance: 2.45 miles
Time: 35:03
Average Pace: 14:18 min / mile

Summary: Tuesday's run around the lake was so nice, I decided to do it twice. I decided to run my Thursday around around the lake as well. I like to run counterclockwise around the lake, because everyone else seems to go clockwise. Some people will say good morning and smile, others won't even look you in the eye when you pass them. The weather was nice again, though a little gray.

Friday, June 28: Rest

Saturday, June 29: Distance Run w/ Magic Mile
Running Statistics
Where: Outside
Distance: 1.86 miles
Time: 26:48
Average Pace: 14:24 min / mile
Magic Mile: 11:31 min

Summary: This week, Week 11 on the Jeff Galloway "To Finish in the Upright Position" WDW Half Marathon Training Plan called for 4 miles with a Magic Mile (MM). This was my first MM. The idea behind the MM is you run all out for the mile and the time helps predict the time you can expect to finish the half marathon in, with the run-walk-run method. The goal time is 12:15 to finish in 3:30 for the marathon, which is the time limit. Using the factor of 1.3 gives you the expected fastest pace, which then gives you a total time. My first MM gives me an fastest pace of 14:58 min / mile. That's not as good of a pace as am hoping for, but it was my first one. My MM did not go as well as I might have hoped. The plan is you are to warm up then run the mile. You're supposed to do it on a track, so it is level and accurately measures. I was in New Jersey, so I just ran down the road (not level) and used my phone to measure (pretty accurate but within trees). During my run, about 2/3 of the way through, the inside of my right thigh started to get tight. It didn't hurt but was tight. I pushed through the rest of the mile, but by the end, I had a very weird gate. It ended up causing my left ankle to hurt by the end of the mile because of the way I was running. After that, I decided I would call it early, without finishing my 4 miles to avoid further straining anything. I walked back to the house, giving me the 1.86 miles. It wasn't ideal, but I keep hearing "trust your body" on blogs and Team runDisney so I did just that.

Thoughts on the Week

In the end, I felt the week was pretty good for running. I could have done a better job eating. I ate ok on lunches and dinners, but was not great on the snack side of things. In addition, we were in NJ for a birthday party, so I had picnic food and cake. This coming week may not be the best either. With the combination of my anniversary and holiday, I'm sure I won't eat great, but I'm going to try and not go too overboard. I do feel that all things considered, it can be allowed for the week. Afterwards, I'm going to try and be much stricter and accountable on my eating.

How was your week? What are your plans for training around the upcoming holiday?

Jun 29, 2013

Review: iFitness Neoprene Hydration Belt


I received the other day my newest piece of running gear, a hydration belt, the iFitness Neoprene Hydration Belt (16 oz). I settled on this one, because I wanted a belt with 2 of the smaller bottles instead of one large one (or instead of 4 smaller ones). In addition, this is the same belt Jeff Galloway sells on his site (though he only sells the pink version) and was the #3 belt on Amazon as far as popularity. Those two facts together make me feel confident in the quality of the belt to buy it without first trying it. I purchased from Amazon for the free Prime shipping, but you can get it directly from iFitness, and they actually have the colors available. I had to get plain black because stock was limited on Amazon for the L/XL belt.

What's it got?

Obviously hydration is important in running; especially in the summer; especially in my 14 mile run scheduled for Myrtle beach. I also found this past long run, at after about 6 miles of my 9.5 mile run, my legs really needed a boost. That's where something like the energy chews or gels come into play. My belt will help with both of those. First, it has two 6 oz bottles meaning I have 12 oz of liquid with me. I could have opted for a belt with four bottles, but I was unsure of the additional weight how it would feel. Twelve will suffice, and if it's every that hot I need more, I just stop for a refill. Second, it has elastic straps that are supposed to be for holding gels for "on the fly access". I haven't really used the "gels" that look like the squeezie packs my daughter would have for fruits and vegetables, but it looks like they just fit in when you stretch it out. I'm open to recommendations on gels to try.

In addition, it has a nice water resistent pouch in the middle, that looks like it should hold phone, car keys, some cash, ID or whatever is needed on the small side. It has an inner pocket for keeping an ID or credit cards back so they wont easily fall out when you open the pouch, which is a nice touch. The pack has reflective strips, which is good for my early morning runs to feel a little safer, and toggles for hanging a race number on the back.

How's it work?

