Run updates

So much has been going on in the past few weeks, I have been neglecting my fitness a bit. I managed to get a run in during our visit in Savannah 2 weeks ago, but that was the last time I ran. :(

Also I think I've been bad on the excessive sweets... I need to get back into my "food for fuel" mantra. It's gonna be hard with the holidays coming up!!!!

1.
Ft. Washington Park
October 9, 2011, Sunday
5:57pm
2.33 miles
30:20

Not as much covered ground as I would have liked a 30 minute run to be!

I wanted to do the 3.1 loop we used to do which went through the forest trail, but I decided to take the super steep way down which included stairs. The normal way goes through a paved, winding road. But when I finally approached the trail, it was wet and had some yellow caution tape blocking it off. So I turned around to go back and decided to go through the grass since the path was wet. Of course I had to find a hidden dip in the ground. My foot unsuspectingly dropped into it and it took much balance and clumsy skill to not fall on my face. (I don't know how that didn't happen!) I must have pulled a shin muscle trying not to fall, because it was sore the whole week. I guess it didn't help that I took the same stairs back UP the steep hill. It was rough and I was spent after the climb!


2.
Tom Triplett Park, Savannah, GA
October 15, 2011, Saturday
9:52am
3 miles
31:15

Our good old running trail back in Savannah. It's mostly flat, but for some reason, I ran it just about the same pace as the hilly-incline Wilson Bridge Trail! I need more work!

+++

And that was unfortunately my last run. We didn't run this past weekend since we were out of town again. I am going to try to hit the Wilson Bridge Trail this Sunday morning. It's been cold here, so I need to break out my pants!

3 miles - Wilson Bridge Trail x2

I got my Garmin GPS watch - the Forerunner 110! It was on sale on amazon.com for $40 less than retail price (it may still be on sale!). It's much simpler to use than Joel's Forerunner 405. It is also less bulky. It's pretty neat because  you can upload your runs to garminconnect.com, and it tells you just about everything you want to know about it! Check out this screencap from my run on Sept 24.
 

1.
September 24, 2011, Saturday
7:30 am
3 miles (measured using my awesome new watch!)
31:52, 10:38 pace

My normal Sunday morning run was pushed ahead to Saturday because I was going to my cousin's bachelorette party that night and knew that I would not be able to wake up the next morning to run.

I didn't stop at all and felt pretty good. I pushed myself to move up that hill at the end!


+++

2.
October 1, 2011, Saturday
7:50 am
3 miles
31:00, 10:21 pace

Another Saturday morning run. My cousin's wedding was that afternoon and with an open bar reception, I knew that I definitely would not get up early, let alone go running the following Sunday!

It was not the usual course, as I started a little further down the hill than where we normally park (the pull-off where we usually park was full, so I went to the next one down).

It was SO COLD!! 56 degrees that morning and it there was a light drizzle in the beginning. The downhill in the beginning was brisk, but after the first mile, my body warmed up and I was fine.

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. :(