Tuesday, March 25:
Speed work
800 repeats x6 with 400m recovery: 4:27; 4:50; 4:44; 4:50; 4:39; 4:44
On track for a 4:30-4:45 marathon finish.
(I have to say - this is really hard to do, and then report, with my watch... put it on KM to put in the 800m/400m intervals, but then had to do the math to figure out what a 4:35 or 4:45 pace would convert to on a minute per km basis... and then pulling the report was annoying, because it wasn't quite 1mile warm-up, .5mi on, .25mi recovery, 1mile cool-down. geesh... )
Wednesday, March 26:
Supposed to be a strength training focus day, doing a long Barre3 workout. I was a giant slacker and didn't do anything. :(
Thursday, March 27:
Hill workout - this week I pushed myself to do four hill repeats of the same hill section I've been hitting the last few weeks. I also did short hill sprints in between the last three hills and to finish. Here's the elevation profile:
 |
| RunKeeper Elevation Profile |
Total time: 1:10:34. Total distance: 6.09mi.
I am so excited that there is a Barre3 studio now in Atlanta! I went for an hour long class, but sadly got caught in traffic so I missed the first 10 or so minutes. It was a great class though. Then there was a break in the rain once I got home, so I was able to get out for my 5mi easy run.
5mi in 54:00. Avg pace: 10:47mm (a little faster than I should be going for an "easy" run, but I wanted to get back before it started storming). Intervals: 3:00run/0:45walk.
Saturday, March 29:
I was a giant slacker... seriously, I had ambitions to get up early and run, but the rain made me stay in bed. I also never got around to a Barre3 workout.
Sunday, March 30:
Today I got back on track with a 20mi bike ride. FINALLY got my cadence sensor and GPS to work together. Here's the rundown-
 |
| TomTom Dashboard stats |
Monday, March 31:
Finally got in my last long run before taper time. Was slated for 18mi but only managed 17.5 because I cut the course short, and I was running short on time before my interview. Still - I think I did ok.
17.4mi in 3:28:42. Avg pace: 12:00mm. Intervals of 3:00/0:45
Because I was running late getting started, I did not properly fuel to start off. Also, my hydration belt really needs a couple more bottles - let's just say I was so glad when I realized there was another place to replenish my liquids!
Congrats to the WINNER of the 110% Flat Out Compression Socks: Audrey T.!
This week, I want to talk about technology. And it's not just because I got interviewed for a piece in the Boston Globe, although that was pretty cool (take a moment to read the article, and not just because I'm in it - there's some interesting info about all the technology going in to this year's race).
I am a data nerd. I love having all the apps and gadgets to get every tidbit of information imaginable out there. Last year for my birthday, my siblings got me the Fitbit Flex (back when it was all the rage - now the Force has taken over). I loved the first few months of soaking in the information about how many steps I was getting each day, or how many hours of sleep. I changed the sleep information over to the "sensitive" setting and was super bummed to realize just how little I was sleeping. So I changed it back and decided I'd rather live in Denial.
As a runner, I also crave these statistics about my run. Even though I'm not super fast, I love knowing how each run compares. Back when I started running, I heard about an app called RunKeeper. So I downloaded it, and it has been my partner ever since. I even upgraded to "Elite" this year after earning a year free through EveryMove! So, what does RunKeeper do for me? It uses the GPS on my phone to track my runs, giving me speed, pace, and distance, in real time. I can also set goals with RunKeeper (like my 2014 goal of running 1200miles this year), or a training plan to keep me on track. Everything on my phone syncs with the online interface where I can compare runs, see my maps, and even add additional notes. What's really cool right now is that they are trying to get 118 MILLION miles (of any activity) in honor of the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. RunKeeper is headquartered in Boston, so they have a special place in their hearts for the city and the marathon. So far, they've gotten 55,884,124 (and counting) miles tracked. All you have to do, is add the note "#118forBoston" to your activity, and your numbers get added to the total tally, tracked online. I love checking in on that number periodically and watching it rise. They want to hit the 118million miles by marathon morning. I'm also super pumped I'll be able to go to a RunKeeper scavenger hunt while I'm in Boston and get to meet the team and learn more about all the awesome they're bringing to us.
These are just a sampling of the reports I can get online:
 |
| Working towards my goal of 1200mi in 2014 |
 |
| Looking at all the miles I've logged on my "new" bike |
 |
| Miles by month for 2014 - total over 300 |
For Christmas, I got a TomTom Multi-Sport GPS watch. Multi-sport means I can use it for running, biking, and swimming... as I shift gears after Boston and start training for a triathlon. So far I've used the watch for just running and biking. And even though I've had it for three months, I'm still learning about all the amazing things it can do. Just this week I realized - when I set it to do intervals - it has a countdown on time/distance for the current interval, as well as a count of how many sets I've done. I also got the package with the heart rate monitor (HRM) and the cadence sensor. I primarily use the HRM on the bike. And as I mentioned above, I finally got the cadence sensor AND GPS to work on my ride this week. Thus far, I was only using cadence on my indoor rides. I know as I shift gears to tri training, this will be an important number to pay attention to, regardless of whether I'm doing my workout inside on the trainer, or out on the road. I also love having the watch for runs, because it's really easy to read while running, and know important stats, like current pace (great for doing speed work), average pace, total distance, total time, heart rate (when wearing HRM), and even calories torched. It's super easy to scroll through the available information while running, and then soak in the reports once I get home. I do have to connect my watch to the computer to sync the information, but it reports both on the TomTom dashboard, and on Map My Fitness. I added MVP to my Map My Fitness account so I can track splits - which means break down the workout into the intervals I did (either timed or by distance). I do wish this was something that showed up on the TomTom Dashboard like it does for Garmin, but hopefully it's something they add down the road.
Here are some of the reports I can get from my TomTom Multi-Sport: (from this week's ride)
Also, here's what a Map My Fitness report looks like from my speed work:
Wow! This has made for a really long post, so I'm going to sum it up with this little anecdote. Today, of all days, my phone died at mile 8.5. I take my phone with me on every run for safety, yes, but also so I can run the RunKeeper app to track my run AND listen to music. It was GRUELING having to run almost 10 miles with no music. And if it hadn't been for having my TomTom on my wrist, there's a high probability I would have thrown in the towel and gone home. Me and my technology are tight. I am not a "naked" runner - I cannot go with the tech. I was agonizing those last few miles without the music to pump me up. And don't even get me started about having to take the time and go back and input my run into RunKeeper. Because I HAVE to have every mile logged in that app to meet my goals! So - the moral of the story is I love technology and I hope you've found some that works for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment