Running with an Android...

Running with an Android...
That sounds funny. When I think of an Android I'm still thinking this


not this

Ah well...

Running with my Android phone is for the most part enjoyable. I have been using runkeeper happily for about 6 months now. Long enough for it to be a big part of my runs, and happily so, until about a week ago. Then it started randomly shutting down on me. As you may recall it shut down on me during my 12 miler, it also shut down on me during my 14 miler. Now I thought it could just be my phone. So,I reset the whole phone to factory settings, yes I am that nuts about my running. I re-downloaded the runkeeper app and used it today for a 6 mile run, and guess what.... it shut down on me again. Grrrrr. Looks like I'm not the only one experiencing this either but so close to my race I can't afford to risk it crashing on me. So, I'm looking for a new app. One that doesn't randomly shut down for no reason.

Although, to be fair. I ran with it and loved it for 6 months, even now when it shuts down it does keep the information that was saved up to the point when it shut down, you don't lose all that data which is nice. But still. Once it shuts down you have to stop wait for the phone to reboot(cause it turns your whole phone off and restarts it). Then you have to get a new activity session going and then you can finish your run. That sucks. The positive side of runkeeper is that it does give you time, pace, distance, elevation, maps, verbal cues as to pace, distance, and speed, and you can link it up with facebook and twitter. I used all those features without issue for about 6 months. I figured I'd give ya the good and the bad in case you wanna try it out for yourself.

As for me, I think I'll be switching. I guess I'll be trying out new apps for awhile now...sigh. Looks like the first try is going to be Runstar that one looks pretty nice. Maybe better than runkeeper. But, looks like a lot of the cool features are locked in the free version. Although, if it's pretty accurate and runs without crashing I might splurge and pay the $4.52 for the pro version.

Today was my rest day. But, I ran anyway. Today was a run day for hubby so I decided to run with him. He, after all, is going to take on the half marathon and run/walk it with my sis-in-law. He is going to try a run 2 mile, walk 2 mile, attack method to get done. Today we did 6 miles. That was a lot for my tired legs. But the slower pace helped me get through it.

Todays Half Marathon training:
Time: 1:41:22
Distance: 5.98 miles
Pace:16:57

I feel ready now...

Today was my longest run thus far.
14 miles.



I wanted to be sure to run more than a half marathon distance before the race. That way, I know what to expect. Since I had such a long run ahead of me I decided to run along the river, at Riverside Park. It's a really pretty place to run. Lots of trees, flowers and interesting bridges.


and as you can see the path is really wide as well.


see what i mean, aren't these bridges cool. The nice part about running here is not having to constantly be on the look out for cars. You can just relax and enjoy the scenery.


like this lovely weeping willow set against a calm inlet from the river. You can't see it in this photo but there are a whole bunch of geese just to the left of the trail. When I ran by them, they just stood there and watched me go by, they didn't move at all.


In parts of the park there were several branches down. I knew it had stormed the night before but I didn't realize it stormed that hard. It almost looked like maybe a tornado went through and just caught the tops of the trees.


Ahh...another lovely shot of the river...so peaceful...so serene



and a very cool old train bridge. That's all for the photos. At this point all my picture taking was starting to cut into my time...lol. So I focused on running and enjoying the morning. Around mile 8 I thought, "I could probably do twice this distance." I still felt really good! when mile 12 came around I started getting really tired and I still had 2 miles to go. Mile 13 came and I wanted to quit, my legs and feet were so tired. But, I thought, "this is what I might feel like at the end of the half marathon I need to know that I can power through that feeling." So I pushed it out all 14 miles. That last mile was filled with a lot of run, walk, run, walk, segments. But I got it done. Then went straight home and hopped into an ice bath.
That's it now for distance, now starts the process of tapering back in preparation for the race.

14 Days Left

Today's Half Marathon Training Run Stats
Time: 3:22:15
Distance: 14.06 miles
Pace: 14:23

and my internal awesomeness meter goes wild!!!

I did it.
I totally did it!!
I came, I saw, I ran my a$$ off!

The daunting 12 miler has been looming at me from my running plan since April. Today was that day.
The day.
12 freakin' miles yo!


....T W E L V E miles...of running....me.....RUNNING.

