Speed work: Am I doing it right?

Tonight's speed work stats:

1 mile warm-up: 6.0 mph /10 min

1 mile: 6.9mph/8:42 min

1/2 mile jog: 5.5 mph/11:05 (I think)

1 mile: 6.9mph/8:42 min

1/2 mile jog: 5.5 mph

1 mile cool down: 6.0 mph

So my question is; the warm-up pace I'm fine with. It's just about my conversation pace. And the first speed mile, I was working it and wasn't really hurting until a quarter mile to go. So that's a good news. Then the jog part was good, since I knew I was recovering very well and it went by really slow. But then the second jog and then to the cool down mile, well, I upped my pace. Um, was I supposed to?

I asked the question on Twitter and they said that the jog pace should bring my heart rate down. Which it did. But I didn't want to seem like I was bugging people so I didn't ask about the warm-up and cool down pace. It just seemed weird to speed up in my cool down mile.

I saw in my schedule further down the weeks that my speed work will up to 4 miles at a faster pace than this. Joy. That's what I'm NOT looking forward to. Positive thinking positive thinking.

Weights tomorrow and then 9 miles on tap for Saturday. I'm actually running by myself!! Luke will be in Rockford and I will be in DeKalb. This may be the way it will probably be for the rest of the training actually.

Categories: speed work

Speed work outside??

Yep, I did it. I completed a round of speed work outside without the use of a treadmill. It went OK. I think that had it not been for the warmth & humidity, I would have done better and NOT walked between miles but again that's OK. I'm not gonna beat myself up over that minor detail even if it meant that I didn't get the best speed work workout. So much for the latic acid burn.

Goal: 5 mile speed work. 1 mile warm-up, 2 x 1600 at 8:30 min/mi with 800 jogs. 1 mile cool-down.

I turned off the Auto-Lap function of Phil because of the half mile walks in-between and I wanted to be able to read it in the Garmin Training Center. As I said, I walked the 1st 1/2 mile break. But I was also running 7's when I first took off. I kept the "warm-up" mile at 10 min and well, I guess I didn't know my own speed. It felt like I was going really slow but when I glanced down it said 7:12. Whoops. Sure enough I had to walk when that mile ended.

Lots of runners out this morning. I passed by 2 female runners; well, they passed me as I was walking. Then a friend's dad who I always see at races. And a few walkers. I even passed by DeKalb's City Manager, Mark Biernacki during my 1st mile.

I took off for the second mile. Definitely wasn't hitting the 7's this time but was staying nicely in the 8's in my current pace & lap pace. I was pretty much done by the time that mile ended. Though I did good and joggged it out for half mile at 11 something's. Passed by another runner, this guy was older and had a DeKalb corn hat on. Saw him at my last two races.

Then I only did a half mile cool-down which wasn't much different than my 1/2 mile jog out. Got back to my house at 7:02a. I left the house at 6:15. It's a good thing too since I had to go longer than 30 minutes. Wasn't thinking of that, I just happened to get out of bed and got dressed early.

The last time I did speed work outside it was at a track on the 4th of July at 11am. this one wasn't much better temp wise but I finished it a lot stronger thanks to my Garmin and knowing my speed!

I was hungry again by the time I got home. But I also chugged a glass of cold water. After that first mile I wanted some water. I wonder if that would have helped me. I just didn't want to wear a belt during my speed work.

Also, that path needs to have a port-a-potty along side it. That would rock. I would have used it today. My tummy was not agreeing with me but it could have been cramping cause of the speed, heat and lack of water. Only once have I had to jump off the side but today would not have been that day; too many people out!

But here are my stats. I'm pretty happy with them. Hit the second mile almost on the dot. Would have been interesting to see my heart rate as I'm sure it would have been in the 190's for sure in the first mile!! Still can't believe that I was running in the 7's for a current pace!

Official stats from Garmin since Bones in Motion only did miles and not "laps"

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 856 ft Location: DeKalb, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 06/24/09 Up/Downhill: [+203/-203] Time: 06:17 AM Difficulty: 2.4 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 71 F temp; 87% humidity 71 F heat index; winds NW 5 Performance Distance: 4.50 miles Time: 0:45:54 Speed: 5.9 mph Pace: 10' 12 /mi Calories: 460 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile)

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: heat, speed work

A BIG thank you!

