Powerade vs Gatorade
When I first started running, I would drink seltzer when I was done. Not sure what it is about seltzer, but it never seems cold. When I drink it at work, I pour it over ice. When I drink it after a run, I guzzle from a bottle. Maybe I have ruined the refreshingness (is that a word?) by drinking it over ice at work. Anywho, so I started drinking Gatorade G2 low calories sport drink. I can usually pick them up for $1 a piece at Harris Teeter.
Last week I noticed that Gatorade was $1.49 and Powerade was something like buy 2 get 3 free. It worked out to be like $.90 a bottle, so I picked up 5. The other thing I noticed is that Powerade makes something called "Powerade 0" which is 0 calorie. I picked up 5 different flavors that interested me and put the lemon lime one in the fridge. The Gatorade lemon lime is that urine colored yellow, while the Powerade is more of a Prestone green. The other thing I noticed is that the bottle shapes the two products come in are very different.
Gatorade comes in a fat, stubby bottle. Powerade comes in a taller, more slender bottle. I think the Powerade bottle is more conducive to holding and carrying. I have small hands, so maybe that is why. As far as taste goes, Powerade definitely tastes different than Gatorade, but not in a bad way. I found it to be just as refreshing and easy drinking.
I don't really have an allegiance to either product, but as long as I can find Powerade for $.99 or less, I am going to stick with it. The G2 grape tastes amazing. I will have to see if Powerade grape comes close to the taste. I'll also "weed out" any of the flavors I don't care for.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Feeling Good
WOW,haven't posted in a while. Not because I haven't been running, just been lazy. Did skip 2 runs when I was in NY, but other than that I have been running on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday like usual. I tried out a new running app called iSmooth Run. I like it, but I still think Nike+ is the best. I wish the two of them could run together, one in the front and one in the background. I tried running Nike+ in the background with iSmooth in the front and Nike+ stopped recording after about .25 mile. I find that odd. I'll try again on Tuesday to see if I can get it to work. Sometimes when Max plays with my phone he opens a dozen apps and they eat up memory.
Last nights run was great. Not sure why though. Normally on Sunday, I do my "long run". Last week I ran 4 miles on Sunday, which for me, is a long distance. For others, that's merely their warmup. I only ran 2 miles last night. I got a call from Donna and started out late and didn't want to stay out running till 9:30 in order to finish 4 miles. So I cut my workout in half and did a brisk 2 mile run.
What's funny to me in perception. I felt like I was running pretty quickly last night. Yet my time wasn't dramatically better. But what I did notice was that my pace was VERY consistant. I think when I struggle, I slow down and then have to run much quicker to get back on pace and I burn myself out. During last nights run, I never felt winded, I never felt hot, I didn't get super sweaty. It wasn't a super humid night, which Im sure helped. Hopefully as the weather turns cooler as we get closer to Autumn, my runs will continue to feel "easy".
I noticed that my running form was pretty bad last week. Sometimes I feel like I am running in place. So last night, I tried to stride a little more to propel myself further with each step. Perhaps that is also part of the equation. Ironically, I ate McDonalds for dinner last night. Sometimes when I eat poorly, I feel like crap when I run. Last night was the opposite. I noticed when I was playing with Max after dinner that I felt very energetic. Then I talked on the phone with Donna and felt a little bit of that energy go away. But once I got out there and started running, it came back to me. I got that feeling of "happy feet" a few times as I ran when a good song came on. My last two runs, I ran around the same pace, but felt winded trying to keep that pace up. This run was just the opposite, I felt really strong and didn't feel winder or like I was overexerting myself.
I also extended my route around the neighborhood a bit. I found that if I turn down off of Trentdale I can run down one of the side streets, cut over and up and come back out on Trentdale. By doing this, and continuing out onto Hoadley and Dale Blvd, I make it an almost two mile loop. Before when I just ran down Trentdale straight, it would require me to do 3-3.5 loops to do 4 miles. Now with this new path, it's closer to 2. Sort of a mental thing. I find that running the same path over and over gets boring and repetitive. So if I can only run it twice and get 4 miles in, score! I hit mile 1 just about the time when I get to the hill to go up Trentdale and only Hoadley. Perfect place for a break :-).
