I shoveled the backyard

Yeah, you heard me. Instead of going out for a run tonight, I shoveled snow from a big area in the backyard for exercise.

Why would I do that? Because the weekend is coming, and I need for Stella to get outside. Another weekend inside is not acceptable.

Since our backyard is on the north side of the house, and there was still 5 inches of snow on the ground, my math said that it might last the weekend. So I took matters into my own hands. By Saturday, the area all around her playset will be nice green grass. Take that, nature.

And it wasn’t a bad way to get some exercise.

Runner Motivation Report: January 11th, 2010

My previous entry explains my gigantic lapse in running. This entry describes my comeback.

January 11th Obstacles

• It was dark and icy out there at 8pm (but warmer than it was in December)
• Back to square one when it comes to my fitness. Its going to hurt.

January 11th Solutions and Motivators

• I had a blood workup done, and my cholesterol is bad again. Will need to go back in 3 months to do another check. Need to drop some pounds, eat a little better, and get some exercise.
• While not balmy, the low 40’s at 8pm is feeling pretty good relative to what we have been seeing. Also, after 3 days of sunshine, the road is clearing up. There are still some serious ice patches out there, but enough dry spots to make running possible.

Results

Let’s not talk about it. I am just happy to be out there again.

I’m Back

Its January 11th. My previous blog entry was September 24th. “Oh, so Peter has been forgetting to update his blog.” I wish. I just ran again for the first time in almost 4 months. What happened?

That Knee

I was complaining about my knee in my blog entries in September. I thought I was beyond it, but it kept coming back. After my last run, I was having issues again. I decided to lay low for the last week of September.

Daycare Apocalypse

When we put Stella into day care, people warned us that the first year is rough. “She’s going to be sick a lot”, was the message we got from a few sources. We went 2 months (Aug-Sept) without an issue, and so it seemed like we were going to do alright.

October 1st arrived, and so did 2 months of agony. We went through several colds without a break, and then on Halloween we into a 4 week fun trip called H1N1. Stella was not healthy for 2 solid months, and neither was I. Everything she got, I got. The entire month of November I was coughing junk out of my lungs, thanks to H1N1.

I finally fully recovered at the beginning of December. But was loath to rekindle any latent germ so was in no hurry to get out and run again. Especially with…

Winter Wonderland

Starting in December, it got cold. Looking at wunderground, they say our average high was just 36 degrees and the average snow depth on the ground was 1 inch.

The Holidays

The final element of my lapse in running was the arrival of Christmas. No, we didn’t do anything major, but we worked hard on decluttering the house, decorating, and spending healthy time with the kids.

I am the Cliché

Its just after the New Year, and all sorts of couch potatoes packing their entire year’s exercise in the next few weeks. They will be reattaching themselves to the couch shortly. Am I one of those?

I hope not. As of tonight, I’m “back out there”. Let’s see where it takes me.

Runner Motivation Report: September 23, 2009

I feel like I am getting into the groove with running. By no means am I fast, but at least I don’t feel a lot of pain when I run now. My right shin aches a little, but my knees and lungs are doing fine.

I am working late tonight, and expect to continue into the morning. Tonight wasn’t a natural fit for me to say “hey, let’s spend an hour to go run!”. One hour of running means one less hour of sleep tonight.

But Coach is keeping me honest. He wanted me to run 4 miles tonight, so I dutifully obeyed. Thankfully, I put the notation in my work calendar, otherwise I had totally forgotten.

I have settled into running my loop in the neighborhood instead of going back to the track. No small reason is that the track isn’t lit at night, and I have been running after dark.

Sept 24 Obstacles

• Very busy at work.
• I had forgotten that today was the day for my next run.

Sept 24 Solutions and Motivators

• Putting Coach’s schedule into my work calendar solved the ‘I forgot’ problem.
• Keeping to Coach’s schedule is a priority for me. Not only did it force me to run tonight when I would have ordinarily skipped, it kept me running longer than I would have on my own. Thanks Coach! Nike+ is doing its job so far.

Next run is 3 miles on Saturday.

Stats

• Distance: 4.55 miles
• Time: 48:49
• Course: Eldorado Loop

Runner Motivation Report: September 21, 2009

As I reported in a previous post, I have begun a training program offered by the Nike+ website. The end goal is to run a 5k in good time, but along the way I will be running much longer distances.

Tonight’s run was for 3 miles. My online coach dictated both the day and the distance. It was a good forcing function, because if I didn’t have that mandate from Coach I wouldn’t have gone out tonight. I worked a long day, followed by a work dinner. Ordinarily, I would’ve come home and crashed in bed for a little while before clocking in some more work time.

