16 Monday Sep 2013
Posted in Changes & Progress, Geeky, Health, Stuff that Works, TEDTalk
I’ve actually been doing this for a while, so imagine my amusement when while watching a TED talk every day for the month of September, I came across this gem:
Watch it and pick something – something little, something you’ve always wanted to try, something good for you, something fun. I’m thinking for October, I’m going to be taking that daily picture. Though I’m not going to give up my daily TED talk – and I guess that’s the point, isn’t it?
11 Thursday Jul 2013
Posted in Cheapskate, Health, Stuff that Works
I’m not a big “go out and buy a bunch of stuff” person. I’m actually more of a “haunt the thrift stores until good quality clothes show up” person. But I never buy second hand shoes (or a few other things because it’s just a bad idea) because they mold and stretch to the wearer and because well – ick. There are a few other things that don’t show up in thrifts as well. So, what did I actually buy?
I already have an article on my Merrell barefoot runners so I won’t rehash that here. I do consider music to be absolutely essential and I can see on my Endomondo graphs where the BPM affects my speed (and distance if my playlist runs out before I do). So I’ve invested in a running sleeve to hold my phone (Nokia 920), an Endomondo premium account (which has the cool feature of showing you which songs were playing at what points along with tracking distance, speed, personal bests and routes) and my Xbox music pass. I use JogFM to find playlists and songs with the right BPM for various goals (free).
Other than that and a few pieces of cold weather gear I picked up on sale, it’s a pair of shorts, a good sports bra (I love my UnderArmor, but this is definitely a category for finding the best fit and brand for the individual) and one of my gazillion technical t-shirts. I do wear a bright, white or reflective item any time I’m out before or after full sun (which is constant in the summer). And a hat. The only thing I don’t compromise on at all is the footwear – I track the mileage and replace whether I think my shoes need it or not. I figure my feet are something I’m going to want to have around and functioning as long as I am so they are worth the investment. 🙂
07 Sunday Jul 2013
Posted in Changes & Progress, Health
Well, it’s really going to be a walk/run depending on how well I adapt to my new minimal running shoes. Which I will be working on slowly getting used to starting today. Shin splints and plantar fasciitis have plagued me for almost a year now and it feels like I’ve tried every exercise, insert and shoe on the planet. So I stopped and spent some time thinking about when my feet felt best and most pain free and it was when I was wearing my ancient Merrell walking sandals or plodding around the house and yard shoeless. Having dismissed (without really investigating) the whole running toe sock fad, I decided to take another look and discovered my friends at Merrell have minimalist trail and road shoes. I gotta admit the second I put my feet in one of the “gloves” I was in love.
My first race in the new gear will be the NC Music Factory Rock ‘n’ Run/Walk in Charlotte on August 10th, giving me one month to get used to the shoes and get them broken in. Hopefully a week walking around Las Vegas (vacation) and some gradual mileage increases using the Merrell barefoot training program and tips before that will do the trick. This is a good 5K for it as there are a lot of walkers and the race is a ton of fun with music, bands, vendors and breakfast. Plus it’s nice to do an event multiple years and the course is much more even than a lot around here which will probably be a good thing for testing out footwear. We shall see – updates to come as I ramp up.
04 Thursday Jul 2013
Posted in Bucket List, Health
Tags
Yeah, it’s only a little over 3 miles. Still, lots of people think about doing a race (even a short one) and never do. I decided to do the Speed for Children in Need 5K at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on December 11, 2011 and I dragged the consort along with me. I decided from the start that I was going to walk the race as finishing was the priority and I had developed some pretty painful shin splints along the way while getting ready for it. The race started at the drag strip, went up and over the pedestrian bridge, down and through the tunnel and then finished on the track. It was frankly pretty cool though the up and down and sideways walking (that track is SLOPED) caught us by surprise. We finished within the race time (and weren’t dead last). I’ve done several 5Ks since then and finishing is always pretty neat, but I have to admit the first one (slow as it was) was the biggest rush of accomplishment. And it got me to add a 10K to the list. I didn’t do this race last year, but I think I’ll do it this year. And run this time.
04 Thursday Jul 2013
Posted in Changes & Progress, Health, Home
Tags
I was going month to month and even though I was slack on posting it, I had it running in my Outlook To-Do list. So, to somewhat stay on track, here’s the “rest of the year” to set the tone for upcoming articles.
Home:
Career:
Finances:
Health:
Cosmic's Corner of the Space Time Continuum 