I gave it a try for a morning maintenance run, to see how it felt. Even filled with water, you hardly notice anything wearing it. The stretch of the belt fits really well and it has "ergonomic design" to "contours to your body to ELIMINATE BOUNCE" (direct from iFitness product description). Frankly, it works. I didn't really feel it when I had it on, it fit nicely around and did not bounce. I did have to adjust it tighter than I started because it started to slide down in the back as I ran initially. After some small tightening though, it stayed in place. I was able to get the bottles out easy with one hand, get a drink and place it back in the belt with no fuss. I don't have any gels yet to try, but the placement of the holders will be very easy to get at. I did not add any phone to the pouch, since I keep it in my arm band, so I can't speak to if it will add anything or make the belt more noticeable.

In the end, it just worked well for me. I look forward to having the water right there on my next long run.

**Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for the information in this post. All opinions are my own and I wanted to share my new found gear**

**run. geek. run(disney) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, endless.com, smallparts.com and/or myhabit.com.**

Jun 25, 2013

New Name, Same Redheaded Face.

I finally decided on the new name for my blog. The new name will be (insert drum roll here)...
run. geek. run(disney)
I essential went for a combination of me (geek), what I'm doing (run) and what I love (disney, runDisney). I feel it will be a good fit. I'm  happy with it.

There's a lot more I want to do with the blog and site, so those changes will be updated incrementally. I've been looking at and working with new themes for the site, so layout ideas, items and elements to include and posts to write.

I'll wrap this short post up with one important fact. I am now just 200 days away from my first half marathon! Better get ready to run. geek. run(disney).

Jun 24, 2013

Rebranding Ahead

Work Ahead
I like the original name I gave this blog, but I'm considering a change. My blog is still about getting my ass is shape, but it has become more concentrated on my running. I'll still be posting on other parts of getting in shape, but running is really the focal point. In addition, it's about getting to runDisney (and some love of Disney to go with it). It will get some more posts about runDisney, even the races I'm not doing (yet), as I've wanted to but just haven't had the time yet.

So what's changing?

So, with that, I've been considering some renaming and rebranding. I have a couple of ideas in mind. It basically works through some combination of some / all of the following: run, running, geek, disney, runDisney.

You'll likely see a name change in the coming days, once I make a final decision. After that, there will be some changes, possibly including the template, layout, colors, theming, images, etc. I plan to be putting some more into this blog into more of a site. I enjoy working on it and writing it.

Jun 23, 2013

Weekly Roundup: June 23rd

Call Miss Utility
Finally a pageant winner
that needs to do something.
As mentioned in my catching up post, I'm moving to a weekly round up for my training sessions. I liked posting for all of them, it was good reflection, I just don't always have the time for it unfortunately. In addition, moving to one weekly roundup post to cover my trainings gives me more time to try and write the other entries for the blogs. I have a couple ideas that I just don't get the time to fully work up. Without further ado, here is my first weekly round up, for week 10 for my Jeff Galloway Half Marathon plan.

Training

Sunday, June 16
Rest


Monday, June 17
Rest


Tuesday, June 18
Training Stats - June 18
What: Maintenance Run
Where: Gym - Elliptical
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 17:40
Average Pace: 7:04 min / mile

Summary: I ended up only having time for a short run on Tuesday morning so I opted to try and keep a quick pace for it.


Wednesday, June 19
Rest


Thursday, June 20
Training Stats - June 20
What: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 2.80 miles
Time: 41:22
Average Pace: 14:45 min / mile

Summary: I had a good Thursday morning run. Looped around the lake which I haven't done in a while as a part of my run. Felt good and was a really good de-stresser to start the day.


Friday, June 21
Rest


Saturday, June 22
Training Stats - June 22
What: Distance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 9.53 miles
Time: 2:17:19
Average Pace: 14:24 min / mile
Fastest Split: 13:20 min

Summary: I was a little worried going into this run. The distance was farther than I've ever run at one time and I missed my long run two weekends ago so I didn't have the booster of "It's only a mile and a half farther." I got up extra early ("I hate me" o'clock, as I referred to it when setting my alarm) to beat the heat, sun and get a good start to the day. I don't have a hydration belt yet (but I've ordered one) so I planned my route to come by the house at about 5.5 miles. That worked out perfectly, though I needed a quick bathroom break as well then. The first 5 went by great. I took the same path as my last 5 mile run and it was easier this time around. Not easy, but easier. The second half (or 4 miles) was a little rough. After about a half mile my legs got a little jelly-like and tired. I pushed through and kept going. I could have used the little jellies I have that are for energy to push through the second part of my run. In the future, I plan to keep them in my belt for that exact purpose. Side note, I just got them at 10 for $10 at Giant, the Gatorade Prime Energy Chews. In the end, the run felt good but tiring.  I wasn't too sore after, though the bottoms of my feet would hurt a little after sitting for a bit.

