My Beloved Watch

I promised a post about my equipment!

I used to always jack Tim's watch, but the battery life was starting to seriously suck. It used to be great -- it really helped me to get my then-best time of 34:50 at the New Haven Labor Day 5k. I turned it on at the start line of the Turkey Trot in Troy on Thanksgiving. By 1/4 of a mile, it was dead. I knew it was time to get my own NEW watch. 

I probably rely on the watch more than I should. It tells me my pace, as well as the distance. You can always reconfigure the settings if you prefer to see other stats, such as total overall time as opposed to pace. The battery life is insane! It lasts for weeks. To charge it, you just plug the watch into a USB port.

Your runs are automatically stored. Once you plug the watch in your USB port, it uploads your runs to Nike+. You can see all of your stats.. including pace to elevation. Which is absolutely comical in my case.

This watch is awesome. It uses TomTom GPS to track when running outdoors, or you can put a small chip in your shoes if running indoors. Since I always run outside, it is perfect for me, because I don't run in Nike shoes. If I do end up running indoors, I will probably throw the chip in my gloves or in my pocket and see how that works.

Here is a picture of the watches:

I own the white one. But I see the black and blue one in Tim's future ;)

Here is a link to the product: http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/products/sport_watch/

If I post here, I am automatically accountable! Tim and I are planning a 4 mile run tomorrow. Wish me luck... 32 degree high tomorrow! Snow on the way, so we need to get our run in now.

Will post (hopefully without tears in my eyes) following our run tomorrow!

Aw, snap!

I'm not sure how the weather is where you are, but we are in the middle of a cold snap! I have been avoiding running because: 
 1. I am a baby.
 2. It is in the teens here during the day, with wind chills in the single digits.
 3. I am a baby.

BUT, I bundled up and went! When I left at 4:15, it was 20 degrees with a "real-feel" of 11 degrees. Yowsa! Here's what I wore to combat the cold:

1. Hot Chilis -- long underwear! They are toasty :)
2. Running sweatshirt -- brightly colored because I am so scared of getting stuck far from the house in the dark! I cant wait for the sun to stay up a lot longer!
3. Headband -- kept my ears toasty warm.
4. Fleece lined workout pants -- sooo.warm!
5. Kayanos -- my beloved sneakers :)

                            All bundled up! And clearly this was BEFORE I ran, as I am smiling...

I LOVED running in the cold! I definitely felt tired in my muscles though, because I haven't been running as consistently as I would like to. Temps are looking up starting on Sunday (37' -- HEATWAVE!) so I will be out there more like I used to. I certainly didnt run very far today, but I am just happy I got out there and ran at all!

Stat Wrap Up for the Day:

Distance: 1.5 miles

Time: 16:39

Pace: 11:04 (holy moly! I was zipping along...)

Miles on my Kayanos: 17.9 miles 

I figured I would take a little break, watch some hockey, and post again in a bit. See you again soon! Maybe in the mean time we could play a little "would you rather".... 

Would you rather be in 20 degree weather or 100 degree weather? Hmmm.....

Good Start to My Day...

Woop woop!

Started out my Saturday morning with a 4 mile run at 7:30 am. I have never run 4 miles in one shot before in my life. Before this, the farthest I have run is 3.5 miles. I certainly didn't go fast. At 2.7 miles, I totally wanted to give up. The loop I did through the 'hood had me preeettyy close to my house at 2.7 miles, which made it hard to keep going. But, I did it. Thoughts of my uncle the whole way!

I use a Nike sports watch (which I will talk about in a future post), which allows me to plug my watch into the computer and it maps out my run. You can see where I slow down and speed up and the run stats. Clearly I wasn't breaking any speed records -- but I ran my 4 miles so I'm happy :)

Stat Wrap Up for the Day:

Distance: 4.0 miles

Time: 48:53

Pace: 12:13

Miles on my Kayanos: 16.4 miles (still brand new and shiny white!)

