Bright, Shiny, New AND Thin! - Garmin 610

Lookie what I got! 

I have wanted one of the new Garmin 610's ever since they came out!  Sleek and thin and easy to manuever (at least just in my initial set up of it yesterday). 

I have a perfectly OK old school Garmin 205 that I have had since around Christmas 2007, so I have never could justify spending money on something I didn't need just because its new (and lets face it the 405 was (and is) a waste of money IMHO).

Even now my 205 works just fine (all I have had to do is replace the band which just recently broke), and I certainly didn't (and wasn't going to) want to spend $400 on a new running watch...but thankfully in this case I didn't have to!  :O)

So now I have this new-fangled watch, and just yesterday charged it, and set it up, but haven't had the chance to actually give it a go yet, so obviously I cannot review it. 

I might try it this evening just as a test go, but more than likely I will first test it out on a long run on Saturday instead.

Anyone else that reads my blog have this Garmin 610? 

Do you love it, hate it or just indifferent?

10 Mile Run For Sherry Arnold

A couple of weeks ago word started spreading through the running blogs and on SUAR's Facebook page about a woman who had gone out for a run before heading to work, and never returned.  Only her running shoes were found. 

SUAR had a bib done for runners all over the world to print out and wear on February 11th in honor of Sherry as they ran or walked a half mile or a 50K.

I've had a couple of icky moments out on the roads when running alone, and I am about as paranoid as one gets, but to be in a small town where everyone knows everyone, no one locks their doors and you go out just like you would any other day...to have evil unwillingly take you?

I haven't run alone in the pre-dawn hours for quite some time now.  After the last scare I just couldn't bring myself to walk out into the dark and run by myself.  Yes I know that bad people are out at all hours of the day, however I certainly feel much safer when its light out, and I have even altered my routes to make sure that I am in well occupied areas.  And thankfully where I live now there are so many runners and bikers that I feel much safer when I am out.



Anyway, not to get up on that whole safety while running alone soapbox, but ...

So Saturday morning the alarm went off and for the first time in a while, I didn't want to get up.  But I knew that Sunday was going to be COOOOLD and I didn't want to ruin my whole day by having to do 10 miles on my own.  So up up up...

Got out the door and off to base.  Since I got there a bit too early, I went ahead and ran a couple of miles there at base before doing the route (which was a 10 mile loop).  I turned around at the 2nd water stop and headed back (for the 8 miles I needed).

It was still a bit colder than I thought (37deg with a 29deg feels like with the wind), but still glad I went with shorts and a long sleeve.  A couple of times my thumbs got cold (outside of half hand cover and sticks out through the thumb hole of the long sleeve Lulu Run Swiftly tops), but I would just readjust by putting my thumbs out of the thumb holes and pull my sleeve over for a bit and then it would be fine.

Another reason I opted to do the 8 mile portion was because, and this hardly ever happens, I was glad for this route back in an area where there is usually NO air or wind and makes it incredibly stuffy.  But today it was a Godsend.  The winds were blocked and I was able to just stay cool and get a big time negative split with my final mile coming in at 9:50 (overall pace for 10 miles was 10:20).

I thought about Sherry Arnold a lot.  And I also thought a lot about my friend who lost her mom on Friday, just the day before.  She passed on the 10th of the month, just like my momma.  We are coming up on a year now since momma passed away (March 10) and while I think of her at least once a day, its becoming more and more prominent in my thoughts as the 1 year anniversary approaches.

I miss her so much.

Hill Workout - For The Treadmill

It rained and rained and rained yesterday.  A steady rain, sometimes really hard up until about 3pm.  I knew ahead of time that we were expecting a lot of rain, so I had packed my gym bag because I figured if hills had any chance of being cancelled then I wanted to be prepared to hit the gym straight from work to do a hill workout on the treadmill.

With CrossFit every night this week from 8-9:30pm, my time management is crucial.  I want to at least have time somewhere in the evening where I can relax for a bit, and get some food in me.When we hadn't received an email by the time I left work, I had made the decision to just do a hill workout at the gym, which would leave me roughly 2 hours at home before I had to leave for CrossFit.

I searched online for some sample treadmill hill workouts and found one that I liked (although it was a bit challenging and I had to alter off and on due to difficulty).

Here is the workout (and my alterations noted):

Med/Long Hills
- Set 1: 5mph @ 5% for 2 minutes then 0% for 1 minute. Repeat.
- Set 2: 6mph @ 6% for 1.5 minutes then 0% for 1 minute. Repeat.
- Set 3: 6.5mph @ 6.5% for 1.5 minutes then 0% for 1 minute. Repeat.
- Set 4: 7mph @ 7% for 1 minute then 0% for 1 minute. Repeat.

Short Hills

- Set 1: 7mph @9% for 30 seconds then 0% for 1 minute. Repeat.
- Set 2: 7.5 mph @ 10% for 30 seconds then 0% for 1 minute. Repeat.
- Set 3: 8 mph @ 12% for 30 seconds then 6mph at 0% for 1 minute. Repeat. (I did this one on 10% incline as well, not the 12%)

Hill Sprints (the hard ones!)

-Set 1: 8mph @ 12% incline for 30 seconds. Step off to side and rest for 45 seconds. Repeat x 3. (I did this one on 10% incline)
- Set 2: 9mph @ 11% incline for 30 seconds. Step off to side and rest for 45 seconds. Repeat x 3. (I did this one on 9% incline)
- Set 3: 10mph @ 8% incline for 40 seconds. Step off to side and rest for 1 minute. Repeat x 2. (Did this one at 9mph)
- Set 4: 10.5 mph @ 5% incline for 60 seconds. Step off to side and rest 90 seconds. Repeat x 1. (Did this one at 9.5mph)

Prior to starting the workout, I walked on the treadmill at 3.6 on 0% incline for the length of one song (approx 4min).  Then I jogged on 0% incline for 10 minutes at about 4.4mph.  

Somewhere in the middle(ish) of the actual hill workout, I got so winded and tired that I put it back down to 0% incline and jogged at 4.4mph for a song, maybe it was two...can't remember now, but I know I needed a break.

When the incline is THAT high its almost impossible to not at least hold on (lightly) with at least one hand.  I tried to alternate hands a few times, but mostly grinned and beared it.

One never truly realizes just how LONG 30 seconds can be when you are at an 11% incline trying to run at 9.5 miles an hour.

After I finally got through the workout (which is approx 34 min long), I walked a bit then jogged for another song as a cool down.

To be honest, next time I do this I will alter it even more.  Those inclines are just too high.  I would probably do a max of maybe like an 8% incline tops.  And leave the mph's to nothing over 9mph.  Once I tweek this a bit for the common man/woman, I will post it.  I'm sure it won't be the last time I do a hill workout on the treadmill.

Then I took my tired ass home to grab a bite (pb foldover sandwich), laid on the couch and waited for time to leave for my first CrossFit class....

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Well not really mountains, but I will be in sight of a couple of really beautiful ones.

Finally the elevation chart was published for one of my half marathons in 2012. (and yes, I etched out the name of the race from the photo)

The downhills will be more of an issue than the uphills I do believe.  those last hills there at around mile 13 is stupid though. 

Rude.  Just rude.

Faster! Faster! Faster! - Speed Training (Workout Suggestion #1)

Now that Spring training for Kenyan Way has started up again, Wednesdays (or Thursdays) become ‘speed training’ day. 
 
The same holds true in the Fall once marathon training starts up, however the distances and types of speed training during marathon training is different (or can be) than that of someone who is training for shorter distances (5K – 21K). 


Personally I don’t do a lot of the speed workouts when marathon training other than some mile repeats and Yasso’s every now and then, but most of the time I skip them and just run the mileage.  I will do my at GMP mileage in my long runs as directed, but that’s about it and then again, not always.

I actually like the speed workouts in the Spring.  They usually consist of repeats of anywhere from 200m – 1200m, with ‘ladders’ thrown on some days, or what I like to call ‘poles’ etc. 

I thought that I would post an entry each week with what my speed workout was, just to give anyone curious, an idea of the different ones that we do. 

Also you can go to this site and see all kinds of links that will give you so much information on speed work, why it’s important, and how it helps.  

Additionally, speed workouts can be done either on the treadmill, at the track or even on your neighborhood street (if you know the distances/use a Garmin).  Some of the workouts for speed I actually prefer to do on the treadmill, while others I love to do them outside at the track or the park.

