RIP Old Nike Sensor...

That's right, in the middle of my run on Friday, my Sensor died. I don't think you know what a big disappointment that is unless you are a runner and don't think your runs count unless they are actually measured.

I was doing a ~4 mile loop and at about mile 2, the voice in my ear phones said something about the activity 'stopping'. What do you mean stopping?? I'm still putting one foot in front of the other, I'm still breathing heavy, still swinging my arms like a mad woman (yep, apparently I'm an arm swinger while running and it's not cute!)...this does *not* feel like stopping. I took my shoe off, spoke to the sensor in a nice voice "come on, come on!", reset my Ipod and tried again. Nothing. I finished the run, but not happy about it (also realizing the pace for that run was messed up since I kept running for a bit after the painful death of the sensor)...and of course I wasn't getting back out there until I got a new sensor.

So I went to get a new sensor and asked the guy why mine died so quickly. He said it's good for about 1,000 hours of running. Well, I didn't run 1,000 hours!!!...but I did keep it in my shoe to go to the gym classes, to walk to the doggie, to run at airports, etc...so there you have it. Lesson learned: take the sensor out of the shoe when you are not running.

I set out to run with my new sensor last night (which according to the manual did not need to be re-calibrated). What do you know, it told me my pace was in the 8s!! (8'46'' to be exact)...which I thought was crazy because my old sensor was constantly telling me I ran in the 9s. During my two races I have averaged 8'36'' and 8'26''. I thought for sure my race time chip was defective or they had miscalculated the distance...but I wasn't going to say that out loud! (hehe) .

Because I'm still in denial, I decided to use mapmyrun and backtrack to my average pace. The total distance of my loop was 5.83 miles and the time was 52'03''. Using the pace calculator it shows my pace was 8'55''...so ok, it wasn't 8'46'' as the Ipod said, but it was 8'55'!!!. What in the world?? All this time I truly thought I was a 9-ish runner (and very happy with that!) and thought my two races had been flukes. So this new sensor is definitely giving me stats more consistent to the results I see in the races.



So goodbye old sensor, I won't miss ya! I will try to calibrate this new more carefully....although it's not too far off (it marked 5.93 total distance rather than 5.8). I'm still in shock!

I am also happy to report my sister is becoming a runalholic too! woohoo! one down!

Also wanted to share that my friend Nani featured me as one of her POSITIVO stories, ahh, my 15 minutes of fame ;)

The power of...

positive negative thinking?...or the power of hunger?

Today was my first morning workout (part of the new evil plan to make myself love morning workouts).

I envisioned I would be running, enjoying the sun, listening to my music and thinking about all the things I'm grateful for...the birds flying and little squirrels running around. I thought I would pass fellow runners or walkers and wave gladly at them, with a smile form ear to ear...because well, what a beautiful morning to get out there and run.

ehmmm, well, it wasn't exactly as I have envisioned.

It was warm (I've been getting used to the awesome night runs with the cool winds!), my Nike+Ipod decided to not give me my stats during the run, I was hungry, thirsty and couldn't not wait to get this over with and just get home!!!.

I finally was in the home stretch...I swear I could start tasting the coffee and stove top oatmeal (with bananas, cinnamon and pecans) I was about to make when I got home!. I end the run, start walking, end my workout on my Ipod...and there it was:

• Average pace: 9'47'' Mins/Mile
• Distance: 3.09 Miles (.01 miles short of 5K)

9'47''!!! That's a record for me. I only hit that average pace or lower when I'm on the treadmill, but never ever I had broke the 10 min/miles on concrete!!!

So whatever power got me through it, I'll take it. I do know it wasn't the power of positive thinking, because the entire workout I was thinking "this is NOT a good run"/"I much rather workout at nights"/ "this sucks"/ "I'm hot"/ "How much longer", etc, etc, etc.

So well, of course I want to enjoy my runs so now I have to work on my morning attitude (the hard work never ends does it!), but maybe once my body gets used to it I will actually start loving it, and would be able to give other runners/walkers/cyclists a true honest smile that says "I'm loving it!!, isn't this great!?"

Until then, I'll rely on the power of hunger for improving my pace ;)

• On a side note...
  
