/January

So another month is over. What a great start to the year. I'm really happy with my progress so far (probably just the endorphins). I started the year running 1/4 mile at a time, then 1/2, and today I practically raced home to run and covered more than 2.5 miles in 30 minutes (running, not racing home.) Still 3 months to 5K, and 227 days to the U.S. Air Force 10K.
I think I'll take tomorrow off, maybe get to the museum for the Norman Rockwell exhibit...line was too long Sunday afternoon and it ends this weekend.

Anticipate

There's some perverse thing that apparently happens in the psychology of someone who runs jogs (okay, that gag is seriously played out). Instead of knowing I have to run because there are 228 days to go, I was honestly excited to have the time and circumstances to be able to run this afternoon after work.

I didn't even bother to take the phone with me today because I knew that would force me to run the entire 2 1/4 mile route. If I slowed down to a walk earlier, I wouldn't quite know how far I ran. I forced myself to run about 4 houses past my driveway just to prove to myself I can do more even when I'm tired (6.2 miles still feels so far away), then walked back as a short cool-down.

I'm hoping some of my weight starts to drop off soon. I really think that allow me to keep my energy up and maybe even speed up a little. I think I can get to the 5K distance pretty soon. The Miamisburg 5K Fun Run is 2 months away. While my goal has always been just to finish, it would be fun to finish without being behind everyone else, but I won't get caught up in that.

Dog's life

While I was on vacation, friends with two dogs were kind enough to take care of her for me, so she had people and other dogs to play with. Since I've been back I hadn't taken her on a walk, so I wanted to do that today (I couldn't fly because the weather wasn't cooperating). We walked about 2 1/4 miles and I thought that would be my exercise for the day. After all, it's a little cold out, and I don't have to run EVERY day, right? But I won't get to run tomorrow (Saturday) because I have a class in the morning and it's off to work after lunch.

After I got warmed up from walking, though, I decided to change shoes and run anyway. I ran jogged the same route I had just walked with Zoe. That's the furthest I've run this year (or in many many years). There are so many times along the way (pretty much every time I go out) that I have to talk myself out of slowing to a walk.

I don't know if my blood pressure is up along with my heart rate, but I noticed that my tinnitus seemed louder after I got home and sat down. That's something I've had to learn to ignore for the last 8 years or so.

Anyway, good running day. (That's a slightly different route on the map than the 1.95 route. I turn right off Shull a block later.)

231 days to go.

View 1/27/12 12:26 PM in a larger map

Rain, rain

It rained all night and most of the morning, lots of puddles on the sidewalks. Nose is still stuffed up a little, but I really wanted to run today. I dressed lighter so I wouldn't get overheated. It's pretty amazing what a difference it makes without a jacket, track pants, and wearing the Reeboks instead of leather Sketchers. Unfortunately I did end up stepping in one puddle after about a mile and a half, but I took the liner out of the left shoe when I got home and I think it'll dry out well.

Got a little tired. Ended up walking one stretch. I still want to get one of the Garmin watches and hope it's more accurate. My phone does okay, but if it records 2.15 and I straighten out my path on the Google maps, it ends up being 1.96 (today).

232 days to go.

View 1/26/12 12:30 PM in a larger map

To clarify

When I write that I "run", that's really being quite generous. While technically what I'm doing isn't speed-walking because there are split seconds where both feet are off the ground, it's not really much faster since I'm trying to keep a slow pace and increase my distance. Maybe "jogging" is more fair. Or beating the sidewalk into submission.

Temperature was below 30F this morning. Very quickly the problem of staying warm disappears and the issue of staying cool arises. Wasn't my best day. I couldn't wear my running shoes because they are so thin. There are other versions of the same shoe make of suede that I'm looking at, because none of the other shoes I own are that great for running jogging. I did 1.5 miles including two walking breaks.

233 days to go

View 1/25/12 8:30 AM in a larger map

235 days to go

Feeling good today. I got a boost of confidence running with Evren Saturday after we ran for 20 minutes and I still felt like I could do more. So today I challenged myself to run 2 miles without slowing to a walk. (I'm convinced there's a significant psychological element to this whole running thing. Sure, your body has to be conditioned, but I think there were times when I've "talked" myself out of running farther.)

It was really windy this afternoon, but most of the headwind was in the first half of the run...which of course meant I had wind at my back for a significant portion of the second mile. I didn't let myself slow to a walk until I got back to my driveway, which ended up being about 2.1 miles in 22 minutes.

View 1/23/12 4:23 PM in a larger map

237 days to go

Indoor running today. Hard to keep track of laps around the indoor track, but I think it ended up being about 5-10 minutes walking, 20 minutes running, 5 minutes walking, 5 minutes running before they kicked us off the track, and 30 minutes walking on the treadmill.

Running actually seemed easier than when I was running alone. I guess it was the fact of having someone else there to talk with as a distraction, as well as encouragement. And the spongy indoor track was certainly more comfortable than pavement...the frequency of the turns is the only down side. Better than running in the cold, though.

238 days to go

Well, I got to run 4 of 7 days in Florida. My last full day was busy with visiting the Kennedy Space Center. Then yesterday I was up at 3:30 AM to make my flight to Roanoke. Now that I'm home there's snow on the ground and a weird thing has happened. I realize I actually miss getting to run. Even if it's only a mile, there's still a feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day that it'll soon be 2 miles at a time, then 3.1 (5K), and on from there. I know I can't wait until spring to get back to it, but if the weather keeps me from working tomorrow, I really want to get over to the Wright Field Fitness Center and use their indoor track.

