Setting Goals

Everyone of us has a something bigger we want to achieve - running a faster 5k, losing a certain amount of weight or just trying to run more often. The only way to be able to do this is to set goals along the way of reaching the bigger picture. The video below shows you how to use Nike+ to these goals. I always have my goals on the right hand side of this blog. Making smaller goals will help you find your way to that grand goal that takes time.

Two mile personal record

Last night I laid out all my personal bests and said that I was going to try to beat my two mile best. Well in my first run back since the half-marathon I did just that.



I went two miles today in 21:55 beating my old time by a full minute. There are still some pretty sore muscles in my legs when I started the run and it did affect me enough to the point that I needed to walk a couple of times for a few seconds. You can see that in the dips in the chart. I know that I will continue getting better and will soon be under 20 minutes and hopefully a lot lower than that by the end of the summer.

Tomorrow I am going to try a five kilometer run with E. That should keep me motivated and make it fun.

Personal Records

Alright, these are not meant to be a marker on my overall talent but just stating what I have done so far and what I will be beating over the next several months. I was never a runner in high school or college and am in fact really just getting into the sport.

Personal Records as of 5/5/09
Kilometer - 4:29
Mile - 8:29
Three Kilometers - 16:03
Two Miles - 22:55
Five Kilometers - 34:56
Ten Kilometers - 1h17:55
Half Marathon - 3h00:03

These times are just the starting point for me. I will get a lot better over the coming weeks. In fact, I bet I run my best two miles yet this week.

Wanting to get started already

Yup, I am there already. A few days later after completing a half-marathon, even if it was incredibly slow time, I want to get out running again. But I know that if I went today I would be regretting it right now. My calf muscles and my feet are still quite sore and need that extra day of rest. I have made sure I got out and walked for a at least 30 minutes straight just to warm up my leg muscles and try to loosen them up after Saturday's event.

Thus, we are going to make a go of it tomorrow if the weather holds up. I am going to go for a slow jog for the fun of it and see how I feel. Hopefully all goes well. I am itching to get started again and push myself a little further.

Syncing your first run

Now that you have Nike+ learn to sync your first run. If you already know how then feel free to skip this space filling post!

Getting Started with Nike+

Enjoy seeing my results... well learn to get started with this great video and think about picking up some Nike+ ready items.



Its easy!

Trying to lose some weight?

I know that I am. Runner's World has ten things to help you out with your goal. Here are four that I find particularly helpful and I will let you know how I am doing down the road.

1. To lose 10 pounds of body fat a year, you need to eat 100 calories less per day. Cutting too many calories from your daily intake will sap your energy level and increase your hunger, making you more susceptible to splurging on high-calorie foods.

2. Don't skip breakfast. Eat within two hours of waking.

3. In fact, eat more breakfast than you think you should. Trade in some of your dinner calories for more calories at breakfast.

4. Don't allow yourself to get hungry. Eat at least every four hours, and split a meal in half to make sure you properly fuel up pre- and postrun. For example, eat part of your breakfast before your morning run (a banana) and the rest of your breakfast afterward (a bagel with peanut butter).

Breakfast is a big deal. It gets your metabolism going at the beginning of the day and you keep it going by eating healthy snacks throughout the day. Follow these four and I am sure you will begin seeing results. The bottom line though is it takes work but you can do it!

Wisconsin Half-Marathon

That is the medal I received for finishing the Wisconsin Half-Marathon yesterday. The slogan of the race was "Embrace the Cheese". Fits right in with Wisconsin... I should know because I went to Carthage College right there in Kenosha.

It was an excited race with nearly 2000 participants along the lakefront in Kenosha. The course began near the museum and pushed through the path along Lake Michigan and turned around at the main entrance of Carthage. It found its way back to the old downtown area to the finish line. (Marathoners continued past the old downtown towards Pleasant Prairie and back).

While I was not that diligent on my training for the race I still managed to do a combination of run/walk to finish in three hours and three seconds according to the official time keepers.

Here is what my Nike+ had to say:



As you can see it needs to be calibrated a little bit. But you can also notice how I fared at the beginning maintaining a nice pace and then how I was up and down the rest of the way through. It was just that kind of day.

Honestly, I am surprised I was able to finish. I was lucky enough to be able to run with a friend for 12 miles of the race.

Some of the lessons that I learned from the race. That is definitely need to be more diligent on training for something along these lines. It takes practice and patience to be able to do it well. The other thing is that I will be doing another one of these. It was a great feeling to cross the finish line.