Starting from scratch in an elite fitness-blog-world full of expensive gear, and Personal Records she couldn't beat with a car.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Not according to plan

The intention for the day was to do whatever during the earlier part of the day and start C25K week seven around seven o clock. What actually happened was that I started feeling odd in the early afternoon, realized my stomach was totally grumpy for no apparent reason, and then fell asleep with one of my cats for about three hours. 

I woke up with a very slight temperature but figured I'd go ahead with my usual time table and see how I felt by the time I was ready to run. Unfortunately the nap threw off my day so badly that by the time I had hydrated, eaten, digested, dressed, stretched, and stepped outside... I realized it was way too dark due to the overcast conditions for me to feel safe being out and about. 

I did get a couple of running *related* things done though, so I can't look at today as a complete waste.

First, I made a really useful 80s-tastic eyesore!  

Don't let the flash wash-out fool you, this colour is about two steps away from being stabbed in the eye.
I don't have much in the way of reflective safety wear but I DID have this one XL tee shirt which was a volunteer freebee for I-CON,  a Sci-Fi convention I was heavily involved with through and after college. I based my tee shirt surgery on this video tutorial, but opted to do a braided back because I actually remember the 80s. 

Now the next time I start out running way too late I can wear this and be assured that I will be blinding all of the people in my path. I do want to look into getting some reflective material as I am good at sewing and bad at wanting to spend money on things I know I can make or alter myself.

 
I also did some mapping detective work based on a few things about my recent runs:
  • the 2.2 mile route I have mapped out is too short for the distance I'm now covering
  • I don't like repeating the same ground on a single run
  • I don't like running on roads I haven't mapped out
  • I have a couple of hinky 5 way intersections in my current route
  • I'm still feeling like I could go further by the time I finish with the 5 minute cool-down walk
I have decided therefore to map out a shiny new 3.1 m (i.e. 5km) long route and do that route or a variation with every workout from here on in. I'm not covering quite that far during the timed C25K workouts at this point so I'll walk the rest until I am. My average speed on the Nike+ will be weird for a while with the extra walking, but I can live with that for a bit I think.

This fixes my route problems, eliminates guesswork about how far from home I am at any given time, gives me a better idea of what a 5K actually looks like, and gives me an easy way to gauge my week to week progress as I'm actually running.

What run-related things have you found yourself doing in your non-running free time?

September Blog Challenge Day

Do you take any vitamins or supplements? If so, which ones and why? 

I am sooo bad about this. Seriously, I'm still working on drinking water daily, never-mind regular supplements.

2 comments:

  1. I recommend getting some other gps item for your runs. iphone/nike+ is never right for me. I know you have heard and read my bitching about this many times but you have been working so hard at sticking to your training I don't want you to be surprised or disappointed at any time. For example my run last night on my nike+/iphone was 6.56 miles but my garmin said 6 miles on the dot. HALF MILE DIFFERENCE!!! According to 99.9% of people asked the watch is correct as it uses satellite gps and the iphone uses cell phone triangulation and going from tower to tower screws it up. I know you have a bia coming but maybe see if you can find a cheap garmin on ebay (where i got mine)

    Oh and for cheap you can get reflective tape to add to your usual running attire :) It can be found near duct tape in walmart or places like that.

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    Replies
    1. Hooray first comment evar!
      So you think that's a failing of the iPhone tracking tech itself? Have you had better accuracy with apps other than the Nike+ app?
      I've considered going the cheap Garmin route as well but it would have to be a pretty snazzy deal since I still have to purchase the GPS "go stick" thing for the BIA, it could maybe work out if I found one with a HRM and thus eliminated the need for the phone key.
      At this point I'm strongly consider just getting whatever I need now and selling whichever thing I like less when I get the BIA.

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