Two runs again

I started out at the gym this morning, and ran 2 miles in 21:11 minutes (a 10:35 average pace), then hit the locker room and had to head home after checking my cell phone voicemail. (There was an important message to pass along to George.) I was thinking that would be it for the day, but I decided I had some energy to burn, so I put on my Garmin Forerunner and ran around the apartment complex. Ended up surprising myself by going 31:11 minutes for 2.67 miles, an 11:40 average page. That's 4.67 miles for the day, which puts my weekly total up to 17.76 miles, not bad. Hopefully I'll hit the 20 mile mark tomorrow to end the running week.

It was really nice to run outside again. It was a little windy at times, and I had a few minor hills. It felt really good.

Outside!

This morning I decided to run in a nearby neighborhood, Brier Creek Country Club. I drove there, as I'm still getting my bearings in that area, and I didn't want to get stuck. I didn't know at the time if I'd get my whole workout done there, or if I'd go to the gym afterward.

I parked by the tennis courts, which I figured would be a good landmark as I ran around. I started my Forerunner and hit the sidewalks, sticking to the main road mostly. (In time, I hope to explore a little more.) The weather was nice, in the mid 40s and slightly windy. The sidewalks had some slight hills. I ended up running 3.62 miles in 45 minutes, a 12:26 min/mile pace, a little faster than yesterday's outdoor pace. It's still a good bit slower than my treadmill pace, and slower than my last 5K too. I'm glad to be getting the outdoor running experience, though. It's reminded me that I need to do more of it, though during the work week that's not very feasible.

One of the neat things about my new Forerunner 205 is that when I sync it to my computer, it puts information about my run right into the computer! It does time and distance, pace, calories, even a map of the route I've run. There's other information too, stuff I haven't figured out the value of yet. Because of the high tech stuff, I have learned that I have to give the unit time to power up before I run. It takes a while for it to locate and communicate with the satellites in the area.

New Week, Old Month

I started a new running week this morning with a different run--I ran outside with my new Garmin Forerunner 205! I slept in this morning, so ended up getting my workout in just before lunch (as I have today off from work). The run itself was nothing fancy. I parked outside my gym and ran around the shopping center and its parking lot for 20 minutes, going 1.59 miles, according to the Forerunner. That's a 12:34 minutes/mile pace, not as fast as I'm used to going on the treadmill. It was a good reminder that things can be slower out in "the elements," though it was a beautiful morning! It was a little windy, and I was looking out for cars (and also staring at the Garmin on my wrist part of the time!).

After the initial 20 minutes, I went inside the gym and ran another 30 minutes for 2.93 miles, a 10:14 min./mile pace. That's a 4.52 mile total for the day and new week, and 72.65 miles for the month of December. I'm shooting for another 20 mile week this week.

Almost There

This morning was kind of a wimpy workout for me. Did a little over 6 minutes on the treadmill for .54 miles, when I paused the treadmill to look at my iPod (which I rarely bother to do during a running workout). When I was ready to go again, I accidentally hit the reset button rather than the restart button! Ackdsubjkfdsbk! I got another 15 minutes on running in for 1.37 miles. That's 1.91 miles for the day, and 19.57 miles for the week! So close to 20! I'm tempted to strap on my new Garmin Forerunner 205 and run around the apartment complex. If I do, I'll report on how it goes.

I must confess that I'm running out of running steam a little bit this week. It doesn't feel like a loss of motivation, just feeling tired from getting accustomed to the higher mileage. I guess this is why the experts suggest that you have 20 miles per week as a running base for quite some time before sigining up for a marathon. I'm really feeling that it'll take my body a while to adjust. In time, I'll probably have to adjust my runs so that I'm running my long runs on the weekends.

Going the Distance!

I decided to commit to running a 10K road race this spring to help me progress toward a half marathon later this year, so tonight I registered for the Inside-Out Sports Classic 10K in Cary on March 30! One reason I signed up for this one is that there's also a half marathon, and I can't wait to see what a half LOOKS like, even if (maybe especially if) I'm not running in one yet.

Signing up for that 10K has helped me to refine my list of possible races on the right side of this blog. It's interesting to see the puzzle pieces starting to fit together. It helps to have a plan. The list was starting to get a little unwieldy.

Meanwhile, I've been having fun playing with one of my new Christmas toys tonight, a Garmin Forerunner 205. I've been wanting one for a while, and am psyched about getting one from my sis and brother-in-law. It just might help me get outside to run more in the winter, which I really whould do!