2009-09-29 and some other days...

Went to the gym today with Grady.

also went, but didnt post about 1 time last week and 4 times the week before.

2009-09-12 Demo Cross Traing

Did some light wall demo, cleanup, and drywall spackling today at Joe's house today.

2009-09-11 Workout

Did the bike for 30 minutes (5.5 miles) and then the treadmill for 35 minutes (1.8 miles... it was a walk :) Did 1/2 of the circuit machines.

Need to get back to running and other days, been allot of "other" lately.

2009-09-10 Gym Today

Walked for a little over 2 miles today. Then did the circuit. Lazy day today.

2009-09-09 Gym This AM

Did the bike for 45 minutes, did about 7.5 miles. Walked on the treadmill after that.

2008-09-08 Run This AM

Ran 3.1 miles in 40 minutes then walked for another 15.

2009-09-02 Workout

Ran and Walked for 2.2 miles today. Did nearly a complete Circuit and some crunches. 3 days in a row might be pushing it, feeling pretty tired. Or maybe I just need to get more sleep :)

2009-09-01 Workout

Got on the bike for 3 miles this morning. Then I walked and Ran 1.8 miles today. Also id a abbreviated circuit (about 5 machines).

2009-08-31 Gym This AM

Walked and ran (more walk than run) 2 miles today in 32 minutes. Was feeling sleepy, keep thinking that patenting the treadmill with the built in pillow idea is something worthwhile.

Did most of the circuit machines and did some crunches using a bar/guide kind of thing that the gym has. Would not have guessed it, but it apears I do have stomach muscles...

Mysteries of iPod Battery Life

So it seems that the iPod is holding it's charge longer now?

Today it lasted for 53 minutes of running... it had been somewhere in the low 40's last week. Maybe all hope for it is not lost. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to keep this one going until the next round of ever smaller ever cheaper iPods arrives.

2009-08-26 Run This AM

The run today was great.

I ran over 60 minutes for the first time since being back running early last week. The run was not easy, but I didn't have to stop or slow down. Settled into a respectable 4.5 mile an hour pace after the first mile. It appears that either my shins have given up the fight or perhaps the pain pathways between my shins and brain were overloaded by my last attempt at a longer run last week.

Total was 4.75 miles in 67 minutes including warm-up and cool down.

2009-08-24 Kayak This AM

Grady and I attempted to go Kayaking in Hingham harbor, but there was a crazy low tide, so that plan got nixed quickly. Thankfully we had already visited Atlantic Bagel, so the trip over wasn't wasted. I've since confirmed with Fran M. that he's been seeing the low tides be really low in Quincy this week.

We circled back to Whitman's pond and Grady got his first Kayak experience. We did a lap down to the far end and back after entertaining Kamden for a little while. Kamden visited us with Sen and Marissa when we were getting started.

2009-08-22 Lawn cross train

Mowed the lawn today. It felt like an episode of extreme lawn mowing because it was very hot and humid. No need to head to the gym today, i sweat more while mowing than any recent run I can remember.

2009-08-21 This AM

Headed back to the Gym with Grady this AM.

Amazing what having someone else waiting will do to get you out of bed.

Tried something different. Ran for 25 minutes including a slow warm up and the 2 minute bonus cool down. did 1.9 miles. Funny that on the day I don't plan on running for a long time the shins cooperate... Must be part of their evil plan.

Then wandered into a room of the Gym that I saw on the tour when I joined :) Did the circuit training machines. Not bad.

2009-08-20 run this am

Good news 1, picked up Grady on the way to the gym. He gave it a test workout.

Good news 2, we both actually woke up before 5:15am.

Well... Third run after starting back at it certainly isn't the charm. Todays run was all about the shin splints. At this point I'm happy to call the week Jim 2 - Shin splints 1.

Did a slow 55 minutes on run, walk/recover, run, ....

2009-08-18 run tonight

Ran 4.4 miles in 65 minutes. Better than the first time back, but still working through the pain.

2009 08 17 klags enspired visit

Klagenberg made me do it. Tales of his crazy workout regimine were too hard to resist.

Did an hour on the treadmill. Feels great after. Lets not talk more about the run itself.

Runners World Quote of the Day

"Running is a statement to society. It is saying 'no' to always being on call, to sacrificing our daily runs for others' needs. When we run we are doing something for ourselves."