It is so amazing to me that just this year. I have gone from barely being able to eek out a mile to now...running T W E L V Emiles. Wow, just wow.

Today I went down to the local park to run. I decided to run there and save myself from being eaten alive by mosquitoes and deerfly. As you might guess it takes awhile to run 12 miles so in that time it rained, twice. I didn't mind though, I love running in the rain. It was a good kind of rain too, that nice misty light rain. Temps were about 69 degrees so the rain was cool and refreshing. And since it was raining, I was the only person at the park.
As I was running I noticed the church looked very scenic, so I stopped for a sec to take a picture.


I also found a portion of trail that I hadn't seen before. It was just a short section about a quarter of a mile long. But, as you can see it's a very enchanting quarter mile.


It has that sort of Alice in Wonderland feel about it. And on the left there is a river which gives the area a nice calming sound. Very relaxing.


and surprisingly enough, there weren't any mosquitoes in there. The park association must spray for them or something.

At mile 10 my droid crapped out on me and shut off completely. Luckily runkeeper saved the data of that 10 miles so I just restarted run keeper and did 2 more miles. Stupid Techno FAIL .... grr. At least I didn't lose my data! I'd have lost my mind if I lost all the data on that run. Not THAT run, not my 12 miler. I wonder what caused my phone to freak like that?

So, I finished up my run and walked home. I had to combine the data from the 2 runs to figure out all I did. Thanks to techno failure. Still, I got my 12 miles in, plus some and did it all at a nice steady 13:47 pace. I'll take it! I feel fully ready for the half marathon now. I'm guessing it will end up being about a 3 hour race for me. Not great, but not bad at all for my first half marathon!

Today's Half Marathon Training Stats:
Time: 2:49:59
Distance: 12.32 miles
Pace: 13:47

30 days left....

Ekk! It's getting closer. It's almost here! I may puke in excito-terror.

Sept. 4th, 2011

I ran with hubby today, He's still doing the couch to 5k. He just completed Week 4 Day 3 today! We ran for 25 minutes and then walked until we got 5 miles in...and that was my rest day! Tomorrow I got 3 miles to do. Then Sunday it's the long run... featuring 10 miles!!

Air Quality Alert...should that discourage me?

Nahhhhhh!
I threw caution to the wind and went on my run anyway. My schedule called for 9 miles today.
It didn't happen.
I started out strong, packing water coz I'm smart like that. Yah well,I used up my water by mile 5 and ran to the local park to fill up at the drinking fountain. I ran the rest of my miles there so I could be close to the drinking fountain and bathrooms. It was so hot. If it keeps being this humid I'm going to have to grow gills. It was 83 degrees at 7:30Am. What The Hell!!! The park was pretty empty... all the sane people were at home in their beds still sleeping. It was just me and this old guy for the longest time. We were running in opposite directions so we only passed twice each mile. So I ended up keeping an eye on him it really wasn't a good idea for someone his age to be out on such a humid day. But he was there, chugging along, just like me. His pace was a litter slower than mine. Heck my pace was a lot little slower than usual. I'm guessing he did about 2 miles. When he was done he stopped to stretch, he was covered in sweat and looked pretty beat. I gave him the thumbs up as I went by, he smiled and nodded. That left me two more miles. I tried to pick up the pace a bit, to just get them done. Nope, not happening. My legs were starting to cramp. My shoulders grew tense, I was running outta steam fast. When I got close to mile 8 I knew I didn't have another mile in me. Especially since I knew I still had a 1.5 mile long walk home...straight uphill the whole way. I pushed through to mile 8 and sat down on a bench. I thought I'd call hubby and have him pick my sorry buns up there at the park and take me home. His phone was off. DAMN! The walk home was the worst. Lumbering like Frankenstein up the hill, step by delirious step. It seemed to take forever. Once I got home and got in an ice cold shower I felt so much better.
Good enough to check the nets and tally all my stats online. The weather station said we were under a Air Quality Alert. That probably has a lot to do with why I got tired so fast, and why this run seemed harder that the 10 mile run I did a week or so ago.
On to the running sites...

I have 3 main sites that I hang out on.

Runkeeper.com - coz I use the GPS and my phone to track my runs (although the site itself is kinda boring.)
DailyMile - think myspace/fackbook for runners (love that site!)
and
SmashRun - Coz you get to earn badges!

