3.1 miles - Wilson Bridge Trail

September 18, 2011, Sunday
7:53 am
3.1 miles - measured using Joel's GPS watch (I need my own!)
31:42, 10:14 pace

mile 1 - 9:19 (half was downhill)
mile 2 - 10:53 (up and over the I-95 overpass twice)
mile 3 - 10:25 (mostly flat and half on gravel)

So I "cheated" on this run because I deliberately took a detour to avoid the steep uphill at the end of the 3.1 miles. I did, however, still have to make the uphill climb back to the car after I did 3.1 and I ran/jogged most of it back up but did not have the timer on.

Weather was awesome - cloudy and cool - 57 degrees! I wore my new Nike Dri Fit tee that was part of the race swag from last week's race -- very nice! Redemption for not getting a chicken sandwich!

My knee was bothering me a bit this week after last week's race. I did some rowing to make up for the loss of a running day. Knee was fine by this posted run.

3.1 miles - Chick-Fil-A 5k

September 10, 2011, Saturday
8:00 am
3.1 miles - USATF certified
official times: 31:21.2 (chip) / 31:38.9 (clock), 10:12 pace

mile 1 - 9:31
mile 2 - 10:12
mile 3 - 10:37

Hilly road course. Lots of zig-zagging in the beginning of the course because the first mile bottlenecked into a narrow road path. Didn't thin out until .5 mile in. I felt good the whole time, and managed to keep a good pace on the uphills. I got tired near the end, but pushed with what I had left nearing the finish line.

I was excited to get some free Chick-Fil-A food post-run, but was let down when all they were giving out were yogurt parfaits and plain bagels with cream cheese. BOO!! Where's my chicken sammich!?! Other than that, it was a good race - a good "breaking-back-in" 5k for me.

More pictures are on the Race Photos tab.

I lost 10 lbs

....since this time last year!

That's not bad progress, right? Maybe by this time next year I will lose another 10 or MORE!

4 miles - WIlson Bridge Trail

September 5, 2011, Monday
8:17 am
4 miles - unofficial (was not wearing a watch)
46 minutes (approx.)

I improved my time 4 mile time by 4 minutes - the last 4 mile run was in July (50 minutes - approx).

The weather was awesome. It had just rained that night and looked like it was about to rain again: it was cloudy. I took it easy because I knew I hadn't run this distance in a while and I just wanted to be able to complete it, not really pushing myself. I did not have to stop at all, I even tried to pick it up at the hard hill at the end. It also rained a little bit at the end of my 4th mile so that was a nice refresher/pick-me-up.

I will probably do a couple miles at the park tomorrow, and then the 5k is Saturday morning!

Thinking about getting inserts in my shoes, but I don't know if I will have time. I'd like to run in them before the race which means I'd have to get them tonight to use them on my run tomorrow. Maybe next time.

Want This: Garmin GPS Watch

I've been using Joel's Garmin watch when we run at different times. Other times, he's measured a distance while wearing it and told me where to go and that's how I gauge my distance. It's helpful to know how fast I'm going and how long it's taking me, so I need my own!

I used to run with the nike+ sensor/watch which I liked, but the sensor's battery can never be changed, so if it stops working (which it did), you have to buy a new $20 sensor!

I also don't have a swanky smartphone with GPS or running apps to take with me on runs, nor would I really want to run with my phone. So a GPS watch is the way to go!

I found this one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-GPS-Enabled-Sport-Monitor/dp/B003JTLKIA/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2T9HKJXR0YWW3&colid=VFCNZFPAMA45

It also comes in a cuter/girly pink and grey model, but for some reason it is more expensive than this red/black model. This one is $180, the pink one is $188.

It is a women's watch, but they don't have any pics on an actual model, so it is probably bigger than it appears. Joel's watch is pretty big, but not as big and clunky as some of the other GPS watches I have seen.

So...who wants to get me one!? :D I already bought myself a nearly $2000 30th birthday present (which I am still paying for, and my birthday isn't until December), so I can't afford this watch right now. haha

I also need a new mp3 player.... I used to run with a SanDisk clip player - super tiny and awesome, but it decided to stop working after over a year of neglect, as I have recently discovered. :(