Phoebe Jones, runner

2009-05-06 My Run Tonight

It's never a good start to a night or morning at the gym when you realize you didn't completely shut off the ipod.

Tonight would not be an exception.

After the initial short lived relief when the ipod started playing things went downhill. The ipod played for about a minute then paused. then about 30 seconds. Then not at all. There would be no joy in mudville today.

Ran 5.3 miles. Not a banner run, but I'll take it happily.

2009-05-05 Telling Everyone..

I'm sure many people reading this have gotten my same speech / explanation / justification about why I was telling you about it... More than just comedic relief etc...

Well... Not that 1 telling one more person makes a difference, but I did tell Dr Colleen about the blog this past week.

2009-05-02 Cross Training

Another Cross Training day working on the lawn... :)

2009-04-30 My Run Tonight

After a few days of business travel and 3 night of maintenance window work it was nice to get back to some running.

Ran 6.64 miles tonight. Burned 1348 calories.

2009-04-25 More Mulch

More Mulch and More Mulch....

2009-04-22 My Run Tonight

Ran 5.4 miles tonight. Stopped running about 15 minutes earlier than normal and walked for a while. Just was feeling tired and my shins were not happy.

2009-04-19

Cross trained again today ;)

Finished the first truckload of mulch, weeded a few of the flowerbeds that were getting mulched.

Headed back to seone's and got 2 yards this time (got 1 yard the first time). Used about 1/2 of the new batch so far. Still have many of the back yard / inside the fence flower beds to go. Likely will need at least 1 more trip to seone's.

Also got some 'fast acting' lime and some grass seed. Spread those around the whole lawn. Need to figure out when i can hit the lawn with fertilizer now. It is supposed to rain tomorrow night, so should get things going.

2009-04-18 Cross Training

Cross trained today By cleaning the yard.

Specific workout techniques included tree pruning, cutting back shrubs, picking up sticks, lots of sticks, curting back perenials like the butterfly bushes, raking, loading up the truck, performing the 25 foot lawn bag toss at the compost center, the brute trash barrel full of sand dead lift, weeding plant beds, and spreading mulch (dark brown BTW).

2009-04-16 My Run Tonight

Ran 6.57 mles tonight. Burned 1385 calories. Run was hard, but better than yesterday.

2009-04-15 My Run Tonight

Ran 6.64 miles tonight. Got to the Gym at about 7:45. Not a fun run, but a good one.

2009-04-07 My Run Tonight

Ran 6.74 miles today. Burned 1424 calories. Got to the gym at 7pm. It was a good, but hard run. Good to get back into things afer vacation.

Best part, I get to sleep in tomorow :) So tired....

2009-03-31 My Run This Am

Went for a Run at 7am this morning with Joe and Mandy.  We left the apartments at 7am and were over in Soper's Hole at 7:30.  All planned on running out for a half hour and running back for a second half hour.

I ran 4.2 miles.  Felt OK going out as it was raining, but coming back the heat really started to kick in.  Funny part was that I turned around at the 2 mile mark (27 minutes) but got back at 50.something minutes.  So I actually ran back quicker than how I went out.

Run making running an event with Joe and Mandy.  We may do it again tomorrow (posting this a day late... ya know... Vacation and all....)

2009-03-30 My Run This AM

Ran 3.8 miles today.  Got started about 6:40am.

It's Vacation, so it's OK right :)

Ran cane garden bay, end to end 4 times.  Attempted to 'run' up some of the way on the hills on either side.  This really wasn't fund and quickly turned into a walk.. a slow walk.  

It was barely drizzling when I started on my Run, but by the end it was raining pretty well.  As the rain picked up it was clear that traction was going down.  I think it was a mixture of the sand and the rain.  The good part about the rain was that I was not thirsty, the bad part was that I was soaked.

Locker Room Chatter

Lots of talk in the locker room today. Most of today's discussion focused on permitting costs for hooking your House to the town sewer.

In Hingham it costs 1620 dollars in permits to connect. The overall cost (including the permits) is just over 10K. There was a comment that was basically 'what can you do'... perhaps you could find a relative in government so you would be exempt or just take care of it the old fashion way payoff some corrupt official, but maybe that is what the 1600 dollars is for.

2009-03-25 My Run This AM

Ran 6.34 miles today. Burned 1345 calories.

