Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Wednesday Workout Update - And Garmin Advice Needed, Por Favor!

Once again, I missed my Monday workout due to being in Denton. But life is back to normal now, and I don't have any more out-of-town trips planned until late July (California, here I come!), so I will be back to my regular workout routine.

Monday: None, unless you count grocery shopping and running up and down the stairs in my son's apartment several times. I forgot what a workout stairs are - our first house was a two-story, and while I wouldn't want to go back to living with stairs, I have to admit that they do keep you moving (unless you are like I used to be, and just piled stuff at the bottom of the stairs for the next trip up)!

Tuesday: Cue the trumpets! Jenny and I ran, without stopping, for - are you ready for this? FOUR MILES!!! Woooooohoooooo!!! We set out to run four miles and we did it!!! I am so amazed and proud of how far she and I have come with our running - I have the perfect partner in Jenny and am so glad that she likes to run with me! And, she's smart, too - Jenny had the great idea to run in one direction until my Nike+ showed that we had hit two miles and then turn around and run back the exact same way. Easy to know when we were at four miles - we were in the parking lot where we left our cars! Although we decided that we would start timing ourselves at the bottom of the hill next time - that little climb at the end of the run was a bit tough!

We met for our run at 7:30 am to try and get ahead of the heat - it wasn't bad, but got up to 80 degrees by the time we were finished. Afterward, we went to Smoothie King for a post-run smoothie, which was quite delicious. Jenny even treated me in honor of my upcoming birthday! Next week, we may try meeting there, leaving one car in the parking lot, driving the other car to the park, and then running to Smoothie King - why yes, I do run for treats!

We did the run in 48:55, with a pace of 12:13 - we were going for a nice slow run. I've read that sometimes you need to run for mileage and sometimes for speed, so it makes sense for us to go for mileage when we run together - this way we can encourage each other along the way, plus it's just more interesting to have someone to chat with. Doing four miles was a good step toward the half marathon in November, and also toward my goal for Biz's 101 Days of Summer Challenge, which is to run eight miles without stopping by Labor Day.

Wednesday: Who gets up on their birthday and goes for a workout? Me, that's who! Yes folks, I dragged my now 47-year-old body to the gym for what proved to be a tough one. We were working our upper body using weights "to burnout" - that is, do a particular exercise until your muscles are burning/screaming/you can't do one more, rest for 15 seconds, and then do it again. I was on my second exercise and got a sharp headache over my right eye - so bad that I stopped what I was doing and tried to regroup. I broke out into a cold sweat and felt sick to my stomach - it hurt that bad. I told Brad how I was feeling and he said that most likely I was holding my breath while doing these intense exercises and that caused the headache. Which makes sense, because it happened last week in the gym, too - while I was doing those negative leg presses. I cooled off in front of a fan and then went back to my workout, being much more aware of breathing out with exertion. The headache has mostly subsided now, an hour later - whew!

As it is National Running Day, Jenny and I dragged ourselves went out for a short run after our workout - now that is dedication, right? We ran around the block for about a mile...and what does it say when the run was the easiest part of my workout day?

OK, now I need some Garmin Forerunner advice from you runner peeps. I've been using my Nike+ since what - January? It works ok, but I think I'm ready for a Garmin, especially with the training for my half marathon coming up. I asked for money for my birthday this year so I could put it toward a Garmin, and I think I've got enough - woohoo! I was all set to get the new 110, which is a smaller, simpler version, but now I'm wondering if I'll regret not having more of the bells and whistles on the older, clunkier Garmins. Any and all advice on this would be much appreciated.

As today is my 47th birthday (How can I be 47? I feel like I'm 17!), dinner out and of course a trip to Red Mango is on the menu for tonight. Plus I have some nifty gifties to open - thanks, Mom and Dad! Should be a good day!

38 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to you!
    Happy Birthday to you!
    Happy Birthday, dear Shelley.....
    Happy Birthday to you!!!!
    *and many more*

    Hope you have a wonderful birthday! You look fabulous, darling.


    You should ask Jenny to run in the half marathon in November! You guys are the same pace. I'm turtle paced. LOL I don't want to hold you back.