Here are a few screen shots from SmashRun so you can get a feel for the site.

You can use it with Nike+ or just manually enter the miles. I've done both. One nice thing is it tells you home much juice you have left in your Nike+ sensor thing. So you can replace it before it runs out.


If you don't have a site to track miles at yet... I encourage you to check those out. SmashRun is by invitation only but, I'm inviting you so you're all set!
Your invited to SmashRun join here

My Air Quailty Alert Run:
Distance: 8.14 miles
Time: 1:59:46
Pace: 14:42

Sunday Morning Long Run

Another snapshot from the White Pines Trail. This little gazebo is just after mile 3 on my run.


This run was not the most enjoyable. Not because of my body, but because of Deer Flies.

While female deer flies feed on blood, males instead collect pollen. When feeding, females use knife-like mandibles and maxillae to make a cross-shaped incision and then lap up the blood. Their bite can be extremely painful, and allergic reaction from the saliva of the fly can result in further discomfort and health concerns. Pain and itch are the most common symptoms, but more significant allergic reactions can develop.

ugh, and they sure were bitey today. Not only that, but they chase you. Once they find you they keep right with you for a long time. From mile 2 to mile 3 I got bit so many times. Then once I was out of the trees and into the open sun, they were gone. Until of course I had to turn around and head back. They weren't AS bad on the way back. They must have still been full from the first time I came through.

Despite the annoyances, I still got my run in. I went further today than I ever have. 10 miles. When I got home and posted on facebook about my hatred of deer flies, my SIL suggested tieing a dryer sheet to my ponytail holder. She said that she has used dryer sheets before to keep away mosquitoes. Deer flies seem to be more aggressive than mosquitoes so I don't know how it would do against them. Guess we'll find out next Sunday.

How do you keep the bugs away on your runs?

Today's buggy Half Training:
Time: 2:18:07
Distance: 10.01
Pace: 13:49

Starting July out right.

Today I figured I'd start the month out with a nice run. I decided I'd get a four miler in. The weather was not ideal for running. It was really humid and it really looked like it could rain at any minute. I spend moments like these in my house pacing from the laptop to the patio door. Looking, timing, assessing. Do I risk it? Is it just rain or is there thunder and lightning? I heard thunder in the distance. and it was sort of raining...big fat drops here and there. I checked the radar...most of the weather was North and East of us.
I decided to go.

It was warm 71 degrees, and humid 87%. But, I was feeling good. I set out and kept a pretty nice pace, for me anyway.



Even kept pace over some pretty big hills...



It rained a little during my run, not enough to really cool me off though. So I got my four miles in and ran home. About 20 minutes later it really started to pour. So, I'm glad I got my run in when I did.

How about you, Do you run in the rain?

Half Training Run:
Time: 53:35
Distance: 4.32
Pace: 12:24

U-Pick

Yum!
Nothin' better than fresh hand-picked Strawberries!



We took the kids to pick strawberries this evening. It was a good day for it 70's and cloudy so we didn't have the sun beating down on us.



A local farmer does this u-pick every year. I love supporting them...and I love farm fresh fruits and veggies!!


That's my little man picking berries...so cute.


and my baby girl....testing the product. (it's u-pick...not u-eat...lol)


That's me showing Buddy which berries to pick.


That's my hubby holding our bounty...that's 12 pounds worth of Strawberries!! Cost us $15. We'll be eating strawberries forever.

I also started the week out right with a nice 6 mile run this morning. I ran down to the local park and back. Coming back is a challenge coz it's all up hill. Ugh.
I got home just before it started to rain.

Today's Half-Training Run:
Time: 1:21:06
Distance: 6.04 miles
Pace: 13:25

Low Mileage...

....MUST STICK TO SCHEDULE....



......



Didn't happen.

I get freaky about my running schedule. I plan this running thing all out and I like to stick with my plan. My precious, precious, plan.




Yeah, like that.

Adorable right?

This week wreaked havoc on my schedule. Missing runs, shorter distances, even the cherished Sunday Long Run suffered. The week of 6/20 I had kicked out 27 miles! This week...just 16 miles. Between family, work, and sleep, it seemed to be impossible to find time to get my runs in. This morning, I was just too tired to run. So I didn't, I slept.
I figured I'd just run later in the day, no biggy. Well, when later came, I had family over...so I couldn't leave then, and when they left... Hubby suggested I do C25k W1D3 with him...so that's what I did. after we did his run we walked around the neighborhood for awhile, to build up some miles for me. We got 3.76mi and hubby was spent so we walked home. Not the "long run" I was hoping for. But, something anyway.

