Day 843

Last run of the year. I think I've run outside the last two new years eves, but it was 5F with snow on the ground. Too cold for me.

A good treadmill run, pushing myself at 6.5mph the whole time.

22:00
2.22mi

Day 842

Cold outside, snow starting, not my kind of day. However I wanted a long run, wanting to finish Dec with 50 mi. So I hit the treadmill for a long, steady run.

26:00
2.64mi

Day 841

Getting cold today, but a very nice treadmill run today. I set a steady 6.3, cruised, watching a movie, talking with my wife a bit, just sweating.

18:00
1.75mi

Day 840

Another beautiful day outside, for December. 50F, no wind, felt like well above 50, and I ran in shorts and a sweatshirt, just enjoying the day. If I hadn't been starving (2:00 and no lunch), I would have gone longer.

21:36
2.25mi

Running While Sick

I've been fighting a cold for nearly a week, and haven't felt like running a few times. I've pushed through, hoping to be invigorated by the exercise, but it usually hasn't worked. I get done, and I just feel like laying down and sleeping more.

However today I felt better after the run. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting better.

Day 839

A little chillier, but the dog needed some attention, so I leashed him up and headed down the road. A little slower than yesterday, but I had a hat on and it felt better. The left calf is tight, not sure why.

19:44
2.03

Day 838

Feeling a little better, headed outside and down the road. A nice run, where I pushed a few times.

22:14
2.25mi

Day 837

A slow, late, Christmas run on the treadmill. Not feeling great.

14:00
1.3mi

Day 836

Not sure if I'm feeling better or worse, a little of both in different ways. After being out all day, a slow run, 5.6mph, steady.

18:00
1.6mi

A difference

I was surprised when I got home from vacation, after running on a strange Matrix treadmill for a number of days. I didn't have my Nike shoes, so I put on my trail Asics and as I started running at home, they felt strange. It felt like a lack of support on the interior of both heels.

I could swear I've used those shoes on this treadmill, but perhaps not. After a few minutes I got used to it, but it was definitely a strange feeling.

Day 835

A long drive home from Steamboat, feeling sick, but decided to do a run before laying down and calling it a day.

16:00
1.5mi

Day 834

Definitely a cold coming on. Tired, worn out, my chest tight. However I wanted to keep pushing since it was a short day skiing.

15:00
1.4mi

Day 833

Tired after skiing, and a little sick (cold), so a shorter one.

14:00
1.3mi

Day 832

After a long day skiing, a decent run tonight.

16:00
1.5mi

Double Tracking

It's been a month since my Nike+ Nano died, and I haven't felt like trying to upgrade my iPhone to 3.1.3 to use that since it's jailbroken and it's not important enough for me to risk issues. So I've been double tracking my runs here, and at mapmyrun.com. Actually they used to be triple logged at Nike+, but the sync from Nike+ to MapMyRun was automatic, so I didn't have to mess with it.

So each day I manually enter in the blog, and then every few days catch up on MapMyRun. It's a little annoying, but it's not as bad as I would have thought.

Since I'm a computer geek by day, I am tempted to actually try and replace my own nano battery for about $20 and see what happens.

Day 831

A short day of skiing, but a double run for me.

I was trying to help Kendall gt her skis on and bumped my board halfway up Steamboat. My board went down without me and while everyone went down to track it down, i ended up starting to walk down. I thought it might not be too bad to jog down, so i did. It was hard, and it wore out my quads. I had the gps running, but it was only 1/2 mile. So i had to run later

I hit the treadmill later in the hotel, going slow.
16:00
1.5mi

Day 830

A slow jog today with my son and wife

22:00
1.77mi

Day 829

Really cold today outside. A quick, but new distance, run.

18:01
1.80mi

Day 828

Snow outside, and I'm a wimp. Treadmill again, running at a good clip, working a bit.

18:01
1.79mi

Day 827

Felt OK, slightly sore legs, but trying to push a little bit more on a regular basis.

18:00

1.81mi

Day 826

Another beautiful day outside, but a touch windy, so I headed out with a sweatshirt and shorts down the road. The legs are a little tired, and my right knee a touch sore, but I wanted to get a good 20 minutes in, so I went down my 1mi route out and back. I went slow, and it felt a touch long, but a nice run for me.

23:14
2.26mi

Day 825

My non-multi-tasking iPhone messed up my time today. Actually, it multi-tasks, but I have to enable it for each application, and I didn't do that, so it cut off about 5 minutes or so of time.

60F in Colorado today, so I headed down the road, t-shirt and shorts, enjoying the nice day.

~16 min
1.6mi

November Runs

I wanted to start looking back and tracking some of my runs as a way of being slightly more on top my training and better watching my body. I'd like to see if how I feel relates to how I'm training.

November was a good month. Ran every day (of course), but would up with 48.11mi. That's not a long amount by an stretch, averaging out to 1.66mi/day. More than I thought, but less than I'd like. As a comparison, Oct was 49.59 for 1.59mi.

That makes sense to me as I felt injured in October quite a bit, and despite the travel in Nov, I felt better, going longer on days even when I had planned on short ones.

I feel like I'm healing up, with the ankles and knees not hurting like they were in Sept/Oct. I guess they didn't hurt as much as they ached, and I had to limp along on a few runs. Lots of treadmill runs with travel for work eating up my time, but I did end up with some nice runs outside in Las Vegas, Seattle, and New York City (Central Park).

Day 824

I had planned on running outside today. Actually I was going to run with Delaney and have Kendall ride her bike. It was a nice warm day in the morning, but after some chores, the wind picked up quite a bit, and I wasn't really interested in running outside.

So another treadmill run, going a touch slower. I use the cho-pat strap, and my knee felt fine, but I decided to not push things after a couple longer runs the last few days.

16:00
1.58mi

Day 823

A nice, steady run today. The legs felt tired, and the left knee is a little achey. Need to use the Cho-pat strip tomorrow on that one. A good run, though.

20:00
1.93mi

Day 822

A quick one, mostly because I was distracted with other things and this was slightly getting in the way. I enjoyed it, and held myself back, but my mind was elsewhere.

14:00

1.32mi

Day 821

Cruising along today, a nice run. Not too fast, not too slow. I did go a little faster than I'd like, but it's hard to hold back some days.

18:00
1.75mi

Day 820

Not in the mood to run a lot today. Not sure why, but I had work and errands, and my wife was out of town, so I opted for a (relatively) short treadmill run.

16:00
1.50mi

Day 819

Cold one today, as I ran outside. Didn’t have a hat, and I needed one. Still, a nice, steady job, although somewhat cold. Hopefully I didn’t make myself sick.

20:03

2.05mi

Perceptions

I try to take it a little easier on the days where I know I have a second workout coming. Typically that's 3 days a week for karate, 1 in the summer for baseball, and (hopefully) one in the winter for snowboarding.
However I noticed that when I run inside, I tend to run only 1.5 mi, about 16 min most day, sometimes a little less. If I run outside on those days, I still go about 20 minutes and close to 2 mi.

That seemed a little funny to me, and with the cold weather approaching, I think I'll try to get 20 minutes a day for the short days (unless I'm really pressed for time) and then go closer to 30 minutes for the longer ones. At least once a week.

Day 818

I was going to take it easy, but when I run outside, I usually go 20 min and close to 2 mi. So I pushed a little, trying to see how well I would do. The final test will come after karate tonight, but for now I knocked out a good run.

20:00
2.05mi

Day 817

A lazy day in the house, finished with me on an easy run on the treadmill.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 816

After a cold morning, and an afternoon out at the parade, a quick treadmill run with tired legs.

14:00
1.29mi

Day 815

A late run. All day busy, and working, finally running at 8:30 at night. Around 6 I realized I hadn't run and something felt funny. It was tempting to skip today, but I managed to run through. And run quick.

14:00
1.36mi

Day 814

After snowboarding, a quick run today, not too fast

16:00
1.5mi

Day 813

Another treadmill run, trying not to push too hard, but not doing that well. Kept up a good pace.

16:00
1.55mi

Day 812

Still cold and windy outside. Not a day I want to be out there. A slower one on the treadmill, with the legs tired and a little sore.

18:00

1.56mi

Is Cold Weather Better?

I live near Denver, which has the reputation of being cold. Most people think snow and winter when they think Denver, but really we have great weather here, often sunny and nice.

I tend to run a lot on the treadmill. I do it because it’s convenient, but also because I hate the wind. I’ve hated it since I was a kid and if I see the trees moving with any force, I’m in the basement.

I was running recently with a friend in Las Vegas, and he said that he loves the winter. He can always put on more clothes, so he thinks it’s easier to run then.

That makes sense, but I still prefer the summer. Those hot lunchtime runs are nice for me. A good sweat makes me feel good. I was disappointed this last Vegas trip as it was only 80 during the day, and about 70F when we were running at 7am. The last time it was there, I loved the 110F 2pm run.

Day 811

It is cold outside, too cold for me, and very windy. Plus snow on the ground.

Treadmill again, a little faster.

16:00

1.51mi

Day 810

A nice easy run.

16:00

1.50mi

Day 809

After some skiing, the drive home, I did a short treadmill run. I felt great, and pushed a little.

16:00

1.59

Day 808

A nice easy run, despite the lack of skiing today, I know the legs are tired, so I didn’t push, cruising <6mph most of the time.

18:00

1.64mi

Day 807

Treadmill after a cold day skiing

18:00
1.69mi

Broken Nano

Again, or at least, it’s broken for now. It works, except that when I click the Nike+ item it tries to load and then reboots, so I’m back to manually tracking, and entering, runs for now.

Day 806

A nice steady run on a day off from skiing

20:00

1.91mi

Day 805

After a long day of skiing, I managed to walk over to the small exercise center for a short run. Slow, steady, and easy.

16:00

1.41

Day 804

A long day of skiing, and an easy jog on the treadmill after.

20:00

1.84mi

Glad this isn’t me

Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving.
Source: http://www.famousquotesabout.com/quote/Every-morning-in-Africa/396162#ixzz15fQhmgHE

A friend sent this after seeing me hit 800 days. Glad I don’t have to run to survive, but I am thrilled that I am able to run every day and enjoy it.

Day 803

After getting home, a quick run before leaving on vacation.  Nice and steady, just pushing through.

