Garmin

Three Things Tuesday

August 15, 2011 by Kristy 15 Comments

8/16/11
11 miles tempo / 1:33 / 8:27 avg pace
*1 mile warm-up and 10 miles at MP (8:35). Splits: 8:09, 8:07, 8:11, 8:14, 8:18 – I felt like I was running too fast so I checked my splits and slowed down for the remaining 5 miles – 8:38, 8:37, 8:29, 8:28, 8:25.

Isn’t it supposed to be Three Things Thursday? Hmm, not sure. Oh well, go with it.

Redemption Tempo
This morning I got a second chance to do a tempo run that I attempted 2 weeks ago. It didn’t go so well the first time but I was able to get some redemption today. The trail was soft and mushy from all the rain, which made it even harder to maintain MP but that’s OK with me. I always want to prepare for the worst case scenario and then, if it’s not so bad, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Does that make me a pessimist or a realist?

GoGazella
A social network for marathon and endurance runners created by a Philly-based husband and wife team. A Facebook for runners, if you will. Check it out and if you decide to create a profile, make sure you friend me 🙂

Garmin “Pace Smoothing”
Maybe you all knew this but I found out there is a way to minimize how much your pace fluctuates on your Garmin. When I was training for NJM, I was getting annoyed at how often my pace would go from 7:30 to 10:00 to 9:00, etc. Even though my effort was consistent, my Garmin pace wasn’t. My Garmin is only 2 years old (I have the 305). I looked up the problem and it directed me to something called “pace smoothing”.

Per the Garmin manual, pace smoothing averages your current pace over a certain amount of time to avoid errors in GPS position and speed due to varying satellite signal recognition. When you turn on or increase pace smoothing, the pace shown on your Forerunner is steadier. It did help, although I still think there could be something wrong with my Garmin since I never had an issue until this year. But I’m too dependent on my Garmin to part with it and get it looked at!

How to “pace smooth” (at least on the 305 model): mode –> settings –> running –> speed units –> smoothing. I’m using “most” for the least amount of fluctuation.

Are you addicted to your Garmin? Can you run without it? Even better question, can you RACE without it? No way Jose…I’m addicted!

Random Thursday

June 16, 2011 by Kristy 7 Comments

6/16/11

5 miles easy / no Garmin

Does anyone know how to transfer your Garmin split times from the Garmin Training Center to a post? Or, am I clueless? I’ve tried the good ol’ cut-and-paste but that doesn’t work. I have the Garmin 305…maybe it can’t be done with that model? I find that hard to believe though. Any help would be appreciated!

So I’m halfway through Born To Run (LOVE IT!) and they just talked about barefoot running. I’m shocked to say this but I found their arguments (they were pro-barefoot running) very compelling. I’m a tough person to convince too; I’m both flat-footed and bow legged. I rely on both my beloved Brooks Adrenaline GTS and orthotics to keep me injury-free (and it works…I’m one of those “mutants” that Chris McDougall refers to). But now I can see how barefoot running would help someone battling chronic injuries. As a coach I shouldn’t be so close-minded. I’m not about to jump on the barefoot bandwagon (if it ain’t broke…) but I definitely want to read more about it.
Not 1 but 2 people Googled “we love Chuck Bass” and got directed to my blog. Awesome.

Do you or someone you know run barefoot or in VFFs? What do you think of the whole barefoot running phenomenon?

My Top Tips

June 15, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

6/15/11

8 miles easy / 1:12 / 9:00 avg pace

Last night I was scrolling through my list of blog topics (I keep a list on my BlackBerry), trying to decide what to write about. “My Top Tips” seemed intriguing (to me, at least). These are marathon/half marathon training tips that I swear by. My intention is to list the less obvious stuff; maybe things you don’t hear all the time.

Know The Course
The race course, that is. Check out the elevation profile and do some research. Ask around, check out marathonguide.com, and find out as much as you can. But remember, hills are subjective! Some people think rolling hills are mountains while others think a 1-mile climb is flat. After you gather your information, train for the worst case scenario. I’ve gotten burned in the past (“it’s a flat course, no major hills”). Riiiiight. I learned my lesson last May. Now, if I know there’s one small hill, I’ll incorporate hill work just to be on the safe side.

Delete Your Garmin History Pre-Race
Of course, you’ll charge your Garmin obsessively before the race but it’s also important to delete the history so you avoid getting that nasty warning message during a race. Upload all of your data to your computer and then delete the history on the watch itself. I’ve never gotten the “memory full” warning during a race but it did happen on a 20-miler once.

How Am I Going To Carry All Of That?
GUs, ShotBloks, oh my. Add an iPod or water bottle to the mix and suddenly you’ve got a lot to carry. There are a lot of options out there – fuel belt, SPIbelt, race ready shorts (you know you want them!) – but, as with everything, you need to find what works best for you. Experiment on long runs and take note of any bouncing, moving around, chafing/irritation, and bruising (yup, some are brutal). Make sure you test it on a 20 mile run too. Some things don’t rear their ugly head until the later miles.

Foam Roller + Ice = Your New Best Friends
This is more of an obvious one. If anything hurts, foam roll it and ice it. And be consistent – repeat a few times a day. This could prevent that “twinge” or “tweak” from becoming an injury. A little time spent with your new BFs can save you lots of time later on in training. Runner’s World has some great videos on how to use a foam roller.

Refuel After Hard Efforts
Your body will thank you the next day. Trust me. A hard effort is a long run, a tempo run, a speed workout, etc. It’s important to refuel within 30 minutes post-run with a 3:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio food/drink. Chocolate milk fits the bill and who doesn’t love an excuse to drink more chocolate milk?