    And may I just add that I am super impressed that you exercised on your birthday? Wow! And congrats on running 4 miles straight. That's an accomplishment to celebrate for sure. :)

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  2. Happy Birthday, Shelley. With all the work you are putting in, you are assuring yourself of many, many more great birthdays to come. You are turning the clock backward, my dear.

    I hope your birthday and your year are simply the best!

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  3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

    Garmin: I have the 305 and love it! (I had an older, clukier one before that.) I have never upgraded to the 405 because I have heard bad things about what happens if the bezel gets wet.

    I think you would enjoy the 305 because it does come with a HRM if you are so inclined to wear it, it is very customizable, and you can set it up for intervals. For example, when you first attempt your longest run, you might want to try to run 4 minutes and walk 1 minute. You can actually set the watch up to beep so that you know when to change. It can also be set up for distance intervals, i.e., run a 1/2 mile, walk 1/4 mile. It also has a training assitant that will run "against" you so if you're trying to run at a certain pace and are not, it will beep - LOUDLY! All great extras to have once you want to use them.

    You seem to be really hooked on your running and I don't think you'll regret getting one with more bells and whistles.

    Wednesday, June 02, 2010

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  4. Here is my two cents on the Garmin. I will not run without my Garmin 305. It is priceless to me. My hubby and several friends own the 405 and love it as well with no problems. What I tell people is that if cost is not a factor, always go with the latest technology of the 405. Otherwise, the 305 is a sturdy work horse and will give you everything you need and you can buy one brand new for about $160 with a heart rate monitor.

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  5. Happy Birthday! Now that the exercise is out of the way, I hope you will enjoy the rest of your day :-) And FYI-You most definitely do not look 47!

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  6. Happy Birthday to you! For your 47th yer, may all your miles finish strong, may all your tire flips go the right way, and may the snack monster never visit again.

    And way to go on the 4 miles :D

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  8. Happy Birthday Beautiful!
    I have an opinion on the Garmin Forerunner 305 - DROP EVERYTHING YOUR ARE DOING RIGHT NOW AND GO BUY IT - I MEAN IT YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!
    and to save you some money, go to costco! I bought mine for $160, the running room wanted over $300.
    I love it and you will too, and to thank me you can name it "SYL" ;-).
    in all seriousness though Shelly it's a great investment!

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  9. Happy Happy Birthday!
    I have the Garmin forerunner 201 and like it a lot. It is older (I have had it several years) but works pretty well. I think one of the things you have to decide is if you want your machine to track your heart rate too.

    I love having a gps with me on my runs so I know exactly how far I have gone!

    Happy Running!
    marion

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  10. Good for you keeping your workouts a priority! You rock!

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  11. I got the Garmin 305 as a Christmas present from hubby and at first I thought I would hate the clunkier, larger feel..but honestly, I don't notice it at all. It IS SO COOL! The 305 has the heart rate monitor and it's only $200. Love it. Buy it!

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  12. I have an old garmin I bought 2nd hand and I love love love it. Best money I've spent on running gear. But, I do wish Fred (my garmin) had a heart rate monitor.

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  13. Happy birthday my dear lovely Texas friend! Wish I'd known before I would have send you a birthday card but I'm writing it down in my calender so I won't forget next year.

    About the Garmin: read Syl's comment again and you'll have mine. I have a 305 and I love it! You definitely deserve to buy one for yourself!

    Have a nice day today and great job on the 4 miles. I'm proud of you.

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  14. By the way: I'm back on my old blog till the other one works properly again:

    http://dutchgirlgetshealthy.wordpress.com

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  15. Happy Birthday - wow you worked hard on it too :)
    Enjoy dinner and Red mango :)

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  16. I only have the Garmin pacemaker. My heart takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

    Today is National Rocky Road (ice cream) day too. Don't forget to get some!

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  17. Is it really your birthday? I could have sworn you weren't the same sign as my x.

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  18. First of all Happy Birthday!
    I had the Nike+ for a while but wasn't happy with the accuracy.
    I got the Garmin 110 last month and I LOVE IT! I got the one with the HRM and it tracks that, calories burnt, distance, time, speed/pace, then you connect it to your pc when you get home and via garmin connect you can see lots of lovely info and graphs to motivate you even more!
    I haven't had any experience with any of the other Garmins, but this one is fab if you're wanting something easy to use.