I'm a little bummed that my plan got so messed up. But, Monday starts a new week. A fresh start. That is supposed to be a rest day for me. But, I'm not resting. I feel like I've been resting all week. So tomorrow I'm running... not sure how far. Maybe 3mi..maybe more, we'll see.

A change will do you good.

Today I had to alter my running plans. I hate, hate, HATE, changing my running plans on the fly. But, This morning I was just toooooo tired (worked all night) so I went home and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well either. I was up by 3:30pm about 5 hours sleep...not enough, but I couldn't sleep anymore either. The house was HOT, 88 degrees outside with humidity around the 80% mark UGH, sooo, yucky.

Well, after considering all that I decided 3 miles may not happen today. I even thought running may not happen at all today. No...I couldn't live with that. So I decided on 2 miles...walk, run, crawl, whatever, just 2 miles of movement. So, out I went, the sun was OUT, there was NO AIR at all. Everything was stagnate and wet. Beads of sweat formed, pooled, dripped but did not evaporate to cool me. I felt slow and weak, runkeeper broke into my music and said 13:56 minute/mile. Really? Wow, it felt much slower, more like walking with style...lol.

As I neared the end of my sweat-fest I noticed the sun disappearing...



Dark clouds were rolling in, the temp quickly dropped about 10 degrees, and the wind picked up. I wish I could say that helped, but by that time - I was about spent. I had less than half a mile to go and I could hear thunder now. Eekk! I gotta get movin'! Finally 2 miles, I bolted back to the house, about 10 minutes later. The storm began...shwoo. I just made it! It was a doosie too. Lost of lightening, thunder, rain pouring down in torrents, tornado watch...CRAZY. Just look...



That big green dot is me.
It rained for about 2 hours then I decided it was safe to head out to the store and grab a few groceries. When I came out of the store again, I was pleasantly surprised by a tiny rainbow trying to form.
Can you see it?



Today's Crazy Training:
Time: 29:09 minutes
Distance: 2.10
Pace: 13:53

4 day weekend re-cap...

Yeah, I was gone for a bit. I had four long luxurious days off from work! I got my runs in as planned all week. I even did a 3 miler on Thursday that was run at a 12min/mile pace.
Before I knew it Sunday was upon me, time for another long run. I chose the White Pines Trail again. The plan 4 miles up 4 miles back for a nice even 8. and if I felt I could, I'd push it to 4.5 and get a 9-er in.

Since my 3 mile runs are now poppin' up to a 12 min/mile pace I knew I'd have to start holding back on my long runs. The first mile was kinda crazy as I found my groove...10 min/mile, slow down 15:30...oops speed up. I finally settled in at 13:50 to 14:00min/mile...good enough. I ran...and ran....and ran. I felt light and full of energy.I went over the overpass again...and kept going.


Each time I do a long run I get a little further down the trail and see something new. Sunday it was this.



So far this trail takes me over a river, over a highway, and under a road. Never a dull moment. On the way back I actually lost track of the miles... I lost a whole mile deep in thought...forgot I was even running..lol. When I got back to the car I checked runkeeper 9.03miles...FREAKIN AWESOME!! That's 2 hours of straight running Uh-mazing.
I spent the rest of the day chillin' at the beach and swimming.

Sunday Long Run:
Time: 02:05:56
Distance: 9.03 miles
Pace: 13:58

I'm a believer...

Wow, I really just can't even believe this is me.
I can't believe I'm running like this.
Today I went for my long run and not only did I run farther than ever before but I also ran faster than my normal time by a full min per mile. This is insane!!
This whole process is pretty amazing to me. How someone can go from gasping at running 5 minutes straight to now running for over an hour and a half at a time... it's just mind blowing.

So my plan today was to run 7 miles. That would be 3.5 miles down the trail and 3.5 miles back. I think I must have over shot and ended up going an extra .25 because when I got back to the car runkeeper said we had gone 7.53 miles. Oh well, the extra half mile doesn't hurt. At the half way point I slowed down for just a bit to chow down of some Sharkies
They say "Vegetarian" not Vegan on them, but I cannot find anything animal based in the ingredients. So I guess they're ok.