This run was back to the normal 70 minutes. I pushed the pace up through the whole run. Ended with a few minutes at 6.0 miles an hour.

The first 20 minutes were not fun, but the rest was actually nice and easy. Well, not easy.

2009-03-21 My Run Today

Ran 6.7 miles today. Burned 1424 calories.

It was a good run. I added 5 minutes to my normal length gym run, and ran a bit faster than I have been. It felt good.

I realized that the Garmin seems to do better tracking my distance at slower speeds, but not at higher. I think it is likely because I somewhat change my stride length instead of my cadence...

Wondering if i need to recalibrate... Guess i should do some reading.

The new shoes still need some breaking in. My left foot right arch is hurting some, but not too bad.

2009-03-17 My Run Today

Ran 6.04 Miles tonight on the treadmill at the Gym.

Broke in a new pair of Saucony ProGrid Rides tonight (see pet peeve #2 for a full explanation of why).   The arches bothered me a little for the first 2 miles or so, but then the shoes started to feel much better.

good to run the usual distance again after running outside this past weekend.

Official results: 7th Annual Ras na hEireann U.S.A. 5Km

The race results were posted today. Here are my results from the main results page.

Place Div/Tot  Div   Guntime Nettime Pace  Name                   Ag S Race# City/state           
===== ======== ===== ======= ======= ===== ====================== == = ===== =======================
3177  21/39    CLYO3 36:45    32:26  10:27 Jim O'Brien            34 M  3334 East Weymouth MA

Here are my results within my category:

Place Guntime Nettime Pace  Name                     Age Sex Race# City/state          
===== ======= ======= ===== ======================== === === ===== =======================
21   36:45   32:26   10:27 Jim O'Brien               34 M    3334 East Weymouth MA

Some un-glamorous pictures of me made it on the results site as well:

http://jimrhoades.com/09/rasna/images/090315-733.jpg

http://jimrhoades.com/09/rasna/images/090315-734.jpg

http://jimrhoades.com/09/rasna/images/090315-735.jpg

What the pictures don't show the casual observer was that I had just turned on a huge burst of speed and was passing all the other people pictured ahead of me.

Quick post-race post

The race was really fun, very well organized... and very easy to participate in. A credit to the people organizing it.

Thanks to Marissa, my parents, Joe and Mandy for coming out to the race. Always nice to have someone cheering you on.

My unofficial time (love the garmin) was 31 minutes and 50 seconds. This is a little off as i didn't press start right at the start line. This would be about a 10.2 minute per mile pace, not bad.

More ramblings on this topic later.

2009-03-14 My Run Today

Ran outside today. In Norwell. In an area where many of the roads had names containing the word 'hill'. Needless to say this wasn't the most elegant run ever.

Ran 3.3 miles today. Wanted to run in prep for tomorrows race.

my 5k time was under 36 minutes. Not bad i think.

Jim's Gym Pet Peeves #3

This is perhaps the most evil pet peeve.

Today at the gym about 20 minutes into my run I noticed out the window a golden retriever locked in a maroon Chevy mini van. I noticed the dog because he was climbing around the van. After a little while I noticed that he was panting. I saw that the owner of the vehicle had opened the rear most windows the crack that they do open, you know the pivot out kind of minivan windows. 40 minutes into my run I really couldn't contain myself. I stopped running and went to the front desk.

I asked if they knew whose vehicle it was, explained that a panting fog was locked in the van that was sitting in the sun and that the owner had less than 5 minutes before I called the ASPCA.

I left this with the gym staff. I returned to my run. 1 to 2 minutes later a swimming mom with two kids comes out to the van. I hope she was embarrassed by her abuse of her dog. They didn't let the dog out. They didn't walk her/him. The mom just sipped her dunkin donuts iced coffee (must have been warm in the van) as she got in and zipped away.

Lovely people.

2009-03-08 My Run Today

Ran 6.06 miles today.

Did another quarter mile calibration and this time i got it extremely close over the run. The garmin read 6.05.

Weekly Mileage 3/7

Ran 24.24 Miles this week (including the calibration quarter, because hey, it's my statistics).

Average run was 6.06 miles this week.

Wanted to get in a 5th run today, but didn't happen as we had a busy day including daisy's visit to the vet (love the new vet) and a trip with the crew from Windy City Eats to the Bruins vs. Blackhawks game.

