Day 203

An earlier run than normal because of lunch stuff. A nice steady run at 6.2 for a few minutes and then 6.7 for a few minutes. Nice and easy, and less than two miles only so I could have a break between days of karate. Much of the body is sore, I don't need to add legs to this.

Map My Run

Nike + has some things I'd like to see improved, and I have a blog coming with a few ideas, however it also worries me. With the limited amount of functionality with the service, and a recent concern I wrote about with some lost data, I decided to do something.

Awhile back I signed up with MapMyRun.com, which allowed me to map some runs I've done and know how far I've gone. The Nike+ does a lot of that for me, and they have an integration from Nike+. So I entered my Nike+ credentials in my profile, and sure enough it imported all my runs. Plus is also had the runs I'd entered and mapped there, so I had more runs and distance, and more accurate total of my runs.

Day 202

A light, steady run at 6.2 today, still keeping the 2.0 incline.

Day 201

A nice steady run. I tried to get to 7.2, but struggled a little, so I did 3 min, back to 6.6, then up to 7.2 for 2, and repeat. I ended up running at 6+ for 20 minutes before the cool down.

Day 200

Another milestone and it feels great. After feeling ill last night, I took it easy most of the day, worked in the shop a bit, and then went for my run.

I cruised at a nice 6.2 for most of the run, just getting through it, giving the legs a shorter run after two long ones.

Day 199

We skipped skiing, and I went a little longer today. I thought about 3 miles, but the legs were sore, especially after a slightly longer run yesterday.

I kept up a good pace, but when I went up to 7.2mph for 3 minutes, I struggled. So I went back down to 6.2 and then back up for 2 more 2 minute quicker sections.

Day 198

With a blizzard outside, I decided to run inside. Did a full 20 minutes of running and felt great.

2.0 incline, a nice steady pace, with a bunch of bursts at 7.2mph.

Day 197

I have karate tonight, but I decided to get a good steady run in today. I felt great, and could have gone more, but I thought this was a good run for the day.

Running Downhill

After completing 183 days, I was thinking that I have a great routine and I could easily make a year. I noted a few things about my first 6 months in the half a revolution post.

However as I've tried to run a few times over the last few weeks after baseball practice, I think I'm in for a rougher second half of the year. The lateral, quick movements in baseball are tough on the legs, and I'm tired. And I don't even sprint a lot!

I think that I'll need to adjust to running before baseball, doing a slow 15 minute jog to get the mile done, knowing that I'll probably do another mile or so in the game.

Day 196

A slow day today, between a tired body and a tight hamstring, I took it easy. After getting warmed up, I went to 6.0mph, but the right leg felt tight in the back, so I didn’t push it. Went down and cruised at 5.5 for 20 minutes.

Day 195

I got backed up today with kids home and Tia needing the afternoon for conference calls. So I literally had 19 minutes to run and wanted to be sure I was done.

Day 194

I let the day get away from me, and with dinner plans and work to do, not a great run. I did push along at 6.5 for most of the run to get it done quickly.

Day 193

A slack run for me today, between a sore wrist, a baseball game, sun, and the kids wanting me in the pool, I did a minimalist run.

Day 192

We went skiing today, not a tough day, but 4 hours of skiing, driving, up early, and then a nice fall that sprained my wrist.

So I ran as soon as we got home. I was feeling tired, so I just did 14:00, getting through it.

Day 191

I had karate at night, but I decided to just run. I could have gone outside, but I was trying to be quick with lots of work.

So I set up for a run, walking and then going right away to 6.2, then 6.5. For about 10 minutes I jumped every minute between 6.5 and 7.0mph. That was fun, and not too hard. I also then had a nice slow, 5.5mph cool-down before my walk. I felt good.

Day 190

I took a slightly longer run today, moved up to 2.5 on the incline for most of the run, and included some longer warm-up/cool-down sections at 5.4mph. I was feeling OK, but I didn't want to overdo it and didn't want to make too many radical changes.

I ended up walking for a couple minutes after this, stopping the timer too soon on the Nike Plus.

 

Keeping the Streak Alive

My wife and I were talking the other night and it was getting late. She has been working too much, much more than she'd like, is stressed, and was laying in bed at 10, not having run, trying to decompress a bit.

We were debating spending time together, and was she going to run tonight. She's on her own streak, 100-some days behind me, and she couldn't decide if the running was adding more stress or taking more away. The pressure to keep going, on top of all her other commitments and desires, including kids, is hard.

After an hour or so of chatting, about this and other things, she decided to go run. I completely understand and support her. She's helped me on some days when we've been skiing, or I needed to find time. Having someone support you, especially when you're trying to take care of your body and get some release from physical exertion is nice.

We both agreed that ending the streak should be because of injury or because we ran out of time due to family commitments. Not because we're tired.

I'm glad I could help her keep her streak going, and I'm sure I'll need more help myself somewhere down the road.

