Category Archives: runkeeper

Workouts linked to an activity tracked by RunKeeper.com

Fresh Legs

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After a week without running or swimming, I put my shoes on today and went for a run. I felt really fresh, so I modified my route mid-stream to get in some extra miles. I wound up going almost 11 miles, which is my longest run ever. Well, it’s the furthest I’ve gone without stopping. I can’t really call the whole thing a “run”.

It started raining on Sunday and didn’t stop till yesterday. In fact, it was a beautiful day yesterday and I was all set to swim, but then I remembered I had a lunch meeting, so I just worked and worked and didn’t go outside all day. That made me want to run today even more than I already did. I was so excited to get out there that I told my team not to expect me back for at least 90 minutes. It quickly turned from 90 minutes into 120, and I’m really happy about that. It was so nice out there.

Strava says I put in my 3rd fastest 10k and my 2nd fastest 15k. Of course, I’ve only made it to 15k one other time, so I had little choice on that one. I guess I could have set a PR, but I didn’t.

I started off on my normal 10k out-and-back, then decided to extend the “out” portion and then cut down to the 56 bike trail and run until I was tired, then head home. I wound up feeling pretty good the whole way, so I ran all the way down to El Camino Real before heading back up the hill towards home.

Going up El Camino Real really sucked today. I was feeling great, but I ran out of water right as I started up the hill. I really need a third (and possibly even a fourth) water bottle for these longer runs. So I started heading up the hill with no more water, but I seemed to be keeping my pace fairly well. Then I hit a red light, and another one, and another one. Before I made it home I hit 5 red lights. Having to stop and wait at a light doesn’t just slow you down, it makes it really hard to find your rhythm again. My legs tightened a little more each time I had to stop and stand there. And it was hot. Before I got home my stomach was really hurting and it was all I could do to drag myself up to the apartment.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/178410371

Strava:

Punishment

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I didn’t want to run today. The muscles along my shins were still sore from Tuesday’s run. I had completely convinced myself that I need to take it easy on my running and let my shins recover. I wasn’t going to run. I thought about riding my bike, but I had already declined the opportunity to ride with Charmaine this morning, so it would be pretty lame to go out and ride after that… and the pool is closed on Thursdays, so I wasn’t sure what I would end up doing.

I knew I was going to do something, because it’s the warmest day we’ve had yet this year. We may hit 85 degrees today. I absolutely had to go outside… and that pretty much meant I had to run. So I suited up and headed out.

Right off the first step my shins and ankles were hurting, so I headed straight for the dirt path along the 56. Despite the pain, I wasn’t upset about my jog down the hill to the 56 trail, but once I got there I fell apart. I was walking. My legs were buckling underneath me. It wasn’t pretty.

Eventually I regained my legs and decided to punish myself for the extremely poor performance on the 56 trail. I think that’s about as poorly as I’ve done on that trail since I started running it. It was really bad. So I decided to head on up to Old Carmel Valley, which has this massive hill at 25% grade or more. It’s insane. I let myself walk part of that and I didn’t feel bad about it in the least. Old Carmel Valley eventually connects to Del Mar Heights Road, which has been my main route the last month or so. I felt right at home along there and finished steady.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/175085405

Strava:

Once again my POS Zephyr Heart Rate Monitor recorded nothing. I really hate that thing. On the other hand, my Pebble watch continued to perform very well. I’m really starting to like having it for these runs.

The Struggle

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All morning I told myself I needed a rest day. I didn’t need to run today. I needed some time to let my legs recover from the big ride last weekend. My terrible performance in the pool yesterday was proof that I wasn’t fully recovered yet. My normal run time came and went. It was going to be a rest day! But then something snapped inside my head and I knew I was going to run.

The run started off poorly. I felt wasted. I was hitting every light red, even lights that just go into driveways that I’ve never hit red before. I was sweating profusely even though it was nice and cool outside with decent cloud cover. I hadn’t been running even five minutes and I was already walking. I would find out later that my heart rate wasn’t very high either. I was just struggling mentally. It was pathetic. I told myself it was fine, because even walking was good for me. I would allow myself to walk the 10k, but I wasn’t going to cut any distance.

I tried to run a few times, but fell back into walking a lot of the first 5k. After the turn-around I was actually feeling pretty good, and I wound up jogging most of the way back. I did walk a few short periods up the big hill. I continued to hit every light red, which frustrated me enough that I ran a few of them where there were no cars.

I’m not happy with my performance overall, but I’m not too upset about the second half. I’m happy that I forced myself to go out and do the whole thing. That’s the best part about today’s “run”.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/174118163

Strava:

Fail

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I have several guesses about why I failed so hard today. The obvious first choice is that I haven’t been able to sleep very well for several days. I have been anxious about the post office misplacing 2 of the 4 checks I mailed at tax time. One was tracked until it left the sorting facility, and the other was never tracked at all. I think the anxiety over those missing checks didn’t help my sleep situation any. Luckily, one of the checks cleared my checking account this morning, so I’m hopeful the post office just forgot to track my checks and didn’t actually lose them.

