Longest Run Since Injury!!

Great run! The snow flying today made me a bit nervous about running this evening. I bought a bunch of cold weather gear, but the sore hip flexor made me nervous about running with slick roads and cold temps. But, since I have to get my two runs in before the race on Sunday, I geared up and set out.
Wow! Although I started off feeling a bit sore, soon I was running with a big grin on my face. I kept a fairly slow pace, but man did the run feel great. With the new nike+, I don't have to totally map out my run ahead of time. Getting feedback every half mile meant that I could run without a complete plan in my head. It did mean that when my run was complete, I still had a mile-long walk home, but I was okay with that. I like having a nice walk to cool down and stay stretched out, even when it is freezing. I felt great the whole run, yet again! The gear I wore was perfect for the temperature and I can't wait until Sunday when I get to run five miles. . . even if they are five slow miles!

More Running Coming Right Up

I don't know if the gods have decided that I don't suck or if I am just finally getting lucky, but the last two days have really been kinda awesome. Mapmyrun.com decided to work and now my new shoes are being tracked! My house is clean, I found my missing watch, AND I am now cleared for two, yes two, three mile runs!!! Granted the Turkey Classic and Trot are coming up very soon and I haven't run more than a mile in over a month, but I am totally optimistic. Ron gave me the "well do you want to run the races or not" talk and so I am not swimming or biking in between my runs. But that's okay! As long as I am in some kind of condition to run on the 23rd, I will be happy. I don't plan on breaking any records and I don't think I will come in last. What more could I ask for?

More New Toys!

Today I got my package from swimtowin.com. I am now the proud owner of a lap counter that fits like a ring and keeps stats for you on your fastest, slowest and average lap times. I'm hoping that this will help me increase my pace. I also got a swim bag. Yeah! Now I have special spot in my bag for my wet suit. Unfortunately, my grab bag swimsuit was backordered. . . which is of course the thing I needed most of all. Oh well, I guess it will be a few more saggy lap swimming days!

Nike + Update

Today, I was determined to make my new toy work for me. I called Nike customer service. After a half hour on the phone, where they actually were nice and helped me!, I was able pull my run data off the iPod and send it to the web. From there, I was successful in sending the data to my mapmyrun.com account. Unfortunately, I can't seem to log my gear usage into the workout. This technology this is rather frustrating! I was hoping that it would make everything easier, but right now I am just a bit disappointed. The graph generated by nikeplus.com is super cool and the fact that it was sent directly to my mapmyrun.com training calendar is awesome. Now, if I could just log my gear usage, I would be super happy!

I have to say, my cool toys are helping me keep my mind off the disappointment of not healing as fast as I had hoped. Hey if you can't run and bike regularly, why not obsess with the cool toys associated with the sport?

Nike Plus

Today I went for a run. . . a whole mile! It was pretty chilly out, what with flakes dropping from the sky during lunch. This was actually good news as I have been pretty excited to try out some of my new gear. So, I geared up in my new running tights, jacket, running shoes, and Nike +. I set my iPod for a mile, leashed up Timmy, and started out. My shoes felt awesome and I definitely was dressed perfectly for the weather. If I were to run any further, I would have to re-evaluate the layers. Halfway through the run, my iPod spoke to me! The music dimmed and the VOICE let me know that I was halfway done. That was definitely cool! It allowed me to reassess my route for the day and also made me realize that I do not really have an accurate understanding of how far I have run. When I had 500 meters left to my run, the VOICE let me know every 100 meters how much distance I had left to run. I loved checking out my pace, total time and calories burned when my run was complete.

As soon as I got home, I plugged in my iPod and attempted to download my info. It took iTunes two tries to connect to nikeplus.com, but allegedly it did eventually send my data to the website. I say allegedly, because six hours later, I have still been unable to access the data on nikeplus.com! I am really frustrated! As cool as it was to run with, I was really looking forward to adding the data to mapmyrun.com. Without this added bonus, it really does not completely serve my desired purpose. Hopefully, this is just a temporary glitch and I will be able to access the website tomorrow. Unfortunately, I am now realizing that I have never been successful in accessing this website at home, only at work.

GRR!! Hopefully, I will be successful tomorrow and will be able to say only nice things about my new nike +!

First Bike Ride

Okay, so I had to beat the ghost. I had to go out and do the course that beat me up and spit me out. After being cleared for a 10 mile bike ride by Ron, I gave my buddy Bill a call. I figured since he has a mountain, not road bike, that he would be a good biking partner. I was supposed to take it easy and not pull, only push, as I pedaled. Barring a few times going uphill, I was pretty good about following Ron's directions. I am really committed to getting better and am willing to make the sacrifice now, if it means I will be good to go in two weeks. Here's the thing - I may not have really described the course to Bill. I figured he is usually game, even if he hurts later. That being said, he definitely was cursing me as he struggled up the hills! Judging by his facebook status, I think he may still be cursing me! Oops!

Me on the other hand? I felt great! I still feel great! I win! Maybe biking is back on the list of okay activities? I hope so! I can't believe how much I have missed riding around. Plus today was absolutely beautiful! Fall is a fantastic time to be out riding - great crisp air and colorful leaves. I was in heaven. Hopefully I will be cleared for an even longer jaunt next week. There are only so many snow-free weeks left here in Rochester. I want to put as many miles as I can between now and the serious snow that is coming. I promised myself I would keep the bike rack on the CRV as long as possible. I don't want to limit my cycling opportunities! I may even buy some cycling tights so I can stay warm as it gets a bit cooler out. (Things are clearly looking up if I am thinking of buying more gear - that or I'm the eternal optimist!)

