Debut: Garmin

As you can see, considering the temperature today here in Texas, (need I remind you it's January!) I couldn't find any excuse not to finally get out and run with the Garmin Forerunner 220 my wife got me for Christmas.  After dropping a few subtle hints (a text message with a link may or may not have been sent) she managed to find me one.  And even though these were apparently hot items and hard to find, she managed to find me a red and black one, (for which I'm thankful since the other choice was white and purple).

Anyway, today was the day, and I happily planned out my route.  I got dressed in running clothes, and laced up.  I grabbed my Garmin and when I started to strap it on, it wouldn't turn on.

Aaaahhh!

I traced to cord back to the computer, and of course it was unplugged.

Now I'm not blaming anyone in particular, but there are two little monsters under 5' tall, that have in the past week hidden my glasses, my everyday watch (under the bed of course, because it glows in the dark!), and the remote shutter release for my dSLR.  But I'm not one to point fingers.

So I did what any self-respecting runner would do.  I started cussing.

Loudly.

A lot.

Then grabbed my phone, and went for a run anyway using my trusty iPhone and RunKeeper app.

It was a good run, and I enjoyed it.  The temperature was balmy, the breeze was perfect.  And a 5k slipped past under my feet.

And now here I sit blogging about it, and the Garmin lies next to me.  Mocking me with its 100% charge plastered boldly across its face.  I've seen less smirk on my 14 year old daughter's face.

Mr. Garmin, we are not off on the best foot here.

Clothing for the Budget Runner

I wish I could afford the elite clothing that's out there.  It looks cool and I'm sure it's awesome, but right now I spend my money where the rubber meets the road--on shoes.  Paying a premium for the right shoes leaves precious little in the budget for clothing.

Having rubbed all the skin off my nipples on countless occasions running in cotton t-shirts, and worn Swiss cheese holes in my thighs from chafing, running specific garments are clearly in order.

So what's a money strapped Clydesdale to do?

Enter C9 by Champion.

If you want basic running clothes that hold up well, perform well, and don't get in the way when you're running--but you're on a budget like I am, then you're probably already familiar with C9 by Champion.  So likely I'm preaching to the choir out there.

That being said, today Sunday 1/19/14, Target.com is offering 40% off C9 clothing.  Just use the promo code "GETFIT" at check out.

By using that code, (and my wife's RedCard debit card discounts) I got 2 t-shirts, 2 long sleeve t-shirts, and 2 pair of running shorts for just over $50.  That's less than $10 a piece, and 6 pieces for the cost of a single elite garment by the most popular brands.

Anyway, thought I'd pass on the good fortune.

Shoe fly, shoe!

Much to my wife's chagrin, I added another pair of shoes to the stable--a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s.  I had gotten the Brooks Adrenalines as my go-to pair, and my Brooks Pure Cadences for speed work and intervals.  However, I find myself spending a disproportionate amount of time in the Adrenalines.

At this point, I'm not sure I want to push things with the Cadences--they are more of a minimalist shoe, and designed for midfoot strike.  I've heard and heeded the warnings of both minimalist and non-minimalist proponents:  If you're going to transition, do it slowly.

Very slowly.

I have been 100% pain free using the Cadences, both while wearing them and in the days immediately post run.  But given the fact that I'm still dramatically increasing my mileage and my paces, I just don't want to chance it.  So far, one workout a week (I'm running 5 days pretty consistently now) has proven to be just enough.  I love the feeling of wearing a different shoe.  And I can feel my pulse quicken when I lace up in them, because I know they are for running fast, and I'll soon be in the midst of a blistering intervals workout. I do notice my legs are tired in different places after my Cadence workouts.

It's a great feeling.

Anyway, all that to say that I thought another go-to pair would be a good idea for the rest of my runs.  This way I can rotate between the Inspires and the Adrenalines and potentially eliminate any overuse injuries from running on the exact same platform all the time.

I read lots of reviews from lots of different sources, but I couldn't find a place locally that had my 14s in stock.  So I took a chance--and I'm thankful that after trying them on for the first time today they feel perfect.  Haven't run much in them yet, but the heel grips my heel, the laces snug them down on my midfoot, and the toe box is nice and roomy.  Looking forward to putting some miles in in them. 

And just look at them.  I'm crushing on that blue and yellow scheme.

