I've lived near the Encanto Public Golf Course for about 10 years, and I've never used it in the year plus I've been running. Last week I was looking at a satellite map of the route I usually run, and I thought, "I should start using that." Today I did. I think this is my new favorite route. The track is mostly grass, gravel or packed dirt. This was very, very nice on the legs. The scenery is very pleasant. There were a few people out walking their dogs, walking themselves and even playing golf (at 5AM!). There is a gaggle of geese near the large pond, and they ran at me as I ran by. I picked up the pace a little because I've heard geese bite, and I didn't want to find out! This was such an enjoyable route that I think it's going to be my usual mid-week run from now on. Activity
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Monday, April 28, 2008
Encanto Golf Course
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Tough Run
I like that new Michael Jordan commercial, where he responds to critics who claim that he destroyed basketball. Te best line is the one about people not seeing how failure drove him to achieve even greater things. Today was probably the worst run I've had since I started running. I forgot to take Claritin this morning, so right away I was gasping and wheezing. I thought I could push through it, but it never got any better. I also decided to give my Mizuno Wave Nirvana shoes one last try. Sure enough, my shins started throbbing after mile or so. I set out to do 8 miles this morning, but turned back at about the 1.75 mile mark. I took many more and many longer walk breaks than I would have liked. This was just the sort of day that might convince me that I'm just not cut out for running. That it's too hard. That I should just sleep in on the weekend. That there'sno fame or money or glory involved, so why bother. Instead, it makes me want to try that much harder so I don't have another run like today. Bring it on! Activity
 Elevation (ft)  Pace (min/mile)  Heart Rate (bpm)  Splits
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Monday, April 21, 2008
Quick 2 Miles Around the 'Hood
My goal for the next month or so is to increase the frequency of my runs. I haven't been running more than twice a week for the past 6 months or so. This has been due to various leg aches, mostly shin splints. If I'm going to be doing marathong training this fall, I'll need to be able to run 4 days a week. Since I only ran 4.2 miles on Sunday, I figured this was a good week to increase my frequency without increasing my mileage. Today was just a quick 2 miler. My calves were a little tight when I started out. By the 1/4 mile mark, they loosened up and I felt pretty good. I set out to do a nice, leisurely pace, but I did the first mile in a little over 8:00 (which is pretty fast for me). I did the second mile about a minute slower, taking a couple walk breaks, so I wouldn't be too sore. Activity
   
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Saturday, April 19, 2008
Pat's Run
I ran in the 2008 edition of Pat's Run in Tempe this morning. It's an unusual distance of 4.2 miles (42 being Pat Tillman's jersey number when he played at A.S.U.). Proceeds from the event benefit the Pat Tillman Foundation, which teaches leadership skills to young people. (I admit, I had to look that up.) The day didn't start out so well. I didn't get a good night's sleep, so I was dragging. I went into the kitchen to make my usual pre-race breakfast of peanut butter on toast only to discover that we were out of peanut butter. And then, to top it off, on the way to the race, I spilled Vitamin Water all over my car.  Once I got down to the race site, things went better. I had plenty of time to pick up my number, stretch and chit-chat with Bill before the race. Former A.S.U football coach, Bruce Snyder tried to say a few words about Pat Tillman, but his microphone kept cutting out. After a few attempts to get it working again, they gave up and started the race.Bill and I started out pretty strong. I glanced at my Garmin a couple times and saw we were doing about an 8:15 pace. We kept that up until we turned onto Curry Rd., which has a somewhat steep incline for about 1/2 mile. My back started bothering me here, but I kept plugging along. By the time we hit Scottsdale Rd., my back felt better. But my nemesis (my Fun Size bladder) appeared. For whatever reason, I often have to urinate REALLY badly during races. It makes it difficult to focus and keep up a good pace, because the harder I run, the worse it gets. But I managed to just plug along and finished in a decent, but not great, time of 36:58-- an 8:49 pace.  As we were leaving, we saw a poor fellow that was receiving medical attention at about the 4.1 mile point. I hope he was okay. That made me feel even better about my performance, though. Activity
   
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Life Is Good
I woke up this morning just not feeling it. A little tired, a little achey, not feeling like running. But I managed to swing my legs out of bed, pulled on my Life Is Good shirt and headed out the door. And boy am I glad I did. Nothing like a good run to make you feel better. It wasn't the best run from a performance standpoint, but my legs felt great, my lungs felt pretty good, I didn't have the breathing problems I've been experiencing (hooray for Albuterol!) and I got in a really good headspace.
One of my current favorite tunes, Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," came up on my iPod, too. I'm not really a fan of rap music, but I dig the vibe of this song.
Now let's take 'em back to the plan.
Me and my momma hopped in that U-Haul van.
Any pessimists, I ain't talked to them.
One of my current favorite tunes, Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," came up on my iPod, too. I'm not really a fan of rap music, but I dig the vibe of this song.
Now let's take 'em back to the plan.
Me and my momma hopped in that U-Haul van.
Any pessimists, I ain't talked to them.
Activity
   