20:00

1.86mi

Day 802

An early morning run in NYC, hitting the treadmill at 6:30 before a long day of work.

14:00

1.31mi

Day 801

It was frustrating trying to get into the city, but I made it, dropped stuff in my hotel and changed, and headed to Central Park. It was dusk, about 5, but I was only 4 blocks away on 54th St. I’ve been to the park, walked through, even ice skated on the pond there, but never run through. So this was a treat for me, cruising through the park, enjoying the sites.

It was neat to be around so many other people biking, walking with strollers, and jogging. Most of them were faster than I was, but that’s OK. I enjoyed looking at the lighted buildings in the distance as I wound through a short loop.

20:00

1.91mi

Day 800

Windy outside, and I was trying to hurry, so I did this milestone inside. The legs felt great, and I did half at 6.5, then went to 6.6, which is the pace I need to get Delaney to for his karate run.

20:00

1.88mi

Day 800 - Another Milestone

A milestone for me. One I never thought I’d get to, but I made it. I haven’t been all that excited after 700, and 750 passed easily, but I had sore knees, ankles, and I wondered if I’d get to 800.

But I made it, the legs are feeling better, and I’m closer to 1000 than I ever thought I’d get.

Nike + Fail

Not a complete fail, but since it was reading my pace at 4:22 for a few minutes, something is wrong. I have to pull out the sensor, give it the blow and shake cleaning, and then see if I can recalibrate it back down to a normal pace.

Kind of annoying, but this one has probably gone a couple of hundred miles with me, so it's not the end of the world. I'm not sure my last one was dead, and I kept it, so I'll experiment with it as well.

Day 799

A nice run today, cut a little short since I have a sick kid at home and work is piling up. Kept a steady pace for the whole run.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 798

After some long days, I needed a break. So I took it a little slower today after going back to karate last night.

16:01

1.49mi

Day 797

Back at work, snow on the ground, a treadmill run, and I felt great. No out of breath, no pain.

16:00

1.53mi

Day 796

An easier run today. Felt a little worn out.

14:00

1.3mi

Day 795

A quick afternoon run after a long day of scout merit badge college.

18:00

1.66mi

Day 794

A nice, steady, quick run, keeping at 6.6 the whole time

16:02

1.55

Day 793

All alone at home, snow on the ground, and a chilly morning had me back inside running.

I started at a steady 6.6 (after warmup) and then added in some 7.0 stretches since I felt great. I pushed a bit today, but was never out of breath.

16:00

1.57

Skin Tags

I have an annoying skin tag, a small growth, that is bothering me. It came up when I was traveling at a conference, in jeans all day, in uncomfortable chairs. I noticed it while running one day, and it's been bugging me ever since.

It's on my upper leg, just below the gluteus. So it's right near my butt, and it's annoying. I searched a few places, and a number of people say that it's not worth a trip to the doctor. They recommend tying it off with dental floss or sterile thread and then snipping it off, using some antibiotic for a few days.

I need to do that, or at least, I need to ask my wife if she'll help and if it's not the dumbest idea she'd heard of. In the meantime, running with some annoying pain.

Day 792

 Cold, but calm, however too much snow for me to run in. I could, but I don't want wet feet. Treadmill time.

I felt great inside, and ran up at 6.6 for most of the run, doing a few 7.0mph minutes as well.

16:00
1.57mi

Day 791

The Nike+ flipped out, so I need to edit this run, or make sure this is the record.

It was 50F at 7am this morning and the sun was shining. When I went out at lunch, a t-shirt worked, but the weather changed quickly. By 2:30 there was a light dusting of snow on the ground, so an outside run wasn’t looking like fun.

16:00

1.55mi

Day 790

Racing around, a run after finishing errands in Seattle and before my flight. I raced on the treadmill to knock one out.

18:00

1.66mi

Day 789

A relaxing morning in Seattle, but not great weather. Started my day on the treadmill on the roof of the Renaissance hotel.

16:00

1.47mi

Day 788

Out with Delaney today, going down the street at lunchtime. Slow, and I can see he's falling back in his fitness, so we'll have to work on that.

21:21
1.80mi

Day 787

My last morning run in Las Vegas for this trip. Legs were tired from pounding on pavement, but we set out slow on a nice, easy jog

35:47
2.58mi

Day 786

Another great morning run in Las Vegas. The pavement is rough, but I have nice route around the Madalay Bay that goes about 25min as I jog with a friend.

24:27

2.17mi

Day 785

Out early in Las Vegas, running on pavement with a friend. A good way to start the day.

23:39

2.26mi

Day 784

A short morning run before I head to Las Vegas. A nice stready, slower jog on the treadmill before I get kids  up.

16:00
1.44mi

Day 783

16:00

1.56

http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/32663138

Day 782

21:04

1.68mi

http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/32663136

Day 781

14:00

1.35mi

http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/32663134

Day 780

A nice day outside today, so I took off for an afternoon run in the sun. At first I had a good pace, but then I slowed a bit near the end.

19:18

1.91mi

Day 779

A nice steady run today.

16:01

1.58mi

Day 778

I almost forgot to run. Busy all day, I remembered at 6:15, before we were supposed to leave for karate at 6:30. I changed, and did a very quick run, at a quick page, to push through.

Forgot to start the Nike+, so the time si a littl short, but I had a nice steady run
13:01
1.29mi

Day 777

Feels like a milestone because of the number, and it was a great run, but not outside. I felt like running today and looked forward to it. I was tempted to wait for my son, but it's cold and windy outside, and I declined. A nice, brisk run, despite a semi-upset stomach.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 776

A nice steady run today on the treadmill on a rainy day outside.

16:00
1.53mi

Struggling

Lately it seems that I've had some tough runs. Not physically, but mentally. It seems to be hard to get going in a run, and there have been a few times I haven't even looked forward to it.

I knew this would happen at some point. Everything gets old, but I'm still pushing along. No real reason not to, and the body seems to be feeling OK most days. It's just hard to get motivated some times, especially as life gets really busy.

We'll see if I can get to 1000 days. I'd like to, but I'm not driven like I was to get to 365.

Day 775

Tired today after a long day with the Scouts.

14:00
1.36mi

Day 774

Forgot to start the Nike+, so the time is a little off, but I had a great run.

15:02
1.46mi

Day 773

Tired. A long field trip with middle school kids wore me out. I was ready for a nap, but didn't have much time before volleyball and horse chores, so I knocked out a short one.

14:00
1.30

Day 772

I was tired after karate last night, and slightly sore in the back, so I went for a short one. I did press the speed a bit.

14:00
1.32mi

Day 771

A good one. A little chilly outside, so I hit the treadmill. I felt great, so I pushed some 1 minute intervals at 7mph, alternating with 6.5mph for half the run.

16:02

1.54mi

Day 770

Ran out of time today, with a busy night, so I hit the treadmill for a quick one.

14:00

1.34mi

Day 769

Tired, and a little sore from the weekend. My back was tight as I started to run, so I took it easy with a short one.

14:01

1.32mi

Looking Back

I have been running for a long time, but I’ve been steady. The streak is more about me doing it, than training for something or vastly improving performance.

But I wanted to look back, so I grabbed some data to compare:

	August	September
2009	57.57	53.53
2010	49.24	47.37

I noticed I’m actually running less this year, and that surprised me at first. However the more I think about it, the more I realize that’s true. Last year I was approaching one year of running, I was motivated, and I pushed hard. I was actually trying to increase mileage quite a bit in late summer, and it worked out well.

This year, however, I’ve been injured. The legs have been hurting regularly, for various reasons having to do with other sports that I’ve been working on, so I have had a lot of short days.

I’d like to get out and do more, but the last month especially, with baseball ending, I’ve been trying to heal up and not push, so I don’t see this changing for this month at least. We’ll see after that.

Day 768

Not a long run, but steady, getting outside with my son. He did better, and I had a very easy, slow jog down the road on a beautiful 70+F day.

23:50

1.80mi

Day 767

Back outside, but not a long one. Just an easy one, trying to let the body heal a bit.
14:42
1.54mi

Day 766

Easy jog today, going a touch further, but taking it easy.
18:01
1.88mi

Day 765

A beautiful day outside, so I took advantage since I wasn't in a big rush. I headed down the road, iPod keeping me company.

I waited a long time to run. I planned on 30 more minutes of work at 10:55 and then at 12:45 I decided to give up and run. I was hungry and it was a struggle to get started down the road. My legs were slightly achey. No real pain, but just achey and not in the mood. I had every intention of doing one of the short runs that I do with my son, about 1.3mi or so.

However as I pushed on, I felt better. I reached the short mark and kept going, making my normal turn at right around 1mi. I was on a good just sub-10:00/mi page, so I pushed a bit more and ended up finishing with a strong run, about 9:50 pace.

19:04
1.94mi

Day 764

After a field trip, I knocked one out quickly on the treadmill. Felt great.

18:00

1.72mi

Day 763

I was beat today, and in a hurry

14:03

1.30mi

Day 762

A short one, wet and muddy outside. Felt better after a long weekend.

14:00

1.40mi

Spirit Treadmill - KC

I’m not sure of the model, but I hit a Spirit treadmill in a hotel recently and I didn’t like it. It was slow, felt like the speed wasn’t up to what the display said, and it felt like it was on an incline. Even when I reduced to 0, it looked, and felt, like it was still high.

It was a bit of a struggle to run, and though it might have been some fatigue, it wasn’t a treadmill I liked.

This was a commercial looking model, and I expected more. It’s possible that being in a hotel it was worn down, but it looked fairly new. If I’d have had more time, I would have given up and gone outside.

Day 761

Back from camping, tired, but knocked this out on the treadmill on a rainy day outside.

14:00

1.34mi

Day 760

Out at Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, with a little extra time before lunch, I pulled on shoes and headed down the hill. I didn’t get sound since I think my headphones finally died, and I need to get anohter pair since I was listening to the sound of wind as I went.

We were up on top of the ridge, camping higher than I had before, one of the higher spots at the camp. I went down the road, hitting the trail briefly to avoid some kids heading to lunch, but worried about the trails. They seem to have lots of uneven terrain and roots, so I didn’t want to sit on them.

