Showing posts with label Garmin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garmin. Show all posts

Monday, June 9, 2014

Trial "Run"

Okay, it wasn't actually a run, but trial walk just doesn't have the same ring to it. We have been planning for a week or so to take a trial "run" of the race. So we scheduled a 6 mile walk the Sunday before the race. I wanted to get a sense of the pace I could expect to sustain and my general endurance for 6 miles of walking.

We decided to walk on the trail we did a couple of weeks ago when we got caught in the rain. Thankfully we did not get rained on this time :)  We also invited our friend too. Earlier this spring she ran/walked a 1/2 marathon so we knew she would be up for it. (She has lost 87 pounds in the last year or so.)  We picked her up at 6 am. Nothing like a cool summer morning to get you going.  


We headed out with lots of energy! We moved along at a good pace, but not so fast that we couldn't chat as we walked. Of course, I had to pick my friend's brain about her success and her struggles. The secret to her success...hard work!! Sorry, there is no easy way. You just have to put your head down, make good food choices and move your hiney.  No way around it!  I also got some good tips on workout wear. I am sure by now you have noticed I have a very limited workout wardrobe. I usually end up wearing the one pictured above because the pants have pockets. By, the way, consistent working out means loads more laundry..be prepared!  My friend recommended a belt that has a pouch on it for a phone/camera/keys/ID. I will have to look into that - sounds very convenient. I would like to choose my workout wear on cuteness - not pockets. It was so much fun having her on our walk with us...got to make plans again!!

If I could have changed one thing about our walk is that my husband would have had the opportunity to do a real trial run of his race. He thinks he will be able to run the first 3-4 miles and then maybe another mile after that - that is 4-5 miles out of 6 after just starting to run about a month ago!!  I wish he'd chance to test it out. Since the trails are a little remote we prefer him to stick a little closer. I had a thought this morning while I was walking - I should ride my bike next to him while he runs sometimes. I wish I had thought of this sooner. I am not sure he will want to do it now so close to the race.

I look like I might be wearing down a little in this picture or maybe it was just an unfortunate moment.
I was very pleased with our performance. I didn't feel like we were pushing ourselves to the limit, but it was certainly a workout. I loved having my Garmin watch to keep an eye on our pace. I could not have been more surprised though by our consistency. I feel strongly there will be room for me to do even better on race day. We plan to take Friday off from working out so we are fresh for Saturday...I am getting excited.

Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary1:40:45.56.0316:43
117:13.11.0017:13
216:38.11.0016:38
316:32.51.0016:32
416:44.21.0016:44
516:32.91.0016:33
616:33.41.0016:33
7:31.20.0319:10

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Happy Birthday to Me!

Garmin Forerunner 10 - green, of course!!
My birthday is not until July 1, but I am super excited about my early birthday present. I have been walking consistently for a little over a month and have been frustrated by inaccurate measures of progress. Several times I have tried to time myself with my cell phone. At the end of my walk I find the timer was inadvertently turned off by my pocket. I have tried to measure distances by getting in my car and using the trip odometer after my walk. That makes me feel a bit like a creeper walking through a neighborhood then driving through it. I thought the Garmin watches were more than I would want to spend just because, so I asked my husband for an early birthday present. He thought it was a great idea. I confess I did also tell him I will also need a little something else for my actual birthday :)

This morning I wanted to walk on our most frequent loop to get an accurate measurement. Turns out we were pretty close with our car calculations.

My second goal was to walk hard for two miles to see what I could really do and have two miles to compare to each other. My husband took Millie to run with him, so I could fully focus on walking at my pace and play with my watch.  My earlier calculations indicated that I've been walking about an 18:30 minute mile. I could definitely tell I was walking faster than normal.  But I was very surprised to walk the first mile in 16:30 - 2 whole minutes faster!  I was cruising along on my second mile when my husband came by on one of his running laps. I think he must have seen the determination in my stride and face because he continued on with a wave and didn't slow to talk to me like he normally does.  I was shocked by the time of my second mile 15:00!!!

It is so good for me to see these actual numbers. I was becoming disheartened about the upcoming race thinking my times were closer to 18 minute miles and that I might be the last one to finish the race.  It also lets me know that I've not been walking to my potential.  After the two miles I walked much slower for a half mile.  That pace was about my usual pace and it felt so slow after pushing it.



I can't resist a little bragging on my husband. He ran for 3 straight miles this morning...his best yet!  Way to go, honey!! I think he might need a watch too.

My Garmin stats for today's walk:
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary41:17.72.5316:18
116:30.71.0016:30
215:00.71.0015:01
39:46.30.5318:22