What's your Fitness Watch?

So I'm looking into getting a Garmin using my birthday money and I want to get one that I will use for quite some time. I am looking at getting the Forerunner 305 but I really want to make sure before I make a purchase that it will do everything I want. Right now I really only want it to be able to tell me my distance and time and I'd like to use the heart rate monitor just to make sure. I have some history of heart issues in my family but they usually only effect males but I'd rather be safe. I want to be able to use it running, biking and swimming but other than that I really don't have any specific wants, mostly basic stuff I would think. I'm sure as I get back into trying I will want an average pace and other little tools to use to help me analyze my runs.

What kind of watch do you use and what do you love about it?

Pure Flow's Rock



I was sooo excited for my run today since I bought my new shoes on Saturday and couldn't wait to try them out. I geared myself up and stretched since I'm still sore from yesterday's Jillian Michaels DVD kick butt workout.



I have no clue what I'm looking at (me pretending to run)



I ran the route that I thought was 3.1 miles and it actually turned out to be 3.25 miles in 31:41!! I started my watch when I left the driveway and told myself since this was the first time attempting to run 3 miles straight for the first time since the first week of January so I told myself I would not look at my watch since I did not care about time I just wanted to get through the whole workout without stopping to walk. I also actually got to run 2 larger hills for the first time since during my injury since that was a no-no on my progression runs back.

I really like the Brooks Pure Flow shoes and they felt great. I was nervous since I need wide width shoes and they didn't come in wides. But when I tried them on in the shoe store they fit great and I didn't have any issues with them on the run which is great and I can't wait to do more runs in these. I don't think I will go back!!

I think I may sign up for a 5K next weekend so I can get a new PR since today I'm on pace to beat my PR by about 2 minutes!! Can't believe that in just 1 year I improved that much. I realize this is only my 5th year running but I really can't wait to see how fast I will eventually get. There is still 10 lbs to lose off my frame and muscle to gain. Looking forward to a great 2012 season.

Rewarding Myself

Today is a fabulous day other than the fact the weather is great. I finally got under the weight I've been trying for 3 months and I only have 10 lbs left to lose to get to the weight I want. Granted it took me having the flu on Thursday to get there but I'm now over that hump and motivate me to lose the last before my wedding in late August.

I am also done with my run/walk progression and can start running for 30 minutes straight! I attempted this today and my first mile was a great 9:50 pace but my breathing was a little off and I had to stop and walk. My legs were really started to feel like jello and realized it was due to poor fueling on Thursday effecting my morning run. It wasn't too warm out yet and the sun was staying behind the clouds but I listened to my body and just run/walk the last 2 miles with my usual progression. I will try again on Monday or Tuesday and will be better!!

I decided I needed to reward myself for keeping a lot of things in check over the last few months. My non-weight gain and now weight loss, I've paid off my credit card debt, and following the physical therapist's orders and not overdoing it on my recovery so I stay injury free. Those on their own are great reasons so why not have a big party......so I got new running shoes at the local Fleet Feet and they had the color I wanted. I really am not going buying something online if I'm not sure it will fit. I wear wide shoes in the Defyance (also Brooks) and these do not come in wides and was really worried but they fit great!!

Women's PureFlow

 

Can't wait to test these out on the next run. They felt really cushiony and they are an awesome color. Purple is my favorite and happy that I can actually pick the color unlike their other brands where each season it's their color.

 

I also bought another pair of running socks that I like and another BondiBand which I will show the saying on this one later and some more Clif Shot Blocks since I will start to need this again now with slowly increasing the running. I like treating myself with workout gear to keep me motivated and who doesn't want to look cute working out?

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Consistently Awesome

Day #2 this walk of my final week of my run/walk progression and both runs outside so far. I am only 1 second off my time from Sunday, I ran/walk 3 miles in 31:47 (walking 7:30 total) and I'm on pace to beat my 5K using this progression. I am really curious to see if I can keep up my pace while I run the whole 30 minutes but I have a feeling a new 5K PR will be coming soon.

While waiting out a few stomach aches it became dark and I decided why not run at night? I have the gear to be able to do it but I've never actually done it, only when it's dusk out so I've still used my red LED flashing light on my fuel back and I have reflective strips that I stuck on my belt from all sides. I grabbed a flashlight to carry and I was on my way. Along the way my dad called and proceeded to yell at me for not carrying mase with me while running. Needless to say I was running on city sidewalks and was only going to be gone for a short time. Am I really crazy for not bringing it with me?

I've found out that I really enjoy running at night and find it very peaceful with the less traffic and also less dogs barking at me along the way. I also enjoy the cooler weather and even though it was probably about 55 degrees my face was still dripping with sweat (but the rest of me really was not). I really think I sweat like a dude and should maybe sport one of those sweatbands on my head, but who wouldn't want to wear this instead?



Thanks to Kim for this perfect gift!!

 This headband really has summed up my last few months as I've gone from injuring myself and hating running to loving it when I'm finally able to do it again. And of course who hasn't gone through saying this to themself doing a long run or on a day you're just not feeling it.

Sunny Sunday

It's amazing what a gorgeous sunny day will do to one's attitude. Yesterday I was feeling really lazy and basically did nothing but veg out and read a little. I guess that's what happens after working about 50 hours for the last few weeks and finally getting a day to myself. The wind was a little crazy yesterday and decided that I wanted my first outside run to be a pleasurable experience so I decided to wait until today to do it.

The sun was shining bright and there was just a slight breeze which felt refreshing. I started opening up blinds and half the windows. I proceeded to take all my X-mas decorations down (lights and my village) since there is no more snow in sight. I also was able to clean up around the house and get my laundry done. I found some time to relax and then went for my run.

I was going to go earlier in the day, but thought I may pass out from this extreme heat wave of 60 degrees. I am now on my last week of my run/walk progression and I managed 32 minutes for 3 miles (which 32.10 is my PR on a 5K). I was shocked that I was that fast when I walked for 8 minutes out of the 32 minutes. I think my body really is stronger after all this cross training. I proceeded to get my first bike ride in of the year and cooled myself off after the run with a great 7 mile ride.

I think Wisconsin is trying to skip Spring as we are supposed to hit over 70 degrees at least twice this week and it's only March. We are about 3 months ahead of schedule up here so we will see if this lasts. I am hoping to get all my runs in outside this week and stay off the boring treadmill.

Did today's weather motivate you?

Time to Give it a TRI

Ever since my running injury I've been forced into doing other exercises and getting out of my routine. I've been hitting the stationary bike and pool pretty hard the last few weeks. My swimming is really starting to improve with 2X per week in the pool instead of just once. I've always enjoyed biking and was my first love prior to running so I found a nice mini-triathalon in a small town that I really think I'm going to do.

The race consists of an 1/8 mile swim (across the river), 12 mile bike and 2 mile run. It's a shorter distance than a sprint triathalon but I think it will be a good feeler race to see if I really want to put more training into this or if I should stick to running or maybe duathalons. The race isn't until Mid-July so I should have plenty of time to prepare for it. I just hope it's not too incedibly warm that day as this girl does not do well in heat...as in I will have heat exhaustion oncoming soon after the race if not during.

Anyone have good tips for running in hot weather?

I drink a ton when I'm running so I know thats not the case. I'm the type of person that sunburns in about 30 minutes if I don't put lotion, I've burnt through a t-shirt and have had heat exhausation a few times in my life. I hate my super sensitive skin most days and I even have to use the die free detergents or I bust out in a rash.