Accessories, accessories

This week was all about shopping around for the right accoutrement to help me bring my training to the next level.

First, my new armband arrived in the mail from the Apple store, allowing me to wear my iPhone as I run rather than carrying it like I have the last few days.

This getup replaces my iPod-sized armband, which has served me well over the last few months, but my tiny little app-less iPod is no match for the iPhone and all the magical things it can do ....

... like MapMyRun.

This new app has successfully tracked all my stats in real time and mapped out the route for me as I run. It also gives me a live audio update of my pace, time, distance, etc., during the run every .5 mile.

It automatically integrates your data with the website, so when you go online after your workout, you can see everything you've done on a calendar, a graph or a list.

Using the website, I can see that in the last two weeks, I've run 17.81 miles during 3.82 hours over six workouts. This knowledge is so motivating! As cheesy as it may sound, I find myself anticipating the workout more because I'm excited to log the info when it's over.

I kicked it up a notch this week and went for four runs, if you count Sunday (which I do), Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. I'm getting better at planning ahead to schedule them in around work and other activities. It is something I can count on feeling good about even when the world is at its most depressing.   

It was one of those weeks at the newspaper when I had to make one of those phone calls that makes me sick to my stomach.

For the record, I have competently conducted interviews with lunatics, angry people, intoxicated college students, senators, CEOs, homeless people, victims of crimes and people who just escaped from their house before it burned to the ground. But speaking to a grieving parent or family member beats it all.     

Writing these stories leaves me (and my liver) wishing, at least temporarily, that I was in another line of work. And yet, as one of my editors (always the optimist), said to me this week, interviewing people in their time of loss 1.) gives them a chance to memorialize their loved ones publicly and 2.) is perhaps even cathartic for them.

As a journalist and someone who is naturally empathetic, I feel humbled to provide service #1, but #2 is sticky territory.

What are your thoughts on the intersection of local media and personal tragedy ?

App attempts #1 & #2

I didn't need an iPhone app, or an iPhone for that matter, to inspire my first real run. I didn't need one to complete my first 5K (or three) either. But I am now a proud iPhone junkie, and the other day I felt compelled to combine my iPhone love with my running love and buy an app called Couch to 5K by Felt Tip. 

New friends

The concept is a 9-week training program of 20 to 40 minute workouts three times a week that will supposedly enable one to run 3.1 miles without stopping or walking. Sounded perfect for me. 

On Monday I giddily downloaded the app and then drove to the state park to try it out, breathing in the warm -- but not too warm -- air as a sweltering afternoon turned into a comfortable dusk.

You can start anywhere you want in the week 1-9 sessions, which gradually work you up to a full run, so I placed myself at the beginning of week three, starting with a 5 minute warm up then moving on to 90 seconds of walking and 90 of running, then 3 minutes of each. It ended with a 5 minute cool down.

The whole time, I was psyched to find out how far I'd traveled and at what pace, because when you are training for a 5K, these details are a powerful motivator to have at your disposal.

But did the app track my speed, distance or pace? Did it monitor my heart rate or calories burned? Nope! Apparently, these functions are just too much for Couch to 5K and you need another app to do them. So, I quickly downloaded RunKeeper for just this purpose, but alas, you can't operate both apps at the same time.

Now you can call me cheap, but what I got for the $2.99 I shelled out for Couch to 5K was hardly worth it. The extent of its functions was basically to give me a choice of a male or female voice (or a little beep, how novel!) telling me when to walk or run alternately for 28 minutes. Verrry disappointing.

RunKeeper was free (although there is a more sophisticated version you can purchase), so when I tried it later and it didn't work I was a.) not surprised and b.) not too disappointed.

I will continue to search for a better app and see how it works. I also have an exciting new accessory arriving in the mail any day now that should make for some fun training. Stay tuned ...

Note: This post was written Tuesday, June 22, but there was a delay in posting it until Wednesday night.

Weekend Over

It's 2 a.m. and I'm winding down another weekend of waking up bleary-eyed after late-night shifts delivering pizza, writing a column for the newspaper, and squeezing in a trip to Oneonta for a family barbecue and other fun stuff. Getting the dishes and laundry done got sacrificed so I could run this evening instead.

The temperature was hovering somewhere around 80 degrees, or possibly higher, at 6 p.m. when I went out for an hour. It was slow going because of the heat and I should have brought a water bottle, but I managed 3.72 miles running/walking and felt great afterward. So great that I enthusiastically wolfed down a pulled pork sandwich, a salad and a Rare Vos at Bailey's tonight. mmm. 

