Week 5, Day 1

I ran through the park this morning, at sun-up, since my office is closed for Independence Day today and I was able to start at a more reasonable hour. The tents are already set up for tomorrow's fireworks. We're not sure yet whether we'll go to the park to watch this year, or whether we'll just pull out lawn chairs and watch from our driveway. It's nice to live so close to the action. Today marked my second day using RunKeeper's new interval training setting. It worked very well, once again. I'm really liking what the developers have done with the app.

We are Borg

Today the update to the RunKeeper app went live in the iPhone app store. I've been looking forward to this update for a while, as the developers have now added the ability to create customized intervals, complete with spoken prompts. This will now replace C25kapp for me. I tried it this morning and it seems to work quite well. I'll post a review later today if I have the opportunity. Here's the map it produced.



As for my run, it was fine. I'm now moving on to Week 5, which includes the dreaded 20 minute run on Day 3. I didn't eat so great this week, and its reflecting in my (lack of) weight loss. I gained 1.3 pounds over the weekend, and haven't shed any of it yet.

The Running Man

Week 3 is done. In my first three weeks, I've dropped 10 pounds. Some of that is water-weight, and I think the figure is artificially inflated because my starting weight was probably inaccurate by a pound or two, but it is still starting to be a noticeable difference. I'm only looking to lose 1.5 - 2 pounds a week, so I'm pretty well on course. More importantly, I'm generally feeling healthier and more energized.

I'm really liking the C25k iPhone app I found - it's so much easier than all the convoluted things I was trying to do before. It posts to Facebook, which I hope is not too annoying. This morning's run, though, for some reason, failed to post.

Baby Steps

Although I tried to start my run as stealthily as possible, I was spotted the moment I walked out the door this morning. A phalanx(1) of mosquitos immediately started dive-bombing at my legs. A bit further on, I was attacked by dozens(2) of abseiling caterpillars - they launched themselves off of the tree canopy, descending toward my head on their silken strings. Obviously, last week's spider has called in reinforcements. But I will not be deterred. I am now in Week 3 of C25k. I am going strong, and I have allies: My sister Sharon has mentioned that she may start C25k. And even my son, Griffin, has started. He's only 14 months old, but his progress so far has been remarkable. Last month, he was completely sedentary - not even walking at all. Then, in Week 2 of his Crawl to 5K program, he started taking a step or two, here and there. Last week, he took six steps in a row! He is doing awesome. Soon he will accompany me on my runs. First, though, we are working through the challenge of getting him to sleep through the night. Stacy and I are "ferberizing" him - a difficult and heart-breaking process that essentially involves teaching him that he cannot rely upon us to assist him during the night. When he cries in the night, we now let him cry. He's supposed to learn to put himself back to sleep. So far this has only really worked with Zoe, our oldest.(3) But we are holding out hope that Griffin may learn to sleep on his own at some point in the next few years.

Apart from the Great Bug Wars, today's run was fine. I love weekend runs through the park, because I always feel very empowered when I run by other park-goers out for morning exercise. They move slowly down the park paths, shuffling their feet. Blowing passed them makes me feel like a young lion, muscles flexing and sweat glistening. The fact that most of them are in their 70's and 80's is irrelevant.


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1. A phalanx of mosquitos is comprised of one, maybe as many as two, mosquitos.
2. I'm assuming it was dozens. I saw only one, but they're pretty sneaky.
3. It's also worked with Stacy - she, too, has learned that she cannot rely on my assistance during the night.

Still running strong

Should anyone happen to wonder, I did run W2D1 and W2D2 as scheduled. W2D3 is tomorrow. I just didn't have time to blog about my runs, since my parents are in town. Hopefully something really interesting will happen on the run tomorrow, and I'll be able to post an extra-fascinating entry to make up for it. Interesting in a good way. Not in a Dan-got-hit-by-a-car way.

It's ON, Charlotte - BRING IT!