Another exciting and proud-papa moment is when my 7 year old daughter came home from school and announced she wanted to be part of the running club.

After making sure she knew what running actually entails, I set about finding her a good pair of shoes.  The poor girl is cursed, unlucky, blessed with my long and narrow feet.  So it only stands to reason that the same shoe would fit her needs.

Introducing her very cool purple Brooks Adrenalines For Kids.

Too bad the first day of Running Club she was promptly informed that 1st graders weren't allowed.  Only 2-4th graders.  She was devastated, and we were a little miffed we'd spent the money on these shoes for her.  But what can you do?  Public school will be public school--nobody every claimed it all made sense.

UPS Brought My Wings Today

Maybe it's cliche.  Maybe it's overused.  Maybe its metaphoric imagery has long since faded.

But these shoes are my wings.

They've set me free from who I was.

Creating in me who I will become.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13

My only regret is that I'm headed back to work and getting a run in them will be a scheduling coup.

Neon Peacocks

Friday night wasn't a good night sleepwise. For some inexplicable reason my diaphragm decided it had been far too long since my last bout with hiccups.

Clearly the best time for a fit of hiccups is at 0230 am...for the next 3 hours.

My neck and stomach muscles are still sore. Hiccups are a heck of a core workout in case you were wondering. One set of 3 hours of hiccups is plenty.

Needless to say, my planned long run for Saturday morning was questionable at best based on the perceived effort of just assembling breakfast for the kids and myself. (In fact I forgot about my oatmeal until I went to make lunch!)

I decided that Saturday was a perfect rest day. And I was perfectly content to go runless.

I even valiantly resisted testing my new shoes.

Until 2000 or so (8pm for you non hospital/military folks).

Everyone knows the best time for a shakedown run in new shoes requires completely upsetting bedtime routines. And laundry.

Armed with pure inconvenience, I ran 2.25 miles of one minute intervals alternating 12:00 pace with 9:50 min pace. My idea was to teach my body to regroup while continuing on running. No walking allowed.

At least that was the idea.

Either way, my new shoes were light and comfy, and as an added bonus they caused me to run like I was drunk on the treadmill.

Plus they are a super bright shade of red/pink that I catch out of the corner of my eye causing me to think I'm being chased by a neon peacock.

My feet/ankles/knees are a little tired as a result of transitioning to minimalist shoes, but no pain. Tomorrow morning I'm running the 5k course again

In my very jealous older shoes.

Squeeee!

As in preteen-girl kind of squee.

Exciting things from today:

1.)  I dropped into the 240s today.  30 lbs lost now.  Short term goal is 240 lbs even for my CRNA school interview on Sept 19.  Long term goal?  Who knows?!  Who cares!  I'm enjoying watching the numbers on the scale go down, but I don't have a goal weight in mind.  I want to be as efficient as possible when I run, so whatever weight that turns out to be, well, I'll take it! Judging from the inches I can still pinch, my guess is that will be quite a few pounds yet.  Bring it on.

2.) I officially signed up for a 5k on Sept 14th.  Waaaaaay before I thought I'd be ready.  Previously (in 2010) I started running so that I could join family and friends in running the local Turkey Trot.  It took me months and months, and when it came time for the race I ended up walking part of it.  It went that well.  This time I think I'm ready.  I've already run the course twice by myself, so I know I can finish it without walking.  This is a very official feeling step though...

3.) A pair of my new shoes got here!  The Brooks PureCadence 2's showed up today!  Excited!!

So there.  There's your "squee" update.  And pictures:

Box lid.

Inside the lid.

 

Pure corporate drivel, but pretty cool drivel.

Inside the box.

If you had any misconceptions about how ridiculous a size 14 shoe looks...

Yay for Pay Day

Pretty excited because I bought not one, but two new pairs of running shoes tonight.  I really try to support my local shops pretty much on anything I purchase, but my local running shop (LRS) has a really poor selection in my size--size 14.  When I walk in and let them know I need a stability shoe in a size 14, they bring out their single option, in the single color they carry.  Which is better, I have to say, than any other local stores--franchise, chain, or otherwise--who don't even stock 14s.  They're happy to direct me to their websites though.

So web shopping I went indeed.