What training/race day tips do you swear by?

Frustration Buster

March 15, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

3/15/11

8 miles speed work

I had a frustrating morning. A doctor’s appointment that took 3 hours door-to-door and when I came home our internet was out. Wouldn’t be a big deal except that I was working from home and pretty much need the internet to do anything. So I went for a run. No use waiting around for the internet and, since I was cranky (putting it mildly), a run would mellow me out. Luckily speed work was on the agenda today. Nothing like taking your frustrations out by running ~~fast~~ kinda fast.

I did 1×1200 and 5×800. I’m making up my own speed work these days. I look at my schedule, sigh, and then do what I want. I kept my pace between 7:15 and 7:30. I was slower than the 800s I did a few weeks ago but instead of being a slave to the Garmin, I used my perception to see if I was working hard or not. I made sure my exertion was a “7 or 8” on a scale of 1 to 10. That also means I’m huffing and puffing like crazy. As long as I’m doing that, I consider the workout successful!

I’m hoping to catch up on The Bachelor tonight. There was no way I was going to be able to stay awake for all the drama last night. I already know who “won” anyway…and who the next Bachelorette will be!

Birthday Cake and 18 Miles

February 6, 2011 by Kristy 4 Comments

2/6/11

18 miles

Sorry peeps, I don’t have split times and an average pace for you today. I had a Garmin malfunction, caused by me. The wind was blowing my earphones out of my ears (good times) and around mile 3 I stopped and readjusted my iPod. I stopped my Garmin and then never started it again. Thankfully, I’m obsessed with watching my pace and noticed that the numbers weren’t moving about a mile later. It could have been worse (devastating, I know). I think my average pace was around 9:20…at least that’s what the Garmin kept saying throughout my run. Since I ran 17 and 20 miles the last 2 weekends at Kelly Drive, I estimated where the turnaround would be for 18 miles. Not a bad run, MUCH better than last week, only had to slow to a crawl for a few icy spots.

Onto more fun things! Last night my family got together to celebrate the February birthdays. We celebrate early since my snowbird parents head to the Florida Keys in mid-February. Usually it’s my birthday (2/9), my mom (2/24), and my nieces Catherine (2/28) and Sarah (3/9) but we have an addition this year…Hawk! Our buddy turns 1 on 2/23! After dinner we headed back to our house for cake and ice cream. The delicious cake from Bredenbeck’s (seriously this cake is amazing, if you need a cake in the Philly area go here!)…

Yes, that’s what the cake said. When I called Bredenbeck’s I warned the woman that I was going to ask for something different to be written on the cake. Apparently they get strange requests all the time. So this is perfectly normal.

Some more pics…

Hawk sniffs the cake to make sure it's OK

Hawk is clearly over the cake and would rather play with his toys.

“The Others” also enjoyed the cake. In fact, we have leftovers and I think cake would be the perfect post-run fuel right about now…

PS – I’m on Twitter! And I have no idea what I’m doing! If you are a twitter-er (tweeter?), please follow me!

Saturday vs. Sunday

February 4, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

2/4/11

8 easy peasy miles

1:17

9:37 avg pace

Mother Nature is being quite the bitch lately. I normally do my long runs on Saturday but tomorrow’s forecast looks like this:

A “wintry mix”. All day long. Since I don’t want a repeat of last week’s slippery run I’m moving my long run to Sunday. Bleh. I know I should just go with the flow and not complain since Sunday will be a nice day but I LOVE my Saturday morning long runs. Why?

1. I’m a creature of habit and routine. I’ve always done long runs on Saturday.
2. It fits my schedule. In rarely have plans on Friday night (and if I do they are low-key) so I can get a good night’s sleep and still get up early for my run. Pushing the run to a Sunday means I have to watch my Saturday night shenanigans (going to bed early, not drinking too much, etc.). I’m a real party pooper.
3. I like to get it over with. If I wait until Sunday I think about it and dwell on it.

Sorry that I complain so much about the weather. This winter has been brutal though. I have never used the treadmill so much.

Let’s switch topics a little and talk about long run prep. That’s right, preparation. I’m never able to just get up and go, even in the summer. Aron at Runner’s Rambles wrote about this last week. It’s nice to see that other people also plan, plan, plan their long runs.

I begin stalking weather.com on the Tuesday prior to my long run. Not sure why since I can’t change the weather. I continue to stalk until I can see the hourly forecast (usually on Friday morning). Then I plan what I’m going to wear and lay everything out.

Then I gather all the stuff that I need to take with me. I used to carry all this stuff to the car by hand. Then I got smart and started throwing it in a bag.

Obvious items: iPod, Garmin, hand-held water bottle, towel
2 pair of gloves: when it’s really cold I’ll change my gloves halfway through the run.
Shot Bloks in Black Cherry: love ’em. On runs over 15 miles, I eat 3 (half the pack) every 4-5 miles.
Blue water bottle: chocolate milk for post-run fuel! I only fill it about halfway. And you better believe I think about that ice cold chocolate milk waiting for me in my car during the final miles.
Gum: can’t run without it.
Aquaphor: I smother my lips in this stuff during the winter. If I don’t they get terribly chapped. I even use it around my eyes. My eye area tends to be dry and the sweat just aggravates it.

You should see my marathon checklist..one day I’ll post about it. Shockingly, it’s pretty thorough 🙂 Laugh if you want but I’ve never forgotten anything. Prepared is my middle name!