ikilledit

Three days without running. And a guilty run today. That is just how it is sometimes. 

A wet and rainy day. Just so happens to be a rest day. I don’t mind this at all. Lesson plans, coffee, & Camera Obscura on the playlist. 

You have to let the rest days do their job. 

There’s a discussion in a google+ running community about the benefits of running with or without headphones. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I run without.

Some people need music. Some people need the birds and mother nature. I also run without headphones because I do not want to be hit by a car or some random thing that I did not hear coming at me. I want to be aware of my surroundings. If you’re on a close path, then I say go nuts with the music, but even then. You want to be able to hear someone if they yell “STOP!” or “HELP!” But that is me. To each their own. 

I thought that I was in the minority for that but then I discovered there are some people who run without headphones and do so primarily so that they can count their steps. 0_o

I have some OCD-like tendencies but seriously, that shit is crazy. Counting your steps. I’d lose my fucking mind. Thanks but no thanks to that. 

Just goes to show how idiosyncratic runners are. 

I’m two months into my half-marathon training program and the mileage is about to jump and I’m already dreading my lack of motivation. I know I can do it, I’ve run a half-marathon. But I have so much other stuff going on. I know it’s an excuse but six or seven hours a week for running tends to cut into my work, grad. school, family, social, etc. 

I’ll do it. I know it’s worth it. But fuck it’s scary sometimes the shit we commit ourselves to. 

How to you like @RunKeeper? I’ve been using @Strava and it seems great. ~ @aliceeberharter

I enjoy RunKeeper quite a bit. They have a free version and or you can choose to pay for an elite status membership. It’s not that much more expensive, ten or fifteen dollars for a year but you do have access to more data/statistics. For a running nerd such as myself it’s worth it. 

The app is versatile and you can do quite a bit on your phone. There are training plans/schedules that you can set up for any distance or goal (5k, 10k, half, full, 30 min, 60 min, etc.). You can set up daily reminders, something I appreciate as even the most dedicated runner needs a good kick in the pants to remind ourselves to get out there and not be lazy. 

The website is also very simple and easy to use. You can see all of the runs broken down by the week, month, or year. If your phone isn’t working or you just want to run free, you can manually enter in your runs after the fact as well. You can set up standard routes or you can just use the GPS. 

There is also the social media aspect. You can add friends and track/view their results. You can send to twitter (the way you see mine) and all kinds of other things. 

And it’s not just running but walking, swimming, cycling, hiking, climbing, and a ton of other activities. 

If you’re happy with your service then stick with it, but if you want something new then Run Keeper is pretty solid. I’ve been with them for about two and a half years now and I’ve yet to experience anything that upsets me to the point of switching. I left NIke because their app to website integration was horrible. I still have 788 km that I have to manually add to my mileage whenever I look at my current statistics. I wish I could have transferred them and/or never used that program to begin with. 

So much of these things depend on your comfort level, whatever makes you happy. And for me, even if all this technology failed me, I’d still go out for my runs. It’s just nice to keep track of it all in one place. A running total of my life. Ha, puns. 

1902 km since March 1, 2010. 

I hope you find what works for you. 

:)

Kill it. 

Rest days suck. But you rest. 

I’m sure this will annoy some people who think this is some form of shaming/humble-bragging or whatever but I just lost a few pounds without really trying. 

Training problems. I’m eating tons and tons of protein and yet my jeans are a bit loose this week. This is what running 100k in a month will do I guess. 

Tightens belt. 

Skipped my long-run but forced myself to at least run a 5k. Ugh. Just a bad day. Will start fresh tomorrow. Just not feeling that shit at all. 

Sometimes you just have to skip your work out to take a nap and then eat chicken and ice-cream. 

Not every day. But sometimes. 

Our dear friend and sister S. just ran a marathon. I’ve only run a half and so I am still very much in awe. That’s 42.2 km or about 4ish hours of running depending on how you train your body. Knowing what I know of sister though, I would not be surprised to find her running at a 3 hour pace or less. Sister is fit and motivated. Why am I writing about her? Because I’m proud of her and also because it inspires me. 

I’m training for my second half-marathon later this year. And I know that I run fairly slow. I’m not too bothered by this. I run what is right for me but I still yearn to be one of those at the front of the pack. If you’re new to running, I urge you to find someone who is better than you and to look to them. Not to make yourself feel worse but to make yourself feel better. It’s a good way to motivate yourself. To want to be like your friend. To achieve the things they achieve. 

There’s nothing wrong with chasing a friend. Congrats S. I am proud of you. I’m glad you’re there in the back of my brain, urging me to keep going, to keep pushing forward, to take one more step. When I first started running you were one of the few that helped inspire and motivate. A few years later and you’re still helping. 

Killed it. 

Ran 10k today. It felt good. That is all. Sometimes that is all you need. A simple run. Set a goal and achieve it. It’s only 10k but it was enough. 

I now use running as a break from grad school. I am doing this. Who am I? What am I become?

This is me guilting myself back into running that run that I skipped yesterday. I blamed it on my knee but really it was my head. I was worried about immigration stuff with regard to grad school which starts tomorrow. Lots of life changes and sometimes I take it out on my running. Sometimes this works in favour of running (increased stress runs, letting myself not think while running etc,) and other times it makes running more difficult (skipped runs, doing things half-assed, not keeping my head in my training program). 

But running has always been an up and down game for me. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. One thing is for sure, it’ll always be there and you can always pick yourself back up. 

Skipped a work out because my knee was sore. 

OR

I made up a story about my knee to convince myself that it was ok to skip a workout. 

Probably. 

Ran my first ever fartlek today. It felt good and all of the training has paid off thus far. I am already seeing results. Body is able to run at a much more intense speed for a much longer amount of time. 

Killed it. 

Rest days drive me crazy.