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.

Starting the 5k Nike+ Coaching Program

As reported in my last blog entry, I had a very encouraging recovery run on Thursday. My knee injuries appear to have healed, and my legs seem ready for action. I have swung from utter pessimism to guarded optimism – I think I can get into the groove of a running program.

With that in mind, I went shopping on the Nike+ website to see if it could help me design a running program. I had looked before I had the encouraging recovery run, so I knew there was probably something that could help.

After looking around a bit, I settled on the 5k program. It seemed to match up well with my current ability, and where I think I can be when it ends in 3 months. Each program has a number of varients, this one had 4 and I chose the easiest (beginner). At the peak on November 11th, it has me running 7 miles.

The first run is scheduled for today. The distance?  Just 2 miles. Woohoo, here we go!

Runner Motivation Report: September 17, 2009 - Hope

My previous run was a lesson in humility. I felt worse on that “run” than I ever have exercising. I felt very old. But I decided there was only one way to get better, and that is to keep going out there.

Like my previous “run”, this was a bit of a test run so I didn’t bother going to the track. In fact, since my last outing was so slow, I didn’t bother wearing my Nike+ gizmo. At this pace, I can picture that thing ending up in the junk drawer already. How sad.

Nike+ Coaching

I looked into the Nike+ website “Goal” program for help. There is a program called “Walk to Run” that looked interesting. It would start you out at a little less than a mile, and then over 3 months work you up to 2 miles. (geez, is that the reality of my condition?!?)

But, I felt that my needs were a little different. That program seemed more geared to people whose limiting factor was cardio. Mine is leg strength and injury. I can do far more than just a mile or two, I just want to do it at a slow pace. I kept looking.

There was also the 5k program, but once again it is a distance building program. While it could work, it didn’t seem to address what I am looking for. I wanted a program that specifically specified walk/run intervals (walk 300 ft, run 300 ft), slowing reducing the walk times.

The Run

I left the front door and ran down the hill to start my run. The game plan: run for a few hundred feet, and walk for a few hundred feet.

To my surprise, I ran for a few hundred feet, and felt great. I continued running for a few hundred more feet, and still felt great! As I kept running, I realized that I was going to be actually running for the entire outing, and not just alternating walking and running.

The specter of Monday’s run had been weighing on me, and I had been pretty depressed about the state of affairs. Needless to say, with things looking better, it was a huge freaking huge relief.

I ended up running for something like a 4k, probably a bit less. I took it easy, but at no time did I feel pain in my knees. Because I didn’t wear my Nike+ SportBand, I don’t have any performance numbers. I was slow, but I’ll take a 30 minute run without pain as reward enough.

I am looking forward to get back out there and getting into the groove. Here’s to hoping that my body is going to do just fine on future runs. Hooah.

Sept 17 Obstacles

• Serious pessimism about my condition.

Sept 17 Solutions and Motivators

• Resolved to take it as slow as I need to.
• Took myself “off the grid” of the Nike+ system until I could actually go for a proper run. This took the pressure off of my performance.

Runner Motivation Report: September 14, 2009 - Failure

It had been two weeks since my last run. As I reported, that run left me injured and very concerned about my knees. Both of my MCLs were very tender, and I had felt a burning sensation in my left knee that made me suspect I had torn something.

I took the time off to see if I could recover. My knees were tender throughout most of that time. But after two weeks, it finally seemed things were settling down. I decided to get back out there.

I decided to just go for a test run, so didn’t bother to drive to the track. I left the house and progressed downhill. From the start, I realized the 2 week recuperation was helpful, but not a cure all.

OUCH. THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY.

My legs felt awful, very heavy like full of concrete. My knees did give me a little pain, which didn’t leave me feeling confident. I will need to take it slow.

And that is what I did. I didn’t go for a “run”. I went for a sequence of run and walks. I would run for 150 feet, and then walk for 300 feet. Very depressing. Since I wasn’t really running, I didn’t turn on my Nike+ gizmo so I don’t have a chart. Not that it matters, my performance was terrible.

My morale is very low at this point. I have never felt worse while exercising. I feel like I am 80 years old.

Sept 14 Obstacles

• Deep concerns about the health of my knees

Sept 14 Solutions and Motivators

• I was very curious to see where my legs were at injury-wise.
• Still holding onto the idea that running will be a regular activity for me, and these are just some kinks to work out.