2009-03-06 My Run Tonight

Ran 6.03 miles today.

Before I did the main run I ran a quarter mile to calibrate the garmin. It ended up reading 6.09, not bad, but likely need another round of calibrating.

2009-03-04 My Run Tonight

What a difference a day makes.

Ran 6.1 miles today, easy going. Got to the gym at 7:20pm or so.

Perhaps it helped that i was all gadgeted up. I should have read the manual more closely, figured out the placement of the heart rate monitor, and likely calibrated the food pod ahead of time. Live and learn.

More details on the geekery in another post.

Jim's Gym Pet Peeves #2

Outdoor Shoes inside the Gym.

This one boggles the mind.  Why do people feel that this rule does not apply to them.  So many people feel that they can wear any kind of sneakers outside and come into the Gym with them, even on a wet or snowy day.

The Gym has signs up reminding (people who know how to read, or choose to read) that you are only supposed to use indoor shoes at the Gym.  From the Gym's point of view it makes the carpets last longer.  From my point of view the less dirt inside the less that gets tracked into the locker room and all over the floors/machines etc.

Lets not even talk about when it's swim team day and parents set their kids loose all over.  The amounts of water and dirt tracked around is ridiculous.  The tile floors in the locker room suffer the most.

Forerunner 50 received

Got the Forerunner today, setup of everything seemed pretty straightforward.  buydig.com was really fast with shipping (they sent it Monday, I got it Tuesday).

The watch seems to just work with the foot pod, the heart rate monitor strap, and the ANT usb dongle for the PC.  Had to install a driver for the ANT dongle, and signed up for the online tracking tool.

I'm ready to take it running tomorrow am, hopefully...

2009-03-03 My Run This AM

Wasn't fun.

Ran 5.75 miles.

Started out just not feeling comfortable and in rhythm.

After 40 minutes the iPod battery was drained (I guess I should charge it more often than once every 2 weeks...

The last 20 minutes were brutal.

I did learn that today is a "square root day" according to the local news forecast.  3*3=9 

2009-03-01 My Run Today

Ran 6.11 miles today. Burned 1297 calories.

Good run. Nothing to complain about too loudly. Good start to the week and the month.

The arriva head phones and I appear to be approaching an understanding. They get annoying once per run, but then settle in.

My index toe on the right foot has developed 2 blisters just above and below where one had been. I've got one of those nice finger and toe wrap blister band aides going, so while annoying, its not bothering things while running.

Sushi lunch at Hanaford. Okios greek yogurt by Stonyfield Farms is pretty good, 0 fat and 14g of protein. But it is no Chobani. Mmmmmm. Mmmmmm.

Nerding Up Running

So... The title of this post is courtesy Mr. Steve.  Steve's question, at about 5 minutes into our discussion, was simply "So, does Nerding up running make it more fun."  The simple answer is, how else do you expect me to approach a new hobby.

I've been looking at lots of of fitness watches, that are really way more than a watch.  This has become a part time addiction.  There are infinite combinations of goodness and badness.  Thankfully I don't feel too alone as 'people who really run' aka the writers at Runner's World, also share some of this OCD.  Here is their latest tome on the subject.  Now truth be told, I don't have one of these magical devices, yet... but it's where were headed... sort of.

So you need a watch for running, right?  Because ya' know, the clock on my cell phone that sits in the left hand cup holder of the treadmill certainly doesn't do functions like tell time :).  Or the TV news that is usually on in the morning (on the TV's in front of the treadmills) doesn't have a clock, or the clock on the wall behind me...  This is all not mentioning that the treadmill itself keeps relative time from when I start.  So one can only conclude that I need another timing device.  Now this device should be made for exercise, keep laps, and count things, functions that I can't imagine ever using...

So you need to know your heart rate while exercising, correct?  And the treadmill's heart rate monitor is something you have to grab and hold onto.  We all know that this completely ruins the running experience.  Additionally, you cannot hold this for the entire time, so the accuracy of an average heart rate from a few random samples is inherently flawed, and it's weighted towards the end of the running experience, so it is inherently flawed data... Or at least that's the plausible excuse for getting something else that monitors your heart rate.  