Coach had other ideas for me. So after dinner, and in fact not long enough after, I went for my run. I felt my pasta dinner in my throat the whole run – how gross. I should have waited, but when I got home I wanted to get on with my run instead of milling about.

In the interest of time, I chose to run my loops around the neighborhood. Its a hilly course – see if you can detect where the hills are on the route by looking at my speed.

Sept 21 Obstacles

• I had a long day at work, and was feeling tired when I got home.
• I had a working dinner, and then drove straight home. When I got home it hadn’t been long since I finished eating. But I didn’t want to wait, otherwise I figured I may not bother to run.
• It would have been easy to forget that Coach wanted me to run today.

Sept 21 Solutions and Motivators

• I solved the reminder problem by putting my runs into my corporate calendar.
• I was primarily motivated by the Nike+ coaching program. I really want to follow my program, so it was important to me to get out there tonight.

Coach has me running twice more this week. I look forward to it!

Stats

• Distance: 3.3 miles
• Time: 35:13
• Course: Eldorado Loop

Runner Motivation Report: September 19, 2009

As reported in a previous blog entry, I enrolled myself in a coaching program on the Nike+ website. The program is directed towards running a 5k, but by following the program I will be running much longer distances (maximum of 7 miles). It seems like a good program for my level of conditioning.

Today was my first run in the new program. Coach requested that I run 2 miles as the initial run. Not a problem! I ended up running 2.5 miles. It gets harder quickly – Coach has me running 3 miles on Monday, and 4 miles on Wednesday.

While short, I did have a wrinkle to contend with for today’s run. I wanted to go during the day (I was eager to start the program), and I didn’t want to leave Kathy on the hook with two kids. I decided to take Stella along for my run by putting her in our jogging stroller. I had never done that before.

It made for a very slow run. I was actively learning some lessons on the way, and had to stop for 30 seconds during the run (notice the big dip in the speed) to chase down a balloon that exited the stroller to the dismay of the occupant.

Also, because I doubt the HS track would want me on there with a stroller, and navigating the turns would be hard anyway, I ran in the neighborhood. The course I took is hilly, which made pushing the stroller an extra burden.

The result was my run was about as slow as you can go without calling it “walking”. I think I will try and stick to running in the evenings so I can eliminate the distraction of the stroller. Sorry Stella.

But I am happy to report that my legs felt fine throughout the run. One more pain free run under my belt to give me the confidence to think that my injuries are in the past.

Sept 19 Obstacles

• I have been busy lately, so want to spend time with the family on the weekends. Taking off for a run by myself during the day is not kosher. I could have waited for the evening, but I was in the mood to run in the day.

Sept 19 Solutions and Motivators

• My big motivation was the excitement of enrolling in the Nike+ 5k coaching program. I did that while Stella was napping, and was then eager to go out and run when she awoke.
• To cope with the obstacle, I decided to try the jogging stroller as a solution.

Product Review: Skylar Baby Trend Expedition LX Jogging Stroller

We have had this stroller for over two years now. Its sad to admit this, but today was the first time I actually tried to “jog” with it. Up until now, it has been just a walking stroller for our family.

Review: Positives and Negatives

Overall, its a good product. Its well built, and serves the purpose. I would recommend it. It currently sells for $137 on Amazon. Our model is two+ years old, but looks to be the same as the current edition.

Positives

• It is well built. We haven’t had any issues after two years. It rolls smoothly.
• It has good wheels for off-road use. When we go to picnics or festivals where we need to be rolling through grass, this is the guy for the job.
• It is well designed. The hood is adjustable, the tray is well sized, and the handle is comfortable.

Negatives

• Even when folded, its bulky. Because of this, folding it and getting it into a trunk is not as easy as our more compact stroller. We have a station wagon and an SUV, so it fits easily. But if you have a smaller car, forget about it.
• The parent cup holder is on the small side.
• The storage bin on the bottom is a little too small.

Jogging with the Expedition Stroller

Here are some recommendations for when you want to go running with your child in the stroller:

• The front wheel can be locked so that it does not rotate. Bad for maneuvering in the mall, but a necessity when reaching speed. If you don’t do this, the front wheel will vibrate the stroller when you hit about 8 MPH.
• Attach the tether to your body when running. We never tether when just walking, but when you are running the stroller is moving at a higher speed, and there is a bigger chance that you will fall. That combo could produce some really bad results for your child, so please tether. Buckling your child in isn’t a bad idea either.
• As you would expect, the stroller slows you down because it breaks your normal posture. There is no way around this. Though, on slightly downhill terrain the stroller rolls well so you can let go of the stroller and just nudge it along.