First things first: Thank you to all who commented on my self-pity party post on Saturday, here on this blog, on Twitter and on my video over at Runcast.tv! It was all greatly appreciated! I think hearing that this happens to other runner's helps.

I Shreded this morning! I decided to go ahead and try to get up early enough in the morning to do the 20 minutes before work. I set my alarm for 6:10a but one of my cats kept waking me up last night so finally at 6:03a I reset it for 6:30a. I finally sat up at 7am and rolled out of bed around 7:15a. A little late. But luckily, I was smart enough to get everything all laid out the night before and the DVD in place. I finally started around 7:20a but knowing that it was going to take 20 minutes, I knew that I was already going to be late for work.

Level One was decent. I used cans of peas for weights. The very first workout was brutal because my shoulders are not strong at all. Then push-ups. My wrists are bad so I can't do but 5 of them, even doing them the "girl" way. But man, I was feeling the burn by the end of all circuits. I'm gonna do it again tomorrow! They say to do each Level until you feel ready to move on so I have no idea when that should be in order to get all three levels in 30 days. But I don't have much weight to lose but I should tone up a bit. At least I hope. All day long, I could feel the burn in my shoulders. :-) I did get to work late around 8:30a or so. :-( I must get up earlier!!

Then tonight I went running at the YMCA. As I walked out of my car in the parking lot, I wondered why I was running at the Y. It was 50 degrees out (just heard on the radio) and sunny. I rationalised by thinking well, by the time I got home and changed into my outdoor running gear, walked to my start and ran my 3 miles, walked back and changed, I would be late for my 5:30p board meeting. But then I realised that's what I'm doing; walking to the changing room, walking to the treadmill, running and then walking & changing back, would take up just the same amount of time. Haha. So much for being logical.

So I used the treadmill to my advantage. I did a little bit of speed work! In fact, the last half mile I ran at 7.5 mph. That's 8 min/mi! Before that was 7 mph for a half mile. I meant the 7.5 mph to only last for a quarter mile (2.75-3.0 mi) but then Usher's Yeah song came on and it pumped me up for some odd reason and I just kept on going! I got in the zone. I was moving my hands & arms with the beat which raises my heart rate but it didn't matter by that time. I had reached 190 bpm (max of 192 bpm). At 3.40 mi I slowed down and ran at 6.0 mph. It was great feeling! I walked for a little bit but I really had to get going to the meeting which I ended up being late for anyway, sweat still dripping down my back as I walked in!

I think on Wednesday I'm gonna do a 7 mile run or something. I should be able to do this outside. I was gonna do a long run. (I guess to make up my lack of a run on Saturday but yes, I know I shouldn't over do it.) Erin & I are planning on doing a 10 mile run on Saturday, I think. The hour drive over there will give me plenty of time to digest some food this time around!

P.S. Does anyone know of where I can buy some Clif Shot Bloks in DeKalb/Sycamore? I've checked Wal*Mart, Walgreens, Target & MC Sports. All a bust. The only place I know where I can buy them is in Dick's Sporting Goods in Rockford. I'll head up there on Thursday but would rather buy them here in town!

Categories: Shred, speed work

It's been a while

I haven't blogged about running since Thursday but I have ran twice since then; just this week.

This past weekend saw me heading down to Dayton, OH. I was going to bring my running clothes with me but decided against it. Good thing too. The time change did me in. I went to be at 1am EST (which is midnight my time) and got woken up at 6am EST and finally got up dragging my feet at 8am. Ugh. I don't think I could have woken up any earlier and ran. And it was really icky out that morning.

The next time I ran was Monday night. I signed up for 45 minutes at the YMCA (which you're not supposed to do), 15 minutes after I got on (at 4:30p) and was set to leave the treadmill at 5:30p (so yes I cheated). I ran a little bit of a speed work unexpecdtly the first time but then I kept it up.
0.0-0.75mi - 6.5mph - 9:14min/mi
0.75-1.0mi - 7.0mph - 8:34min/mi
1.0-1.75mi - 6.5mph - 9:14min/mi
1.75-2.0mi - 7.1mph - 8:27min/mi
2.0-2.75mi - 6.5mph - 9:14min/mi
2.75-3.0mi - 7.2mph - 8:20min/mi
3.0-3.75mi - 6.5mph - 9:14min/mi
3.75-4.0mi - 7.3mph - 8:13min/mi
4.0-4.75mi - 6.5mph - 9:14min/mi
4.75-5.0mi - 7.4mph - 8:06min/mi