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  19. Happy Birthday Shelley!!!

    That is too cool that you exercised this morning - nice present to yourself :-D

    Grrr I wish I was going to be in town when you visit!! You will be back though...

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  20. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELLEY!! I agree, I'm 42, but still feel like I am 25!

    I am loving the challenge so far -I did just over 10 miles on the bike machine in 47 minutes - I was a sweaty mess by the end!

    I know nothing at all about Garmin's, but my friend (a 20-something total runner!) www.graduatemeghann.com just ordered one when hers got stolen and she did a ton of research on it!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HAVE A GREAT DINNER OUT!!

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  21. Happy Bday, AGAIN ( I had read it on someone else's blog)
    LOVE my Garmin. Don't know about the smaller version, what I love is that mileage tracking, pace tracking, history option. It can do bike run and something else (I forget)
    I am SO happy with it, it was SO helpful for training for my 1/2.
    I hope you have a great dinner.

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  22. Happy Birthday, Shelley! I hope you are continuing to have a fabulous day.

    Big congrats on your four mile run! It sounds like you have the perfect running partner.

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  23. Best wishes for a happy birthday! I've enjoyed following your weight loss progress. Here's to many more years of health and fitness!

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  24. Happy Birthday!

    How have I been running for over a year and I have no idea what a Garmin is?

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  25. Happy happy happy Birthday, Shelley!!!!

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  26. Happy happy birthday, Shelley! Ooh, I would go to Red Mango too. Funny how I like that for my birthday better than the pizookie at BJ's.

    Don't you feel like the total athlete now, running the morning of your birthday, and ending the day with frozen yogurt?

    Hey, CALIFORNIA???? Wassup? Northern? Southern? Any chance at all for a meet up? You can email me or leave a comment on my blog. Or maybe you are going to blog about it later.

    Anyway, I hope you had a really wonderful day. It sounded great so far.

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  27. I'm coming out of lurker mode to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    I hope your day was a wonderful one!

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  28. Happy birthday!

    Now I want a Garmin!

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  29. Hey, girl Happy Birthday! Sounds like it was! Today is my daughter's 14 bday too. :)

    So proud of you for exercising on your bday. And neat that you now feel 17 after all your hard work. Fondly, Chrissy

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  30. Hey! I just found your blog and I love it. Happy Birtday. I just turned 45 on Monday. I've been running since last November and I loved your remark about AOA (Adult Onset Athletics.) Cracked me up because it fits me to a tee also.

    I got a Garmin 305 for Mother's Day and an early b-day present and it is so cool. I haven't figured out all the bells and whistles on it yet but the distance tracker is perfectly accurate unlike the Nike+. I calibrated my Nike+ several times but was never satisfied with the accuracy.

    I'm running my first half marathon on June 12 and can not believe it. Running has changed my life!

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  31. Happy birthday girl! You are getting younger everyday...you'll be celebrating your 40th birthday soon!

    4 miles....hooorah hoorah for you two...making great progress towards your 1/2 marathon.

    I went with the Edge 705 because I wanted more features to go with cycling as well. However, I've really only used it to run so far and have only use the heart rate monitor a couple times at that.

    Short story, if you are really likely going to track for distance/pace, you can stick to a relatively simply model.

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  32. Happy Belated Birthday, Shelley!

    After reading all this, I want a new Garmin...mine is the older type, but I love it...it's just the GPS is shoddy for running under trees over here in Russia...maybe a newer one would be, too???

    I love the virtual trainer and the interval feature...it's great. Mine even shows a little map of where I've gone!

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  33. Happy Happy Happy Birthday. I would love to be able to run, you sound like you enjoy it.

    I can not be any help on the Garmin sorry..

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  34. Hope you had a very happy Birthday!

    Can't be much help on the Garmin but can't wait to hear what you end up with!

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  35. Sorry I don't have any Garmin advice but wanted to wish you a very happy belated birthday!

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  36. I have the Garmin 405 and LOVE it. The only issue I have with it is when I'm dripping in sweat it makes it hard to use the bezel (I get around this by wiping my hands off, locking the bezel while running and just not touching it, hehe). I know quite a few people who have the 305 and really enjoy it, it doesn't have a bezel so you get around that issue but still has lots of other bells and whistles!

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