Forerunner 610

I finally got my new Garmin Forerunner 610 this past weekend, but it took me until yesterday to try it out.  It's very, very, very cool. 

I left the house about 6:45am just hoping to run a mile or so with my new Garmin to see how it works.  I knew it would be easier if I wasn't distracted by the girls.  (Mistake #1 - leaving the house without water because I didn't think I'd be gone very long)  I asked my husband to turn the porch light on if Little Miss Spitfire woke up.  That would be my cue to stop running, cool down and go home. 

As it turns out, there is a half mile loop right in front of my house.  I didn't know that until the Garmin told me.  So I basically ran "laps" while I fiddled with the Garmin.  I was also using my Nike+ for comparison and my HR monitor.  Gadgets galore.  No water. 

The porch light never came on, so after 4.1 miles I stopped.  I think I might have been fine without water except that (a) I hadn't really had any water yet and (b) I was having so much fun watching my pace and picking up my speed that I averaged and 8:31 mile and got faster with each mile. 

Here's what the Garmin summary read:
Lap 1: 8:41
Lap 2: 8:38
Lap 3: 8:26
Lap 4: 8:22
Lap 5: 0:53

This brings us to Mistake #2:  Running too fast for me.  I usually run somewhere between a 9 and 10 minute mile on general runs.  I'm very comfortable at that pace. 

As for the comparison between my Nike+ and the Garmin, the Nike+ (which often tells me that it has a weak GPS signal) was off by 0.05 miles (less) on every mile.  If you do the math, then it was off by about 0.2 miles by the time I finished.  And that means . . . I may have been running farther than I thought.

I felt awful when I got home.  I blamed it on the run, but then I began to wonder if I was coming down with something.  As it turns out, yes, I am.  Mastitis.  Fun stuff.  Not really.  I'm somewhat astonished that after 50 consecutive months of breastfeeding I'm just now getting mastitis?!  But I'm digressing...

I went for another run today but I (a) took my small 10oz hand held water bottle and (b) averaged 9:36 per mile.  I also ran different routes that kept taking me back by my house since I had the same arrangement about the porch light this morning.  You'd think he could just text me but we're old school or something. 

Today's summary:
Lap 1:  9:45
Lap 2:  9:22
Lap 3:  9:51
Lap 4:  9:31
Lap 5:  0:55

I felt much better after this run despite the infection still bugging me.  I don't know everything that my new Garmin will do.  I'm hoping to figure out how to do some speed drills with it.  You know, with all that spare time I have to figure things out.  So maybe by the end of summer.

Drills

I didn't have time for a long run this morning, so I tried out some of Jeff Galloway's drills.  I think I rather enjoyed them.  I did his Cadence Drill, Acceleration Gliders and a few Hill Repeats.  Actually I did 4 of each.  My Polar HRM seemed to like them too . . . as in, I burned quite a few calories.  I'll definitely be doing them again.

Running with the Famous

Yesterday morning, Todd from Running Mate joined us for our cardio class.  Though it's not a huge stretch to have him there (I mean, his wife is my partner in crime at our stroller classes), it is a treat to have him join us and chat about all things running while we run.  The Running Mate app is almost ready, and I don't know about you, but I'm anxious for it to be available.  It was also fun to hear about all the Running Mate Fans on Facebook and how people are really getting into and succeeding with the training programs. 

If you haven't tried out any of Running Mate's podcasts, you definitely should!  They're available on iTunes.  Even if you can already run a 5K or 10K (there are training programs for both), then at least try one of his interval podcasts.  They're a great addition to your training.

Race Report 6/12/11

Race:  Wounded Warrior Half Marathon

Distance: 13.1 Miles

Time:  1:56:58

Finish: Overall: 160/883,  Gender: 37/410,  Division: 8/77

Comments:  I ran this race with My Neighbor and she graciously drove us there.  This was the first half marathon that I've run with a friend, and it was so nice to be standing around chatting before it began.  We debated either (a) starting with the 1:50 pace group and seeing how long we could stay with them or (b) starting with the 2:00 pace group and trying to speed up in the last few miles.  We chose option (a).  I gradually watched that 1:50 sign move farther and farther ahead of me after Mile 5 or so.  After that my goal was simply not to let the 2:00 pace group pass me.  It was HOT.  OK, maybe not that hot, but it was in the mid-70's when the race began at 7:00am, and it was in the mid-80's by the time I got back to the car.  That's pretty warm.  I was happy that Hubby and the girls made it in time to greet me at the finish line!  They are always a welcome sight. 