  I hope everyone is having a great week and finding all the reasons to be grateful this week. This Thanksgiving I will have my sister, brother in law and nephews at our house!. This is the first time ever I spend a Thanksgiving with my family!!. We didn't celebrate it back home since this is an American tradition...but after being in this country for almost 14 years, it has become a special time for me too. I can't wait to introduce them to this awesome Holiday and that's something to be grateful for :)
  
  Happy Tuesday!
  -

I did it!!!...Livestrong and Morton who??

Woooo-hoooooooooooo. I did it! I completed my first unofficial 10K!. Today I ran 6.23 miles in 1:03'43'' (10'13'' / mile). I gotta say, it wasn't the easiest run I ever did...even at the beginning it was a little tough. It was muggy out and I had a pounding headache. I was excited to get out there anyway so I took two Advil and took off!.

Wait a second....did I just say I was excited to get out there? What in the world is wrong with me!!!?. I'm never excited about working out. Yes, I know I have to do it...for health reasons and all that good stuff, but I don't actually get excited about it. So yeah, something is not normal, but I'll take it while it lasts!...or maybe I do have the marathoner genes in me after all!!

And there it is, my Nikeplus summary. It almost looks like a downward trend, but in reality I think I started to fast and then settled at a more comfortable pace. So there you have it kids, my longest distance to date...and I don't want to brag or anything, but Lance Armstrong decided to make an appearance at the summary to congratulate me. Yeah baby, Livestrong!

This was the first time I ran while listening to an audiobook (see post below). I think the book helped!. I thought maybe it would slow me down, but it really didn't...if anything it kept me from thinking about the actual distance I wanted to run. Once in a while I would drift away thinking about the run and what not, but would quickly get right into the book. So overall, I do recommend it. Specially for longer runs (this was long for me!) and specially if you have other things that may affect your run (like the thought of the awful headache!). The book, Nineteen Minutes, so far it's pretty good. It started to pick up right when my run was ending and if my foot wasn't bothering me so much I may have kept going just to see what was going to happen next!.

Now on to the not so great news. Looks like I have a Morton's Neuroma. This is not the first time I get this pain..it's just the first time I thought to ask and the first time I realize I need to go see a Podiatrist!. I get this pain on my right foot, like numbness and it feels like there is a sock all bunched up under my toes (that is exactly how I described it to Alejandro during dinner). Afterwards, I decided to go over to the Nest and ask the Nesties about it...sure enough, they knew exactly what it was...a Morton's Neuroma

Now thinking back I think I may have had some discomfort ever since I broke a toe in College. I get this numbness feeling every time we go hiking (I always thought my sucks were getting all bunched up!)..and I have felt it every time I run longer distances. I won't be able to see a Dr next week because I'm out of town, but it's my first priority when I get back!. For now, I iced it for 20 minutes and will be going to the running store tomorrow to ask some questions.

After the run I got home so excited to share, but had a less than happy husband due to a tough day at work (very very very crappy market). I needed to go get some food for dinner and decided we both needed a rewarding and nice meal (and quick!) so I went for a good, hearty and delicious menu: Grilled Filet Mignon, Baked Potatoes and Summer Salad. And of course, some vino!

Alejandro takes the award for the best griller...no doubt. The steaks were amazing! (he just adds rock salt and Worcestershire sauce and then works his magic on the grill!). I quickly got some baked potatoes, due to time constraints precooked them in the microwave and then popped them in the oven at 450F to get that yummy crust that I love!.

Summer Salad in Fall??...we live in Florida, so yes, it is still Summer here!.

Summer Salad

Organic Baby Romaine

Organic Baby Arugula

Campari or Grape Tomatoes

Strawberries

Red Onion

Goat Cheese

Dried Cranberries

Sliced Almonds...although I didn't have any this time around :((

Toss the ingredients in a bowl with S/P and balsamic vinegar and Olive Oil...that is all it needs!. Voila!

So there it is...sorry it got a little long, I guess I had a lot to share ;)

Erpapin - Te llamo manana, les deje un mensaje!! Besos!

Audiobooks

Have I mentioned I love my Ipod?. In case I haven's, I love my Ipod (birthday gift from the husband ;))

So far I have only used it to listen to music, but last night as I read through some running blogs I saw a lot of people use their running time to read!....ahh, gotta love technology. I am not entirely sure how "reading" rather than listening to music will change my running, but there was only one way to find out.

