Category Archives: gear

2.67 miles….71.5 total

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I’m back to running on the Tues/Thurs/Sat schedule – I hope. This morning was muggy but nice.  Ran right after dropping the kids off at school. I always get a little self-conscious about being in running clothes at the school. Especially as there are many more “real runners” who are also dropping off their kids. I figure they’re too busy waking up to notice me, the wannabe. 🙂

As I said before – I’m using the 10K app by Jeff Galloway. But I also open the Nike+ app at the same time to keep track of my mileage and speed (such as it is). The cool part is that the Nike+ website keeps track of your total mileage, your goals (as per speed, distance, frequency of runs, calories, etc).

I’ve used the Nike+ since about mid-March when I had a few weeks of Couch to 5K under my belt. According to Nike+, I’ve now logged 71.5 miles across 27 runs and burned an alleged 8792 calories. Clearly there’s a decimal point missing somewhere on that last stat. Either that or my body just doesn’t want to believe that I’m actually working this hard and sweating so much. But the mileage alone is pretty amazing to me. I mostly run around the same neighborhoods or so….but I’ve done it quite a lot in the last few months.

But overall, I’m happy with the Nike+ interface. It is not quite as accurate as say a Garmin or Polar watch would be. But for now, I have my tunes and I have a semi-decent idea of how far I’m going (minus a few runs where I apparently forgot how to push buttons).

It’s the latest in fashion

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That’s what I keep saying when people ask me about the blue tape on my right foot and ankle. I’ve been taping my foot for the past week in an attempt to help heal the mild case of plantar fasciitis I seem to have developed. I’m pretty sure it’s mild as stretching and exercises are helping. And so far I can still walk – just some pain in the morning when I get out of bed.

The tape is KT tape – developed by sports medicine people as a new athletic tape better designed to support muscle groups. Comes in lots of lovely colors – although my local WalMart only had a few choices. I’ve been running in it and wearing it 24 hours. The tape is not going to “cure” the problem but does provide a lightweight way to support to the muscles. I’ve been happy with the results so far.

A friend whose husband has suffered from a bad case of plantar fasciitis commented on it the other day. When I told her what it was, she said bluntly, “Well that’s not going to help.” Her husband has spent a lot of money on a boot and shoe inserts and such. I said – well let’s start with $8 tape roll and see. I’m hopeful.

Of course my poor fashion sense is nothing compared to the guy I saw out running yesterday. He was in what must be the Speedo equivalent of running shorts for men. No shirt.  Fine – lots of fit guys like to run shirtless (for self-promotion or whatever). But his rather large belly made it challenging to *ahem* see the front of his shorts…..something I can never “unsee” unfortunately.  Hey, I’m all for running in what makes you comfortable – but please be considerate and don’t try to make others feel uncomfortable when they see more of you than they’d like.

4.31 miles or so

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So that’s according to my Nike+ on my ipod touch. Today was my “long” run which should be on a Saturday but time management is for another post!

Since my 5K in April, I found I wasn’t sure how to proceed with running.  Just go out and come back when tired? Well that seemed like a recipe for quitting. So I started reading about Jeff Galloway’s take on training which involves alternating walking and running. His technique is great for avoiding injuries and is designed to keep you stronger at the end of your goal distance. It also is similar to where I got started with the Couch to 5K program. And hey – I like walking. It suits me.

The difficulty with such programs is that you are supposed to do things like walk for 1 minute and run for 1 minute. And then alternate. Seems like a lot of clock watching. But such transitions are easy thanks to the modern technology of apps. Gotta love the apps.

Jeff Galloway has produced two apps – one for training for a 5K and one for training for a 10K. I just finished week 2 of his 10K app. My plan is to work through this program this summer and then get geared up for training for the 1/2 in the fall. So far so good.

On another note – I decided to check out how well those gel packs help with getting through a run. I must admit always shaking my head at Steve’s little packets. They seemed a little…well like you’d be eating toothpaste. I opted for a Mocha flavored Clif Shot Gel.  My my. Not at all toothpaste. Imagine melted Hershey’s kisses mixed with coffee!  Yummy!  Not sure that it gave me any more energy – but I certainly thought a lot about Hershey’s kisses while I ran this evening. Will have to check out their chocolate flavor too. I might have started this whole running thing sooner if someone had pointed out all the opportunities for chocolate…