I ran my first mile in 10:15 and then did a brief walk for about a minute. I could have kept running, but initially I was going to try to do 1 mile, walk 1 X 4. I finished my 2nd mile in 10:34, which is really good considering I walked for about .15 of a mile.
Sunday, August 28th, 2011
Distance Run: 2 miles
1st Mile: 10:15
2nd Mile: 10:34
Total Time: 20:57
Calories Burned: 211
Last nights run was great. Not sure why though. Normally on Sunday, I do my "long run". Last week I ran 4 miles on Sunday, which for me, is a long distance. For others, that's merely their warmup. I only ran 2 miles last night. I got a call from Donna and started out late and didn't want to stay out running till 9:30 in order to finish 4 miles. So I cut my workout in half and did a brisk 2 mile run.
What's funny to me in perception. I felt like I was running pretty quickly last night. Yet my time wasn't dramatically better. But what I did notice was that my pace was VERY consistant. I think when I struggle, I slow down and then have to run much quicker to get back on pace and I burn myself out. During last nights run, I never felt winded, I never felt hot, I didn't get super sweaty. It wasn't a super humid night, which Im sure helped. Hopefully as the weather turns cooler as we get closer to Autumn, my runs will continue to feel "easy".
I noticed that my running form was pretty bad last week. Sometimes I feel like I am running in place. So last night, I tried to stride a little more to propel myself further with each step. Perhaps that is also part of the equation. Ironically, I ate McDonalds for dinner last night. Sometimes when I eat poorly, I feel like crap when I run. Last night was the opposite. I noticed when I was playing with Max after dinner that I felt very energetic. Then I talked on the phone with Donna and felt a little bit of that energy go away. But once I got out there and started running, it came back to me. I got that feeling of "happy feet" a few times as I ran when a good song came on. My last two runs, I ran around the same pace, but felt winded trying to keep that pace up. This run was just the opposite, I felt really strong and didn't feel winder or like I was overexerting myself.
I also extended my route around the neighborhood a bit. I found that if I turn down off of Trentdale I can run down one of the side streets, cut over and up and come back out on Trentdale. By doing this, and continuing out onto Hoadley and Dale Blvd, I make it an almost two mile loop. Before when I just ran down Trentdale straight, it would require me to do 3-3.5 loops to do 4 miles. Now with this new path, it's closer to 2. Sort of a mental thing. I find that running the same path over and over gets boring and repetitive. So if I can only run it twice and get 4 miles in, score! I hit mile 1 just about the time when I get to the hill to go up Trentdale and only Hoadley. Perfect place for a break :-).
I ran my first mile in 10:15 and then did a brief walk for about a minute. I could have kept running, but initially I was going to try to do 1 mile, walk 1 X 4. I finished my 2nd mile in 10:34, which is really good considering I walked for about .15 of a mile.
Sunday, August 28th, 2011
Distance Run: 2 miles
1st Mile: 10:15
2nd Mile: 10:34
Total Time: 20:57
Calories Burned: 211
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
5K Or Bust!
So I've run 4 times since last Tuesday and 3 of the 4 have been distances of 3.1 or greater. I'm very proud of that. I've gotten better at controlling my pace, which makes finishing a longer distance easier. I think I'm going to follow the ease to 10k program. I did week 4 day 1 yesterday. Quite similar to the impromptue run I did on Sunday.
Tuesdays run will probably be my last for a week. We'll be driving up to NY tomorrow night, and staying till next Tuesday. I don't think I'll run while I'm up in NY.
I ran last night without any music. I kind of liked it. I was much more aware of my surroundings. But I felt like maybe I need that distraction of the music once I start running further and further.
I saw some videos on Youtube on how do stretch our the achilles before a run. I did the stretches last night before my run and it feels pretty good today. Hoping that the stiffness in my achilles goes away with the proper stretching.