I do feel that they gave me a certain boost for the second half of my run I felt a renewed alertness come over me about 25 minutes post chowdown. That lasted right up until the last half mile and then it slowly started to fade away. So that last half mile to the car was pretty much all me. Everything I had left.
After my run, my knee was feeling kinda, i dunno.. weird. Swollen, sore, maybe a little poppy, kinda concerning. Several hours later it felt ok but it has me worried thankfully I have this stuff ordered and on its way.

I'm hoping this will help my knee out some. Otherwise, I guess the next step is a running assessment and new shoes. One step at a time.

Sunday Long Training Run:
Time: 01:38:00
Distance: 7.53 miles
Pace: 13:01

Foggy Morning Run

This morning It was so neat to be running outside! It was quite foggy. It gave the whole neighborhood a cool, spooky, dreamy sort of vibe. Check it out..

I really enjoyed running this morning. So quiet, so pretty. Every now and then I'd hear an owl hooting. The rest of the time it was just be and the chirping of the neighborhood birds.

Foggy Half-training details:
Time: 00:49:54
Distance: 3.43 miles
Pace: 14:34

You've Changed...

So I walk up on high
and I step to the edge
To see my world below
And I laugh at myself
while the tears roll down
'Cause it's the world I know,
it's the world I know.

- Collective Soul


I'm feeling a whole mess of things today. During my run today the song "It's World I know" came on. It got me thinking about my journey this year, both physical and emotional. Right now, as I look back to who I was and how I felt in 2010, it feels distant. I remember it from an emotional vantage, anger, failure, self-loathing, depression. I know it, but it feels like it's gone from me now. Like a veil has been removed and I see things clearly. I look back on my life and I'm sad, for that person I was, for the lost time. I look forward and I have a bit of fear, this path that I'm on is unknown. Who am I? Who am I becoming? The changes are welcomed but scary at the same time.

How I've grown thus far
- Knowledge of internalized parent/child conflict or Super-ego/Id
- Completion(with relative ease)of the C25k program
- Signing up for the Half Marathon in Virginia
- Beginning the half marathon training program
- Becoming Vegan

They don't look like much begin written out like this, but the sum of these things result in a completely different me. A scary new me that I don't recognize, but I'm liking. I guess to put it simply I have had a huge, or maybe a few semi-huge "ah-ha moments" as Oprah would put it. Mid-Life Crisis? Maybe that's where I was at in 2010. I don't feel in crisis right now. Actually for the first time ever I feel in control, unstoppable, amazing. But since I've done nearly a complete 180 in 6 months time, it's not surprising that I'm still a little uncertain of it all. The kids have officially noticed over the last few days. Saying things like, "wow your happy" or "why are you so happy" for them to notice a change in me says a lot.

I think this "happy" they speak of is really just peace. I accept where I am right now, both weight wise, and running wise. I know I have a ways to go before I'm down to my goal weight, but I have every confidence that I will get there in time. I am not worried or obsessing over it. I am not weighing my food or counting calories. Not torturing myself with exercise. I'm just making Vegan food choices, listening to my body and running. I have definitely tried to beat, hate, torture, deprive and verbally abuse myself into shape. That never really worked for me. But now I appreciate and I'm even in awe of my body. I'm amazed as I push it further and further, mile after mile. My body takes it and keeps going. I AM Strong after all.

Half-Marathon Training:
Time: 00:57:00
Distance: 4.03 miles
Pace: 14:08

Lovely Long Run

When a day starts out like this, you know your in for something special.

Look how the clouds seem to just glow, truly beautiful...

Anyway,

last night I found this website called jog.fm it shows you songs based on your running pace. It's a handy little web site. I organized a playlist based on my pace as suggested by the website and had it already for my morning run. This morning I had my long run and it seems to me that the only logical play to do this run is on The White Pines Trail. It's 92 miles long. Just bikers and runners, no cars to watch for, the perfect place. The plan for today was up the trail 2.5mi and then back down to the car, 5 miles for the day. It was a nice morning about 70 degrees and very low humidity so I was comfortable running. My new place list was great, nice and steady. I ran and enjoyed the flowers and the trees. I saw two bunnies and a cardinal, you can tell these are city animals, they let you get very close before the shuffle off to safety. When I got to 2.5miles (my turn around point)I could see just ahead something that looked vaguely like...a covered bridge? It couldn't be more than a mile away, I thought. I have to see what it is. So I decide to keep running and check it out. When I got up there, this is what I found...



