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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

:)

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.

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