So anyway, I took a meandering route along the East Side and tried some new streets. Here's my route:

View Sunday 6/20 training in a larger map

I'm not very happy that I only ran twice this week. I took Monday off and went to a yoga class for race recovery, worked late at the newspaper Tuesday, attended a work-related fancy dinner on Wednesday night and left bursting at the seams from that, ran two miles Thursday at 10 p.m. and on Friday night, went straight from job #1 to job #2, which made for a wonderful 13-hour work day.  

So as I'm preparing for the Firecracker 4, a four-mile road race on July 4th, my next major hurdle to get over is to make time to run at least three miles, three times a week and absolutely no less. More would be better, but lately life has been overflowing with things to do. For the most part, they're all good things, so it's hard to pick and choose what to cut out. I feel lucky that way.

For example, this week, I interviewed for a freelance writing opportunity that I feel really optimistic about, both because of the content of the work and because of the earning potential. But it seems almost impossible that I'd be able to manage yet another job. Do I risk it and quit Domino's so I can concentrate on a new project? What happens when the project is over?

I'd like to find a way to dedicate myself more seriously to running and also be able to pay the bills. What's a slow girl to do?

For the moment, the answer is: go to bed.

P.S. The one exceptional news item from today is that because I have an awesome landlord, the pigeon infestation problem is getting swept away this week! I'm certainly not going to cook the pigeon egg and eat it, but if anyone is interested, it's all yours. Come and get it quickly, before animal control gets here and does whatever unspeakable thing they're gonna do with it.

Rainy day, silver lining

They say luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and that's what happened Sunday at the Read Run 5K.

Despite all the worrying and whining I did the other day, I finished in 27:37, my best time yet and a full 28 seconds faster than the last race May 23. I was number 146 out of 427 registered participants.

How did I do it? Don't ask me. I'm just relieved it's over and I didn't throw up.

Here we are shuffling over the start line. This is the first time I didn't wear my "lucky" Brockport cap and the first time I've used my iPod during a race.

Race registration: $20
New running gear: $45
High-fiving the dude dressed in Daffy Duck
costume along the course: Priceless.

It was a good run, and I'm happy with the results, although the weekend was not ideal for a race and all the other stuff -- job #1, job #2, maintaining a social life and the lack of sleep had me overwhelmed to the point where I could not enjoy the achievement until long after the moment had passed. (And after post-race indigestion and nausea had finally passed as well. Come on stomach, work with me! The legs are doing fine!)

I learned a lot from the training leading up to it and the race itself about pacing, eating and drinking properly for running, and adjusting my game plan according to circumstances, such as weather and energy levels, as they change from moment to moment.

After that not-so-great run, er, stroll, on Friday afternoon, I drove to the state park a few hours later to try again, and I ran for real about 2.5 miles with the music pumping in my ears and the trees along the Avenue of Pines sheltering me from the sun. I went to job #2 feeling much better about things.

Later, I took a break to eat some free pizza, and received a stern yet sympathetic pep talk from Mr. Fast Running Saratoga himself. Awesome.

Saturday was rest day and it rained all day so I burrowed inside for most of it before heading to a dinner party, where I met some cool new people, chatted with some cool people I already know and enjoyed lots of delicious things like grilled sausage, potato salad and brownies. I'd say my calorie stores for the next morning's effort were above what was necessary. I also was drinking water nonstop. That was all the preparation part.

It was a nerve-wracking late night Saturday. I came home from work at 3, laid awake for two hours, and then slept for three before somehow forcing myself out of bed and to the library -- getting there was one of the hardest parts.

Mom decided at the last minute to get up early and drive to Saratoga and stand in the rain to cheer me on. Thanks Mom! Her appearance and the fact that it was cool and wet outside Sunday morning helped me to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep running when I wanted to walk.

I know it's too soon, and I have a lot of miles to cover first, but I can't get the words "half-marathon" out of my head...

Friday Fail

Today's run was supposed to be practice for Sunday's Read Run 5K, and I wanted to check out the course, which does one small and one large rectangular loop around the East Side, starting and ending at the library on Putnam Street.

But if Sunday goes anything like today did, I'm screwed.

I went to meet Kellen at the library around 12:30. We are both registered for the race, and he had graciously agreed to join me for the practice course (and I'm guessing will never agree to that again, after my pathetic performance). I haven't run all week, so I already knew I was in for a struggle, but I was looking forward to finally getting out there and moving and also, I hoped having faster company would push me to do well.

The Fail began with poor preparation last night, when I went out first for girl's happy hour with Emmy and Lauren, and later with my beau. It was a great night and a great morning until I attempted to hit the pavement. I got up late and had to eat immediately before leaving, so there was no time to digest the half a bagel I scarfed down with some OJ. Also I didn't drink enough water before going out, which was probably slightly dangerous because it's 73 degrees out.