Then we have the issue of how far did I really run each day.  So there are pedometers and there are GPS systems.  99.99% of any running I've been doing is on a treadmill.  GPS systems aren't exactly great in-doors and I really don't run outside.  Now it's in my plans to do that, With the upcoming 5k in Davis Square (March 15th), and I'm even thinking about running in the Marathon Sports 5 Mile race on April 5th, but needless to say most of my miles are inside.

So there are a bounty of interesting products to look at (nerd research) .  It took me ab out three weeks of endless searches for yet another review, realizations that GPS is very cool, but almost useless because I really don't run outside....  and that when I am running inside I need something with a pedometer.

I decided on the Garmin Forerunner 50.  It's cheap (comparatively), it gets great reviews, it has the heart rate monitoring, and a pedometer.  Additionally to increase the nerd factor, it syncs automatically with your PC, uploads your runs, and charts all the stats either using PC software or a web based program.  Cool!

If your shopping for one of these items, or a GPS'd model, check pricegrabber... Prices vary wildly (basically between 105 and 210 dollars.  Make sure you select the bundle your interested in as there is a bundle with just the watch, the watch + heart rate monitor, the watch + foot pod (pedometer), and the bundle I got with the watch + heart rate monitor + foot pod.

Weekly Mileage 2/28

24.06 Miles this week.

4 Runs.

6.025 miles per run average.

2009-02-28 My Run Today

Ran 6.19 miles today. Burned 1320 calories.

Got to the gym at about 10:30 today. Good run today. The headphones were a bit more cooperative, though i think i need to spend some time figuring out why they aren't working as well as I'd like. The sneakers are really paying off. Very glad I got them and wondering how fast I'll burn through this pair. Meant to stop by Marathon Sports and thank Kristen and the team.

Jim's Gym Pet Peeves #1

Well, it had to be done.  

Here is the first entry in my list of minor and major annoyances about the gym.  We'll take it slow, I'll try to contain myself to one per day, though there are so many little things that will make this list that it will likely be hard to go too slow.

Pet Peeve #1:  The Wet Locker Room Bench

OMG!  How Rude.  This really is a example of people not caring about others.  Today's example comes in the form of not just a few drops of water, but a outright puddle (2 of them actually) on the locker room bench.  The dilemma for the finder of such a offence is this:  Do I move away (most logical)?  Do I clean this up with my towel (never a possibility unless your completely done using the towel, which is normally after you want to be sitting on the bench!!)?   Does anyone else have a suggestion?

2009-02-26 My Run This AM

Ran 6.05 mils today. Crossed the imaginary six mile barrier. It wasn't a pretty run though.  Had to get up to speed quicker than I have been and finish with a faster speed than I had been.

Burned 1268 calories.

The Saucony Progrid Ride sneakers turn two weeks old this week.  They are really comfortable and feel very light.  My feet are feeling much better and my mileage is only going up, so this is a win.   Clearly these were the right choice.

The arriva head phones only came off my head once during the run today.  It happened at about 40 minutes.  This time I decided to really dry off my head/ears and I think it paid off.  The patented "Wipe head with shirt" maneuver worked well.  

I'm thinking there must be a better way to bend them than what I'm doing so far.  I'm also thinking the 'in ear style' model would be a better choice then the 'iPod style' model I chose.  This wanders into over-analysis, but I think I need to figure out a way for the wire to come over my ear, but the speaker to sit with the end at the top, like a normal apple headphone would.  the current way I've been using them the end of the headphone is upside down.  Likely this going to require some off-the-treadmill creative bending.  

2009-02-24 My Run this AM

Ran 5.91 miles this am. 1230 calories. Not sure about calories yesterday now, maybe I was off by 100?

Weighed myself today (No; I won't be telling the world the details) but some good movement in the right direction, though I don't want a single reading to get me all psyched up.

Got to the Gym at 5:29. Fewer people there early on, but it seems that created a rush by the time I was leaving.

The headphones worked better today, still slipped off, but this was after about 60 minutes instead of 40, so maybe I'm getting them into the right shape, we'll see...

2009-02-23 My Run This AM

Ran 5.91 miles this morning. Burned 1135 calories.

Got to the gym at 5:27, 6 people's cars in the parking lot and already working out :)

Wore the arriva headphones / "wireless" iPod shuffle holder. It worked well for the first 30 minutes of my run, but then as i got sweatier things didn't work so well. More on this later, I think i have more work to do on getting the headphones to sit correctly. Not pleased with them so far.