Swimming

Well, the plan was to run today. Had to scratch that! Unfortunately, when Ron put me through my paces yesterday, he really wore me out. Today I walked into work and people commented on my limp. . . I was SO over the limping! Ok, maybe the high heels on Monday hurt me a bit too, but come on!

Anyway, since running had to be scrapped, I decided to go for a swim. I have had my swim bag packed for about two weeks, but haven't actually made it to the Y. So, I grabbed my bag and headed over there. When I got into the locker room, I discovered that my pre-packed bag was missing a few items, including my swim watch! This meant that I was stuck relying on the lap clock on the wall, which is of course difficult to see when your head is in the water!

I decided to do 100 yards bursts for twenty minutes. The pool was full, but not crowded. I did 5 bursts, then decided to end it with a nice 300. I have to say, I actually prefer to just get in and swim my heart out for a set amount of time. I don't feel I get as good of a workout trying to do sprints. Probably because I still haven't been able to figure out how to change my pace. No matter what I do, I end up averaging 50 yards a minute. However, I am hoping that my latest purchase will help. I just bought a lap counter which also records slowest, fastest and average times. Maybe that, combined with some drills, which I still have to research, will help.

NOW FOR A QUICK RANT:
I know that swimsuits wear out, but really, when you spend fifty dollars or more on a swimsuit, is it too much to expect it to last at least a year? Tri-training is already expensive enough without my most basic of training gear wearing out quickly. Is it too much to ask that they design a swimsuit that doesn't ROT? I got out of the pool today looking like the Saggy Baggy Elephant. I already limp and have voice problems, I don't need the baggy look added in! On the up side of things, Saggy Baggy Elephant still beats a see-through butt that everyone knows about but me. . . .Hopefully the grab bag suit I just ordered will fit. . . I hate buy swimsuits without trying them on, but it is the only way to get them cheap. . . er, cheaper that is!

Moving on Up!

Ron really pushed me today in PT. He put me through a number of different exercises. Evidently, slow and easy is no longer the thing. . . He wants me to do the exercises faster, in hopes that I could be running greater distances in the near future. (1/2 mile is really not enough of a distance to train for the upcoming races.) I have to admit that I am nervous. I am going to be running my first race since the injury in two and a half weeks. I have not registered for this race, the Turkey Classic, yet because I am a bit worried that I will not be ready in time. However, the race Thanksgiving morning is a done deal as far as I am concerned. I have registered and I really want to do it. However, I haven't run more than a half mile in over a month. The Turkey Trot is 4.4 miles and this is the longest race I have run since the Rochester Half Marathon. I know I can do it, as I have run that distance many times before in training, but let's face it, the Rochester Half Marathon was a long time ago!

Now the newest plan is: Run again this week. . . and he didn't say how far, so I am thinking. . . How about a whole mile? Then on Saturday afternoon, I plan to go for a bike ride with Bill. Seeing as he only has a mountain bike, I should be able to keep the pace rather slow. Ron limited me to 10 miles. Actually, now that I think about it, if a 10 mile bike ride, instead of 15 is okay, then maybe a 1.5 mile run wouldn't be pushing it either? As long as I don't do it on the same day? Like maybe I run tomorrow? Bike Saturday?

The thing is, I really want to try out my latest purchase: a Nike+ shoe pod. It attaches to my shoe and my iPod. Much cheaper than the gps watch I really want. But it does record speed, distance, and calories. . . and it will send the date from nikeplus.com to mapmyrun.com! All I will have to do is add in the actual route and I will be able to compile all kinds of data! So the plan is: Run tomorrow with the new toy and start compiling my data!!!

First Run

Earlier this week Ron gave me the green light to go for a short run today. Short being a 1/2 mile at a 12 minute mile pace. So that would be VERY SHORT. I set my watch for seven minutes and figured I would just do a slow jog with Timmy. (Note that I was already pushing my luck with 7 minutes, not six!) The plan was go straight out and then walk home. I woke up feeling a little stiff this morning. This was probably a good thing, because it reminded me that I am supposed to stretch before running. Particularly with the hip flexor issue, I wanted to make sure that I took better care of myself getting back into running. I stretched for a bit, then leashed up the dog and left the house.
The iPod was dead and so I felt a little naked. However, considering that the iPod is loaded with fast-paced songs, it was probably a good thing that I ran without. As I started out, I would definitely feel the hip flexor stretching and pulling. Ron had said that if I felt any pain, I should stop immediately. On the same token, he also advised against running further if I felt great. Clearly he has begun to understand how the people in my family think! That being said, Timmy was fairly well-behaved and did not pull me at all. I think he was just as relieved to be running as I was!
I stopped as soon as the watch beeped and proceeded to complete a loop, walking the rest of the way home. I definitely can feel the hip flexor pulling, but I was able to walk without limping the rest of the way home. It is definitely a relief to be allowed to do even a bit of running. Hopefully, Ron will tell me tomorrow that I can run again this week. When I checked out my distance on mapmyrun.com, I discovered that I ran .71 miles. I guess that new gear I have been pondering (gps watch) is becoming more of a necessity every day.
I have to say that I am just relieved to be allowed to run again. Maybe I should ask about cycling!