Reading up minimalist shoes. I like the look of the NB Minimas. Not sure if they would hurt me or help me at this point.
I downloaded a new app called iSmoothRun. It sounds pretty cool. I was considering getting a Garmin 305, but it seems like this app does everything the Garmin does plus more. I just hope the running data is accurate. I'll probably run with iSmoothRun in the foreground and Nike+ in the background to compare distance.
Sunday August 7, 2011
Distance Run: 3.11 miles
1st Mile: 10:50
2nd Mile: 11:15
3rd Mile: 11:20
Total Time: 34:46
Calories Burned: 322
Tuesday August 9, 2011
Distance Run: 3.25 miles
1st Mile: ?
2nd Mile: ?
3rd Mile: ?
Total Time: 36:04
Calories Burned: 381
Tuesdays run will probably be my last for a week. We'll be driving up to NY tomorrow night, and staying till next Tuesday. I don't think I'll run while I'm up in NY.
I ran last night without any music. I kind of liked it. I was much more aware of my surroundings. But I felt like maybe I need that distraction of the music once I start running further and further.
I saw some videos on Youtube on how do stretch our the achilles before a run. I did the stretches last night before my run and it feels pretty good today. Hoping that the stiffness in my achilles goes away with the proper stretching.
Reading up minimalist shoes. I like the look of the NB Minimas. Not sure if they would hurt me or help me at this point.
I downloaded a new app called iSmoothRun. It sounds pretty cool. I was considering getting a Garmin 305, but it seems like this app does everything the Garmin does plus more. I just hope the running data is accurate. I'll probably run with iSmoothRun in the foreground and Nike+ in the background to compare distance.
Sunday August 7, 2011
Distance Run: 3.11 miles
1st Mile: 10:50
2nd Mile: 11:15
3rd Mile: 11:20
Total Time: 34:46
Calories Burned: 322
Tuesday August 9, 2011
Distance Run: 3.25 miles
1st Mile: ?
2nd Mile: ?
3rd Mile: ?
Total Time: 36:04
Calories Burned: 381
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Pace Yourself Dummy
Wow it's been a while. I skipped some runs due to the heat and didn't run while in Ocean City, but I didn't go two weeks straight without running, just been lazy about posting. According to Nike+ I've run 4 times since my last post. I ran on the 23rd, 28th, 31st and 2nd.
Pace yourself dummy. I need to remember to say that to myself before every run. Usually I feel great when I start out and explode right out of the gate, and by the end, I'm panting and counting down the minutes till my run is finished. On Tuesday night, I made a conscious effort to keep my pace slow, and it paid off. I guess if I am trying to set a new PB for the mile, I can sprint for as much as I could handle, but when Im trying to stretch my distance, I need to pace myself. It's really that simple.
I noticed when I looked back at my run on July 23rd, that I only ran 1.82 miles and that I ran my first mile at a pace of 10:26. Way too fast for me at this point. If I slow my pace down closer to 11:30, I run so much easier. Problem is keeping that in my head when I run. I think the GPS in my iPhone is a little wonky, but it's bright and easy to glance at. My old Forerunner seems to be more accurate, and has the virtual trainer, but it's hard to read when it gets dark.
So now on to the good news, I ran a 5k distance the other night and felt good doing it. I wasn't huffing and puffing, I only took two brief walk breaks for about a minute each and ran the last 15 minutes or so, without stopping. My pace times below are a little misleading. I ran the first mile in 10:47 because I think I ran the entire way till I hit the mile marker, then walked for a minute. So that is why my 2nd mile time is slower. I may have actually stopped twice during the 2nd mile. The 3rd mile, I am pretty sure I ran the whole way. I didn't stop after the 2nd time, so I either stopped towards the end of mile 2 or at the start of mile 3. I'm pretty sure it was at the end of mile 2. Anyway, I finished 5k time in 34:55 which was a personal best. Last time I ran 5k, it took me 42:43 back on June 16th. Almost 8 minutes faster than my last 5k time. Big improvement in 6 weeks. I think from now on I'm going to do shorter runs on Tuesday and Thursday. Somewhere in the 2 to 2.5 mile range and then do at least a 5k distance on Sunday. Reason for the longer run on Sunday is I will have 2 days rest on Friday and Saturday. Plus it's the weekend, so I may have even gotten in a quick nap :-).