I reached the turn off for the other camp, but could see the road ahead of me and decided to run down there to see how far it was from camp. The Nike+ read 1.4, and I turned, heading back up.

It’s a daunting hill, and I bet I climbed easily 300-400 feet in that 1.4 mi back up. I was tempted to stop a few times, but I slowed and pressed on, proud to make it back to camp after a cold night and very little sleep.

27:00

2.87mi

Day 759

Running early on the treadmill before packing to head out on a Scout weekend. A nice steady run.

20:02

1.99mi

Day 758

I didn’t wait for Delaney, heading out for a quick run at lunch.

18:35

1.87mi

Day 757

A quick run today, inside on a windy day.
16:01
1.54mi

Day 756

Running with Delaney, a slow steady one down the road.

19:32

1.7mi

Day 755

A nice, steady run down the road today. The legs felt good, and I pushed a touch. Coming up the hills I tried to maintain pace and worked the lungs a bit.

21:11
2.16mi

Not Taking Advantage

I was in Kansas City this past weekend for work, and typically when I’ve gone to a new city, I’ve tried to run outside, experience the area a bit.

Not that I’ve had great runs in Charlotte (next to a highway), Austin (the same) or Las Vegas (running on sidewalk near the strip), but it’s been something. I did enjoy the lake runs in Baton Rouge.

I was hoping to do that in KC, but I was jammed for time both Fri and Sat. I knew about Fri, so I ran at home, and Sat I wasn’t sure, but since there wasn’t anything much around the hotel, I hit the treadmill. The hotel was on a feeder road by a highway, so it wasn’t much.

However I could have booked a slightly later flight on Sunday morning, and gotten up to go somewhere to run.

It’s something that I feel I’m not taking advantage of, the trips to other places, and I need to get out and see some of the local area, or parks, and enjoy a run with a bit of scenery.

Day 754

Back early from being on the road, and I hit a run so I could get going on chores. I ended up jammed for time with the need to meet my wife, so I hit the treadmill to ensure I wasn’t late.

14:02

1.35mi

Day 753

A quick run today, in between work at an all day event, and the post event party. I rushed through it a bit, and hit the treadmill since there was nothing outside to see and didn’t want to pound the cement.

16:01

1.50mi

Day 752

A lunchtime flight, so I got up and ran first thing, even before coffee!! A good run, but quick so that I could get on with my day.

16:02

1.54mi

Day 751

Legs are tired today, especially the left quad for some reason. It ached at night, and I can feel it going up stairs.

Still, I decided to push a few more minutes today, and work the sore leg. Maybe it will get stronger.

18:02

1.76mi

Day 750

A nice afternoon run, down the road, with my son. He’s training for his black belt, and after school we did a nice, short run together.

13:54

1.22mi

Day 749

A good run for me, cruising along on the treadmill at a good pace with the wind howling outside.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 748

Busy today with kid stuff, so I ended up going to the bus stop early and running before picking up kids. Everything felt good, though I should have worn the cho-pat strap. The right knee is aching slightly after two longer runs in a row.

20:00
1.99mi

Day 747

Running first thing today, with chores on my mind, and a desire to get running. So I made coffee, went running, and then enjoyed coffee and water after.

Felt good, no aches.

20:00
1.91mi

Day 746

An early morning run. Felt OK, despite being a bit tight this morning in the left calf. It loosened up as I went a little slower.

16:00

1.5mi

Day 745

A quick one today, everything feeling fine, despite 3 nights of karate this week.

15:58

1.47mi

Day 744

Too windy to run outside. I hate wind, and it kills my eyes. So a nice, steady treadmill run. Legs felt fine.

16:00

1.53mi

Day 743

A good, steady run today. I decided to just hit it at 6.5mph and it felt fine.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 742

A run with Delaney, heading down the road. We were pressed for time, so it wasn’t fast, or long.

14:15

1.25mi

It’s not the running

This whole year of 2010 it’s felt like my body was beat up, especially the legs. My knee has ached since Jan 1, though I can write that off to old age, a lack of rest, and a crash snowboarding on that date. It’s gotten better, though it seems like I continually do something to tweak it. The right ankle has rolled 3 times over the year, so almost as soon as it heals, I seem to hurt it again. Lots of chores have made my back sore a number of times.

The other day I woke up with a sore ankle; sore enough that I limped around for a few hours in the morning, wondering how the run would go. I felt better, and made it through the run, though I was sore. I wrote that off to karate the night before and was hoping that I was correct.

However the next day I woke up feeling fine. No pain, no soreness. And no karate the night before.

I think over two years I’ve learned to really listen to and respect my body, not just bullying my way through a run every day. I had major doubts I could really run for a year when I started, but I have proved to myself that it’s possible and your body can handle it.

If I can do it, I think most people can.

Day 741

A nice day outside, and since it feels like the weather might turn soon, I took advantage and headed outside for a nice lunch run.

I took it slow, just jogging along and not pushing too hard. The legs were slightly sore, as was the back after a full day of chores, so I tried to listen to my body and just jog along.

21:11

2.02mi

Day 740

A short one today, early, with a day full of chores ahead of me.

14:00

1.34mi

Day 739

A flaky sensor today that I couldn't get to work, so I ignored.

A good steady run, not too fast, not too slow. A slightly sore knee afterwards.

14:00
1.33mi

Day 738

I hit the treadmill again, trying to get done quickly. I also cut off the monitor at 14:00 without including my cool down walk, so the numbers are skewed slightly. I felt great, and cruised the whole time at 6.5, feeling good.

14:00

1.41mi

Day 737

A nice steady run today, inside to save time.

16:00

1.56mi

Day 736

Back outside, a beautiful day. Or so it seemed. I struggle with these days that are warm when there's no wind, but a little chilly when there is. I had a bunch of gusts run through me as I ran

21:21
2.16mi

Day 735

 I waited for Delaney to run after school, but we were pressed for time, and of course, he got Halo Reach, so he wanted to hit the treadmill and use the minimum time possible. So I was stuck there as well, trying to knock out a quick one and get some chores done.

I felt OK, but decided that I shouldn't push it every time I do and did a quick one.

14:00
1.33

Keeping Pace

When I run on the treadmill, it reports me as slightly faster than Nike +. That varies depending on the pace I keep, but it's typically slower.

Recently I had two runs that were almost the same distance. About the same time as well. One was 2.14mi, the other 2.17. One in, one out. One was 22:00, the other 21:47. Yet the first felt like I was working harder on the treadmill, and I probably was. My guess is that the Nike + doesn't handle that quick pace, and the treadmill recorded me at closed to a 2.3 mi distance.

However it was nice to see that I keep a good pace according to the Nike+ outside.

Day 734

A nice day, cool, no wind, an easy run outside with slightly sore knees.

19:46
1.87mi

Day 733

A long day with kids, so a nice run to perk me up.

18:00

1.73mi

Day 732

A quick one today. Legs were a little tired, so didn’t push too much

14:00

1.34mi

Day 731

Starting year 3.

A decent run, not too hard, not too easy.

16:04

1.52mi

Day 730

A milestone day, so despite the wind, I headed out for a nice job down the road. I was a little tired, so I drove up to the top of our hill and then ran fairly level around. A beautiful day, somewhat sheltered from the wind.

The legs were tired, and a little sore from the pounding, but just aching. No pains.

21:42
2.17mi

Two Years

730 days, in rough calendar count. I feel like I've really done something (again).

I started this streak on Sept 10, 2008 and it's still going. I am amazed.

Day 729

Too windy to head outside, I had a nice run on the treadmill, cruising along at 6.5 for the whole run.

22:00
2.14mi

Day 728

A short treadmill run with a gale outside blowing. I felt great, but didn’t push things far. Did go faster than I have on previous days. Kept a 6.5mph pace for a lot of the run.

14:01

1.34mi

Day 727

An early morning outside jog with my son. Cruising down the road at his pace. Some running in place while he walked, but not a lot.

20:49

1.84mi

Day 726

Feeling a little sore and beat up after chores. Trying to take it easy.

14:00

1.32mi

Day 725

An early morning run, knocking out time on the treadmill with a busy day of chores ahead.
16:01
1.51mi

Day 724

A beautiful day, and a good outside run. Enjoyed a nice cruise down the gravel road.

19:00

1.97mi

Day 723

Too windy to go outside, so a nice treadmill run today.

16:01

1.54mi

Day 722

Knocked one off on the treadmill. Felt great, and cruised along.

16:00

1.56mi

Day 721

A strange run today. Tia wanted to go with me, but she wasn’t motivated, and was tired. So she walked a bit, and that had me jogging in place quite a bit. Based on pace and steps, the Nike + listed me at 2.49mi, but a bunch in place. I guess we covered about 1.5-1.7mi linearly.

33:00

2.49mi

Day 720

Felt great, hit the treadmill with a very windy day outside.

16:00

1.55mi

Day 719

Tired today, struggling with a run after cutting grass and chores all day.

21:46

2.01mi

Day 718

Stiff back, tired, I did a lunch run to wake up, but tried to take it easy.

14:00

1.27mi

Day 717

A nice, steady run today. Most everything felt good.

16:00

1.48mi

Day 716

Felt much better, cruised at a good speed on the treadmill (time crunch)

16:00

1.54mi

Day 715

Feeling much better. Went outside for a 2 miler and only slightly sore.

21:37

2.09mi

Day 714

Still trying to heal from baseball and karate last week.

14:01

1.30mi

Nike + Reset

When I changed shoes recently, and moved the Nike + sensor from one of my old shoes to the new ones, it didn’t connect. And, of course, I didn’t check before I walked out the door for a run. I spent a couple minutes trying to get it to connect before I just took off without having any tracking.

When I got back, I pulled out the insert, and the sensor, and then clicked the button on the sensor. It’s on the bottom, away from the Nike + logo. When I then tried to start a run, the iPod picked it up right away.

Little trick that made me wish I’d taken 2 minutes outside before the run to try it.

Day 713

Feeling a little sore after the weekend. Took it very easy.

14:00

1.33mi

Day 712

A light one, with my second baseball game in two days coming up.

14:01

1.31mi

Day 711

Shorter run with baseball this afternoon. Still sore, but feeling better. I think I’m finally healing up.

