Last winter, I had so much fun participating in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge hosted by Amanda at Run to the Finish. I was so happy to hear there would be a Spring Challenge this year!
Basically, you get points for exercising (1 point for every 10 minutes), points for drinking water and eating lots of fruits and veggies (affectionately coined as “freggies” by the group), and tons of support via private Facebook group.
Most people check in daily, encourage each other, and share successes and failures.
Oh, and there are prizes! Last session, I won ProCompression socks in a random drawing one week, and some coupons for free Amy’s products during a Twitter chat. We all started out as winners this challenge, with free LockLaces sent to all participants!
I’ve just had a pretty successful first week. I did skip a boot camp workout due to a rough workout the day before — gotta listen to your body! I also had to skip a run due to calf soreness, but replaced it with yoga. Another boot camp class was cancelled due to “snow” (that never actually came). But I was still really active!
Monday: Bikram Yoga Tuesday: Yoga DVD Wednesday: Bikram Yoga Thursday: 3.75-mile run, Yoga Friday: Bikram Yoga, Boot Camp Saturday: 11.2-mile run Sunday: Tri class: .75-mile warm-up + timed 3-mile run + 12.8 miles on spin bike with drills & hills
I really focused on drinking water — at least 64oz a day. I’m not always good about that, but I’ve downloaded an app on my phone for tracking, and the challenge is keeping me accountable. I’m usually good about eating lots of fruit and veggies during the week, but weekends are tough for me. I was a little short yesterday, but made up for it today with a little creativity in the kitchen. Banana pancakes, carrot juice (in my new Blendtec), and spinach-chickpea burgers were all new creations for me today!
I’ll be dialing down the exercise a little bit this week (well, maybe not the yoga) … I’m running the Shamrock Marathon next Sunday!
Nine years ago this month, some of my co-workers were talking about putting together a team for a corporate 8K. They all ran recreationally, while I had been a couch potato up until that point. Could I start running and join them?
Well, clearly, I could.
I bought a $300 treadmil from Sears, found a “learn to run” plan online (Couch to 5K didn’t exist yet, as far as I know), and started running.
Nine years, seven marathons, a 50K, more than 25 half marathons (lost count!) and over a hundred other races later … yeah, running is a part of me.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day … here are a few things I love about running.
In no particular order:
It got me active.
I started with just running. A few years later I added yoga. Then I started doing triathlons, which forced cross-training at least part of the year. I started taking masters swim classes. I did an organized 50-mile bike ride. I take fitness classes. It’s not unusual for me to work out more than once a day. And I love it!
I’m still improving.
Nine years later (and, ahem, nine years older!), I still surprise myself with frequent PRs. In 2012, I set new personal bests for nearly every distance!
Stress Relief
I can be having a really crappy day, and may very well want to bail on my scheduled run. If I just force myself to run I know I’ll feel better!
Me time.
When I run outdoors alone, I don’t usually run with music. I don’t mind getting lost in my thoughts.
Social time.
I prefer running with friends, though. I’ve met so many people through running. If you haven’t joined a local running club, I highly recommend it!
I can do it.
I was never an athlete a a child (Or teen. Or young adult.). I was pretty bad at sports. I even failed to make it on an extra-curricular track team as an 8-year-old. I was too slow! I’m happy I’ve found my place in distance running!
I’m actually pretty good at it.
I’m still no superstar, but I’m usually at least in the middle of the pack if not a bit better. If a race is small enough, I can even place in my age group 🙂
Running gear is fun.
I’ve always loved buying (fashion) shoes. But I seem to have re-focused. (And then there’s my running skirt and running dress collection … oh yeah, and my Garmin obsession …)
Before the holidays, I was contacted by Sportline to see if I would like to do a review of a few of their latest fitness products. The Solo 965 Heart Rate Monitor caught my eye since I was interested in doing more heart-rate training. I currently have a Garmin 310XT that supports it, but it is really only good for outdoor workouts. I wouldn’t want to use it for fitness classes since it’s such a large watch.
Well … the review sample I got was a men’s version, so it’s still a bit clunky for me. They do make a women’s version which would likely be a better fit. I have really small wrists, so it probably wouldn’t be so bad on most women 🙂
From Sportline:
Solo 965 Heart Rate Monitor is the first fitness device with FitTrac and MoveTrac technologies and a built-in Calorie Genius (24 hour calorie burn tracking), is designed to track your resting heart rate over time and also record the intensity of movement 24 hours-a-day to show users how they are improving fitness condition and burning calories. Take your workouts to the next level.
Sounds good … but this watch wasn’t really what I was looking for when it comes to heart-rate training. It doesn’t use a chest strap. It relies on contact of the watch with your wrist along with placing your index finger on the front of the watch to take a reading. There is no real-time heart rate display without touching the face of the watch. When training, it won’t be easy to check heart rate while running. (In general, I had a hard time getting a heart rate reading, but I think it may have been due to the fit of the watch. When I did get readings, though, it was accurate.)
If you’re interested in monitoring resting heart rate, it would be good for that. “Fit Trac” mode tracks resting heart rate, and gives you a Fit Score noting the difference from day to day. You tap the screen to enter Fit Trac mode to record your resting heart rate each day.
That’s not really something I’m interested in right now … and actually, I found Fit Trac mode was a bit too sensitive. It didn’t only turn on with a tap to the screen. I’d find it would get triggered often as I was putting on the watch, or after I simply lift my arm to check the time. And once Fit Trac mode starts, it’s on for about 15 seconds while it waits to take your resting heart rate. Not convenient when checking the time!