Now by the end, I was getting ti-red! But I held out and decided that I could squeeze in another mile in my allotted time. Then this lady comes over at 5:15p saying that she has my treadmill at 5:15p. I didn't object, I figured that they caught on and erased my last time slot initials and she got in there. So I speed up just a little to hurry up and get in my 5 miles. 45 minutes almost exactly! Average of 9 minute miles! So I get off and walk over to the sheet. Nope, there's my three initials, saying that I have it until 5:30p. So I walk back over to her, she's already on the treadmill and I tap her on the shoulder and get her attention and then tell her. She scoffs at me and I explain that the first time slot is when you start. You don't start at the time in the row before you sign up. She offers to get off and I tell her it's too late. I've already stopped, and you've started. I just wanted to let you know how it works. And I was all excited to run 6 miles. I got in the zone again on the treadmill. Doesn't happen often you know.

This morning, I packed my bag for another run at the Y. Then I got to work and realised that my socks were still at home. So I decided that since today was a nice enough day I'd run outside. Came home, changed and out I went.

My Nike+ is really irritating lately. So I re-calibrated it to match my Garmin. 1 mile exactly. Then I started it again and kept on running. Unfortunately, at the end it was a full .1 mile over my real distance. Usually it was .1 under my real distance. I think this was because I was cold when I started running and I was shuffling so my feet weren't picking up a whole lot. Then at the end, I was warmed up and feeling good so then my stride was longer and it just messed it up somehow.

I was thinking of bringing my camera on the run but decided against it. Especially since I will have my iPod in my hand to calibrate it. But of course, wouldn't you know, I saw a lot of deer today. I was running in the road, around half mile into it, I came around a small turn and there were 3 deer crossing the road and cars were stopped coming from the other direction. 2 does & 1 buck. I jog closer and I see that they are joining another deer already in the woods. Then I look at where they came from and I see another doe & buck. The buck looked funny because he was missing half his antlers! They were staring at me and as soon as I passed them, they ran behind me and to their waiting friends. Later on the trail itself, about 2 miles into the run, I saw more deer in the woods. I counted 4 but they blended into the trees very well. Digging through the snow and one was scratching it's head.

All together it was a good run. I also remembered a few things on my run to pack for this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend. I will out of town again in St. Louis probably until Saturday or Sunday. So all running will be by ear. No running Wednesday as I'd be driving down. I might be able to squeeze in a 3 mile run on Thursday morning before 9am. Then on Friday afternoon I could run, if I needed to. Saturday morning I definitely want to get in a long run. I want to run 10 miles. I don't think I could run on Grant's Trail since it runs through a couple big roads and that's a lot of stopping. But I could go up to the Creve Coeur Lake again and run there. I really dig that place! I will have to remember to bring stuff with me; gels & Gatorade and water bottles.

Like I said all playing it by ear. I will bring plenty of variety of clothes with me because there is also the option of running at the YMCA as well. It never seems that busy and I could hit that up on Friday if I needed it. Then Monday & Tuesday will be in southern Illinois so that will be outside somewhere, either in Dix or Bluford.

It's gonna totally mess up my marathon training. After this weekend, I have all of March to get up to 20 miles run. I have no idea how since I haven't even done double digits yet! This marathon is soooo gonna suck. Hardc0re.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 860 ft Location: DeKalb, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/24/09 Up/Downhill: [+209/-209] Time: 04:38 PM Difficulty: 3.0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 36 F temp; 69% humidity 36 F heat index; winds S 15 Performance Distance: 4.40 miles Time: 0:39:43 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 02 /mi Heart Rate: 171 bpm (Avg) Calories: 468 180 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 50 -0' 12 6.8 +0.1 164 +23 ft 2 9' 11 +0' 09 6.5 -0.1 168 -7 ft 3 9' 24 +0' 22 6.4 -0.3 172 +13 ft 4 8' 55 -0' 07 6.7 +0.1 175 -3 ft end 8' 13 -0' 49 7.3 +0.7 176 -26 ft Versus average of 9' 02 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: Ballwin, deer, DeKalb Nature Trail, nike+, speed work, travel, treadmill runs

Speed work: I WIN!

I respect those people that can run their speed work outside. The first & last time I tried it outside, it was July 4th, 2007, on a track at 11am and with 76% humidity. I did the first mile warm-up and then totally bust on the first speed mile and I gave up after that.