14:01

1.28mi

Day 710

Treadmill running today, late in the afternoon. Felt good, but didn’t push it since I was sore from karate.

14:03

1.34mi

Day 709

A quick one, not pushing too hard with a karate belt test tonight. I felt much better today running.

16:00

1.47mi

Day 708

It’s a busy week. I was a wreck today with lots of work and stuff from work, so I didn’t really have much of a run. No karate, but I didn’t feel like running and struggled through this one.

22:12

2.16mi

Day 707

Another treadmill with a time crunch happening

18:07

1.74mi

Day 706

Back home, hitting the treadmill to get this done quickly with some iffy weather outside.

16:00

1.52mi

It’s the Journey

I saw this on the 37 Signals blog as “I’ve already got the prize" and found it to be both true, and a little annoying. It refers to the Nobel Peace Prize, who Richard Feynman is apparently in consideration for.

The speaker comes across a little arrogant, and a bit of an ass, but what he's saying makes sense. He’s not necessarily a fun guy to be around, but I think many brilliant people, especially teachers and researchers, aren’t.
However he’s saying that the journey, the fact that you are learning and figuring things out, is what’s important. It’s not the award, it’s not being a part of some group that recognizes your efforts that’s important.
I agree with that. I’ve run lots of races, and while I’ve never won one (or even been close), the feeling of being able to complete the race, the marathon, etc., pales in comparison to many of the days that I’ve felt wonderful after pushing myself through a run.
Heck, some of the days that I’ve really struggled to run, those days where I haven’t set a personal best, or even run well, but I’ve made a huge effort to just get through it. Those are the runs that often stick out in my mind. They make me feel that I achieved something.
Even when no one else is around.

Day 705

My last day in Baton Rouge. Got up early to jog easy around University Lake for the last time this year. I’ll miss the humidity of running at sea level.

The knee is sore, 3 days in a row of pounding on pavement and cement, and I need a break. Back to gravel next week.

25:00

2.15mi

Day 704

I had to work all day, and then events at night, so I fit this one in between, an early evening run around University Lake at LSU again. I felt pressure to hurry, but I did enjoy the time around the lake.

18:39

1.78mi

Day 703

In Baton Rouge for work, with a nice run around part of University Lake at LSU. I like running in the heat.
17:02
1.69mi

Day 702

Quick one while my daughter was a volleyball with a sore right knee
14:01
1.28mi

Day 701

A quick one as time got away from me today, but I felt great. Kept up a steady 6.4mph, a slight edge over the 6.3mph I've often run at most days on the treadmill. Trying to work back up to more speed and more mileage.

16:01
1.54mi

Day 700

A milestone! All day in the mountains with the kids, then a nice, easy, steady run for day 700

20:00
1.91

Running Healthy

I’ve been running every day for almost two years. Someone recently asked me how I managed to stay healthy that long and keep running. My answer surprised them:

“I didn’t”

I haven’t been healthy for two years. As I write this, I have a tight lower back on the left side, and a sore right ankle that I rolled twice in the last month.

If you plan on running every day, you’re going to have to run with some injuries. You are going to run in pain. The sore ankles, tired feet, allergies, colds, headaches, pulled hamstrings, and other maladies are going to afflict you.

That doesn’t mean you run through anything. There are a few times when I have thought I’d have to stop because of injury. I’ve gone out and moved slowly, testing the injury and making a decision every 20-30sec if I should stop. So far none of them have been that severe, and I’ve managed to muddle through some slow runs.

Don’t let injury necessarily stop you, but modify what you do, pay attention, and if you are getting worse, stop. You’ll definitely prolong healing times, but I have been amazed how much more in touch with my body I am and how I’ve run through injuries over a few weeks.

Day 699

My back was sore last night. After the run, and a couple swings at the plate, it tightened up. I had to stop batting during the game because of it. It was better today, but I didn't push things. I had a massage before this, which helped, and then jogged along.

14:00
1.29

Day 698

 I was supposed to run with Delaney, but he slept in, so I knocked out a quick one before baseball. The legs were still tired, and the back was tight, but it loosened up on the treadmill as I ran along.

16:00
1.52

Day 697

Today was a struggle. After working on fence all afternoon, it started to sprinkle and I came in for a short one before dinner. I pounded in t-posts all day and my legs were tired. I would feel it in each step as I joggd through.

14:02
1.27mi

Day 696

I was all set to run with Delaney, but it started to rain, so we took turns on the treadmill. I pushed him and then had a good run. My left calf was a little tight or I would have pushed harder. No right leg pain (yeah!)

16:00
1.51mi

Day 695

A good run, but quick. On the treadmill as I had errands to run.

16:00
1.54mi

Day 694

The knee is much better, an almost normal run today.

16:00
1.53mi

Day 693

Outside, training with Delaney. Slow, but good for him. He ran more, ate better beforehand, and took short breaks. He had a few of them, but they were all 5-10sec breaks before continuing on.

My knee was still sore, and I think I must have banged it Sat since it feels bruised. It was a little tough to start, but I jogged fairly straight-legged and that worked.

22:01
1.77mi

Day 692

 A sore knee after a long weekend. A short treadmill run

14:00
1.34mi

New Shoes

Got some new running shoes yesterday, which were sorely needed. My old ones were in bad shape, with the heal fabric starting to rip on both of them. I probably should have replaced them months ago, but I had been running a decent amount in my trail shoes, and on gravel, so I kept putting this off.

I switched to try the Nike Pegasus brand last year and I liked them. They were the first shoes I tried on yesterday, they felt good, so I went with them. No need to mess around and try others since these have worked well.

Now it’s time to get Delaney out there and get running before I head to baseball today.

Day 691

A morning run, but a rough one for Delaney. He didn’t eat enough and struggled to get going. He did push on and finish with a good jog. No Nike+, but I jogged next to him and using mapping software, have a 1.46mi run

~21:00

1.46mi

Day 690

Knocking out a short one before karate. Went a little faster, and the ankle felt good.

16:00
1.55mi

Day 689

My shoes were still wet from yesterday’s soaking, so I used the spare shoes. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the Nike + sensor out, so I just hit the treadmill. I wanted a quick, easy one, and didn’t think I should challenge the rain twice this week.

I felt great, no pain, no ankle issues, but I kept things in control, not pushing too hard.

16:00

1.51mi

Day 688

Delaney and I headed out on a training run, with a few drops of rain coming down. It’s Colorado and we didn’t think much, but about a third of a mile in, it started to rain pretty good. We got to .5 and turned around, but it opened up on us and soaked us.

I jogged in place for a few minutes, protecting him from the hail, but it got to be too much, so he hid under a tree while I raced to the car and came to get him.

Actually a fun run.

22:00

1.25mi

Can I Run This

There's a Rock and Roll Marathon and 1/2 coming to Denver. Not many things have tempted me, but this one does. I wonder if I can up training a little and knock out 13 miles.

I think I'll see how the ankle does in August as I finish baseball and decide. If I feel like I can get up to a 6 miler once a week, maybe I'll give it a go.

Day 687

I struggled to run today. It wasn’t physically hard, and I wasn’t breathing hard, but I could not concentrate or get going. This was a tough one.

16:07

1.55mi

Day 686

My son struggled running today, and so I had a lot of running in place, pacing his walk, as we tried to knock out close to 2 miles.

22:51

1.83mi

Day 685

On the road, a slow run for me, trying to knock it out around work. The ankle felt OK on this one after taking it easy for a few days.

17:16

1.65mi

Day 684

Slow one, early, with my son

26:10

1.88mi

Day 683

Off down the road and trail with my wife. A slow, fun run.

22:20

1.80mi

Day 682

Family in town, rain threatening, a quick treadmill time.

16:01

1.47mi

Day 681

I was all set to run outside with Delaney, but it started to rain this afternoon. So I hit the treadmill, going for a short one, albeit a touch faster today.

16:00

1.49mi

Day 680

I felt much better today, after relaxing and not doing much last night. Another treadmill run with a wet gravel road outside, but I went a little further at a steady pace.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 679

A slow one on the treadmill with a sore ankle. It felt OK running, but I’m trying to heal up.

14:01

1.28mi

Running in the Desert

I had planned on just working in treadmill jogs around our activities in Vegas, but at $25 a day for the fitness center I decided not to. So I ended up trying to figure out where to run.

The first day, around 3:30, I decided to try going down Las Vegas Blvd thinking it would be like London and I could get down the street. No way, only slightly less busy than at night and too hard to move. I finally ended up on Flamingo, near the hotel with this name and went about .5mi down it with little foot traffic.

So that became my route, from the Bellagio, down Flamingo, then turning behind Planet Hollywood down to the next block, about a mile out, mile back.

And warm. Glad I was drinking water before hand. 20 minutes in 105F weather is rough and I always came back very thirsty.

Day 678

Ankle is sore again. Seems like an every other day thing as it gets better and then I start to use it again. Went for another short treadmill run.

14:00

1.31

Day 677

Just before baseball I ran a short treadmill run.

14:02

1.29mi

Day 676

Back outside. The ankle felt better, and I wanted to enjoy the warm day. Felt OK, but a slow, steady run

20:17

2.01mi

Day 675

Another short one on a bum ankle.

14:00

1.35mi

Day 674

Took it much easier last night at karate and then ice. The ankle feels pretty good today. Didn’t push my luck

14:00

1.35mi

Day 673

Feeling better today. A night off last night, and some ice helped.

I ran without much pain today, though the ankle was a little sore after.

14:00

1.34mi

Day 672

Still sore, and after karate, the ankle feels slightly worse today. Limped through a short one.

12:00

1.19mi

Day 671

Sore. A rolled ankle, sore back, and a little more today. I was beat up from a weekend baseball game.

14:00

1.33mi

Action Pocket Mounting

I hadn’t had good reading from the Action Pocket in which I keep the Nike + sensor for a few days. It seems like quite often the reciever doesn’t pick anything up. At first I thought the sensor was dying, but then I looked at the pocket.

I’d moved it from shoe to show, depending on where I was running, and the last few times I’d run, it was high up on the laces, near the tie, and flopping around a bit. I thought that might be an issue, so I lowered it down further on the laces, closer to the toes.

And it worked.

The last run I did, I had my iPhone mapping the time and distance with GPS, and the Nike + on my waist. The runs were:

iPhone: 3.59mi

Nike+ 3.67

Given the hills I was going up, that’s acceptable error for me.

Mounting is important. A good lesson to learn.

Day 670

Slightly sore neck, and baseball later, so I just went on a short one. The ankle felt better, so I did most of it at 6.6mph, and it felt great.

Other than the neck being a little tight.

14:03

1.38mi

Day 669

Sore ankle, so I didn’t go long, but I pushed a touch on speed.
16:00
1.47mi

Day 668

Another run on the trail with my son. Slow and steady, though I did get him to pick up the pace a bit.
20:14
1.39mi

Day 667

Back home, wet outside, so a quick treadmill one. And, of course, forgot to start the Nike + . Grrrr

16:00
1.54mi

Barefoot Running

An interesting article on barefoot running and an increase in injuries from it. It definitely makes me reconsider trying to run in my Five Fingers.

I ran in mine once, about 2 or 3 months after I got them. I hit the treadmill for a short run, and found myself slapping the deck. I couldn’t find a way to get “light on my feet” and that was the last time I ran in them.

I live on gravel roads, and with scrub that has lots of stickers in places. I walked around the yard one day, up the driveway (0.25mi) and decided that the rocks and scrub weren’t suited to barefoot running. There are some trails a short drive away, but after my treadmill experience I gave up on running.

However once the weather gets warm, I find myself wearing the five fingers often. I wear them most days, walk around town, and they seem to make my arches stronger. After getting them last year and wearing them for a month, after 2-3 weeks of short duration break in, I thought my arches were stronger. I noticed that my cleats bothered me less and my feet felt better on Monday after baseball.

It’s hard to test, but I played two games this year and my feet were sore on Mon. The weather warmed up, I wore the Five Fingers for 2 weeks before the next game, and my feet felt fine the Monday after playing. Not scientific, but I noticed it.

I don’t know if I’d recommend running in them or not. I know some friends do, but I haven’t really experimented, and not sure I will. However read the article, and decide for yourself.

Day 663

A long one, to celebrate the holiday. Not fast, just a steady pace down the road, enjoying a nice hot day.

37:52

3.59mi

Day 662

Sore neck, and a sore ankle. I twisted my ankle slightly at the end of my run yesterday and it was sore today. Treadmill, nice and slow.

14:03

1.3mi

Day 661

My neck hurt, but it was a hot, non-windy day and I decided to just jog down the road. No dogs, nothing, so I drove to the mailbox, and then headed down. I forgot my headphones, but was nicely lost in my thoughts. A good run for me.

Once again the Nike + didn’t work. I think I have the pocket too high, too lose.

21:21

2.05mi

Day 660

A sore neck today, so I hit the treadmill, a short one, but good speed.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 659

A nice run today, cruising along, feeling great. Trying to get at the 9:00/mi pace for the running part.

20:00

1.99mi

Day 658

Back on the trail with Delaney. He had no energy and was struggling, so a lot of jogging in place for me.

Nike + didn’t start, so I’m estimating a little low.

24:00
1.4mi

Nike + Reliability

I had been getting slack about syncing my Nike + on the iPod to the Nike+ site. With a week long trip, I synced it up once, but then didn’t mess with it again when I got home for a week.

I went to sync it and then it reported as corrupted, so I rebooted it. Then I synced again and it worked, but it missed the last two days. Fortunately I remembered the days, with some notes in the blog, but it bothered me. If it had been a couple of weeks, I’d have had no idea.

The Nike+ system is pretty cool, but it seems that the software has given me some flakiness on my iPod Nano (4th Gen). It seems to not sync sometimes, and then it reports as corrupted. It also doesn’t always seem to save my Nike+ data right away. A reboot sometimes fixes it, but it just worries my at times. It has worked well for a few months, so I have gotten lazy, but this was a good reminder to sync every other day at least.

Day 657

A really good run. Pushed for most of the run at 6.6mph and felt great.

20:00
1.94mi

Day 656

Not much of a run today with baseball in the afternoon. Just got through a short one on the treadmill since I was pressed for time.

 

14:12

1.3mi

Day 655

A short run, with baseball tomorrow and crazy wind outside.

16:00

1.5mi

Day 654

Again inside, the legs tired after a long running week for me. I tried to just cruise easy.

16:00

1.47mi

Day 653

Back inside, trying to take it a little easy today.

20:00

1.85mi

Day 652

Another great run outside today. This time from the house, down the trail, and back with my wife. Felt great, no out of breath as I jogged at her pace.

33:31

2.74mi

Day 651

A cruise outside down the trail with Delaney. We had a good run, going down the road at the end a little, and with very little rest for him and a nice kick at the end that got me working hard as well.

22:04

1.76mi

Day 650

Cruising along, a nice run today for day 650 with my wife down the trail

29:22

2.24mi

Recalibration

I noticed that the Nike+ doesn’t adjust well to changing pace, and needs recalibration. If I run at around 11:00/mi pace, it seems to record high. If I run quicker, more like a 9:30/mi pace, it records slower.

I think moving it from the shoe pocket to the shoelaces means that I need to re-run some calibrations. I’ll rerun the walk and run calibrations at the track and see how it goes.

Day 649

Early morning karate run around the track. Warm, but a nice breeze. Delaney did better, still walking a bit after 1mi down, but I cruised along, never breathing hard. Quite a bit of jogging in place, or jogging slow to stay with Delaney.

30:41

2.63mi

Day 648

A short one today, just taking it easy. Everything feeling good except my right toe pad. A little sore.

22:02

2.0mi

Day 647

A late afternoon run, cruising down the road by myself. Everything felt great, not pushing too hard, just enjoying the day.

28:26

2.84mi

Day 646

Out with my son, cruising down the trail again. A shorter run to help him build endurance and strength.

19:58

1.47mi

Day 645

Too windy to mess with outside, to another treadmill run. Felt great, pushed a little to try and increase speed/distance, but not too hard.

18:01

1.81mi

Day 644

My wife wanted me to run, so we went outside, cruising down the road and horse trail a bit. It’s relatively flat and I felt great at her pace. No wind issues at all, felt strong, like I could run all day.

36:40

2.85mi

Day 643

Another good run, trying to get up to 2mi a day. Felt good, but used the cho-pat strap on the right knee as it’s slightly achey.

1.77mi

18:00

The loop

I bought a shoe loop for the Nike + sensor since I got some shoes that didn’t have the slot for the sensor in the sole. I attached it, pried the sensor out of my other shoe, and put it on. I was slightly worried it wouldn’t register, but it did, keeping pace about like it did in the base of the shoe.

I got an Action Pocket that was $10 and it holds the sensor in a small front pocket, and then velcro loops to shoelaces. It makes it easy for me to move the sensor to either pair of shoes, which I like.

Here it is on my trail shoes:

Day 642

No baseball, so I hit it a little harder. I pushed today to do the pace I need to get my son to for his karate run. A 9:00 mile for 2 miles. I had some walking at the beginning, but I pushed the pace and was about 15sec slow.

22:00

2.19mi

Day 641

Another miserable, rainy day. With the chance of baseball, I took it light today. Some longs runs lately and while I felt fine, I didn’t want to push it.

16:00

1.53mi

Day 640

All day in a seminar, then getting home late. Pounded out one on the treadmill instead of fighting rain. This one was hard.

20:00

2.0mi

Day 639

The iPod was dead, so I couldn't capture metrics. A map on mapmyrun.com gave me mileage, but I went further since there were some times when Delaney had to walk and I jogged slow alongside him, in place quite a bit. It was a slow one, but I wanted to stick with Delaney and give him motivation. Time was a guess

25:00
1.63mi

Day 638

Easy one in the afternoon after flying back from New Orleans.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 637

A late afternoon run. Annoyed since I was in a hurry and all the treadmills were in use, 4 of the 6 by people walking.

Grrrr

But I lifted a touch, then stretched, and got one since I was already in there. I had a decent run, cruising easily, not out of breath at 6.2 for most of the run, but my lower back, right side, all of a sudden got a pain around 17:00. I toughed it to 18 and walked, but it’s sore. I must have slightly pulled or strained something.

Lungs, legs, felt great.

20:00

1.9mi

A Fellow Runner

I noticed this blog post from a fellow SQL guy and thought it was pretty cool. He has a different focus, but he's running well and doing races, which I think I need to add into my routine. No reason that I can't get out every couple months and do a race or two.

I want to do the July 4 one locally near hear. Either the Palmer Lake one of the Firecracker 5K. I need to check the schedule and see what other one I can fit in, and get Delaney to run as well.

Day 636

Up early before a conference, hitting the health club for a quick run.

18:00

1.67

Day 635

Planning on a long day, traveling across 3 states to New Orleans, so up early to run. I never know what might happen on a trip, so if possible, Irun early.

Felt good on the treadmill, a nice steady run.

18:00

1.7mi

Day 634

A long day for work expected, with two presentations, so I set my alarm early, and hit the treadmill.

18:00

1.65mi

Day 633

Pounding the pavement in Pensacola on a work trip in the afternoon. It wasn’t too hot, but it was humid and I did sweat a bit, but it was run to run alongside the airport at sea level.

21:00

2:07

Day 632

The family run, cruising down the road. I felt great, alternating pushing to keep up with my daughter on her bike, and slowing down to be with everyone else. A good run.

20:36

1.91mi

Day 631

I went for a jog around the block before karate. I know there’s a one mile track there and I had my Nike + going, but it died as I was ending the run. Not sure why, but it rebooted and it looks like it didn’t record anything.

My guess is that I was at 14:00, about 1.3mi since that was about where I was as I stopped the timer.

I hadn’t eaten enough, and felt hungry before this. I had a powerbar gel pack, and that helped, but right after this when karate started, I was gassed. No energy.

Day 630

My wife wanted to run early, so I went with her. She did a 20 minute Body for Life run, which is a series of pyramids, but her slow jogs were really slow. I ended up with some jogging in place, though I would bet we covered 1.5mi in linear distance.

24:00

1.95mi

Running at Incline

I usually run on the treadmill at a 2.0 incline. That’s probably a touch low for the hill as I leave my ranch, but it’s a decent incline that helps keep me in shape. I worry about running too much higher.