I finished my first week of C25k this morning. It was an unremarkable run, yet here I am remarking on it anyway. The only thing of note that happened is that - in three separate locations over the course of two miles - I ran through spiderwebs. I hate that! I figure that either (1) this is just a simple coincidence, the type of thing that a normal person wouldn't notice or dwell upon, or (2) there is a spider out there that is seriously trying to interfere with my C25k progress. Well, let me tell you, spider, I am not "normal," and I did notice! I will not allow you, or your snail buddies, to stand in my way! Sure, I may be able to run just 60 seconds at a clip now, but you watch me - I'm done with Week 1 now, so in 48 hours I will be running for 90 seconds! That's right, 90! Let's see you try to stop me then! I hereby challenge you to a 5k, spider, to take place at dawn, in about three months or so. I'll post the specifics later.

Lockout

Today's run almost didn't happen. I woke up at 4:45 AM, raring to go. I got dressed in my running gear and was out the door by 5:15. I went to lock the front door with my key, and the lock seized. It grabbed my key and wouldn't let go. I fought with it for a good 15 minutes. I wasn't willing to just leave the key in the lock, since that would be the same as just leaving the door unlocked. Our neighborhood isn't particularly unsafe, but neither did I feel comfortable leaving the house unlocked with my sleeping family inside. So, discouraged, I headed back inside and resolved to call a locksmith after sun-up. A half-hour later, I gave it another try. This time, with the help of a little WD40, I was able to free the key from the lock. I figured it was already too late to run by that point, but ultimately I decided I'd rather be late than not get in the morning run, so run I did. And it was good. I now have W1D2 of C25k under my belt. And my belt isn't quite as big as the scale reported on Day 1, either: when I weighed today I had lost 4.5 pounds from last time. That's either water-weight or, more likely, the first weight was just inaccurate. I doubt I really lost 4.5 pounds over the course of 48 hours. But - whatever - I'll take it.

I'm Baaack

Whew! That was quite a little hiatus I took there. But I'm back and motivated to get back in shape. I weighed in this morning at a hefty 191.4 (pretty darn close to an all-time high), but then I slapped on my running gear and headed out the door. I started back at the beginning - Week 1Day 1 (W1D1) of C25k (Couch to 5k) - correctly figuring that any fitness progress I had made by successfully graduating from C25k two times prior had been nullified by months of sloth.

It was a relatively cool morning when I set out at 6:15, but by the time I finished up at 7:00 the sun had already crested the palm trees and it was quite humid. Not too bad, though. The 'run,' if you could call it that, was great. C25k starts out very gradual - that's the whole point of the program - and so W1D1 is mostly walking: Several intervals of running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds, sandwiched between a 5-minute warmup walk and a 5-minute cooldown walk. If you've never tried it, you should. Each week gets progressively more difficult, but the week prior has prepared you for it. By the end of the program, two months later, you can run for 5k (about 30 minutes) uninterrupted. On the two previous occasions that I finished the program, I found myself loving it but then getting injured shortly after graduation. This time, I'm going to be more careful. (Full disclosure: look back at my prior entries on this blog and you'll see a few unsuccessful, unfinished C25k efforts - last time out, I just gave up for no good reason in Week 4. This time, I'm going to see it through).

Since my girls are now out of school for the summer, I'll be able to go in to work later - I won't have to do school drop-off each morning at 7:45 - and that means I'll have the time to get in my runs. I have the time, I have the motivation, and I'm committed to see it through.

C25k? There's an app for that. I used the C25k iphone app, and it worked beautifully. It essentially automates the instructions I laid out in my "Make Your Own Kind of Music" blog post back in September of 2007, doing all the hard work for you and adding some extra bells and whistles. I highly recommend it and, if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, I'd suggest you just disregard the complicated instructions I listed back in my earlier post and just buy the app. It's well worth it. My only quibble is that I can't use it and a GPS/map-tracker app (like runkeeper, or imapmyrun) at the same time.

All We Want to Do is Eat Your Brains*

First, let's get the obvious out of the way: this blog entry is NOT about running. Not even a little. However, it's about something else that's equally near-and-dear to my heart: world peace global warming lemurs television. If you like television, too, and particularly sci-fi and fantasy television (you know, shows about things with lasers and/or that go bump in the night), you owe it to yourself to check out the Television Zombies cult TV podcast and blog. TVZ describes itself as follows:

Discussing the best science fiction and fantasy shows on television. Each week, Tina, Chris, Jeff, Jonah and special guests discuss the latest news and happenings in the world of science fiction and fantasy television, as well as review new episodes of favorite (and hated) shows. From Lost to Doctor Who to Battlestar Galactica, we look at the latest, greatest and lamest (we’re looking at you, Bionic Woman!) and give an irreverent view of new TV. Bad TV may be a brain eating monster lurking in the dusty corners of your living room, but Television Zombies are along for the fight!

