Here’s the Hamster’s morning. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ <alarm rings>, the Hamster hits snooze, intends to get up and run 6 miles…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ <alarm rings>, the Hamster hits snooze, intends to get up and run 6, er, maybe 5 miles…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ <alarm rings>…you get the idea. The hamster only got in four miles today. On the bright side, I got to run the first mile with Abby.
Mile | Pace |
1 | 0:09:27 |
2 | 0:07:35 |
3 | 0:07:15 |
4 | 0:06:46 |
This run sucked! I ran from Los Altos Hills almost to the garnet gates of Stanford University. As you can see by the map, I spent most of my time on the foothill expressway: a four lane boulevard with HUGE bike lanes (8' wide). The reason the run sucked is because the final score had Bikes @ 150+ and Runners @ 4 (including the Hamster). The bicyclists did little dispell the bad reputation they have for being rude and arrogant. I got yelled at twice while doing everything I could to stay out of the way of their packs. It got so bad that I ran to the median of the boulevard whenever I saw them coming. Note to Bicycle Guy: get over yourself! My taxes pay for the same road you use. I'm willing to share it with you, show me the same courtesy!
Run 2 - Land Park 5
Distance: 5
Time: 0:37:50
Pace: 7:33/mi
Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/653428
This was a great run. I started out feeling a little flat, but quickly got into the groove. The best part of this run was seeing Abby on the run. She's training for the CIM Relay and decided to get in a few miles this morning around Land Park too.
Here are my splits.
Mile Split
The downside of this run is that I was sweating until about 10:30 this morning! It's a good thing I don't smell.
So we arrived in Los Altos hills on Thursday night to spend the weekend at Abby's mom's house. We arrived at 10:30 pm and she had a selection of Satura cakes waiting for us. I couldn't resist, they're my favorite...not exactly good food the night before a tough run, but the run forgave me.
About the run. Los Altos Hills is Spanglish for "the tall hills" and it doesn't disappoint. The run takes me to an old quarry (now dotted with McMansions). The last time Iwas here I found a trail-head to the Mount San Antonio Open Space Preserve. It's basically a fire road that leads up behind Los Altos Hills. Here are some pics and explanations.
Pi1 - The Trailhead
I have a client who needed to set up a space where researchers from around the world could collaborate on what else, research topics. I thought MySpace and Facebook might lack credibility with this crowd so I sought a viable alternative. It turns out that the former founder of Netscape, Marc Andreessen created a social networking space on the Internet called Ning. Ning hopes to compete with large social sites like MySpace and Facebook, by appealing to users who want to create networks around specific interests or have limited technical skills. The unique feature of Ning is that anyone can create their own custom social network for a particular topic or need, catering to specific audiences…that, and it’s not blocked by my clients firewall. <evil grin> So, as a proof of concept, I created a Sacramento Running “social network”. It will probably go nowhere, but here it is.
Here’s info on my morning 4.44 mile run. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/596478
Lap | Total Time | Distance | Pace | Calories |
1 | 0:07:53 | 1 | 7:53 | 98 |
2 | 0:07:47 | 1 | 7:47 | 110 |
3 | 0:07:32 | 1 | 7:32 | 111 |
4 | 0:07:02 | 1 | 7:02 | 108 |
5 | 0:02:55 | 0.44 | 6:40 | 47 |
Okay, so I’m a little proud about the splits…At least I admit it. Of course, I need 7:38 per mile for 26.2 in order to go sub 3:20:00, so 7:28 per mile for 4.44 is nothing to get too excited about.
I almost named this blog “Marathons on 3 Days A Week” because I only get to train three days a week. You won’t find this as a recommended marathon training regimen from Runners World, but it’s all I got and I’ll take what I get without complaining. Being a three-day-a-week marathoner, missing a run is a BIG, BIG deal. As I mentioned earlier, I’m watching the girls full-time this week which will make it difficult to get in my runs. So, I dropped off the girls at care this morning and decided get in a quick run before going into the office a wee bit later than I should (feeling guilty). That’s why my splits were faster than usual, I really wanted to crank this one out to minimize my tardiness to the office.
The splits felt great, but I finished the run and the ball of my left foot started talking to me. In fact, it’s downright cranky right now. Now that I’m a runner counting down the days to turning 40, any tweak or twinge makes me want to run for the panic button. My internal dialog screams, “OH GREAT! That’s it Norton, you’re out of the game.” I’m going to let the calmer internal voice prevail today...I know it's in there telling me to breathe and reminding me not to pile onto what it really is...just a sore foot. I’m hoping that a little ibuprofen and ice will mend the ills by the morning. If not, my panic voice will dominate the next post. :)
Garmin Report: Per the info from John Blue (see post from this weekend) I modified my pace settings on the watch and got exactly what I was looking for. Also, 405 is connecting perfectly with my PC and uploading the info to Garmin Connect has been a breeze. I like the 405 more and more every day.
Okay, I consider myself to be more than somewhat tech savvy, but I’ve been having more than my fair share of technical difficulties getting my Garmin Connect set up. Here’s how it’s supposed to work in a perfect world: Go for a run, plug in your Garmin 405 USB antenna, watch it sync, share your reports from Garmin Connect. Piece of cake, right? Wrong! My journey to “sharing” involved staying up until 2:00 AM on Sunday and an additional two hours on the line with Garmin Tech Support from 6:00 – 8:00 AM today. However, I do have to give credit to the Flo and Austin at Garmin. They were knowledgeable, patient, and persistent. Without them, I never, ever, would have gotten my 405 to work. Thank you Flo and Austin!!!!
So, I posted my run from Saturday. Let me know if you can see it. The interface is fairly rudimentary at the moment, I will update it as I learn more about the features of Garmin Connect.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/589868
No running today. I had good intentions to do push-ups and sit-ups but they never came to life. I wonder how good intentions will feel at mile 20 on the CIM. (Rhetorical question)
My physical activity consisted of a 500 yard swim during adult swim at the Cabana Club South, followed by repeats of Kid tosses. This is where I throw one of my kids as far as I can and then the next, and the next...you get the idea. I feel like a human water park at times. Now you know why I cherish the 20 minutes every hour dedicated to adult swim (AKA Sanctuary). Seriously, I over did the kid toss today, I feel like I was in a car wreck.