However my son used the treadmill recently and I ran outside a bit, and when I came back to the treadmill one day, it felt funny. It felt like I was running downhill. Sure enough, I checked, and the incline was 0.0, which is slightly downhill on some treadmills.

I fixed it and everything felt fine, but it reminds me how far I’ve come. I used to run at 0.5, or 1.0 and struggle to run a mile and a half. Now I bang one out without thinking.

Day 629

Back outside, this time trailing the family as they rode bikes. I tried to race through this one to get it done so I could get on a bike. Just a short jog along the trail.

15:02

1.46mi

Day 628

A group run, on the track, helping my son get ready for his karate test. We jogged 8 laps, 2 miles, but he needed to walk a bit, so I jogged on place with him through some quarter laps, trying to keep him motivated. Not sure how accurate the distance is, but it was north of 2 miles. I was jogging/running the whole time.

28:57

2.54

Day 627

 

Too windy outside, so a quick treadmill run.

16:00

1.54mi

Day 626

A late run, and too big a lunch during errands. I struggled to run, almost feeling nauseous as I made it a bit up the road.

20:04

1.86mi

Day 625

It wasn’t too windy, and it was warm, so I got the kids outside with me. We drove up to the mailbox and then we jogged down the road. It was slow going, the kids walking a bunch and me running in place beside them. I think I covered 1.5 lateral miles, but 2.0 by running in place more.

24:00

2.19mi

Day 624

Too windy to go outside. My ankles felt good, but I took it easy.

16:00

1.47mi

Day 623

Another windy day, chilly too. A late afternoon run, taking it easy on the ankles.

16:00

1.45mi

More Motivation

I've been coasting a bit. No reason to stop running, but no real motivation to keep going. Hitting 600 days was cool, but what's next, 700?

I did find a bit of motivation that might get me to 750 or so, and then perhaps I can push to 1000. My son has a black belt test at the end of this year, at least that's the schedule. One of the requirements is that he needs to run 2 miles in 18:00 or better. He's not ready, so we've started to try and run twice a week, building up some endurance, and speed in his body and get him ready. It's not everyday, but it gives me some motivation to keep pushing as I try and get him to be a better runner.

Day 622

Sore ankles after baseball, so a short cruising run.

16:00

1.50mi

Day 621

A morning run, before baseball, on the track at a high school with the karate crew. It was supposed to be a 2 mi run, but I shortened it since I was late and wanted to hang out with people.

1.73

20:12

About 5 minutes of this was walking with people.

Day 620

Another inside run with wind blowing outside like crazy.

16:00

1.57mi

Day 619

Had to get a quick one done before the grad party. Did it inside since the wind is crazy outside.

14:00

1.39mi

Day 618

Family in town, had to bust out a run outside before heading out to a kid’s party. Felt great outside.

20:35

1.98 mi

Day 617

A quick run around some chores.

16:00min

1.51mi

Day 616

1.51mi
16:00
A nice, steady run today.

Five Fingers

I've broken out my Five Fingers shoes for the warmer months, wearing them around as I go about life. After having not worn them for months, probably since early November, it was strange to put them on again, but they felt fine and I adapted quickly.

I haven't run in them, though I might give it a try a few times this summer. I do think that it has helped me feet get stronger. In karate, baseball, everything they just seem to be able to stand up a little better to the activity. I highly recommend them for runners, at least if you can wear casual shoes most days.

Day 615

It was nice outside, warm, not too much sun, so I headed out for an easy one, the right ankle sore. I struggled to get going, with a jog uphill on uneven gravel that was bugging the ankle, but as I got to a level area, and software sand, it felt OK. Still achey, but it numbed up a little and didn’t hurt.

I don’t have a great place to run short, so I went further than I wanted, but I didn’t want to push it too hard.

23:00

2.15mi

Day 614

A sore ankle today and after a baseball game, I struggled a bit. Went slower, for longer, to get through it. I should have run outside, but I was trying to get it done quicker without worrying about footing.

20:00

1.69mi

Day 613

A long day of chores, of getting things done around the house, and then I had to knock this our quickly before we headed out at night.

16:00

1.45mi

Day 612

A nice steady run today.

16:00

1.52

Day 611

Nothing planned tonight, so I cruised along on a run, getting up there for some quicker intervals.

16:00

1.55mi

Day 610

I felt much better today, almost no illness left. I sped up a bit more, trying to push things, though the Nike + didn't reflect that. It seems that the faster I go, the higher the error rate on it. Likely needs a higher speed calibration.

Still I did a couple intervals at higher speeds, pushing a bit more to a Body For Life run, which I might shoot for this summer. Working for a 20 minute interval.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 609

I was thinking that we'd do a double karate class tonight, but I still pushed a little harder on the treadmill with it being windy and chilly outside. I did a couple faster intervals at 7mph as well that felt good.

16:00
1.50mi

Day 608

No karate tonight, so I cruised along on an easy run. I wasn't feeling good with a cold, so I didn't push things.

16:20
1.48mi

Running While Ill

Today I woke up with a little bit of a cold. My throat was slightly sore, my nose running a touch. I had chores to do in the yard, but with wind outside I bailed quickly.

I needed to run, and I was glad my son wasn't interested in running outside. Today was a day to run together, but since he was willing to treadmill it, so did I.

I pushed hard, a good speedy run, a slightly higher pace, but I felt worn out. Even though my legs weren't tired when I decided to slow down, I did since I felt done. Even afterward, I don't have that charge of energy. My guess is that I am about to get sick for a couple days and need to take it easy.

Day 607

I was going to run with Delaney outside today, but it's windy, and I'm feeling a little sick. So a good push on the treadmill.

18:00
1.69mi

Day 606

I had about 20 minutes to slam this one in before we left for the day, so I hurried along. No Nike+ Sensor (grr), so I went on the treadmill.

14:00min
1.39mi

Day 605

Another outside run. A little chilly and windy, but I felt better, cruising up the hills easily.

20:00

1.95mi

Day 604

Outside today, it was a little chilly and windy, but not bad. I struggled to get up and down the hill out front today.

26:00

2.4mi

Day 603

Tired legs, with karate tonight. Took it short.

14:00

1.29mi

Day 602

A nice cruise today, still inside with lots of wind outside

16:00min

1.46mi

I Hate the Wind

I was all set to run outside at lunch today and when I went upstairs to change, I could hear the wind howling against the windows and see trees swaying pretty good.

So much for outside in that weather. Apart from annoying me, it makes my eyes dry and sore.

Day 601

I felt great, so I went a little further today, despite being crunched for time. Too windy to run outside, and too cold, so I hit the treadmill again.

18:00

1.68mi

6 Centuries

I made it to day 600 today. Quite the milestone for me and I was looking forward to it. I had a quite morning, up late, and was trying to decide how to tackle the day. With a noon baseball game, I decided to try and run before we played.  Just to be safe. I haven’t gotten too hurt during a game, but it would stuck to stop at 599.

I arrived a touch early, and took off around the high school grounds, a nice jog on a chilly, windy morning. It was one long lap and then a couple of laps around the parking lot before I decided to stop and get ready to play.

Not a great run for the milestone, but a run nevertheless.

Day 600

Another milestone. A light jog before baseball

13:25

1.30mi

Day 599

A quick one this afternoon, hungry, tired, a long day with kids.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 598

A nice run today, cruising in the afternoon before kid errands.
16:00
1.59mi

Day 597

Bad weather outside, so a quicker run on the treadmill. Felt great.

18:00

1.59mi

Day 596

With karate coming, had a relaxed run today. Not pushing too hard and everything felt good.

16:00

1.47mi

Day 595

Outside for a slightly longer run in good weather.

18:00

1.73mi

Day 594

A nice cruise today.

16:00

1.52mi

Day 593

A pre-baseball run, taking it easy so I didn’t end up exhausted on the field.

16:00

1.49mi

Day 592

Up early to run before a camping trip. Felt good to get going early.

16:00
1.47mi

Day 591

A nice coasting run today, with snow on the ground outside.

18:00
1.69mi

Day 590

A sore neck, took it easy today.

14:00
1.27mi

Day 589

It hurt, and I had to run with one arm grabbing across my body, holding onto my shirt to prevent too much movement, but I managed to complete Day 589

14:00

1.27mi

This is going to hurt

I woke up with a sore neck, pain going up and down my back. After a morning in bed with a heating pad and ibuprofen, I feel better, so I’m going to run.

I know this isn’t something serious. I have muscles that have grown tightly around nerves in my neck, nothing wrong, but when I strain myself or clench the shoulders too tight, the nerve pinches, and it hurts. Usually for a couple days.

Day 588

The legs were OK, but the ankle is sore. Not sure why, but I am guessing the strain of baseball on Sun hurt it.

16:00
1.47mi

Day 587

Sore legs today, especially ankles and a slightly tweaked knee. But it was beautiful outside, so I went for a lunch run, cruising down the road to the bus stop.

23:11
2.02mi

Day 586

A run with Delaney. I convinced him to get out and run, with his black belt test likely later this year and the need for him to run 2mi in 20:00 min, he put on shoes and went up the road with me.

It was a slow jog for me, but he worked pretty good up to the bus stop, about .75 miles. Then I went down another .25 miles while he rested. He struggled on the way back, so I did a lot of in place running to keep pace with him. I motivated him to alternate walking and jogging back, so it was a good workout for him.

I read 2.01mi in 26:49, with a walk back up the driveway that I cut off.

After baseball, I needed a nice slow run.

Day 585

Before karate, a quick run. Hopefully I’m not worn out in the next hour.

14:00min

1.3mi

Day 584

Field trip day, so my schedule was off, and my eating was off today. I had to wait and run after I got back, trying to get it done before a night with the kids.

16:00

1.48mi

Day 583

Snowboarding all morning, where I tweaked my knee, but after the drive home, it was a nice run for me. A good pace, getting up to 7mph for a minute.

16:00
1.48mi

Day 582

A short one, with a meeting starting in 15 minutes, I started the run, but had to cut it short to get back to the phone.

13:00
1.2mi

Day 581

Feeling better, but still sore joints from the hard weekend. A short, slow jog today.

14:00

1.27mi

Day 580

Sore, sore, sore. The legs are sore. Not hurt, but definitely sore.