I discovered TVZ about a year ago and quickly became a fan. Now, in addition to being a fan, I'm also a contributor. You can check out my first review, but I suggest you take some time to check out the site as a whole, and to listen to the podcast; it's time well spent.




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*We're not unreasonable - I mean, no one's gonna eat your eyes.

Happy Birthday, Lila!

Rain Delay

No running for me this morning - Tropical Storm Fay is still blustering its way through my area. Last night we had Tornado Warnings through most of the night. The rain was so heavy, at points, that at about 2:00 AM we gathered up the kids and pets and went into our "safe room." We spent a good portion of the night watching the news and listening to the rain pelting the windows. It was not fun. This morning the effects are still being seen. It looks like there was some tornado damage in areas not far from our home, but we appear to have survived unscathed thusfar. Definitely not safe to be outside running, though. I'm not yet sure whether my office will be open today. School is out, and government offices are closed.

I Feel The Need... The Need.... For Sleep!

Wait, no, that's not right.

This morning I woke up raring to go. Yesterday my attempt at a morning run was thwarted by uncooperative technology: my iPhone was of the belief that it had no music or podcasts on it (SO not true, iPhone!), and it also decided to stage an impromptu app-strike - all apps kept quitting on launch. Restarting didn't cure anything, so a full restore was in order. I was all geared-up and outside and everything, but defeated I headed back in. I'll get you next time, gadget!

Today was different. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and all my tech was reporting G-for-go. Run Keeper established a GPS lock so quickly that I feared it might actually not be working. The dulcet tones of Robert Ullrey's voice piped merrily through my earphones. The run was uneventful and great.

Since RunKeeper worked well this time out, I actually have a map I can post of the run, generated in real-time as I ran. Only 2 miles, but that's W2D3 of C25k for you. As I ran, I thought about last night's Olympic Marathon and how amazing those runners are. My goals aren't nearly so lofty: I just want to get in shape.

Runs, 2. Runs Kept, 0.

Whew, this morning it was a balmy 2345345 degrees outside with 34123123123% humidity! It felt like I was running through a bowl of hot jello. Or so I imagine: I've never actually tried running through hot jello...

I did W2D2, and I must say it kicked my butt just a tad. It was good to be out there, though. At the end of the run the sprinklers celebrated my arrival back home. Those things must have either a motion sensor or a sense of humor. They always get me!

I was looking forward to today's run: Now that I know about (and how to avoid) the bug I inadvertently discovered in RunKeeper that kept my run from being uploaded the other day, I was excited to have this be my first recorded RunKeeper run. Sadly, RunKeeper was unable to lock on a GPS signal the entire time. I don't blame the app, I blame the GPS of the phone. But the end result was the same: nothing recorded this go-round. Maybe next time.

We are Borg.

Today I've added a bit of new tech to my run: RunKeeper, an iPhone app. I'd say it shows promise, and I'll probably wind up loving it, but right now I'm still working out a few kinks and so I recommend it but with reservation.

[EDITED TO ADD: I wrote to the author of RunKeeper with a description of the problem I was experiencing. It's a known bug that has already been squashed in an update that will be available shortly at the app-store. I now recommend RunKeeper with no reservations whatsoever - it's a great app, and well worth far more than the $9.99 being charged].

The interface is spot-on. It's exactly how I would have designed it myself. It gives a very Nike+ minute-by-minute bar graph of your run as you go. It acquired a GPS lock very quickly. Unlike Nike+, there are no audio prompts to cue you in to how far into your run you are. Your phone has to remain on for the duration, so battery life is going to be an issue (though the developer says they're working on possible solutions to make it better). For what it's worth, I ran for a half hour, starting with a full battery, and at the end of my run I was STILL showing a full battery. I was listening to music as I ran, and I would have expected a noticeable amount of battery drain. It could be that there was a glitch in the battery display.