My question now is, if I can run the whole way, and remove the walk breaks, could I maintain a sub 11 minute pace average? I just added up and diving my split times by 3, and it came out to be 11:03. So I was pretty close to keeping an 11 minute pace with two walk breaks factored in. Ultimately I would like to get down to 10 minute miles so I can finish a 5k in 30 minutes, but I think I am weeks if not months away from that.
One last thing. I ran with low socks the other night and ended up getting a small blister on the back of my left heel. Going to put a band aid on it and see how it does tonight.
I forgot to do a screenshot so I don't know what the weather was at the time of my run. It was pretty warm and humid. I would guess it was probably between 82 and 85 degrees.
Distance Run: 3.16 miles
1st Mile: 10:47
2nd Mile: 11:51
3rd Mile: 11:11
Total Time: 35:29
Calories Burned: 327
Pace yourself dummy. I need to remember to say that to myself before every run. Usually I feel great when I start out and explode right out of the gate, and by the end, I'm panting and counting down the minutes till my run is finished. On Tuesday night, I made a conscious effort to keep my pace slow, and it paid off. I guess if I am trying to set a new PB for the mile, I can sprint for as much as I could handle, but when Im trying to stretch my distance, I need to pace myself. It's really that simple.
I noticed when I looked back at my run on July 23rd, that I only ran 1.82 miles and that I ran my first mile at a pace of 10:26. Way too fast for me at this point. If I slow my pace down closer to 11:30, I run so much easier. Problem is keeping that in my head when I run. I think the GPS in my iPhone is a little wonky, but it's bright and easy to glance at. My old Forerunner seems to be more accurate, and has the virtual trainer, but it's hard to read when it gets dark.
So now on to the good news, I ran a 5k distance the other night and felt good doing it. I wasn't huffing and puffing, I only took two brief walk breaks for about a minute each and ran the last 15 minutes or so, without stopping. My pace times below are a little misleading. I ran the first mile in 10:47 because I think I ran the entire way till I hit the mile marker, then walked for a minute. So that is why my 2nd mile time is slower. I may have actually stopped twice during the 2nd mile. The 3rd mile, I am pretty sure I ran the whole way. I didn't stop after the 2nd time, so I either stopped towards the end of mile 2 or at the start of mile 3. I'm pretty sure it was at the end of mile 2. Anyway, I finished 5k time in 34:55 which was a personal best. Last time I ran 5k, it took me 42:43 back on June 16th. Almost 8 minutes faster than my last 5k time. Big improvement in 6 weeks. I think from now on I'm going to do shorter runs on Tuesday and Thursday. Somewhere in the 2 to 2.5 mile range and then do at least a 5k distance on Sunday. Reason for the longer run on Sunday is I will have 2 days rest on Friday and Saturday. Plus it's the weekend, so I may have even gotten in a quick nap :-).
My question now is, if I can run the whole way, and remove the walk breaks, could I maintain a sub 11 minute pace average? I just added up and diving my split times by 3, and it came out to be 11:03. So I was pretty close to keeping an 11 minute pace with two walk breaks factored in. Ultimately I would like to get down to 10 minute miles so I can finish a 5k in 30 minutes, but I think I am weeks if not months away from that.
One last thing. I ran with low socks the other night and ended up getting a small blister on the back of my left heel. Going to put a band aid on it and see how it does tonight.
I forgot to do a screenshot so I don't know what the weather was at the time of my run. It was pretty warm and humid. I would guess it was probably between 82 and 85 degrees.
Distance Run: 3.16 miles
1st Mile: 10:47
2nd Mile: 11:51
3rd Mile: 11:11
Total Time: 35:29
Calories Burned: 327
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