16:00min

1.44mi

Day 579

Baseball, and then time to run. This one was hard. I went outside, and cruised around the gravel, with tired and sore legs.

But as with many other runs, I felt better about moving, and by the end I was cruising along quickly, a sub 9-minute pace for the last 1/2 mile.

20:00

1.80mi

Day 578

I spent almost all day on chores, plus karate at lunch. I walked in at 6:00, thinking I might shower and go to dinner with my wife, but remembered I needed to run. This one was a struggle, with tired legs and tired body.

Still, I ran a nice steady, though short, 6.2mph.

14:00
1.26mi

Day 577

A quick one after getting off the airplane this afternoon.
14:00
1.41mi

Day 576

I was supposed to have a late lunch with a friend. I was thinking 1:30-2:00 while I was in Seattle. So I got there, changed into running clothes, and was working a bit. At 12:30 my phone rang and he said he'd be by in 20-25 minutes.

Yikes!

I ran down the hall, went from the 11th to the 4th floor, found a treadmill, and hit it at 5mph at first, then going up to 7mph for most of the run to try and get done quickly.

13:00mi
1.29mi

Day 575

A nice run on the treadmill, with snow outside. I managed to get up to 7mph for a few minutes and felt great.

20:00min

1.92mi

Day 574

A nice run today, late, but cruising along.

16:00

1.51mi

Day 573

I was going to run outside, but got delayed and the wind kicked up. I hate wind. So I cruised along on the treadmill today.

18:00

1.69mi

Day 572

A long day skiing followed by a short run. I am beat.

14:00

1.28mi

Day 571

After a light baseball practice, I decided to pound out a run. Everything felt good, no sore knees, and without cho-pat straps, I did 20 minutes. Felt great and cruised easily.

20:00
1.91mi

Day 570

A standard 16min, but slightly quicker today. Cruised at 6.5 for a bunch of it. I felt great, but decided not to push too hard since the legs have been sore.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 569

It’s sunny outside, but cool. And a little windy and no desire to run out there, so more treadmill time. Likely will move outside soon and start enjoying running outside.

16:00

1.58mi

Pounding Pavement

I spent 5 days in London, running each morning while the family slept, pounding down Totenham Court Road and around Oxford Circus. It was interesting to run in the city, and not too bad. I could have tubed over to some other spot, maybe Regent's Park, but since I wasn't sure of our plans and didn't want to be carrying money around, I just headed out from the flat for runs that could be done quickly.

However I could feel it. My legs are tired after a few runs back at home.

Day 568

Tired, still jet lagged, legs feeling the pavement. Managed to get in a short one in the afternoon.

16:00

1.48mi

Day 567

So I got up at 5am GMT, and then chased the sun, arriving in Denver at 5:00pm MDT. By the time I started to run, it was about 8pm, so more than 24 hours later, but the same day for me. I was exhausted, but hit the treadmill and felt a little better.

1.44mi

16:00

Day 566

It was raining when I got up late today. So I hung out a bit, drank water, and stretched. Then I decided to just try it, and fortunately it was down to a light sprinkle as I hit the pavement. More puddles, and I finished with a wet sock.

16:00

1.54mi

Day 565

Cooler today, and some rain sprinkling, but took off on my “normal” route again in London. I tried to go the other way on the main road, but construction stopped me and so I turned back down what I knew.

20:00

1.86

Day 564

Another morning run, everyone asleep, pounding down the pavement in London. Went further down Tottenham Court Rd, and a detour by the BT Tower.

2.19mi

24:00

Day 563

A short one, with a sore right knee.

16:00

1.42mi

No Challenge

I suspected that trying to run in London might be a challenge. There aren’t necessarily great places, it’s crowded, and I have to commute. Wednesday seemed like a candidate for a tough run with me taking the late train Tuesday from Cambridge and then take one back in the morning. Also a return Wednesday night.

My suspicion was that I’d be too tired to run Wed morning and that I’d be in a hurry to get to work, so I’d be looking to run Wed night, which could be an issue. And that’s the one work day where I’m not in a hotel and without a treadmill to bail me out.

However it wasn’t bad. I have trouble sleeping on the road, so getting up at 6:45 wasn’t a problem, and Tottenham Court Road was pretty deserted, so it was an easy run.

My last run today in Cambridge before heading back to London for a few days, but no work, so I can run at my leisure.

Day 562

After a long day of meetings, a nice run. I was cruising along on the treadmill and felt great, but was getting low on time before dinner.

18:00

1.62mi

Day 561

Up early in London, and jogging down sidewalks on Tottenham Court Rd for a nice run. Not windy, and nicely cool, but not chilly.
20:30
1.83mi

Day 560

An early morning treadmill run

16:00min

1.41mi

Day 559

An early run before work and after a very broken night of sleep.

16:00min

2.28 km = 1.41mi

Day 558

After traveling all night to Cambridge, I decide to get out this afternoon and explore a little around the hotel. A river runs along it and lots of people were out on Sunday, walking, cycling, relaxing. Kind of a wandering route, I went through a park in a loop to check out a cricket game before moving on to a dirt trail.

New running shoes since mine are on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic.

Here’s the route: Exploring Cambridge

About 30 minutes, slow jogging

1.7mi

Day 557

Up early to run before my flight to London today. Hoping this exercise and lack of sleep will help on the plane.

18:00
1.67mi

Day 556

A nice long run today, snowy outside, but enjoying some exercise on the treadmill.
20:00
1.91mi

Day 555

I am still tired. A long night's sleep, but I'm exhausted again in the afternoon. Still a run made me feel better, a little energizing. Slow and steady.
16:00
1.47mi

Day 554

A late run, belly full, karate soon. Took it easy, but the legs felt great, even with no Cho-pat strap on.
16:00
1.42mi

Day 553

A good steady run, everything feeling good.
16:00
1.55mi

Back to the Beginning

When I started this streak, I started slow. I’d walk for a couple minutes, run a mile, usually just about 1.1, and then walk again. My total distance would be around 1.25-1.3mi with the walking. Since then I’ve upped that to 1.6 or 1.7 mi most days, running about a mile and a half now.

Recently I woke up with a sore knee. It wasn’t sore to walk, but stairs and every time I bent down it ached. I still wanted to run, but I decided to take it easy and not push. So I ran just over a mile, 1.25 total with walking, and went slow. The time was slightly longer than my normal runs, and things felt OK afterwards.

However it brought me back to those shorter runs I did. Not a lot shorter, but noticeably shorter to me.

Day 552

Not sure if I’ll have karate tonight and I was tempted for a longer run, but with a still sore knee, I held back. Slow, easy run

16:00min

1.47mi

Day 551

After a longer run  yesterday, I took it slightly slower today. A nice, easy run.
18:00
1.67mi

Day 550

Halfway to 600, celebrated with a slightly longer run today.
20:00
1.96mi

Running Streaker!

It’s not on the website yet, but I got my quarterly mailing from the US Running Streak Association, and I’m on the list! Number 218 on the active list, with a streak (as of today), of 549 days.

Day 549

Everything felt great, so decided on a longer run today.

22:00min

1.88mi

Day 548

Took it easy after the longer run yesterday and karate coming tonight.

16:00

1.47mi

Day 547

Went outside for a longer run today, sunny and calm when I left in a short sleeve shirt, but windy and chilly on the return trip. I need to remember that it’s still winter in CO

23:10

2.13mi

Day 546

Another steady run.

16:00

1.47mi

Worn Out

I really try to listen to my body each day when I run. However I also try to push a little, add some distance and speed over time. I know I won’t likely get back to my 22:00 5k time, or a 1:58 for a half marathon, but I should be able to push a 25 or 26 minute pace.

I’ve been pressing a little lately, trying to get my runs done quickly, but still get some work in. As a result I think I get through these 3 or 4 day stretches of pushing a 6.5mph or better pace in 16:00 minutes. Add in a long run somewhere and I can really feel it after a few days. I’m just worn out.

It hasn’t helped that my wife is traveling and I don’t sleep as well when she’s gone.

I’ve got to remember to keep an eye on the pace and times I’m completing and help use that to balance out my workload. I enjoy the running and often after 5 minutes I feel good every day, sometimes pushing a little too much, too often.

I’ve got to remember to slow down on my easy days and slow the pace, taking a few more minutes to complete the distance.

Day 545

A quick run, but I upped the top speed to 6.6 today since it felt good to be running.

16:00
1.52mi

Day 544

A nice, long run on the treadmill today. Everything felt good, though the Nike + sensor failed to read at one point.

20:00
1.93mi

Day 543

Another outside run in Charlotte, this one early (6:15am). It was cold, and I barely chugged down the road, trying to keep warm and not pull anything.

16:09
1.46mi

Day 542

Outside in the morning air, taking it easy, and running at a slow clip in the Charlotte air. It's good to be a sea level.

17:46
1.46mi

Day 541

It's evening, I've been flying all day and feel slightly sick. However I wanted to get the run done before dinner, and before the sun went down. It's nice to be at sea level, and I feel strong as I head out, hitting the asphalt near the hotel.

20:29
1.84mi

Day 540

A quick one jammed in before work. Short, but I ran at a good pace most of the way.
16:00min
1.45mi

Day 539

Lunch with my daughter scheduled, the right knee sore, so I pushed through a quick one. Went a little faster than I might normally go, but wanted to get through it quickly.

14:00min
1.29mi

Day 538

Sore knee for some reason, so a short one today.

14:00min

1.24mi

This is cool

With the Nike + working, I went back to see if I'd missed some runs. There have been days that the sensor didn't work, I didn't start it, etc. So I flipped back a few months on mapmyrun.com, found a few missing entries and grabbed them from this blog to get a good backup of my workouts.

It is cool seeing an image like this, a workout every day.

Day 537

This was one of those days I realized late in the day something was missing. I got up late, went to breakfast with my wife, then spent the afternoon fixing stuff at a rental. About 7:00pm at night I realized I hadn’t run, so I headed downstairs and knocked one out.

16:00

1.49mi

Day 536

A long day on my feet at a work event, but I managed to get a good run in today. Cruised at a good pace.

18:00mi

1.66mi

Day 535

A short one. Tired, up a lot last night. The legs need a break as well.

