Thanks to all who offered advice and kind words about my post, “what’s the freakin’ point“. I ran to the lake yesterday without the stopwatch, and it was a great run. Probably not a great pace, but I felt good about it 
I actually strapped on my heart rate monitor and planned on putting tape over the time readout of the watch. I wanted to have the data to enter into my training log after the workout was done. As fate would have it, I walked out the door forgetting to put the watch on. Probably a good thing, because I would have been tempted to peek at the time once I got to the lake (1/2 way point). And the time probably would not have been what I wanted, and that would have dragged me down.
My plan was to run 3 miles to the lake and back at a moderate pace. It was only 75 degrees, so I just carried 20 ounces of water in my palm holder bottle. I dropped in a tablet of NUUN. I’m loving that stuff!
At about the 1.5 mile mark I passed a buff looking guy who was running along the same route. Did you hear that? I passed someone running! And it was a male! Ever since my last race, whenever I see a buff dude during a workout or a race, I call him Buffman. Tee Hee.
After passing Buffman, I felt peer pressure to run with good form, because I knew he was behind me, at least for a while. I was not trying to kill myself , or run fast, as this was not supposed to be a hard run. But I wanted to “run well”. I kept up this “running well” bit for a half mile, tempted to look back to see if Buffman was still there, but not wanting to look like a dork. So I didn’t look back.
About a half mile later, I turned a corner on Lakeshore Dr. I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, Buffman was not far behind me. I kept up my good running focus all the way to the lake, again not knowing if he was back there. At the lake, I turned around and started heading back home. I passed Buffman going the other way…I smiled and waved “hello”. When I made the turn at the end of Lakeshore, I noticed that he was gone.
I was still feeling strong and positive and thought I might stretch this 6 mile run to a 7 miler. I checked the water level in my bottle, and it was enough to last me, so I veered off course. The new route turned out to be very hilly. Perfect training grounds for the Duke Monster.
But wait, there’s more…
Seriously, there is more to this story. At the top of a hilly road called Kenmore Drive, another dude came running along from a side street on the left and pulled in right in front of me. This Buffman was running just a little bit faster than me. Okay, I thought, here’s an opportunity for me to try and keep up with someone running just a little bit faster. I followed this Buffman for about 0.75 miles. I struggled mentally trying to keep up. I’d start falling behind, then try to dig in deeper and work harder to catch back up. I noticed that doesn’t work. Working harder stresses me out, or makes my form degrade or something. Instead, I tried relaxing and focusing on the elements of good form: good posture, fast cadence, slight lean. That did work. I didn’t quite keep up with him, but I did really well. Eventually he turned off to run trails in the park, while I crossed the street to head home. I have to confess that I was kind of relieved.
I chose the hilliest path into my neighborhood. Again seeking hills to train for the Duke monster. I just tried to relax and enjoy the rest of the run home. I love running WITHOUT the stopwatch – so THANK YOU to all who recommended that idea.
When I do the Duke race this year, I do want to wear my stopwatch so I have HR data to compare with prior years. Plus I want to see my time for the swim and bike. But I think I will take the watch off at the first part of the run, and stuff it in my bra, and be disciplined not to look at it. I know if I leave it on my wrist, I will look at it. I want to just relax and enjoy that run and merely focus on “running well”. Who knows, maybe I will even do well on the run. Then maybe I will stop calling that race the Duke Monster.
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“Garmin is a little pricey for me right now.” Same here. I’m waiting until my basic Polar HR monitor dies before I consider upgrading to a Garmin.
Thanks. Garmin is a little pricey for me right now. Maybe i’ll hint to my better half that I want it for birthday.
I’m not too concerned with nutrition myself. I’m good body weight and good BMI–so I don’t think the nutrition stuff would help. You can get a history of ONE route as a free member, so as it turns out, its my daily running route so that’s good.
Thanks again for all your inspiration!