That's why I do my speed work on the treadmill only now. Tonight was great!
0.5 mile @ 5.2 mph : 11:32 min/mi
1.0 mile @ 7.0 mph : 8:34 min/mi
0.5 mile @ 5.2 mph : 11:32 min/mi
1.0 mile @ 7.0 mph : 8:34 min/mi
0.5 mile @ 5.0 mph : 12:00 min/mi
1.0 mile @ 7.0 mph : 8:34 min/mi
0.5 mile @ 5.2 mph : 11:32 min/mi
Walk
Total: 5.15 miles : 552 cal : 52:06

After the first speed mile, I could feel the burn in my thighs and I had a moment of doubt but I kept at it. At the end of the third speed mile it was tough and I was breathing hard, fast and loud. I also remembered what I read about cadence and how Elites lift their knees a little higher to get more of a faster turnover. So I did that on my 2nd & 3rd mile.

click to see bigger

I went out and bought a 6 pack of beer afterwards. I burned 552 calories and probably barely ate that today. So I had a bottle of beer and a slice of German Chocolate cake. I WIN again!

I received my winter running items in the mail today. A pair of pants & another top. Just in time for the weather to be 45 degrees on Saturday. Oh well, I'm sure that I'll use it sooner rather than later. They'll be a lot more wicking than the jogging pants & fleece shirt I wear. I may have to buy another plastic drawer unit soon!!

By the way, I shaved tonight. I could feel the vibration and wind on my legs and couldn't take it anymore. So out came the electric shaver!

Categories: heart rate, shaving, speed work, treadmill runs

Speed work, oh how I loathe thee

Today was yet another snow day for my work. Yay education system. So my speed work was done during the day and not after work.

I finally got up around 9a and went out to the living room and still laid on the couch until 11a. I had a bagel & some Gatorade to help me with the run.

I headed over a little after noon. About half full. My plan was to do a half mile warm up, 1 mile run, 0.5 mile jog, 1 mile run, 0.5 mile jog and 0.5 mile cool down, total of 4 miles and then I would walk another 0.5 after I was done. I set the treadmill for the interval setting. Jog of 5.5mph 10:54 min/mi and run at 7.0 8:34 min/mi. The plan said to do 8:37 so I figured that was close enough.

The first mile I was saying, Yea, baby, I can do this! Until 0.7 mile into it and then I started to feel the pain. Wow, that was hard. The treadmill said my heart rate was at 189. 1/2 mile jog at 5.5 but turned that down to 5.2 and it didn't last long enough. Another 1 mile at the run pace but I turned it down to 6.9 which is an 8:41 min/mi. The first half went by well and at the .55 mark I sped it back up to 7.0 and finished it off. I was urging myself out loud to keep going at quarter mile left and then I really urged myself at with only .15 left. I was DYING at the end. Heart rate was 185. I jogged for a mile at the 5.5 mph pace. Then I walked. In the middle of walking I was feeling like my heart was getting back to normal but it was 124.

That was tough. I am still half & half on the speed work. It's short & fast but it hurts so much!! Grrr...

Categories: speed work

2nd war injury

So I had a calf strain from my race on Saturday. I took Monday off of running to give it some rest. I did the same on Tuesday. Tonight I ran my scheduled run. Unfortunately, that was a speed workout. It was supposed to be 4 miles @ 8 min/mi with 1/2 mile jogs between miles. Well, I only did 3.5 miles, jogging between. But hey, I managed to hang on, even though I haven't done a speed workout in well over 3 weeks.

What I should have done however, was NOT done a speed workout but instead just a simple easy run. That would be easy on my calf. I came home and took a bath. Well, as well as a 5'10" tall women could take in a very small bathtub.

It's supposed to be thunderstorms here tomorrow so I'm not sure if I'm going to run at lunch time. I'm brining my stuff anyway, just in case.

Today's run: 3.5mi at 8:06 (7.4mph), 1/2mi jogs at 5.5mph, YMCA

Categories: speed work

Speed work

Yesterday's speed work didn't go as planned. I got on my brother's treadmill and started walking to warm up. Then ran a mile at my scheduled time of 8:12. Then jogged for a half mile and started running again at the 8:12 again. But I was getting way overheated.