Arriva Headphones Arrived

My new Arriva headphones arrived on Friday afternoon.  They came USPS priority.  Pretty quick processing by Arriva considering I ordered them Monday night.  

They are really interesting, it took about 5 minutes of bending and playing to get them to sit nicely on my head, but now that I did that once they seem to stay put really well.  So far I've only worn them around the house, but we'll test them out tomorrow on my run.

Weekly Mileage 2/21

23.06 Miles.

4 Runs.

5.765 Miles per run.

2009-02-20 My Run This AM

Ran 5.85 miles this morning.  Right in the area I was shooting for, felt good, mostly, a little shin splint action early on, but very minor.  Burned 1135 calories. 

Got to the Gym at 5:29am, there were about 7 people already there!  I guess I finally just need to ask the woman who normally opens the Gym what time she really gets there.  Not sure I really want to be getting there any earlier, but who knows...

Got to spend some good time thinking about some GTM details for the Messaging NCG, some good thoughts, but one of the downsides of having most of the company 3 hours behind is that you can't quite call people at 4:15 their time to tell them you just finished a workout and have some interesting ideas to share....  But I guess the good part is that you get to run in the morning, then commute to the office without feeling late :)

Ras na hEireann USA

"Ras na hEireann is the most genuine Irish race this side of the Atlantic. It is a celebration of traditions dating back centuries—and simply a celebration of spring in Somerville, Massachusetts."

I registered for Ras Na hEireann, a 5K race in and around Davis Square in Somerville on St. Patrick's day (Sunday, March 15th).  It looks like I got quite lucky that they expanded the registration this year (from 3000 last year to 5000 this year).  It appears that there is a special scoring section for 'bigger' runners, but it's interesting that in the running world bigger is above 170 pounds... Oh well, doesn't matter.

The race is run by the Somerville Striders and B.A Event Promotions.  Here is a link to the race website Ras na hEireann USA race.

I'm not exactly sure what to expect, but with St. Patrick's day in full swing and 15 local bars sponsoring the race, it should be an interesting one.

In the sage words of Mr. Steve... "wow. going crazy with the new hobby."

2009-02-17 My Run Today

Ran 5.96 miles today.

This seems disappointing, until I point out that I was going for 5.75 miles...  

While running I was also trying to figure out how long it would take me to run a 5K... (More on this in some other post).

Ran for standard 70 minutes with 2 cool down minutes.

Burned 1230 calories.  Yeah.

Got to the Gym and was running by 7:45pm.  

New Headphones for shuffle

Marissa was kind enough to load some great running music on the iPod shuffle that we have and I started using it last week.  It really really helped with running, especially drowning out noises from other people and somehow putting me in a trance.  The Shuffle is awesome, but clipping it to my shirt isn't.  

Mandy told me a week or so ago she had gotten headphones for her iPod shuffle that were just headphones, no wires, and the iPod clipped into the headphones.  I couldn't find anything over at apple.com that looked interesting.  The monster headphones look really bad and appear to have quality issue from most of the reviews online.  

Google to the rescue.... I found Arriva.com. now prepare yourself for some really bad web pages.  but.. for 35 bucks (way less than anything else that's even close to comparable) these guys are selling some smart headphones that really make sense.  

So I paid for these via PayPal today...  Look forward to getting them in a few days.  I'll post again to give my thoughts.

:)

2009-02-16 My Run This AM

Ran this morning.  Got to the Gym at about 5:30am.

Ran 5.6 miles.  Had to make a pit stop after 30 minutes.  :(

The last 40 minutes were brutal.  Couldn't wait for the 2 minute cooldown.

I did push it at the end and ran at 5.2 miles an hour.

This was also the first time I was running with the new sneakers.  My feet were hurting a little, but at the end felt really good.  I'm not sure there will be much of any break-in time for these Saucony sneakers becaue they are pretty soft on top.

New Running Sneakers

Got some new Shoes today. 

Went to Marathon Sports in Norwell, 1 door over from my Gym.  We've been there before, but I never connected them with the Marathon sports that is in Boston.

Marathon is Great.  Meghan helped me.  I ran the length and back of their building while she watched how I ran with no shoes on.  I have a neutral run, or almost.  