14:00

1.27mi

Day 534

It has been a long week. I was tired, but as usual, the run surprised me and felt great. I ran a little longer and faster, knowing that I wasn’t going to karate tonight.

16:00

1.69mi

Day 533

Still a sore right knee, but mostly when I bend. A short, but quicker run today.

14:00

1.29mi

Finding a Day Off

Running every day, while great mentally, doesn’t give you a day off. I could just not run for a day, but I like this streak, and I feel good.
However I do need to manage light and hard days. With snowboarding, baseball, karate, a little weightlifting, and other activities, it’s hard to find an off day. For example, here’s a recent week for me.

Sunday	run 1.5mi
Monday	run 1.5mi	karate
Tuesday	run 1.5mi
Wednesday	run 1.5 mi	karate
Thursday	run 1.5mi	snowboarding
Friday	run 1.5mi
Saturday	run 2.0mi

That’s a pretty typical week, and while I don’t run specifically 1.5 mi (could be 1.4, or 1.7), that’s an “easy” day for me. A good workout is 2+ mi, and going to 3+ is hard. Not necessarily physically hard at the time, but too many of them wear on me.
I could build up to more distance, but I like my other activities.
My current plan when I go to run is “see how I feel.” and then think about what else is going on. If I feel good, I run a bit more, but temper that if I have karate or something else later that day.
If I snowboarded yesterday, even if I feel fine, I know that my body is tired, so I limit how much I might normally do. If I have nothing today or tomorrow, I’ll usually look for a longer run.
For today, no karate set up, and none tomorrow, but a couple double workouts already in the last few days, I’ll take it easy.
But tomorrow, a long run!

Day 532

The right knee is sore again after karate. Another light run.

14:00min

1.33mi

Day 531

The neck as better, but I took it easy.

14:00

1.34mi

Day 530

My neck really hurt this morning when I got up. The nerve was pinched and angry. I knew I wasn’t doing damage by jogging, so I tried in the afternoon, but I was miserable. Ran with one arm tucked up around my shoulder to minimize pain.

14:00min

1.21mi

Day 529

Jogged through an easy one today.

16:00

1.46mi

Day 528

Longer, but slower today. Legs were a little achey this morning, so I decided to take it easy.
18:00
1.65mi

Day 527

Feeling good, I cruised through a quicker one today, most of the run at 6.5mph. Slowly getting back to the speed I used to start with when I was 25.

16:00min

1.51mi

Day 526

Karate tonight, and a busy day. I pushed out a short one before a work call. Everything felt great.
14:00
1.34mi

Day 525

No karate, but the legs were tired after skiing yesterday. No pain, but took it easy.
16:00min
1.55mi

Back on Nike +

My laptop died in December, and I didn’t think much of it. However when I got to 3 weeks with it not fixed, I decided to move iTunes to my desktop an at least sync up the Nano and Nike+ runs.

That didn’t work, owing to an x46 bug with large USB devices. The technical details didn’t matter for this blog, and I couldn’t experiment with one working computer.

As a result for the last couple months I’ve been manually tracking data, though the Nano has been storing it. Finally the other day I got my new laptop, rebooted and unchecked and checked the Nike + sync a few times in there and finally my runs are being recorded at Nike+ again.

The Nike + system is cool, but the hassles of getting this working with iTunes as well as some of the hassles in getting my workouts up there make me unsure of depending on it.

Day 524

A short early morning run before heading to the slopes.
16:00
1.42mi

Day 523

A nice early run with a fundraiser today for Scouts. Hurried through things at a good clip.

16:00min

1.69mi

Day 522

An easy cruise today, moving easily despite standing outside in the cold for a few hours with Girl Scouts.

16:00min
1.69mi

Day 521

Went a little harder than I meant to. I felt fine, but after 20 min yesterday, I should have taken it easy.

18:00min

1.71mi

Day 520

A slightly longer run today. I thought about pushing further, but I’m tired and I’m thinking with a couple light days I’ll go with a 3 miler on Sat.

20:00min

1.89mi

Day 519

Took it easy, tired, karate tonight. Ran instead of a nap :)

16:00min

1.5mi

Day 518

A little crunched for time.

14:00min

1.29mi

How Far You Running These Days?

Someone asked me that recently. A friend noticed that I was over 500 days and wondered if I was pushing out more mileage.

I’m really not. Still a fairly steady 1.5mi a day, but I am trying to get over 2mi at least once a week.

Why? It’s really because that feels good and fits in my life. I did try to go over 2mi a day average last summer and I think I did it too fast. I noticed that my legs were tired, and I was more tired overall, exhausted some days.

The thing is that I run, and it’s what I do, but it’s not ALL that I do. If I ski for 4 hours, I still run. That day as well as the day before and after. If I play baseball for 3-4 hours, it’s not constant exercise, but it’s tiring. If I travel for most of a day, or have karate, I still run.

And I end up doing some other exercise 3-4 times a week. Which means that my off days are usually a 1.5 mi run. A busy day is a 1.5mi run with more exercise.

I might increase some, especially as the weather gets better and a 3 miler outside is easy to do. Once a week I can probably handle that.

Day 517

Hungover, tired, but with a greasy lunch in my belly I went for a run. Actually felt slightly better while running, but my stomach is complaining a bit now.

16:00min

1.51mi

Day 516

Feeling better, but I didn't push it. A steady normal run.
16:00min
1.52mi

Day 515

I nice steady run, despite having a cold slowing me down.
14:00min
1.32mi

Day 514

Felt great, kicked it up a notch for a long run at 6.5mph

20:00min

1.90mi

Day 513

Cruised along on an easy one this afternoon. Later than I wanted, and I was a little full from lunch, but the legs felt good.

18:00min
1.67mi

Day 512

Easy jog today

1.43

15:00min

Day 511

A nice, easy run today. Nothing sore, nothing hurt.

16:00min

1.47mi

Day 510

I cruised along at a nice clip today. Felt great.

18:00

1.66mi

Day 509

Went skiing today, a long drive home, so I took it easy. A nice jog, no pain.
14:00
1.28mi

Day 508

Easy jog today.
16:00
1.51mi

Day 507

Short and quick with things to do.
14:00
1.29mi

Day 506

A nice run after skiing all morning. The legs felt fine.
14:00
1.35mi

Day 505

A nice run, went a little longer with nothing happening tonight.

20:00min

1.9mi

Day 504

Went a little quicker to get things done, everything felt fine. I skipped karate today, but feel worn out, so I didn't push hard.
16:00min
1.48mi

Sensor Calibration – Nike +

After replacing the sensor in my shoe, I forgot about it until the next day when I went to run. I started up and realized that the sensor was reading very slow. Much slower than the treadmill, and I’d checked that against real distances outside. The treadmill is a touch slow, so this was REALLY slow.

I didn’t want to interrupt my workout, but I had a long one planned, so I decided to just calibrate the run sensor as part of my run. After going through about 2/3 of my run, I ended the workout on the Nano and set it up to calibrate for running. I was still going on the treadmill, and when I got within .5 mi of the end of my run, I started the calibration.

It continued through the end of my run, I stopped calibration, then started my cool down.

It’s a breeze, and it seems to be working better than the last one. I think because I calibrated as part of my run and not as a separate event.

Day 503

Back on my own treadmill, and with the cho-pat strips on. I felt good and was going to run more, but it was a long night and I have karate tonight, so I wanted to take it easy.

16:00

1.49mi

Day 502

Up early, and knocking out a nice run before heading to the airport for a day of travel. Felt great.

18:00

1.60mi

500 Days

Another milestone, this one passing with less excitement than the others. In fact, I had the day wrong, thinking it was today and not realizing it until I got ready to log that it had been yesterday.

Still, it’s been a nice journey that’s become a part of my life, and it feels great. 500 days done, a lot more to go.

Day 501

Up early, powered through 20 minutes, everything feeling great.

20:00

1.79mi

Day 500

I didn’t even realize this was 500. I was thinking it was tomorrow, so I took it easy after the longer workout yesterday. That and a couple drinks earlier in the day.

16:00min

1.4mi

Day 499

A nice long run today with Tia. We both hit the gym, and I did 20 minutes, before lifting since she wanted a nice steady 30 minutes.

22:00min

1.94mi

Not a Running Paradise

When I got up yesterday, I was tempted to go run outside. Tia was almost done with her team building, and I wanted to get down there, so I didn’t want to be gone too long. I also would be running on the street, so I’d have to pay attention, which didn’t sound too exciting as I was slightly hung over.

So I hit the treadmill and I think it was a good idea. We were bussed last night to a restaurant, and watching the bus drive around the island of Saint Marteen, I think this isn’t the place for runners to go. The roads are narrow, and I’m amazed sometimes how vehicles pass each other without scraping off paint. I think a run around the island, especially from where we are, would be an adventure and slightly dangerous.

And I don’t want to get hurt trying to get a run in on vacation.

The beaches aren’t built for running either. Our beach extends from the hotel about 1/4 mile until it hits rocks that run down to the ocean. It’s almost like cliffs as you look around, so a run there would be laps along the beach. That might work as there aren’t a lot of people on the beach, but it might seem a little silly going back and forth. I might try it one of these days, but we’ll see.

Very different from Mexico, FL, VA, CA beaches where you could run for miles along the ocean.

Day 498

Slightly hungover, but I needed to knock this out. Struggled through a short one, but I felt better after.
16:00min
1.45mi

Day 497

It felt like we traveled all night. I was hungry, but after a half hour in the hotel, my wife and decided to run. So I took a longer, slower one since that's what she likes.
20min
1.7mi

Dead Sensor

I was near the end of a run the other day and saw that my pace was 0:00, I picked up the Nano, but then the Nike + kicked in and I saw my pace. I didn’t think anything of it and finished the workout. My distance was slightly down from what I expected, but not a lot. I thought maybe my phone or something else interfered with the Bluetooth.

The next day I went running, was almost done and checked the distance against the treadmill and saw that my workout was paused because there was no sensor reading. I stomped up and down a few times, but nothing.

Dead sensor, or at least it appears dead.

Fortunately I had a spare I’d purchased last year when I thought the sensor was dying then. It picked up a couple days later, but I decided not to mess with this one and replaced the one in my shoe. It’s been a year, about 600 miles, and that seems a little short, but not enough to worry about.