It’s another one of those amazingly beautiful San Diego days today, so I was looking forward to getting outside all morning. Right before lunch time I got a little anxious about the run, but I was feeling good. I stepped out the door to start my run and immediately rolled my ankle. I hadn’t even started yet and I knew I was in for some trouble.

I thought I might be fine, so I headed out on my normal 10k route. I hadn’t gotten too far when it was obvious to me that it wasn’t going to be business as usual, so I headed down to the trail along the 56 freeway where the running trail is in the nice sand that’s easier on my joints. I spent a lot of time switching between jogging and walking, but I eventually made my way back home. I’m not impressed at all with my performance, but hopefully I’ll be back ready for some serious biking by this weekend.

My heart rate monitor was fully charged when I started, but it stopped tracking just a few minutes in to the run. If this was the first or even the second time that had happened I might forgive it, but I’m really upset about it. It’s not critical that I record my heart rate, but I paid good money for this piece of equipment and I expect it to work. It doesn’t work at all when I ride my bike and it only seems to work about half the time when I run. My advice to you: Do not buy a Zephyr heart rate monitor. They suck.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/172031547

Strava:

Running with Pebble

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I supported the Pebble smart watch project through Kickstarter a long long time ago (more than a year). My watch finally arrived yesterday afternoon, right when I was contemplating switching from Strava to RunKeeper. That is significant because the beta version of the RunKeeper app for Android has native support for Pebble baked in and Strava does not.

So today I ran with my Pebble watch. I don’t know if it helped or hurt. It was sort of nice to know my pace at anytime, but I wonder how much of a distraction it was at the same time. The technology is very cool, but I’m not convinced that RunKeeper is the answer for me. For one thing, it doesn’t support the heart rate monitor that I already have. Of course, I’m not very happy with my heart rate monitor, but I’m determined to get my $70 of use out of it. Of course, I’m even more determined to get my (whatever I paid, I don’t remember anymore) of use out of my Pebble… so maybe I’ll be using both Strava and RunKeeper for a while. It may prove to be more work than it’s worth to use both. We’ll have to see how it goes.

I gave myself all sorts of excuses this morning. I woke up early this morning despite going to bed late last night. I rarely perform well without a good night’s sleep. I couldn’t find any of my running socks (dual-layered), so I was stuck using some old biking socks. I didn’t have any caffeine to prep with (they say a little caffeine before a workout helps you perform better and last longer). It was sunny and hot outside, despite the forecast of being nice and cool. I was wearing a dark shirt, which had no trouble converting all that sun into heat. Etc.

Despite everything, I had a decent run. I hit a few lights red on the way out, which probably stopped me from setting a PR on my 5k, but I managed to bring it home for a PR on my 10k. I cut almost a full minute from my previous PR. That means I’ve cut 5 minutes off my 10k time in the last week. I’ll take that!

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/171177078

Strava:

Too much running?

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I tried to do the same 5k loop around my neighborhood that I’ve been doing for a couple years today. My legs were still hurting a bit from yesterday’s terrible “run”. Each step I took today hurt a little more than the last. Soon I was walking, but that hurt too. I actually hurt less while running than walking, so I started running again for a while, but then it hurt too much and I dropped back to a walk. The walk was still painful, so I ran a little more. I was in so much pain I was almost crying. I broke back down into a walk. I haven’t ever had that kind of experience before. I kept telling myself that I would be out of pain sooner if I got home sooner, so I started running again.

When I got home I just sat outside the front door for several minutes. My legs were killing me. None of the major muscle groups were sore at all, but the stabilizers or ligaments or whatever it is that is hooked up along the sides of my tibia were killing me.

From everything I’ve read about shin splints, I think I need to take some time off from running… maybe focus on biking for a while, since it doesn’t seem to cause any of the pain I felt today.

https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/79780289

Jumping jacks: 50
Time at mile 1: 10:36
Time at mile 2: 20:34
Time at mile 3: 34:07

A short walk and a short bike

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Normally, today would have been a longer run, but it didn’t turn out that way. It was super windy outside, so I decided I would run my 5 miles on the treadmill. I didn’t even make it through the first mile before my legs were hurting so much that I gave in and walked. I crossed the first mile around 9 minutes, but I didn’t run again. I just walked 2 miles after that and called it good. I wasn’t happy with the results, but I figured I should give my legs some time to recover. I skipped my jumping jacks before running and I wonder if that had anything to do with it. I doubt it.

Less than an hour later, Charmaine came home and we went for a bike ride. The wind wasn’t quite as strong, but it still made for a few pushes through a nice headwind. Surprisingly, I felt really strong. Clearly I’m using a different set of muscles to ride than I do to run.