Lesson(s) Learned:  Heat makes a huge difference.  I knew that - sort of - already.  I seem to be needing a little bit more recovery time today and am having a few . . . um . . . "issues" that's I'd read about but had yet to experience.

Race Report 6/4/11

Race:  River Run

Distance: 2 Mile

Time:  19:51

Finish: Overall: 515/2342, no division results posted

Comments:  This course was also fairly flat but the shade had disappeared by the time it began at 9:30am. We began the race together but Hubby and SIL's husband took off at about a 8:30 pace.  After running the 10K and acquiring the 75+ lbs of stroller + kids, I wasn't even trying for faster than a 10:00 pace.  I ran with my sister-in-law and we chatted about So You Think You Can Dance and various other things.  Both of these races were well organized and fun. 

Lesson(s) Learned:  Watch out!  It's hard to stop quickly with the stroller.  My apologies to the man who ran in front of me and slowed down.  I ran into him . . . or rather I ran the stroller into him.

Race Report 6/4/11

Race:  River Run

Distance: 10K

Time:  57:03

Finish: Overall: 658/1659,  Division: 33/116

Comments:  It was a nice course - a lot of shade, fairly flat and the race started at 7:30am to avoid some of the heat.  My race strategy seems to involve finding someone who looks like they know what they're doing and also seem to run a similar pace and then I follow them.  It was nice to run by myself.  I saw several people with strollers and realized Hubby would've asked me to take Little Miss Spitfire if he'd known they were allowed.  The race was well organized and fun.  I would definitely run it again. 

Lesson(s) Learned:  I could have run this race faster but I was worried about the 2 Mile Run after it.  I didn't want to be exhausted because (a) I was running with some family members that we were visiting and (b) I knew I'd be pushing the Phil & Ted's with both girls. I was able to push myself pretty hard for the last mile - a clear indication I did not push myself enough early on.

A Tempo Run

Disclaimer:  My brain is fuzzy today.  I think I need more sleep.

After registering for my first full marathon this morning, I finally sat down with several training plans and came up with a schedule.  27 weeks until race day.

On tap for today was a Tempo Run.  I had never done a tempo run before and my Garmin hasn't arrived yet, so this took some planning and calculation.  I do have a GPS for my Polar HRM, but it only gives real time speed (mph).  That meant I had to calculate what my speed should be at different paces.  What the plan actually called for was a warm up mile, 4 miles at 8:47 pace and then a cool down mile.  I decided the warm up and cool down would be at about a 10:15 pace making my warm up/cool down speed approximately 5.8 mph and my tempo speed around 6.85 mph.  And then I thought about it. 

What I realized was that although I can do an 8:47 pace, I don't typically run faster than a 9:00 pace with the Bob Duallie and both girls.  I revised the plan and shortened my run a bit because I've got a 10K Race plus a 2 Mile Run on Saturday.  Additionally, I decided that I need to work with ranges because my speed can vary significantly based on hills and the wind. 

Here's what I ended up with:
Warm-up:  1 mile at approx 5.4-5.8 mph
Tempo:  2 miles at approx 6.5-7.1 mph
Cool-down: 1 mile at approx 5.4-5.8 mph

Overall the run went well.  I got stuck at a light for a while and Angel Girl lost a shoe at one point (that required some backtracking).  It was nice to vary my speed and to push myself more during those 2 miles.  I felt like I was going soooo slow during that warm up mile, but I was ready for the cool down pace by the end of the tempo miles.  

The end of the run is another story entirely because Angel Girl had a complete and total meltdown and at one point was lying in the middle of the street (luckily a cul-de-sac).  The rest of the morning was equally as dramatic but this isn't really a blog about that.