We started off at a fast pace up Spring Street (a hill) and kept going until I had to walk. We jogged and walked intermittently the whole way because I could not maintain a steady pace in the heat and my breathing was all out of whack. We kept to the sidewalk for awhile, which was hard in places like Nelson Avenue where there are brick paths with edges sticking up everywhere. Otherwise the course is pretty easy and flat, and I think they're closing off the roads for us so the brick sidewalk will be a non-issue.

When we turned onto Caroline Street for the last few paces, I started running as fast as I could to the library. That was the best minute of the whole outing. Those 29 other minutes? Not so much. To top it off, the soreness in my right hip flared up again half-way through. I am worried it will turn from a minor discomfort that's happened once or twice this whole year into something more serious.

I walked home feeling totally discouraged. I want to go out right now and try it again, just to feel like I got a real workout. I am also worried about getting up in time Sunday, because registration closes at 8:30 a.m. and I probably won't get home from work until 3 Saturday night. It's gonna be a stretch.

Hopefully the adrenaline will kick in like it has the last two races, and help me get out of bed. I'm glad the race is in town and I don't have to drive to get there. Also, the weather will surely be cooler at 9 a.m.

I will be sure to drink a lot of water and eat a carbohydrate-rich dinner Saturday night. I'm setting my goal low -- to maintain the 28 minute finish from three weeks ago.

Check back Sunday for results.

P.S.: On a side note, another reason I am pissed off is because the pigeons have once again reclaimed my balcony, and get this: they built another nest and laid another egg. Their feathers have gotten caught in my window screens and their crap has once again covered the floor of the balcony, after I spent two hours scrubbing it off last month. Any hope I had of enjoying the view out there this summer is quickly fading.

Ta da!

I am not a fast-moving person.

I never leap out of bed in the morning, gulp down a meal and make a beeline for my destination. I'm not a very speedy writer or speaker either.

I am someone, however, who spent the majority of her childhood and teenage years rushing from one parent's house to the next and then rushing to school and rushing to dance practice and rushing back home, where I rushed to finish all of my homework before bedtime. Rushing was the default mode I operated in.

At some point in college, all that rushing finally began to catch up with me, and I was moving so fast for so long that I forgot why I was doing the things I was doing. And I wasn't enjoying any of them.

Now that I am approaching a quarter of a century old, I've decided that it's time to slow down.

Hence the name of this blog, Slow Running Saratoga.

The timing of the blog's birth (I've been laboring with the decision to start it for about three months) just happens to be significant, as I've lived in the same town for exactly two years today (!), the longest I've inhabited any one place in eight years. I've been employed at the same newspaper, also, for exactly two years.

In this space, I will attempt to post regularly about my adventures, both training and racing as a new runner, and as someone who has finally slowed down long enough to notice the beautiful people and scenery that have always populated, and, for some reason unknown to me, continue to populate the course of my life.

As a new runner -- and as someone whose body was not built for the purpose -- being slow is no problem. Today I can run a 9 minute mile if I push myself hard, which is a big improvement over December 2008, when I went for my first real run and averaged a 13 minute mile.

Obviously though, the eventual goal is to run fast, or at least faster. Specifically, I'd like to run a 5K (3.1 miles) in 25 minutes or less. At my first race, in April at Saratoga Spa State Park, I only hoped not to die before crossing the finish line, and crossed my fingers I would do it in 30 minutes. I ended up finishing in 28:27.

Here I am slowly sprinting the last .1 mile past some random guy:


May 23, I cut my time down by 22 seconds at the SPAC Rock and Run, which was also held at the state park. But this time some of the course was on the grounds of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). It was a lot hotter and a lot more crowded than I was prepared for. Still, I didn't die.


Now I'm preparing for the Read Run 5K for Literacy on Saratoga's East Side, on Sunday morning. I'm delighted to once again be joined by my friends and coworkers, Kellen (in the race), and Eric (taking photos).

So that's it for tonight, with the exception of some major gratitude:

Thanks to Bill Callen, a wise journalist and (now) PR guy for providing the spark and lots of writerly encouragement!

Thank you, Eric, for taking photos of the SPAC race and letting me use one here as the header.

Thanks, Kellen, for agreeing to come along on the runs and for giving me something to strive for. (6 minute mile? Me? As if..)

Thank you to my family, for cheering me on from afar and for not asking if I was joking when I first told you I went for a run and I liked it.

And thank you, Andrew, for cheering me on from the sidelines, helping with the blog design and for so expertly leading the way.