Training Run before Visit to Foot Specialist

Friday, March 18, 2011

I went out this morning with Jeff, my running partner. I have been suffering from plantar fasciitis for nearly 5 weeks and Jeff had bronchitis the week before...we need serious healing. We usually run long on Saturday and we both had signed up for the ARR South Mountain Classic 20K on 3/26. I had an appointment with a foot specialist on 3/21 and remained hopeful for miracle respite. We started off walking and also walked a bit at the 2.5 mile turnaround. Jeff wanted to run faster some time around mile 3.5 and I knew I needed to remain slow and steady. He turned it on for a strong finish! I finished 5.07 miles in 53 minutes for 10:37 average pace. I finished the last mile at 9:28, had negative splits other than the brief walk at halfway mark and felt good about the mileage. But I knew my L foot would need ice and pills throughout the day. I had hoped to insert a table from my new Garmin but I am inept, need additional tutorial from Geyer! I figured it out!! (4/13/2011 update)
The weather in Phoenix in March is perfect for morning runs and my body felt good other than the foot. More on the doctor visits to come...

Garmin...GTL? GTC? Acronyms galore!

February 20-March 16, 2011

Soon after starting my running adventure with Geyer (& I mean 3 minutes into that November 4th run!), Jeff starts pushing me to buy a Garmin. He says, "All the cool kids are using them" and "You know you want one." I started to wonder what kind of pusher leader he was at work!

Words like cadence, laps, splits, virtual partner, GPS were tossed around like common vernacular and I knew I had found another person like me...OC data driven! I appreciated the information regarding pace during the run and mileage information after the run but I liked the feel of running 'naked', just chatting occasionally with Geyer. And when I went on solo runs, I made note of the start and end times to track pace, and then only carried a music player to keep focused and stay motivated. It was kind of cool because I started to feel the pace more, checking in with Jeff when I thought the pace was too fast or slow for me.

Jeff mentioned the Garmin every week but I delayed the purchase as I had other financial goals until Spring. I even speculate that Geyer bailed on the RNR AZ so I would borrow his Garmin. Think about it: he didn't pay the race entry fee! Late February arrived and I felt good about buying the Garmin as I received my tax refund earlier than expected. I ordered the Forerunner 305 and expandable strap from Amazon (pretty sure that Jeff gets kickbacks!) and the packages were mailed to my pob at the beginning of March. Unfortunately, for a week, I forgot to go during regular pickup times and finally got everything on 3/10. Eureka!

I opened the packages with anticipation, then read parts of the manual and charged the unit. Ironically I was taking an injury timeout so the Garmin was unneeded for the first week.

I used it on 3/16 for a short run with Geyer and Norman (the pupster) and I could see the fun with all that data! I am simply a 'Start' and 'Stop' kind of gal but I probably will try a few other features soon. Jeff, thanks for the mini-lesson.

Happy running, everyone! :D It packs a power punch!