I logged on to audible.com today and signed up to be a "Gold Member". Each month (for the first 3 months) you pay $7.50 and then $13.50 after that (you can cancel at any time, no obligation). Basically this gives you access to 1 Credit = 1 Audiobook. This was a much better deal than what I had seen on iTunes (where the book I wanted was $18.95!). I downloaded my first book, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I absolutely loved My Sister's Keeper, so I decided to play it safe with my first audiobook and go with an author I already knew I liked.

Last night, I ran about 1.5 miles (on the treadmill at 1% incline and 9'45'' average pace) before my Pump Class. Today is my attempt at 6 miles. It is raining outside right now...I'm really hoping it stops because I don't think I can do 6 miles on the treadmill!.

So fingers crossed that it will stop raining, I will be able to get out there, start reading my book and break my distance record! If so, I'll come back with a full report! :)


Happy Friday!

Running Update - Week 3

I have officially completed Week 3 of my 12-week program to get ready for the 10K!...The last update said week 1, but that was actually week 2!

This week was awesome. I actually stuck to my exercise plan (just moved the last run to today). So here is the summary of results for the week:

• Mon: 3.81 Miles / Time - 39'30'' / Pace - 10'20'' per mile
• Tue: 1.69 Miles / Time - 16'34'' / Pace - 9'47'' per mile + PUMP Class
• Wed: 4.30 Miles / Time - 44'05'' / Pace - 10'13'' per mile
• Thu: No run, PUMP Class
• Fri: No run, Kickboxing Class
• Sat: Rest (well deserved I may add!)
• Sun: 5.07 Miles / Time - 52'16'' / Pace - 10'18'' per mile

Oh yeah, that's 5.07 miles today! Yep...5.07!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I couldn't believe it. I got a famous person talking to me again on the Nike+ (a woman) but I have no idea who it was and can't recall the name!. It felt great to go pass 5 miles and I am happy to see some improvements on my pace. I made sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day and it was a beautiful late afternoon...perfect for a run!.

I was supposed to do the long run Saturday and take today off. Instead, yesterday I did some gardening while Alejandro got the outside of the house cleaned. This change may actually screw up my plans for the coming week. I guess have to sit and figure out what to do (was supposed to do a long run Monday, but I think after today I should probably do something else and give the good ol' legs a little rest)

It really is crazy how quickly your body becomes stronger. Just a couple of weeks ago 3.75 miles seemed like a stretch goal!.

Here is my Nike+ summary...sorry about the quality, not sure what happened there!. The gray columns are the plan, the green columns is what I actually did. You can see my plan for tomorrow is a long run, so I will have to modify that (although I am not sure the plan can be changed....will be asking my super Nike+ know-it-all friend Emy tomorrow)

The box on the bottom is the detail of the run I did today. The drops are stoplights. You can actually see the second half of the run (after that stoplight) I picked up the pace and maintained a good pace until the end. I think a good song came on and I realized I had already done over 3.3 miles and was feeling good!.

Regarding the hacking of the Ipod to recover lost runs...I never really got around to it and I guess I came to peace with the fact that I lost a run (lol!). My super running friend, Emy, has uncovered what we think is the root cause for losing workouts in Ipod cyberspace. Apparently, all the times she has lost her workouts, she played music right after ending her workout. Similarly, I did the same thing the day I lost my workout. Sooo...we think we may have solved the mystery. We are not 100% sure, but just in case we are not listening to music right after ever again! haha ;)

Not happy tomorrow is Monday, but pretty happy with the way my week ended in terms of my running. It was actually a very good week all around :)

Hoping everyone enjoyed the weekend!!!. I leave you with some pictures of the little one, the Chepster! (look at those perfectly trimmed eyebrows and beard!)

Tiger Woods is my friend!

He did scare the heck out of me today...but still, he is my friend!. My friend Emy (the one that got me into this running 'thing') warned me about him...but I forgot!. Every time you finish a run, the lady on the Nike+Ipod gives you a summary of your workout (distance, time, pace and calories). Once in a while, when you reach certain new goals, the Nike+Ipod "talks" to you after this summary...but it's not the same lady...instead you get a known athlete talking to you to congratulate you. I knew this, but I forgot about it completely.