My go to running shoe has been the Brooks Adrenaline, and this year's GTS 13 seems to carry on the Adrenaline name quite well if the reviews I've read are true.  So of course I ordered up a pair--in lovely gray and yellow.  I had no idea that Brooks had so many cool colors--I've always been stuck with the standard blue and white or red and white because that's all my LRS stocked.

I've been reading that rotating shoes is a good thing, and not only just different pairs, but different types and styles.  From what I understand this can help prevent over-use injuries by varying food/joint position.  This totally makes sense to me from a physiologic point of view, so I bought into the strategy.  I've read a few articles about the Brooks PureCadence 2.  It's an interesting shoe because it has minimalist aspirations, but it's also a stability shoe.  Since the high school student/shoe guru at my LRS gravely diagnosed me as a pronator, a stability shoe is in order.

I'm excited about my new shoes, I can't wait to get them!

And PS, Dick's Sporting Goods has just average pricing, but also has free shipping on footwear, and free returns.

Twisted

One of my very favorite pieces of gear is my headphones.  They're Yamaha brand, and I think I paid about $30 for them at Fry's on closeout sale, so they're not cheapos by any stretch.  I love the sound quality, and they fit my gaping ear holes perfectly, staying put right where I stick them.  They seal great; not letting sweat in and cutting off nearly all background noise--perfect for the treadmill, (but I'm going to have to figure something out when I start running outside).  The cord is long enough to reach my ears from the book ledge on the treadmill, but not so long they get tangled in my legs.  They're pretty much perfect.

Pretty much.

The only downside?  I have never owned a pair of headphones that can tie themselves in knots like these!  Every time I'm done using them, I coil them neatly (I've even tried folding them!) and the next time I go to use them, they are all knotted up.  And I'm not just talking about simple square knots either.  These babies will put your Eagle Scout to shame with some of the complex knots I've discovered.

My wife laughs at me while I struggle to detangle them at the beginning of every run.  She thinks it's something that I'm doing, because her headphones for her iPod coil into a tight circle that she then clips into the iPod itself. And they stay that way until she gets them out to use again.

But I swear it's not me.

As an experiment one time I held them untangled, hanging free and watched in astonishment as they coiled back on themselves right before my very eyes.

But no matter.

I truly like my imperfect, difficult, pain-in-the-ass headphones.

They kind of remind me, well, of me.

What's your favorite piece of gear?

Shopping

 I had an unexpected day off from work today, so I headed up to our local running shop.  I've never owned purpose made running shorts, and some of my athletic shorts I have been wearing do this really annoying crotch wad thing.  So, I browsed through the sale rack and came up with two pair of running shorts with integrated compression shorts for 40% off--a pair of Nike and a pair of Mizuno.  I hope to give one pair of them a test run later this afternoon.

While I was there I couldn't resist picking up a decal that pretty much sums things up.  Pretty sure it's going to look pretty spiff on my little roller skate I drive these days.

I also did a quick browse through the shoe wall because my current Brooks may be getting a little tired.  Like many people, I'm a pretty big pronator so I have to pay close attention to my shoes.  I'm a little hampered in selection because I wear a size 14.  Usually my local shop only has one or two models that run in 14.  I get that they probably don't sell very quickly, as there's not a lot of people with feet as long as mine.  But, I sure wish they'd have a little better selection.  I like to support my local resources, but unfortunately I may end up shopping online for shoes--which creates problems all in itself.

Next I swung by The Vitamin Shoppe and picked up a protein supplement.  One of the things I really love about MyFitnessPal is the ease of tracking where my calories are coming from.  Over the last month I've noticed that I consistently miss my protein percentage by about 20 grams a day.  I'm focusing on trying to get those grams in whole foods, but there are days it's just not feasible.  Enter protein powder.  A big concern I have is that most protein powders/supplements appear to be formulated for the weightlifter trying to pack on muscle and weight.  Frankly that's the very last thing I want to do, and it's a legitimate fear for me as my frame and musculature would easily support the muscle bound look. My body make up is very dense--I weigh much more than you might expect for my size.  True, I am significantly overweight, but even with all that extra fat, I'm a good 30 lbs heavier than it appears.  Anyway, I'm going to try this, and hope that I don't turn into a mini Arnold while I'm at it.

Edited to add:  Just ran in a pair of my new shorts.  They are amazing, I've never run so fast in my life. 

Ok, that may be an exaggeration.

Actually I didn't think about them one single time while I was running.  Which is a huge win!