Meghan brought out a ton of shoes from Brooks, Asics, and Saucony.  I have a Saucony bias, but this really proved why.  The Saucony really did feel better.  I must have tried on 9 different pairs.  They also have a treadmill in the store.  I ran in about 3 different pairs for just a few minutes.  This really helped.  I was kinda tired after my workout, but I wanted to be tired so that I couldn't cheat while trying on the sneakers.

The biggest revelation was that I went from a size 11.5 in my old Saucony's to 12.5 in these new ones.  Oh, the new sneakers are the Saucony Progrid Ride.  Check out Tomorrow's post for the first real run review.

The new Saucony's cost 89.99, not bad considering I never asked or wanted to ask the price of the sneakers while picking them out.  What they say about marathon sports in online reviews is true.  They really do want you to find the right sneaker, no the most expensive.

2009-02-15 My Run Today

Ran 5.75 miles today on the treadmill

.

It was a nice run.  Bumped up the speed just a little over the whole run.

Felt really good.

Got to the gym about 12:30.

Went in the hot tub after for 15 minutes.. oohh.. ahh... what a nice reward.

My Gym

So I work out at Webbs ProFitness in Norwell, MA.  It's about 12 minutes from the house.  We have a elliptical machine at home, so if you don't see me there you can assume I'm working out on that that day, or being lazy :)

It has a pool, sauna, and hot tub (I use the last of these 3 when I have time).  There are all the machined that I'd ever want to use, though don't use too often.  There is no uncomfortable feeling at the gym, it's very relaxed, people are there to work out, not to annoy you.

It's a really nice place, tons of classes and programs.  It never seems overly crowded, at least before and after work, and most times on the weekend when I'm there.  

I'd really recommend Webb's to anyone who lives close enough to go there.  It's really been a great place for us (and it doesn't hurt that it is very reasonably priced).

Weekly Mileage 2/14

16.15 Miles + 1 session on the Elliptical Machine

3 Runs.

5.42 Miles per Run.

Nike.com Clearance

I don't think that clothing from Nike is cheap, but I do really like it and the quality of the gear they make.  I suppose I should try some other brands, but once you find something that works, something that fits, and something that isn't broken, well it;s hard to change.

Nike.com has a great clearance section.  I've purchased a few running shorts and a few items from them recently an have been really happy.  If you sign up for their club (I forget the name) you get free regular shipping the first time you order.  Pretty cool.  So far I've purchased:

Nike Pro - Ultimate 6" Men's Shorts - These are really nice compression shorts / aka spandex, though a little short for a big guy like me.  

Nike Pro - Core Men's Compression Shorts - These are nice, longer than the Ultimate 6" shorts, which I prefer, though the Ultimate shorts are nicer overall, too bad they weren't 7 inches...

Nike Tempo Men's Track Shorts - These are really nice.  They are sorter than your random long athletic short so that they aren't in the way, but my no means are they a 'short short'.  They work well with some of the spandex / compression shorts.  Definitely think these were a purchase well worthwhile.  And I saved about 6 bucks by getting them on clearance.

Happy Shopping

2009-02-12 My Run Today

Ran 5.65 miles today.

The spinning class is really annoying to listen to.  Thank goodness this week I had the iPod.  I really had to crank the volume, but could still hear the screeching of the instructor.

My run was really good today...  thinking that somehow I ran better because of the Spinning class, trying to drowned it out and not let it effect me.. :)  Guess it isn't so bad....

Got to the Gym at about 5:40am.

2009-02-10 My Run Today

Ran 5.5 miles today.

Really stepped it up a bit.  Same 70 minutes as normal.

Got to the Gym at 5:40am.  Nice Run :)

2009-02-09 My Run Today

Ran 5.0 Miles.  

Got to the Gym at about 5:35.

It was a good run.  

Comfortable.. should I be running faster :)

2009-02-08 My Run Today

Wasn't a run.

Did the elliptical for 50 minutes.

Jim went to the Gym

So.  The reason for this blog... to keep me motivated.  If it is either interesting or helpful to others then that's great.  But this is really only for me.  Sorry to sound selfish, but that's the point.

I started running in early December last year (2008) and have been running now 5 or 4 times a week.  I'm up from feeling like my shins were going to fall off and having to stop 4 times while trying to run, to running 5.5 miles while feeling pretty good.

So this is the blog.. read it if it helps.