We rode our usual loop up past the camels to the top of Alpine and then back down and across on Westfield Road. I was somewhat ahead of Charmaine when I reached the turn to go up Suncrest, so I started heading up. I figured I would turn around before the switchbacks started and still beat her to the turn-off. I was wrong. She reached the turn and headed up before I got back. I waved at her, then called her on her phone, to make sure she knew I had turned back. She knew. She was determined to go up as far as I had gone before turning around.

The ride home wasn’t too bad until we got to the hill on Canyon Rd. That’s always a fun hill to climb, but today the strong headwind made it a little more fun than usual. Still, we each focused on keeping our slowest speed higher than normal and we didn’t take too long getting to the top.

https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/79645902

Push-ups: 70
Time to mile 1: 09:15
Time to mile 3: 39:19

Nice day for a run

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The weather is incredible today. I knew I burned my legs down with my big run yesterday, but there was no way I could stay inside on a day like today.

At the beginning and a few times during the first mile or so, my earbuds kept popping out. The cable is just slightly too short to go from my ears, down my shirt, and into my pocket where my phone is. Finally, I unplugged it, pulled the cord to the outside of my shirt and plugged it in again. They popped out a few more times, but then I found some position in my ear where the slight tugging that happened with each new step didn’t seem to move them anymore and I could just run.

The music seemed to help me keep a fairly steady pace. I never broke down into a walk, although I did slow my pace to about 5.0 mph going up one of the hills. I’m liking having the right music to keep my feet stepping in rhythm.

https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/79394904

Jumping jacks: 50
Push-ups: 100
Time at Mile 1: 09:38
Time at Mile 2: 19:05
Time at Mile 3: 29:22

Twisted

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I must run differently in the new shoes. My stride seems to be shorter and my cadence faster for the same speed in my old shoes. I think that’s mostly due to the extra bounce in my step. I’m also noticing that I must be running differently than I used to. It hurts to run very far at a time. My legs feel like they’re all twisted. The outside edge of the bones in my legs are really tender. I don’t know if it’s the bone itself (doubtful) or something that connects to the bone along that edge, but it’s not cool. Hopefully I just need some more time to break myself into the new shoes and pattern of running.

I walked on the treadmill for a mile before going out on the street today. I wanted to make sure the new shoes were fitting correctly. I’m pretty sure they are. I don’t slide around inside the shoes, and they don’t feel tight. But I had a really hard time running today. I was in pain, and also fairly tired. I seem to be going in the wrong direction. Hopefully I can turn it around soon.

https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/75423061

Jumping jacks: 50
Push-ups: 100

New Shoes

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After hitting Costco early in the morning last Saturday, we stopped off at Runner’s Corner and I tried on shoe after shoe after shoe (and ran around the outside of the store on a little path) until I was sick of it and just picked one. It was a lot like taking an eye test.

“A or B?”
“I can’t tell a difference.”

“B or C?”
“Still can’t tell a difference.”

etc.

In the end, I went home with a new pair of shoes, size 12 1/2 (way bigger than I normally wear), and a bunch of new socks. They say cotton socks (I normally wear cotton socks) cause blisters. I haven’t ever blistered, but they are runners and they know what they are talking about.

Today I went out and ran for the first time in my new shoes and new socks. It wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t any better than I was doing in my old shoes. I still broke down and walked up one hill… and walking in my new shoes was fairly sloppy and unpleasant.

https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/75047377

After I got home I jumped on the treadmill to go a bit more, but I couldn’t run. Every time my foot hit the mat, the treadmill would grind to a halt, causing all sorts of bad things to happen to me. Not cool. Maybe the new shoes were just too advanced for my poor treadmill? I don’t know. So I tried to walk on the treadmill… much worse. The shoes were not only sloppy, but it was hard to really walk. I couldn’t walk at my normal 4.0 mph pace, I had to crank the thing down all the way to 3.0 or 2.5 before I could even walk. I wasn’t happy.

I wondered if something bad had happened to the treadmill, so I put on my old shoes for a second and jumped on. The treadmill was fine with my old shoes, but it certainly didn’t get along with my new shoes. That’s not so bad, I thought. I’ll just have a pair of shoes for running outside and one for the treadmill. But then I realized that was stupid.

As I took my shoes and new special runner’s socks off, I noticed something I haven’t seen on my feet for years. Blisters. The runner’s socks are “guaranteed not to cause blisters”, so it must be the shoes. They must be way too big. You see, when I was trying them on at the store, I was wearing my usual cotton socks, which are much thicker than these new runner socks.

So the new shoes are going back. Charmaine is going to trade them for a size 12. I think that may still be too big for me. My old running shoes are size 11. I still can’t believe I let them send me home with size 12 1/2. What was I thinking? I really, really hate shopping and trying crap on, but maybe I should go back to that store and try to get something closer to what I already had. I don’t know what to do. I’m frustrated.