Day 189

Felt a little out of breath during this run, at least for the first 6-7 minutes. I did another fairly steady run at 6.5.

Day 188

I forgot to start the Nike Plus counter on the iPod and didn’t realize it until 18 minutes in. Still the treadmill is a good source of distance for me.

The incline was still at 3.0 from the other day. I was 5-6 minutes in when I checked and lowered it to 2.5 for the rest of the run. I ran steady to 15 minutes at 6.5 (1:30 warmup, 1:00 6.0mph) and then slowed to 5.6 for the rest of the run.

1.94 mi

20 minutes

380 cal

2.5 incline

I wish I could enter runs in Nike Plus, but they don’t support manual entry. Very, very annoying.

Day 187

After baseball, I decided to jog around the fields (soccer and baseball). I was beat, and I had a hard time getting the legs moving. The lungs were OK, but the legs did not want to move. Had to push to get through. I think I might need to run before games this summer.

Day 186

A short one on the treadmill. Not sure of the incline, but I just wanted to get this done to get on with my day.

Day 185

I'm running harder.

I didn't mean to, but I hit the safety cord and the treadmill stopped. I restarted it (thank god for ) but when I did, I decided to run slower, 5.6mph, with more incline. I hit up and it went to 3.0.

huh? Apparently my wife has been running at 2.5, so I've been working harder. Didn't notice, though to be fair I've had shorter runs lately.

Today I wanted to run more, but I have a lunch date with my wife, and I waited too long to get started. Work made me too late for what was a nice steady, 6.2mph run for most of the time.

Day 184

Back to my lunchtime routine, a nice, steady run.

Day 183

10:38, decide to go running

10:39 - change clothes

10:40 - Start running

10:56 - stop running

11:00 - conference call

Half a Revolution

Today is my 183rd day running. That's half a year of running every day, running continuously. I honestly never thought I could get here, but now that I am, I think I can get to a year.

My wife is following me, about 150 days behind, so she's finishing her first month and doing well. I remember being there, tracking each 7 days, and getting excited. Each week was a new accomplishment. I remember being at 3 and 4 weeks, thinking ahead to 70 days when I was planning on traveling, and wondering if I'd get there. I thought ahead to my March trip and knew that was near 180 days and dreamed of getting to that point.

And here I am. I'm excited and still motivated. I want to make a year and then see after that. I can see taking a break at some point, letting the body recharge a bit, but I'm not sure if that's 366 days, 400, or more. 500 days has a nice ring to it, but then so does 1000.

I try to run at lunch, earlier in the day, and I've noticed that if I don't, it bothers me. I get more annoyed as the day goes long, and like last night, I can't really relax until it's done.

This has been a great journey, and a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the next six months, a day at a time.

Day 182

A late run, after kids were in bed. Ran a little quicker for longer, hamstring felt good.

Day 181

I got a late start on this run with meetings scheduled at lunch. The hamstring felt better, tight, but no pain at all. I ran steady for the entire run other than the warm up / cool down.

Day 180

A late night run for this one. Busy with kids all day and went to get through it after Kendall went to bed.

I tried to run a touch faster, but the hamstring started to tighten, so I slowed down and didn't push things. I need some faster or longer runs since I've been relatively inactive, but today wasn't the time to push it.

Day 179

I took the kids to the pool and ran on the treadmill there. I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the run, but I pressed on and shortened it up. I felt much better with the hamstring today, but didn't push it.

Day 178

I tweaked my elbow and popped a hamstring in karate last night, so I took it easy today. Nothing too quick, a nice slow run.

Day 177

Back on the treadmill at home. Crazy windy outside, so not a good day for me to run there. I kept hitting the safety cord and resetting the treadmill, so this was a choppy run, but it felt good.

Day 176

I didn't get up as early as other days, but the legs felt OK and I cruised easily through this run.

Day 175

Another early morning run. My right shin feels better, but a slightly sore neck, and it was a long night for me with more than a few glasses of wine.

Ran about halfway before I realized I was on 0% incline. The downsides of shared treadmills. The one at home is always 2%.

The Chase

Not really a chase, but my wife decided to give this a try. Her schedule is busy, but she wanted to make an effort to get healthier and get more exercise. So she's about 150 days behind me, but she's made it further than she ever has before, which is where I was as well. I guess I'm there every day. I've gotten used to this solo journey, pushing myself every day, but it's nice to chat about it with her at times and see her pushing along. It motivates me to keep going.

Day 174

An early morning run, 6am, in Seattle. I ran on the treadmill on the top floor of the Sheraton. My right shin was slightly tender to the touch yesterday, but felt fine this morning. I cruised easy, a steady run, 1.0 incline.

Day 173

Flying away today, so a quick morning run. My right shin is a little tender, I think the beginnings of a shin splint, so I ran slower and easier today. I'll have to watch it over the next week or so.