Hi Karen. Sorry for the delay in my reply. Internet access was REALLY slow at the beach, so I limited what I did. I signed up for the bronze to get the detailed HR zone graphs. But, turns out I can’t even use them because my HR monitor doesn’t support that much detail. Eventually, I’ll get a Garmin. I’m not sure what other benefits there are to paying. I am able to upload or input my training plan, and compare training versus actual data. I am using the nutrition logging and can graph out my ratios of carbs/protiens/fats to see if I am eating properly. That’s a big thing for me, because if I don’t watch what I eat, I gain weight! Also, I can input my run and bike routes, and then see a history of my performance on that route. I don’t know if you get those things with the free plan or not. I can’t tell! Actually, I had a coupon so didn’t have to pay full price. Garmin08 will get you 20% off until July 31st. I would say if you like what you get with the Nike site, keep using it.
nah–you are anything but lazy. You are efficient.
I just logged onto the “free” training log on begginer triathlete! It is great! I also do the free one from nike.com.. Anyway–what do you find better about the bronze level ? I can’t figure out the difference.
you don’t need ifit to use Runervals. so, go for it! I just used ifit to program the runervals cheetah workout so I wouldn’t have to hit the buttons while doing it. I guess that makes me lazy!!!
No. I guess I’m out of luck. :*(
I’ll probably get the runnervals DVD anyway and try to work it…
hi Karen, my treadmill has a logo on the control panel that says ifit.com inside an oval shape. Do you see that on yours? carol
Ok, I ended up with the PROFORM 325i. Not sure if it has the iFIT or not, but i’m happy with it!
Hi Dani,
No, I live in Chapel Hill, NC. The lake I am talking about is a tiny little lake called Eastlake. Good luck on your training! carol
Hello, I am planning to train for a triathlon and I ran across you post, and I am curious if you live in Milwaukee? Thanks Dani
I have not tried camel back. I use 6 bottle a fuel belt (42 oz) for my longer runs, and a palm holder (20 oz) water bottle for shorter runs. In the summer, I have to loop past my house to refill even the fuel belt on my long runs, cuz I need so much water! Just call me sweat hog!
Have you tried running with a camel pak? I recently bought one and I like it except when it gets empty because then it flops around. Any ideas on products to hydrate while running. I’m getting ready for my half marathon in October and I know I’ll need to start hydrating during my runs. Right now I’m not and I’m running about 7 M on my long runs.
I don’t know yet. I’ll pick it up on sunday after my hubbie gets back from the Markleeville Deathride! He does all 5 passes. If you need a cycling challenge–try it for next year.
I’ll let you know when I pick it up what kind it is. I’m hoping for a proform with iFIT or Sole but we’ll see.
No, only cheetah fast. I love coach troy! What kind of treadmill is it?
I live in No. Cal near the foothills and the air has been “HAZARDOUS” for the last two weeks so I need to find a way to workout without shredding my lungs. My brother had a treadmill sitting in his garage for 2 years! He used it ONCE.. It’s mine now!! Hee hee! Do you have any other runnervals besides “Cheetah Fast”?
Yeah for your new treadmill! I still love mine. Haven’t used it in a while because my training plan is currently in “base”, so no speed work.
Ok. Cool. Yes I have an old timex heart rate monitor that links to the watch on my wrist. I haven’t used the HRM in about 2 years though. I just use the wristwatch to check my times and my IPOD+ to do milage/distance.
BTW–I just acquired a BRAND NEW treadmill (for free!). I read your “treadmill review” section and was convinced that I might be faster if I started doing treadmill workouts. Thanks for the TIPS!
I don’t actually have a Garmin yet. When my old polar HR monitor dies, I will buy one. I set that link up before the 400 series was released. I guess I have to fix that! Here’s a link that has reviews of various HR/GPS devices:
http://www.beginnertriathlete......sp?catid=7
How do you like the Garmin 305? I’m looking at garmins now. Can you tell me why you picked the 305 instead of 400 series? Thanks.
Karen