In regular heart rate mode (just taking a reading), you can cancel out of it by hitting any of the buttons, but Fit Trac won’t cancel. You can also set a lock to keep the heart rate monitor from taking a reading accidentally … but again, this only works for regular readings. You can’t stop Fit Trac from turning on accidentally. It was a bit frustrating.
It wasn’t all bad. I really like the pedometer feature. Despite only entering my height, it was pretty accurate in most of my testing. I had to walk someplace that I knew was a mile and a half away, and it was exactly right. Running was pretty close too — I had it with me for my Ragnar Relay legs, though since I hadn’t tested running with it before, I just looped it to my hand-held water bottle and wore my Garmin. Despite not being on my wrist, two of the three runs recorded distance within a quarter mile, which I think is acceptable. One run it was about a mile short, though, but again I was carrying rather than wearing the watch.
The pedometer feature starts tracking once you’ve made 25 steps, so it won’t register unintentional movement. It counts calories burned based on your movements, and tracks the amount of time you’ve been active. Since I like to track per activity, like time and distance running, this wasn’t quite as useful for me since I’d have to reset the rest of the day’s activity to isolate my run. If you’re looking to track movement and calorie burn for the entire day, it would be great.
So, this watch wasn’t quite right for me. But I can see how it would be useful. Think it might work for you?
Well, you can find out for yourself since I’m giving one away!
You’ll get one entry each for:
Leaving a comment telling me why you’d like to win.
Tweeting about this giveway. Something like “I want to win a @SportlineInc watch from @mostlyirun! Read more: http://tinyurl.com/mostlyirunsportline” (leave a comment here to let me know)
US residents only. (Sorry international friends!)
I’m going to keep this contest open until February 9, with a winner drawn February 10. Good luck!
Find out more about Sportline by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
Disclaimer: I received this watch for free in exchange for my review. I was not compensated any other way. Opinions are my own.
My first race of 2013 was my first-ever overnight relay, and I couldn’t have picked a better place to do it. It was 27*F the day we left Annapolis and headed to Miami!
Ragnar Florida Keys is a 12-person, 197-mile journey from Miami to Key West. The teams split into two vans which follow their runner to exchange points along the course. Once all runners in Van 1 were done, they’re “off duty'” until all of Van 2’s runners have run. And repeat — each runner has three legs of varying distance.
Thanks to the Florida heat (warmer than usual, from what we’ve heard), and an injury (he was able to finish all his legs, though), we were a bit slower than expected and finished in just over 36 hours.
My first leg, plus our home for 36-hours!
After my first leg (I was runner #12!), we drove to the Key Largo area for our first break. We stopped at CVS for some supplies (I picked up bottled water and baby wipes), and then we had a gourmet dinner at Waffle House. Um, not much around there that was suitable for a van full of sweaty runners!
We were able to wait out the rest of our break at a high school that was open for the off-duty teams. We could shower (for $3), and sleep on the gym floor. Though I didn’t get much sleep … after two hours of on-and-off dozing, my phone (which was also my alarm and way to communicate with my team) died. It was charging (I placed my sleeping bag by an outlet), so it wasn’t the battery. Turns out it was dead-dead (and currently sent away for repair :(). I was worried about finding my team when it was time to go again, so I hung out in a common area reading for a little while, and then headed back to the van. Two of my teammates were sleeping there since the gym wasn’t working for them, and I joined them.
We ended up getting a much later start than we thought (that’s where the injury came into play, with our teammate having to mostly walk an almost 12-mile unsupported leg). Our runner started around 3am.
Despite the heat and little-to-no sleep, she had a great 10-miler, and the rest of our runners did well, too.
The sunrise from an exchange point, waiting for Runner #10 to come in.
My second leg (6.9 miles) was initially estimated (by Ragnar’s calculations, based on each of our planned paces) to start around 4:30am, but actually ended up at 8:30 am. I was glad to not be in the dark — much of the run was on a trail that would have been creepy — but it was really hot. I was surprised I hadn’t lost that much speed from my first leg. My team met me at the halfway point. I took some Gatorade, and kept plugging along.
It briefly started raining, and I was excited. I could have used a good cool-down! But, it was just sprinkles, and didn’t last long. (A couple miles down the road, everything was drenched. Looks like I missed out on a good downpour!)
Since I was the last runner, we had another break, so we found a place for brunch. It was a casual pizza place (though they weren’t serving lunch yet), and they had outdoor seating which seemed more appropriate. After we ate, I “showered” in the restroom with my baby wipes and changed into a clean/dry outfit. Not perfect, but not bad, either.
We had another school to wait at for the next exchange with Van 1 — who would be finished when they met us! We had some time, though, so most of us tried to nap in the van. It’s amazing what a good cat nap can do. I was still feeling pretty good!
Our runners continued to do well, though it was hot and sunny again. By the time I started my last leg — heading to the finish in Key West! — it was after sunset. I got lucky — it was still humid, but not nearly as bad as it would have been if we were faster and finished mid-afternoon as estimated!
Sunset from the van on day 2.
My last leg wasn’t as scenic since it was dark — most of the time I was running along the water. But it was exciting to be completing such an interesting journey! Once I got close to the finish there were lots of turns, but finally I was at the last corner.
I almost didn’t see my teammates since there were some bright lights at the finish line (and one of them was wearing a pirate hat so I didn’t immediately recognize him!). I got a burst of energy and sprinted to the finish, with my team right behind me.
Legs 2 and 3. Not bad!
We hung out long enough for our free beer at the end, but we were beat! Our first night in Key West was an early night — shower + dinner + bed. But fortunately we had a few vacation days to enjoy it!
I had a great time running the relay. While it was more of an adventure than a race, I felt more pressure than I do racing solo, since I was running for my team! But it kept me motivated to push through the heat and humidity.
It was exhausting, but a lot of fun. I’d do it again!