At the end of the run, I was given the option of saving or discarding the data. I saved it, and RunKeeper is now keeping a history log of the runs (again, just like Nike+).

The big problem I'm having is that RunKeeper was supposed to automatically upload the data to their website, to display it on a map, but 10 hours later it still hasn't done so and I haven't figured out how to force it. I tried a second test and that got uploaded to the website quickly. (But still not the first one).

[EDITED TO ADD: As stated above, this is resolved in the upcoming update. Occasionally, if you quit out and then resume, the whole run's data will be viewable on your iPhone but only the portion prior to your closing out the app will upload. This morning, it happened that I quit out almost immediately, in order to start up my music].

And, interestingly, the map doesn't look super-accurate. It showed my general path, but where the road curved it mapped it out as if I was running dog-legs, as though the GPS is being polled for data points too infrequently or something along those lines. If that's the case, I question the overall accuracy of the distance it is reporting. I have an e-mail in to the developer to see what input he can give me about these issues I'm having. We'll see what he says.

[EDITED TO ADD: Per the developer, the better the GPS signal, the smoother the map tracking will look. This makes sense. I'd have thought I had a pretty good signal, given that I was out in the open, on a clear morning, but maybe it wasn't that great. I wish there was some way the iPhone could show you how many satellites you've acquired, like a dedicated GPS does...]

Running with the iPhone is actually much better than I anticipated it would be. I'm used to having my phone with me when I run, and the iPhone is a bit larger and heavier than my old phone, but not by much. I'm pretty happy with the Marware Sportsuit Convertible Armband.

As for today's run, I did W2D1. I was going to continue on with W1D2, but iTunes deleted that podcast from my iPhone and I didn't realize until I was already outside. Fortunately, I already had week 2 uploaded and so I just did that instead. And it was good.

My Sort-of-Triumphant Return

Like Rocky Balboa, a cockaroach, or bad Mexican dinner (choose your metaphor), I am back! This last month away from running was just a brief intermission, prompted by my getting an iPhone. I carry my phone with me when I run, stashed in an armband, for emergencies. The new phone necessitated a new armband, and it took me a while to find the right one and then get around to ordering it. (Once I finally ordered, though, it came near-instantly: I ordered on Wednesday night, and it arrived at my doorstep on Thursday morning. I wasn't sure how that was even physically possible, until I looked at the return address: apparently Marware is located just about 20 miles from my home).

I also used the month away to see if my left knee would start feeling any better - it had been a bit achey. There was zero change after a month, and so I figure that it's probably not running-related. Since running doesn't seem to make it any worse, and not running doesn't seem to make it any better, and I enjoy running, I decided to get back on track.

As for the armband, I'm pretty ambivalent about it. It's a Marware Sportsuit Convertible. It is designed to be an all-in-one phone case. It has a belt clip attachment, or it can be used without the clip as a sleeve. It has an armband attachment. It even has a little key pocket attachment. It slices! It dices! It even plays Crysis! It's a breath mint! It's a candy! Tastes great! Less filling! ...Whatever. The belt clip seems too flimsy to trust, and I don't like the case enough to use it on a 24-hour basis as a sleeve, which means I'm going to be switching cases every other day. All in all, a minor nuisance. The armband part is super-comfortable, at least. On the bright side, the iPhone means that I no longer need to wear an ipod armband on my right arm and a phone armband on my left arm, making me just a teensy bit less geeky-looking as I run.

Since this was my first run in a month, I decided to take it very easy and just did W1D1. During the walking segments, I took a few photos of my route using the iPhone's camera. It was a morning run through the park, not a weekday-dead-as-night early morning run. No sense posting pictures from those, as they would just be black squares.

1. Leaving my development...



2. Greenacres Park, about a quarter-mile from my home. Ah, Greenacres - it's the place to be. (Official City Motto. No kidding).



3. Running through the park...



4. Some wildlife: a couple of geese, an egret (I think), a squirrel, some white birds, some ducks. Camera-shy: Snails.





That last one is near the area where I once saw a small alligator. That was several years ago. Which means the next time I see him, he'll be a big alligator....