Another great product of adding speed work into your workouts/runs is that it is a huge calorie/fat burner!  Even intervals (slow/med/slow/med) in just a normal everyday run can actually burn more calories during and post-run than if you just did a slower mid-long distance run.

Before I get into this weeks speed workout that I had, I would like to mention that you might want to go over to McMillans Calculator to determine what you should be running your sprints/repeats/intervals at. 

I am lucky that with Kenyan Way, I input online what my best 5K time is, what my goal time is for whatever distance (in this case, I am using my goal ½ marathon time that I have), so that when I print out my schedule I know what pace(s) I need to be doing my workouts at on any given Wednesday (and my other runs as well)

 ******************************************************************

This week’s speed workout is what I call ‘ladders’. 

Basically the idea is to run 1 min/2 min/3 min/4 min/5 min/4 min/3 min/2 min/1 min with a corresponding recovery in there as well.  Example:  1 min at 10K pace (which would be slower)/1 min at 5K pace (which would be faster), then 2/2, 3/3 etc.  Or another example would be to do 1min at marathon pace (even slower than 10K pace)/1 min at 5K pace (which would be faster).  Then once you do the 5/5 you go back down the ‘ladder’ (4/4 3/3 2/2 1/1)

This is definitely one of the speed workouts that I prefer to do on the treadmill.  It’s easier to monitor, and it keeps me on pace for the entire time duration of both speeds.

Work Out

• 2 mile warm up (nice and slow) Note: schedule says: 1-3 miles warm up
• ‘ladders’  Note: schedule says to negate the 5/5 if it makes the work out is too long
• I did:  1/1 2/2 3/3 4/4  (alternating between marathon pace and 10K pace); my legs/body were sore as all get out and I went at it a bit slower than I probably would have otherwise
• At the 5/5 I did a tabata session (4 min of 20sec on/10sec off).  My pace was 8:40 for the tabata.
• Then I went back down 4/4 3/3 2/2 1/1 (Note: after the tabata, I ran the first 4 as slow, then faster on the 2^nd giving me time to recouperate from the tabata
• Cooled down by walking for a couple of minutes

You may be wondering why I strayed from the 5/5 and threw the tabata in there and the answer is quite simple.  As I mentioned I was sore and tired and it was already a stretch for me to do this workout to begin with, so when the 4/4’s were difficult for me to finish/concentrate on I knew the 5/5 was going to be a bust, so I knew that a 4 min tabata at a faster pace would be the same and it seems to go faster so I knew I could power through it.

And I was right.

Afterwards, I hit up the weights for only about a half hour or so, not really concentrating on any particular muscle group in general; just trying to get back into the routine after being sick.  Did some legs, triceps, chest, shoulders and biceps; using machines that would work more than one muscle group at a time for maximum benefits in a minimal amount of time.

Push Ups (Weighted Medicine Ball) and Box Jumps

Here are examples of 2 of the 'exercises' K had me doing in our session earlier this week.

In this first one, the weighted ball/pushups that he had me doing are the first ones in the video (where you roll the ball back and forth; weight of ball = 20lbs).  After that you can stop the video if you want.

Note:  This shit is NOT easy

Box jumps.  My worst nightmare.  I am using an 18"-20" box and jumping from a full squat position.

Its very intimidating.  I go from panic to fear to badass-ery within seconds of each other.

You worry you are going to miss the box with either one or both legs and plant your face into the pavement or shear off your shins in the process.

Note:  the deeper the squat the harder it is to make up on top.

This chick is using a park bench, and going WAY faster than I can right now, but it gives you an idea.

Here is an example on how to do a box jump using a low level box (or in this case, steps)

And then variations and obviously with higher " boxes

K pushed me through some 'crossfit' like moves yesterday in anticipation of my 2 weeks with CF starting next Monday!

Needless to say, I'm a bit more sore than I normally am.

Power to the People!

I wrote this obviously a couple of months ago, and it was saved in drafts.  As I was going through deleting some posts I had started and never finished, or started and decided not to actually post for one reason or another, I saw this one and thought, oh that was a good story.

So here ya go!



How about a non-running/race post for a change?!  :O)

Here is a fact about me:  I am frugal. 