After the second mile, I paused my Nike+ and went to the thermostat and saw that it was 82 in the house! I immediately turned it down so that air kicked on got back on.

I unpaused my Nike+ and it BLOODY DID IT AGAIN! It just plain stopped and I have no idea why. I was watching it and it didn't go through the menu options, I hit the play/pause button and then it showed up with the stats at the end of the run. I was mad.

So I started a new workout for the Nike+ and hit the Start button on the treadmill but it didn't start; gave me an error message. After numerous tries, I just turned off the machine and restarted it. Then I had to remember where I left off on my walking and start back up running again.

The third mile I could only go half way through before I relented and started walking again (I couldn't even jog) and then I finished.

I edited the XML files so that it was one workout and of course now it's not graphical so you can't see the fact that I ran speed workouts. I don't know what else to do to fix this problem.

Categories: nike+, speed work

Farkers rock!

I totally kicked arse on swimming tonight. Rob gave me his googles and sure enough, they helped so much! I managed to do 4 laps in a row and then a quick breather and then started up again. Towards the end I even managed to change the way I was putting my head back in the water and it helped even more, so at the end of my 40 minutes, I was still doing laps in a row even though I was tired and totally out of breath. I also did 4 laps of arm exercises or whatever and 6 laps of just kicking.

I bought a new bike on Tuesday. It's a Trek 4300, a mountain bike. Weird thing is that it's a men's bike. Once I found that out I was like um, but I'm a girl? Tobie said that I would be too big for a Women's 18" and my knees would be hitting the handlebars. It feels weird to think of the fact that I'm riding a man's. I mean, I'm already guy-ish enough, do I really have to ride a guys bike too? I took it for a spin that night and went 9.5 miles. How do I know that? I bought an odometer that same night. Pain in the ass to install it though. But also very exciting! Since I plan on doing RAGBRAI next year, I bought better tires for road biking that will fit that frame. Now just need a good pair of padded shorts. My ass hurt after a Sunday ride and then a Tuesday ride!

I might be getting runner's knee again in my right knee. During my ride on Sunday, I felt it getting painful. Then on Monday, even while walking it hurt. Of course I ran that night but then iced my knee down. Then today I noticed that my right hip was hurting too (the same one in which was causing my problems last year) and I was limping. Once I took advil everything was fine but that's just a quick fix, not a permanent solution. Only solution is 6 weeks off with NO EXERCISE, not even swimming! Then once that 6 weeks is done, then I can start with swimming, go to biking and later treadmill. We'll see what I do with only 3 days of running though which is what my half marathon regimem

I have a new running partner. Well, kinda. Some guy I work with said that he wants to go rollerblading with me while I run. I told him that my long runs are on Saturday morning around 9a. He said call me this Saturday. Should be interesting! Then another friend said that he can bike with me while I run. It's so good to hear that people are at least interested in doing this with me, even if they don't follow through, at least they're asking about it! I warned them that I'm not incredibly fast; I don't want to be. I just want to get things done.

I was going to take my new mountain bike for a spin in Rock Cut yesterday but that got cancelled. Did do my speed work that morning at the Sycamore High School track but ended up doing it at 11am. Not the smartest idea with the 76% humidity we had that day. First speedwork ever was a complete bust. Completed 1 mile warmup and then 1 mile of my 2 mile workout at 8:17/mi with 1/2 mile jogs between. I hate speed workouts. Tempo runs I can do just not speed. I'm not fast.

So today while I was getting dressed after my swim, I wondered if I should go a triathalon. Jack thinks I should. Not a full one but a version called sprint. Swim 1/2 mile; bike 13 miles; run 3.1 miles. I'm reading a blog on our sister paper, Quad Cities Times, by a woman that is training for her Sprint Tri. She's 33 and has 2 kids. Apparently most women complete their first tri in their 30's. So here's my new set of goals. Halfmarathon this year; Marathon by the time I'm 30; Sprint Tri by the time I'm 33. They have a Sprint Tri in Naperville but I'm sure that's HUGE. I want to do one that's a bit smaller; like the one out in Iowa (the one that this lady is doing). But I'm waiting until then to figure out how the heck do I train for something like that... swimming and then biking? The transistions?!

Speaking of hurt, I think I figured out why I'm pushing myself to all these challenges but that will be saved for another blog when I get sentimental and detrimental to my pysche.