I know I said I would talk about just WHY I am running a half marathon in less than six very short months (AAHHHH!!!). I am running in memory of my uncle Tom, who passed away in the fall of 2010 after an 18 month battle with Lymphoma. I am running through Team in Training, which kicks off Feb 9th. I will definitely be sharing what it is like to be involved with this program as I begin to participate in it. I promise to share memories and photos of him as we get closer and closer. You can always visit my Team in Training site here. 

Ive got a three miler on tap for Sunday -- I'll update you when I finish that one, too :)

I'll leave you with my favorite mantra when I'm running: "You can, and you will!"

FAIL.

GRRRR!

I hope that you understand that I am not doing this blog because I have limitless sage running advice to offer you. I am doing this blog because I am pretty much starting at the bottom and hoping to claw my way to 13.1 miles. I am struggling to meet this goal just like the vast majority of people would. People say "I'm not a runner". I get that. I am here to show you that actually yes, if I can run a half marathon, ANYONE can.

I started my "official" half marathon training today. After lots of searching, we found THIS training guide and Tim thought it was a pretty good one.  I was supposed to start it yesterday but something came up at home so I couldn't. So I figured I would do 3 miles today and tomorrow to make up for missing Tuesday. No biggie, I can do 3 miles fairly easily. I thought I would run at a trail that is by my work because with so little daylight, I could save the time that it takes me to drive home, get changed, and then go run in the 'hood. 

BAD idea.

The trail was covered in ice and snow. I don't know why I didn't think that this would be the case beforehand. The whole width of the trail was snow covered, with pockets of ice. There were large divets worked into the snow from all of the previous runners/walkers/cyclists. I had to slow down so much going over ice that at some points I went from an 11:00 pace (my usual cruising speed) to flat out walking (15:30). From dodging dog poop, ice divets, and snow mounds, my ankles were KILLING me. I told myself to just keep going, no excuses. But I did the "unthinkable" -- at 1 mile, I turned around when I should have turned around at 1.5 miles. At 1.5 miles, I stopped to walk. I couldn't take it anymore. 

I'm sharing this with you because I want you all to know that I am not some gifted athlete. I will fight for every tenth of a mile the whole way, because running does not come easy to me. It doesn't really come easy for anyone.

I tried researching some tips on how to run better in the snow to share with you guys in case you have encountered this. Nothing was helpful. So, now I sit here in one of my infamous "runner's lows" (just ask my husband....). Maybe after I calm down from my awful run I will share with you just WHY am I doing a half marathon.

Who is this chick?

Hello world!

        I've entered the blogosphere! I wanted to start a blog for a few reasons:

1. Running blogs have been a great way for me to learn and be encouraged by others out there.
2. This is shaping up to be quite the journey, and I want to document it.
3. I am hoping that it will be a great way to look back at my progress and maybe even inspire some others to start running.

        So I should probably start with a little bit about me. I am 24 (almost 25) years old, and I live in Connecticut. I am an occupational therapist at a school, and it is pretty much the best job ever. I have a big fat cat named Huckleberry, and an adorable little Brittany pup named Sawyer. I love football and hockey and wine and cheese. So dont be surprised if any of those topics come up on this thing. Also, I got married in 2012 to a really awesome guy who just happens to run a lot. The last time I ran before I met him was when I had to run the mile in gym class in seventh grade. But never running. "Running" was never my thing. Not even as a lanky, leggy kid. That's me in the middle.

       

      But now, here I am. "Running". I am certainly not the tall, leggy kid I was. I'm 5'4" and just teetering on that BMI line of "normal" and "overweight". Running is hard for me, just like it is for everyone. But that's what makes it fun -- watching someone overcome the odds and do things that they never thought they could. And that's just what I'm doing. I'm running a half marathon in just under 6 months from now. You'll learn all about why in another post.

   I hope that you enjoy this journey with me! So tell me, how did you get in to running?