14 miles then 7

I got a new toy just before my 14 mile training run a week or so ago. Maybe it is a guy thing but toys are a lot of fun.
This toy is a GPS unit for my watch. It calculates my speed and distance traveled. However, it has some problems that can get annoying. First of all, the GPS is line of sight. Since the unit connects to satellites out in the sky, it means I have to be outside. If I have to go inside for anything >boom< there goes my reception. suddenly what used to be measurung my speed it says "searching." this makes it really ahrd to know how far you have run or how fast you are going. About 5 minutes later it will hook back in with the satellites and eerything willbe fine. but for those minutes when my watch is off line, I am in hell!!!!!

but when it works! wow! it works so well. you know how fast you are going. you can measure in mph/or kmph or nmph. or instead you can get your mile pace. My group averages at 10'00" pace. To me this is not very informative. I want to know my speed. so I try to keep my pace at around 6.4mph while running. ( this is the speed that the treadmill at work gives me). The watch also does auto-splits. so for every mile I run, it willl automatically mark how long each mile took.
I will fill in more later. I am exhausted tonight. not even for a good reason.

-d

I need these shoes...

Nike Makes Barefoot Breakthrough

Wired article

Nike page

Recovery run 6 miles

I learned something new on Saturday. On long runs, for every mile you run you should take a day off. This doesn't apply to everyone. For example my great friend Will runs 20 miles some days even when not training for a marathon. He does not need to subscribe to this. I think a lot of it is due to the fact that he's been running since I met him back in 7th grade. His legs are used to it. Mine, however, are not. Not even close. So after we do a long run, like the 12 miles we did last week, or the 14 we do next week, we will be doing a shorter recovery run in the weeks in between. From now on our trianing will look like a saw blade. 12 miles, 6 miles, 14, 7, 16, 8, 18, 9 etc.

The run was pretty easy. I never thought I would say that about running 6 miles. But it was. Started off kinda fast. We were doing 8:50 pace for the first three miles. Much faster than the 10 minute pace I am supposed to be running. My heart rate monitor was telling me that I was definitely puching harder than usual. Our group quickly split up to into three sections. The uber fast who ran around a 8:50 for the whole 6 miles. I ran about a 9:20 pace along with this guy Mike who I met a few weeks earlier at a Griffith park training run. A few other people fell behind us and ran closer to the 10 minute pace that all of us in the pace group are supposed to be running.

to celebrate such an easy run, I did some errands and got ready to celebrate the wedding of my friends Miguel Nelson and Sherry Walsh. An amazing couple and an amazing night spent with great friends old and new.

12 miles

I ran 12 miles on Saturday and my whole body can feel it. It started at mile two as my legs started to ache, and they never relented. It only stopped hurting when I stopped moving. For the rest of the day I noticed that instead of actually walking, I was doing more of a waddle. I felt like penguin. I just could not lift my legs. Starting next week we are staggering our distances. Next weeks run will be 6 miles. EASY! Then we jump to 14 miles, then to 7 miles, etc. A little variety to prevent over exertion.

This weekend Santa Monica was my home. I went to bed early and woke up on time at 6am (almost 2.5 hours earlier than I wake for work. psssst. Don't tell my boss). Running with this group was new to me. So new I didn't know where I was going. Oh sure. I thought I did. But when I got to the place I was sorely mistaken. The gates were locked and not a soul was in sight. I thought I had plenty of time when I left the house. After all, I am just one mile from the Santa Monica border. Well, I would have had plenty of time if I had gone to the right place. Realizing the location I had in my mind was wrong, rushing home to get the proper directions was my only option. So home I went and rushed to the real location. I arrived at the training site just in time to wonder, where is my running group? Santa Monica is a little less organized the San Francisco. Finally at the start point, a quarter mile from where we all meet up, I found out who I was running with. There were 10 of us in the group running 10 minute miles. Us toggles. We actually got a pep talk from the woman who won the '73 Boston marathon. I never caught her name, but it was inspiring on how not to run Boston. I have a friend who has learned that lesson, also.
Saturday was hot. Even at 7am it was hot. There were long hills that only seemed to go up. That lasted about 8 miles. The last 4 miles only seemed to go down. A nice change of pace. Around mile 5 we split in two groups. I hung back with the two women in our group and a physician who has run 7 AIDS marathons. Knowing what he has done is very inspiring. As much as my legs hurt during the run, I also had another injury that is a little bit more embarrassing to talk about. Ok. I got a nipple rash. I had to put band aids on them once I got home. Seriously. My shirt rubbed my nipples raw. If anybody has any info about what to do please let me know. I have seen pictures of people whose nipples get so raw from running they started bleeding. I don't want that. Please help me.

Also, please help me, if you can. $10, $20, $50 or $100. Or if you cant afford to give any money, I fully understand. But I ask that you pass this site along to your friends and coworkers. It is really important to get this out to the people so we can all help with prevention and with finding a cure!