Sing me a Song

Had a great run last night! I mentally prepared myself for it all day at work, i think that helped. Plus i added some new songs to my playlist - felt strong, felt good, felt like a (slow) runner! :)

Distance: 4.09 miles
Time: 55:19
Pace: 13'31" per mile

I love seeing everyone else's playlists, so thought i'd post mine. You'll notice i'm somewhat electic in my choices...

Impossible - Anberlin
I Hate Myself for Loving You - Joan Jett
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry (so ashamed i like this song...)
Renegades of Funk - Rage Against the Machine
Fader - The Temper Trap
Keep Ya Head Up - Tupac
I Get Around - Tupac
F*** You - Cee-Lo
The Outside - A Perfect Circle
Tighten Up - The Black Keys
My Delirium - Ladyhawke
Just a Dream - Nelly
Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert (hehe)
I Like It - Enrique Inglesis
Bulletproof - La Roux
Don't You Mourn the Sun - Mimi
I Caught Myself - Paramore
Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd (fitting, no?)
Nude - Radiohead
Stomp - Stone Foxes
Dynamite - Taio Cruz

What's your playlist?

Mentality

So Sunday morning called for a 6-mile run.

Now, i don't know about you, but for me: running is 99.9% mental.

And unfortunately, my head was not in the game Sunday morning. The second my foot hit the pavement, I knew it was not going to be pretty. I just had no energy and wasn't excited about the run...so my 6 mile run turned into a 4 mile run/mostly walk.

S'ok, i'll make up for it this week.

What about you guys? Do you find it's harder to run if you haven't prepared youself for it mentally? I just totally need to be on my A game, other wise it's not happening...

Yummy snack i made yesterday!

Let's talk gadgets...

Had a good run last night! But i'm getting frustrated with tracking my distance/avg. speed. As i've mentioned before, i use the Nike+ system. It's not very accurate and i thought callibrating might help. However, last night's run produced THREE different mileage reports from three different sources.

Car: 3.1 miles
Mapmyrun.com: 3.22 miles
Nike+: 2.89miles

What is going on?! I know they aren't insanley different, but still.

So my question to you, dear readers, what do YOU use to track your runs? I'm sure a Garmin is going to be a popular answer and now I'm considering adding one to my Christmas list... :)

Back on the crazy train

When we last left off, i had a craptastic run. Hooooorible.

So Saturday morning i got up & decided to tackle the same route again. I brought my fuel belt with me and kept a positive attitude - which is pretty amazing, considering i set out for this run at 5:45am.

I'm happy to report the run went well! No walk breaks, except a few steps to drink my water. Still a slow time, but I'm learning to accept it.

Unfortunately, i haven't ran since Saturday. Saturday night we headed down to Tucson for Beerfest (sooo much fun), Sunday i was recovering from Beerfest....Monday i felt horrible...and last night my friend Dena was in town, so we went to Pizzeria Bianco for dinner.

As long as the rain holds off, i'm going to run tonight! Lord knows i need it after the beer/food i've consumed the past couple of days.

Saturday's Run:
Distance: 3.97 Miles
Time: 54:47
Pace: 13'48" per mile

Mmm....Beer.

I love him. :) Tom says I'm obssessed....he might be right.

Oy Vey.

So last night's "run" in a word: pathetic.

I seriously underestimated how hot it was outside. It had been cooling down lately, but it was back in the upper 90s last night. I really should have brought my fuel belt, but thought i didn't need.

The plan was for 5 miles. I did 4 - poorly. Many, many walk breaks.

I did a new route and got lost in suburbia USA - almost called Tom panicking that i'd never find my way back home. I just hit a complete WALL last night - my body and mind said "WE QUIT".

Frustrating? Yes. But on a slightly positive note, at least this was my first horrible run of this training season.

Heading out for another 5 miler on Saturday morning before Beerfest (yay!). Hopefully i can redeem myself!

Meh.

Well, all hope is not lost.

Good news: I'm not as slow as 3 miles in 45 minutes

Bad news: I'm still slow.

I callibrated my sensor again and it seems to be back on track (well, as much as on track as it can be.)

I ran 1.1 miles to callibrate, time was 14:48.

On the way back i did 1.19 and time was 13:53 (realized i needed to step it up).

Being slow is something that bugs me. I know practice makes perfect, but i dunno if i'll ever get much faster. I guess i should just be happy that i am able to run and (somewhat) enjoy it.

So please don't chuckle whenever i post my times....slow and steady wins the race??

Wait, wut?

Friends, I'm worried.

I use the Nike+ sensor & Nike app to track my runs - mileage, pace, calories burnt, etc. Now, i know this is not the most scientific measuring device and i know it overshoots a little. Well Sunday morning i went out for my 5 mile run. I decided to calibrate the Nike+ sensor at a spot i knew was 1.5 miles.

As i checked the app, it said i was actually at 2 miles. Grumble grumble.

So i calibrated it & went on my merry way. Imagine my surprise AND SHOCK when it told me i went 3 miles in 45 minutes. Excuse me?! i know i am slow, but i am not THAT slow!! (My typical 5k time is around 36 - 38 minutes.)

So tonight, we are going to try and re-callibrate. And if it still says i run 3 miles in 45 minutes, i am going to cry.

Three Things Thursday

1. So, SO happy that it's starting to cool down in AZ. Went for a 4 mile run last night & felt great! I really think it helped that i wasn't sweating buckets two minutes into my run. :)

2. I've come to accept that i'm a "slow" runner - and that is ok. (i did my 4 miles in 45:45). Maybe in the future i'll be able to pick it up, but for now this is what's comfortable.

3. I purchased a 50" tv last weekend!! Necessary? No. Amazing? YES.


Any fun plans for the weekend?

October?!

How is it already October?! This is nuts...although i think October is one of my most favorite months. I love Halloween, love scary movies, love the cooler weather in Arizona....so bring it on. :)

So living in Phoenix, we don't usually get "weather" per say. A typical day in Phoenix consists of sun, sun and more sun. But last night we had the mother of all storms! I was super excited to go for a run last night, because we are FINALLY out of the triple digits and it's starting to feel awesome around here.

But mother nature had other plans.

View of the storm rolling in from my office window.

We got buckets of rain dropped on us and i honestly thought my car engine might flood on my drive home. My neighborhood was flooded too, so no run. :( But i'm hoping it holds off today & i can get a run in tonight - i only have 4 & 1/2 weeks until my10 mile race! YIPES!

And in Weight Watchers news, i'm happy to report i have lost 4.5 pounds since starting! I'm averaging about a pound a week, which seems slow, but I'm hoping it will also mean I can keep it off since it's happening gradually.