Categories: aches and pains, biking, friends, goals, speed work, sprint tri, swimming, triathlon

It's been too long since I talked about running

Tomorrow evening I finish my Old Chicago World Beer Tour #2. Only took me 2 years to finish 110 beers with driving 40 miles one way for it. HAHA. It'll be good.

I've been swimming this week for cross-training purposes. I got in the pool on Tuesday, did some laps and spent a total of 30 minutes in the pool. I was expecting to be more sore on Wednesday but nada. Was in the pool again tonight. Only spent 20 minutes this time but that was because Zach in the next lane swam 22 laps in a row and totally showed me up. I can only swim 3 laps in a row. I blame the fact that I have no goggles. So I'm buying goggles this weekend or next week.

Next week cross-training will be biking. My legs will be more sore after that. I like the recumbent bike better. I can read or watch tv better and it's easier on my ass. I go for like 7 or 8 miles on that in 30 minutes. It's a pretty good sweat workout.

I'm hoping to lose 10 pounds. It'll help with the running, if I'm more svelt. I don't want to lose it for the body image but to help me run. So maybe it's not the weight I want to lose but instead the bulk around my hips, thighs and stomach. We'll see if it happens. I highly doubt it. Three years ago I was 15 pounds less than what I am now but I was also younger too. I don't know what I did to lose it but I did. I think it was the working nights and driving an hour to work.

I'm also doing a few sets of weights after running on the treadmill. Nothing too big and fancy. Just working the tricep (a problem area), the hamstring lift (I need to make that stronger for running) and free weights curls for the biceps (my skinny arms need to get stronger).

I saw an orthopedic last week. He told me that I'm incredibly flexible which is why I'm having problems with my wrists. But he said what will help me with that is strengthening up the forearm. So I have to look into getting a squeezy thingy for those muscles. I can work those at home. This guy I know just does it while he's watching tv and his forearms are HUGE. So I'm hoping that will keep my wrists good as I have a cyst back in my bad one and my one good wrist is painful as of late.

I'm also training for the St. Jude Children's Hospital Half Marathon for later on this year. It'll be in December. Someone from work motivated me enough to get excited about the stupid thing. It's in Memphis. Here's a map of the route. I have a regimen to follow for 16 weeks. I started it this past Monday and I only run 3 times a week. That seems way less that what I should run to me but I up my long run mileage by a mile each week. It has tempo runs (which is slightly faster than your estimated HM pace) and speed work (in which you run like a mile fast - mines is at 8:06) and easy/long runs done at a pace slower than your HM pace (mine is 10 minutes). I've never really done those before. I always just ran a straight steady pace which might be why I only run at that pace.

I got this schedule from Runner's World. I subscribed to it 2 months ago and it's been really helpful. I totally look forward to it every month. It has good articles about running, shoes, strides, food, etc.

For the past two Friday's, I've been running at lunch because I usually end up staying until 7pm to get our weekend classified sections out. I can't explain why but it sucks. Luckily, because tomorrow is my WBT finish, I'm leaving at 5pm, I don't care and I'm not running. It's a rest day for me! With a 6 mile run on Saturday. :-)

I've been planning my camping weekends for this summer. I'm totally looking forward to Alton/Grafton and then sometime to Wisconsin. I also plan an overnight trip to Springfield. It's been way too long since I've been to our state capital. I like Abraham Lincoln a lot. My dad is also going to come up here for a week of camping in August. I'm excited about that. He's actually staying in Sycamore too so he'll be close to me! Unfortunately, since all my vacation time is all ready locked in, I can't take any of those days off but I'll find stuff to do with him during the week. May lose out on a few training days. We'll see.

I swear, if I see one more story or hear of another newscast or commercial about the iPhone (which is all I'm seeing on NBC tonight), I'm going to scream. I can't even go to some of my favourite geek sites because all they have are links and articles about this iPhone. How not to be jealous of the iPhone, how to make your phone look like the iPhone, how the iPhone stands up to other phones, finding Wi-Fi spots with your iPhone, how the lines are building for the iPhone launch, the fact that the iPhones are arriving and being unpacked. I want to stage a sit-in in protest over this hype that they are having over this new device. I'm sick of it. SICK. OF. IT. People were complaining about the overexposure of Paris Hilton. Well, how about this iPhone?!?! I'll end on that note.

Categories: camping, iPhone, orthopedic, Runner's World, speed work, St. Jude Half Marathon, swimming, travel, weight, work