Thoughts on the Week

This week felt good from a training standpoint. There were no missed sessions, I physically felt good and I had a great long run on the weekend which I even followed up with errands and shopping with my wife and daughter after running. 

How was your week? Anything special in your training this week?

Jun 13, 2013

Playing Catch Up

I'm a little behind in my posting here. I'm trying to write what I've missed and back post them. I just posted one on the Cascades 10K Firechase. You'll be seing more posts pop in between here and there. My training has been ok. I've had some misses, and I think not posting on here regularly anymore makes that a little easier to write off and brush off the skipping of a session. Part of the point in starting this blog was to make me more accountable for my workouts. I think it helps, so I am trying to get back into it. Things have gotten busy, so 3 training posts a week, plus any other posts I want to make is a little much with everything else that's been going on. I may need to switch to a weekly recap of my training. I know I wanted to see the numbers get really high by the time I ran in Disney, but I may forgo that as a time management item. I may try that, and as long as I keep up my training, go with it. I haven't decided yet. We'll have to see. I want to blog more than once a week on here, so that will require a secondary post each week, which I'm ok with.

As I said, I've had some misses on my runs. Some have been skips, some have been unintentional misses, others were unfortunate decisions. The biggest one was this past weekend, I never got in my 8 mile run. I'm disappointed I never got that run in. That I let it slip away. Some things adjusted the schedule, and shifted the run around repeatedly, but in the end, it was my responsibility to run and I didn't do it. I do really think I need to stick to my runs first thing in the morning, whenever possible, because the afternoons and evenings are more likely to have situations arrise beyond my control.

Of course, I say all this after sleeping through my run this morning. I don't remember it going off, and my phone has been having some sound oddities lately. However, I cannot rule out me turning off my alarm without realizing it. I have done it before.

I'm resolved to do better. I'm resolved to improve. I'm resolved to kick my weight loss into some better gear as well. I do enjoy running. I do enjoy the races. I do enjoy the challenge.

Let's Do This!

Jun 1, 2013

May Round Up

The month of May was good to me and my training. I had some good mileage in (with a lot on the pavement), new gear, a great race and some new personal bests. I'm really happy with what I've done.

Trainings

The brightness helps you
run faster.
I had a fairly good month of training. I did miss 3 sessions during the month, 2 maintenance runs and a 3 mile weekend run. In the end, I don't feel too bad about that. I put a lot more mileage to the pavement, at 25 miles. I feel good by that new monthly high. I've improved my pace, increased my distances. My new shoes have really paid off. They feel great on my feet, have helped my ankles and knees feel better on my runs and they don't look half bad either.

Races

This month, I got in another race. This time, I didn't run alone. I ran the Cascades 10K Firechase along side Derek. I had hurt my ankle earlier in the week, so I had taken it easy during the week and was a little hesitant for the run, but everything turned out alright. In fact, everything turned out more than alright. In the race, I got a new PR for both average pace (13:13 min / mil) and split (12:20). Despite the guy who decides to juggle while he runs and you have to fight the urge to tackle / trip him, we had a lot of fun. I came out with an official time of 1 hour 24 minutes and 41 seconds. The best part was that while tired and sore, I didn't feel as bad as I did after my 8K in May. It's like I'm getting the hang of this or something.

Some Monthly Stats

Now's the portion of our show where I get all geeky and throw out a bunch of numbers and stats.

Total Distance on the Pavement: 24.99 miles
Average Pavement Pace: 14:35 min / mile
Best Pavement Pace: 13:13 min / mile
Best Split: 12:20 min

Total Distance in the Gym: 9.05 miles
Average Pace in the Gym: 7:46 min / mile
Best Pace in the Gym: 7:13 min / mile

What's Next?

Next month is June. The temperature will be rising and so will my distances. I'll have several runs to do on the road. Hopefully, I'll keep to my plan even on the road. In addition, my distance will increase to 9.5 miles. It will be a real test to me, but I'm ready for the challenge.

What will June hold? More work, more progress, more success.