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Saturday, April 12, 2008
Cockiness in Reach 11
Every now and then, I get cocky. "Oh, I got this running thing all figured out. I'm an expert now." Wen this happens, running usually reaches out and dope-slaps me. Today was no exception. Bill and I set out to do 10 or 11 miles this morning. We were looking for a change of pace, and we decided on Reach 11, a desert park in North Phoenix. We parked at a turnout on Tatum Blvd. and planned to run east toward Scottsdale Rd., and then back-- and tack on a small loop if we hadn't reached 10 miles. The City of Phoenix web site describes the trails as 7-8' wide and consisting of compacted granite. Perhaps they're measuring in Brisish feet, because the trails were 3' wide in most places, and consisted mostly of loose sand and compacted dirt. At least *I* didn't see any compacted gravel. They also weren't as level as I was expecting. There were quite a few ruts, divots, sinkholes and other obstacles. The scenery was very nice. There are lots of desert shrubs and trees, and the McDowell Mountains loom in the distance. We didn't see any wildlife, but there were quite a few droppings and piles of fur, so I suspect you'd run into some coyotes and/or javelinas at the right time of day.  Anyway, trail running is quite a bit more difficult (to me) than road running. The first 3 miles went pretty well. After that, the wear and tear of the uneven surface on my legs started to build. We kept running (taking a couple quick 'pit stops'), but I was pretty exhausted by the time we got back to the parking area. We had only run about 7 1/2 miles so when Bill asked if I wanted to keep going, I answered, "No, but let's keep going anyway." We crossed Tatum Blvd. and ran west for another mile or so, and then returned to the parking area. I was pretty tired, and it seemed like Bill was, too. We'll probably run this route again someday-- but only when I'm up for a tough challenge. Activity
   
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
How To Create Running Blog Posts
Someone may be curious how the posts in this blog were created and whether they could do it themselves. It's really quite easy, and takes only about 5 minutes each time. I use a Garmin Forerunner 301 when I run. I sync that with my PC, and then upload the data to my blog.
First, get the software set up.
1) Set up a Blogger account. Go here to do that. It's free and it only takes a couple minutes.
2) Set up a Wireless Run Tracker account at Runner's World. Go here to create an account. Again, it's free and, again, it's easy.
3) Configure your Wireless Run Tracker to post to your blog. Go to the Settings page in the WRT, and scroll down to the blog section. Change the Blog Type drop down to "Blogger." Enter your Blogger username and password and the URL to your blog. Click the SAVE button at the bottom of the page.
4) Install the software for syncing your GPS device to your PC. I use the Garmin Training Center software for syncing my Forerunner 301.
Now you're ready to post:
1) First, do a run with your GPS device. This is the fun part!
2) Sync the device with your PC. In the Garmin Training Center software, I do File > Receive From Device.
3) Export the data to an XML file. In the Garmin Training Center software, I select the activity and do File > Export > Export [activity]. Save the file somewhere on your computer.
4) Upload the XML data to the Runner's World Wireless Run Tracker. While logged into the WRT, click on the Activities link, and then click the Add New Activity button. Click the Import GPS button. Click the Browse button and locate the XML file reated in step 3. Click Continue. Enter something meaningful in the Activity Name box and click IMPORT ACTIVITY. Click the EXIT button.
5) Now you're ready to post this activity to your blog. In the WRT, click on your activity in the activities list. At the bottom of the My Performance box, click on the Publish to Blog link. Enter a subject for the blog and the text for your post, select the data you want in the blog entry (I like to include everything), and click PUBLISH.
That's it! Hopefully this will be helpful to someone else.
Jeff
First, get the software set up.
1) Set up a Blogger account. Go here to do that. It's free and it only takes a couple minutes.
2) Set up a Wireless Run Tracker account at Runner's World. Go here to create an account. Again, it's free and, again, it's easy.
3) Configure your Wireless Run Tracker to post to your blog. Go to the Settings page in the WRT, and scroll down to the blog section. Change the Blog Type drop down to "Blogger." Enter your Blogger username and password and the URL to your blog. Click the SAVE button at the bottom of the page.
4) Install the software for syncing your GPS device to your PC. I use the Garmin Training Center software for syncing my Forerunner 301.
Now you're ready to post:
1) First, do a run with your GPS device. This is the fun part!
2) Sync the device with your PC. In the Garmin Training Center software, I do File > Receive From Device.
3) Export the data to an XML file. In the Garmin Training Center software, I select the activity and do File > Export > Export [activity]. Save the file somewhere on your computer.
4) Upload the XML data to the Runner's World Wireless Run Tracker. While logged into the WRT, click on the Activities link, and then click the Add New Activity button. Click the Import GPS button. Click the Browse button and locate the XML file reated in step 3. Click Continue. Enter something meaningful in the Activity Name box and click IMPORT ACTIVITY. Click the EXIT button.
5) Now you're ready to post this activity to your blog. In the WRT, click on your activity in the activities list. At the bottom of the My Performance box, click on the Publish to Blog link. Enter a subject for the blog and the text for your post, select the data you want in the blog entry (I like to include everything), and click PUBLISH.
That's it! Hopefully this will be helpful to someone else.
Jeff
Thursday morning wheezing
I hadn't run since Saturday, mostly because of schedule, but also because I've been feeling very tired (and lazy) because of my allergies. It's especially bad around my neighborhood which is resplendent with various tree, shrub and flower species that make it hard for me to breathe. The first mile or so of my run was pretty good. My legs and lungs both felt good. After that, though, it got harder and harder to breathe (I could hear my wheezing over my iPod), and I sprinkled in more walk breaks than I would have liked. I can't wait to run again on Saturday, when I can get out of my neighborhood and run somewhere with less pollen! Activity
   
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