And I am a saver.  And when I cannot be it drives me insane.  I use to spend a lot of money mindlessly, back when I made a lot of it, but I still saved a lot.  Then times changed and I had to spend a lot less money, and to continue to save in the same fashion I was (or close to it as I could), I had to begin becoming more and more frugal.  Especially when it comes to things that I can control.

Like electricity.

I am very frugal when it comes to utilities.  Always have been.  It was worse when I bought my house, as I monitored not only the KW's for the electricity, but I also noted the water and gas usage as well.  Drove John crazy.  But he never complained about the low utility bills when it came time to pay them.

So to make this long story not so long, let me get to the point.

A few months back I moved into a new place.  A much nicer place.  A place that was insulated well, that I was smack dab in the middle of an upstairs and a downstairs unit, making it that much easier to heat/cool etc. therefore meaning saving more money on electricity would be that much easier or at least offset the fact that I had washer/dryer/dishwasher and an extra room to boot.

I am, and have been since it was offered, set up for email notifications on a weekly basis where my daily KW usage is noted, compared to $/kw's from the previous week and what my bill should roughly come in at when the meter is read and the bill is sent out.

So since being in this new place I started noticing that my usage and monthly bills started being 'off'.  As in way too much.  Then about 3 weeks ago, I noticed a huge spike in my email from them and I started investigating.  Questioning.  Talking to a lot of different people.  Then finally I thought I had an answer and last week my bill arrived and I went through the ceiling.

I immediately contacted my provider and went through everything all over again and that I felt like either someone was stealing from my meter, or had an additional unit on my bill by accident or that the meter was wacky.

Thankfully the person I ended up with on the phone that day was my money saving angel and by the time we got off the call, she had scheduled for someone to come out, but that it would be a few days.  (I realize my attempt at making this short is not working...)

And I must say that in the past 3 weeks I was conserving even MORE and still my usage wasn't budging so I knew something was not right and would not give up and take 'no' or 'thats just the way it is ma'am' for an answer.

I had already had management come in and check every single thing in the place to make sure nothing was pulling more electricity than it should be and it checked out clean.

Then yesterday I was home for a day off and my phone rang mid-morning and it was the CP dude.  Yay!  I went and met him outside, informed him of allllllll the information and what I thought etc., and honestly he thought it was going to come down to the rate I was paying (I had found out through all of this I was a flex plan (not good) to which I negotiated a much lower fixed rate...) and that things would 'even out' later.

So after my insistence on what I normally use daily (10-12kw) and what my bill was telling me, we walked over to where all the meters are.  Here is the conversation:

CP dude:  Hmmm.  What number did you say you were?
Me:  XXXX
CP dude:  Thats odd. This says this is your meter, but this reading is yours on this other one (my upstairs neighbor).
Me:  JUST WHAT I SUSPECTED!!
CP dude:  Not so fast.  Here is what we'll do.  I'm going to shut this off and then lets go up and see if your electricity is on; it should be since according to this I just cut your neighbors electricity off.

So we go up and sure enough guess who's electricity is off?

This girls!!!!

I knew it!  I knew it!  I knew it!

The lines were switched/meters something or other when the new SMART meters were done and apparently the people that lived there before me never questioned their usage/bill so whatever.  All I know is that my bill tripled and the average usage per day for my neighbors was 40kw while mine was 10-12!!!  Last Monday they used 72kw!  Freaking hell!  Apparently they must have been out of town this past weekend as it looks like their usage dropped to about 15kw.  Thats good for me.  Anyway as of yesterday morning everything is as it should be and I am one happy camper!  That extra money was eating into what I use for other things and my budget is not allowing for such high electric bills!

So all this time I've been conserving even more than I normally do, all it was doing was making THEIR bill go down and not mine!  I should have been using comfortably since I was paying for it anyway!!!

So the guy switched them back and even replaced my meter with a brand new one.

Last night I left my lights on, ran the heater over 68 and even dried the clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them up to dry.  :O)

Moral of the story is:  Never take no for an answer until you are completely satisfied or proven that you have no cause.

Now I get a big fat refund ($168 was what it turned out to be) and my electricity bills can go back to normal (since this time my bill has not gone over $55). 

I know it wasnt my neighbors fault, but I hope they get a rude awakening when their bill triples next month. 
Thankfully its only been a week since the meter was read so I should end up with a nice low bill at the end of December.