Not quite the "covered bridge" I was hoping for...lol. But, an interesting view nonetheless...

I looked down at runkeeper 3.06 miles, looks like I'm doing 6 today instead. So I ran the 3 miles back, those 3 miles went so fast! I ran faster and faster since every mile brought me close to the car and air conditioning! lol. I made it back to the car and I was beaming! Not only had I run a FREAKIN' 6+ miles but I did it a few seconds faster than my normal pace!! I'm really starting to feel like I can do this!!

Today's Trail Run:
Time: 1:27:27
Distance: 6.26 miles
Pace: 13:58

Gray Day

Well it's another gray day in Michigan.

Looks like it may storm, glad I got my run in when I did. Today I took my pace a bit slower and just tried to really enjoy the cool air and scenery. It was 63 degrees the morning when I went for my run. It's supposed to get up to 80 today and be humid again. Which is why I knew I had to get the run in early. I suppose it would be a good idea to get some runs in during the hot part of the day. After all the race is in Virginia Beach. I feel like I have a bit of an advantage here though, I train on some pretty sketchy, hilly terrain. It's Michigan so we have potholes galore and weird shifted sidewalks. My ankles get a real work out when I go outside just from negotiating the terrain. Whereas in the Virgina Beach area it's all flat and smooth. So I'm hoping that will make the race a bit easier for me once I get out there.

Today's Number's look like this:
Time: 01:01:05
Distance: 4.26
Pace: 14:20

Happy National Running Day!!

Yep today is National Running Day!
I have a 4 mile date with my treadmill in the morning that's how I'll be celebrating it. Today's run (technically yesterday since it's after midnight)was hard but still went well. I keep my same pace but ran a much hillier part of my neighborhood and even though to was 8:30AM it was already 80 degrees with 69% humidity. YUCK. Go Michigan! But, I powered through and ran the whole thing.

My sweaty run:
Time:43:17
Distance:3.06
Pace:14:08

WOOHOO I really did it this time

Well I was pretty M.I.A. this weekend, from bloggyland anyway. I was out enjoying that weekend! Despite some storms rollin' through I managed to get some good run time in, which is a plus considering I just signed up for this...

Oh yeah, it's official now.
I signed up for that right after I finished my long run on Sunday. Sunday was a nice peaceful morning. I woke up at 6AM and I was wide awake. So I got up. I thought about signing up for the race then, but I had fear. It has only been this last week...last 4 runs that I have felt in my zone. My Zen post actually started it all. Since then I have been a running machine. So, it isn't so strange that...I don't trust it. It feels like a switch has been flipped and now I can do distance running, 3, 4, 5 miles...doesn't matter I can do it...and with rock solid pace. But, I don't trust it, I fear it's a fluke, that I'll go out to run and piddle out after 10 minutes just like I always have. So I decided Sunday morning I was going out to run and if that went well I would sign up for the race when I got home and that's exactly what I did.
So, I decided to run down to the park...and I do mean that literally. It's all down hill to the park, which is fine on the way down there, but I knew that would be a slow personal torture coming back home.


See, look at the elevation changes. You might also note how stable my pace is throughout, yeay me!
But, it's worth it to run in a place so peaceful.
And so empty, I think everyone must have left for the holidays because I had the whole place to myself.

View of the path and playground


Water so calm, like glass.


Sun creeping up in the sky


An uphill battle

When I got home I checked out my stats and was happy to see them so consistent. Especially since I stopped a few times for a second or two to take the photos you see here.



So, high on confidence, I signed up for the race. And now I sit here, a mixture of happy, confident, nervous and afraid. 13.1 miles is a long way to go. Will I make it? How will this change me? What will I be come Sept 4th? Eek, I'm so excited!



This should be Week 8 day 2 of the C25k but I'm way beyond that now:
Time: 01:15:49
Distance: 5.36 miles
Pace: 14:09