241 days to go

Went to the beach yesterday after we dropped off Eric, Monica, and Wyatt at the airport so they could go home. I didn't get to run, but probably wouldn't have anyway. My lower back was pretty tight with a little pain. Felt better this morning after sleeping on an actual bed, but when I started running this I could tell my back still wasn't straight, so I walked instead. After walking a mile my back was starting to feel better and I was standing straighter. Beastie Boys - Sabotage came up on my iPod in shuffle mode and I knew I had to start running. I ran another mile, then walked 1/4 mile, and ran the last 1/4 mile.

View 1/17/12 9:24 AM in a larger map

243 days to go

2.55 Run/walk/run/walk/run

After 3 running days in a row, some of the muscles in my legs are starting to rebel.

View 1/15/12 7:51 AM in a larger map

244 days to go

Took it a little easier today. 1.3 run and .6 cool-down walk.

View 1/14/12 9:31 AM in a larger map

245 days to go

2.55 mostly jogging.
I understand Ohio has snow. Florida is just about perfect. First run, here. Finding my pace. It's feeling a little easier to jog longer distances.

View 1/13/12 9:20 AM in a larger map

249 days to go

Well, I'm in the midst of a couple days that are really busy and not sure when I'll be able to get back out, even though the weather has been great. I scheduled myself to work the past 2 days, today, and tomorrow to get as many hours as possible before I leave on vacation tomorrow. So as soon as I get home after my flight today, I have to get Zoe's things together to drop her off at her sitter, finish packing my bags and my car. Obviously no map to post today, but I thought I'd write about them briefly. I've been using my Android phone and an app called MyTracks to record distance, speed, and ground track. I love that I can just hit a button and have a map exported to my google account, I'm not sure exactly how accurate it is. The tracks on the maps obviously weave back and forth as my phone tries to get a good signal, etc. Also, it's kind of a pain to carry a phone in your hip pocket. It really only works when it's cold enough to justify a jacket (with an inside pocket), and even then, it's not he most comfortable. That's why I've been looking into getting a Garmin ForeRunner 110 watch. I don't necessarily need one with a heart monitor, but the reviews seems to indicate a high level of accuracy, and I can still export the data to a course map on the Garmin Connect site. I'm keeping an eye on eBay for one, but either way it'll have to wait until I get back from Florida, where at least it will be warm enough to break in the running shoes.

251 days to go

Extremely lazy day
0.9 walking Zoe
My lower back was a little tight, and I underestimated the temperature so my hands got cold pretty quick.

View 1/7/12 4:42 PM in a larger map

252 days to go

3.2 Jog/Walk

View 1/6/12 10:40 AM in a larger map

Caché

Last year I started using swapadvd.com when I couldn't sell a DVD for a price I wanted, and had already bought the Blu-ray version. I picked up the French thriller Caché through one of the trades because it stars Juliette Binoche, but as the cover also shows, it received some strong accolades. After a rather brilliant opening sequence that successfully disorients the viewer, Caché is a pretty straightforward mystery that forces the lead character Georges to revisit some disturbing occurrences from his childhood. Someone is filming Georges' house and family for hours at a time and leaving the videocassettes on their doorstep.

The movie is less "thriller" than creepy, and ultimately a little frustrating. The cover compares this film to Hitchcock, but at the end of his films, Hitchcock ultimately explained the questions that he set up. If this was an American film, we'd see the face of the person as they turned off the video camera in the last seconds before the credits. If it was Japanese, someone would spend 10 minutes explaining what happened the rest of the movie. Since it's French, they simply can't be bothered to reveal the mystery that drives every action throughout the film, which is a little frustrating. I understand the director's point that it's more "real" in that some mysteries in life go unsolved. I would argue, though, that most people watch films to escape from the Real, and the videotapes weren't just a MacGuffin, but the central story of the film.

Caché means "Hidden", which clearly applies to the resolution of the film. If you can stand the frustration having more questions at the end of the movie than at the beginning, it's probably worth a viewing, but not necessarily one worth keeping on the shelf.

253 days to go

Legs are a little sore from pushing myself yesterday, so I just walked Zoe 3.2 miles. Warmer today. Almost felt like too many layers of clothes.

View 1/5/12 2:32 PM in a larger map

254 days to go

Before I started running I'd been sucked in the by the marketing of the Reebok Realflex. When I won a $100 gift certificate for The Greene shopping center I didn't know what to spend it on since it's mostly clothes or restaurants, and not my type of clothes. I wanted to buy movie tickets, but the Rave doesn't take Green gift cards. However, I learned that E.O. Burger sells movie passes when you get a meal, so for $35 off the card, I got two IMAX tickets plus two dinners. Also swung by Finish Line and picked up this color of Realflex, which are incredibly light, and this color also happened to be on sale. Now I need to find something for $4.85 to wipe out the gift card.

Today: 2.75 Jog / Walk (but not in the Reeboks. They don't keep out much cold air.)

View 1/4/12 4:17 PM in a larger map

Run Forrest, Run!

Well, this is going to be interesting. No turning back. In 258 days I'm committed to running the Air Force 10K. That's 6.2 miles, and I have no idea if I'll be able to do it. Keep in mind I've never run more than 2.5 miles at a stretch in my life, so registering to do this makes me very nervous. But at the same time, I HAD to register to be motivated to force myself to get in shape. I probably wouldn't be doing this, though, without my friend Evren. Only once in a very long time does someone come along that so effectively inspires one to try to be a better person, but that's exactly she does.