Then today it happened. Tiger Woods. He talked to me!!!!!!. I set out to run my 3.75 miles today. I took a different route and my new loop ended up being a bit too long so I decided to just keep at it (it would have taken me too long to walk back home!!). So I reached a new goal and ran 4.3 miles! (6.92 km)...not only that but I improved my pace!!...went from 10.20-somethings to 10.3 miles/min!!!!.

Anyway, back to Tiger. So I listened to my Summary and then he starts "Hey!" (he seriously scared the bejesus out of me!!).."This is Tiger Woods. That was an awesome workout!! you burned some serious calories!"

WOOOOHOOOO!!! I was (am) so excited. I know, I know...it's not that big of a deal...but it is!!..he is after all THE Tiger!.

Just needed to get that out of my system. Back to watch the Presidential debate with THE Husband.

Andreina

Note: Check out the new recipe below!!!

Running Update. Week 1.

I managed to survive my first week of running without any damage!!!. Well, I did bang my elbow on the treadmill yesterday like an idiot!. My sister said I was probably running like my nephew runs when he wants to imitate an "athlete". Basically, dramatically and exaggeratedly moving your arms way up and down...lol.

As I mentioned before, I had to slightly change my exercise plan this week. Instead of running Wednesday, I took Wednesday to rest and ran on Thursday. I swear I ran on Thursday even if my Ipod decided not to update my nikeplus account!!!. I guess after searching on google this is a common problem but apparently there is a way to hack into your ipod and recreate the entry. I know, who cares, if I ran that's what counts. Wrong!! I want to see my plan being on target. I like check lists, plans, project plans...and it bothers my square brain to not see it working properly. So yes, I will be "hacking" my ipod!.

Friday I went to a kickboxing class which was the perfect way to end a long day. All you have to do is visualize that irker co-worker and go at it! works like a charm ;).

Yesterday it was raining all day long...I mean it. All. Day. Long. Chepe loved it...even though he didn't get to go out for a long walk, he did get to hang around taking naps in the sofa all day. I decided to start working on some crafts for some very special little ones so I went to Michaels (the craft store). Almost hours later I had everything I needed and was ready to take on the glue gun. I say take on the glue gun because the lady that was helping me didn't seem to have much faith in me and my skills. She kept saying I should get the lowest temperature one. I wonder if this had something to do with me asking if Mod Podge was a powder. I guess knowing what Mod Podge looks like is a good indication of your glue gun skills..or craft skills for that matter!. I think the projects are turning out pretty cute so I will prove that lady and the glue gun wrong!! will post pictures of the finished products after I send them off to their recipients :)

Anyway, back to running. Yesterday I had to run 4.9 miles. This was my first week so I thought I would just do what I could (so far I had only been running 3.1 miles). Since it was raining I went to the treadmill and ran 4 miles!!!!. I am happy with that. It took me about 43 minutes, which I don't think it's great...but 4 miles is the longest run I've had!! (the first run on my plan shows as being longer since the Ipod had not been calibrated).

So here is where I am...notice how my run from Thursday is missing! :/

I am leaving on a business trip tomorrow...it will be a little tougher to have a full week, so my weekly plan will only consist of running (M, W and F)....slowly adding distances! (3.7 instead of 3.1 on the shorter days and going for 4.9 on Friday).

If you are reading this, please say a prayer for two little girls (Gabrielle and Alaina). It will only take you one minute, but I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and faith.

Happy Sunday :)

So far so good!

Yesterday was my second day running and again I truly enjoyed it. I'm following my Nikeplus plan and had to run 3 miles. In the middle of my run it started raining, but at that point I wasn't going to stop...so I decided to just run in the rain!

Towards the end of the run I ran into Alejandro and Chepe!. Chepe got excited to see me so I decided to take him with me the last leg of the run (more like drag him with me...his excitement wore off when he realized I was making him run in the rain!). We got home all wet (but happy after a good workout!).

I will be adding a column with the planned workouts for the week to help keep me in check!

Run Andreina...Run!

I have found it difficult to get myself in a new workout routine after moving up here (and after getting married!). Seems like I have less time and flexibility, so I've been sort of slacking when it comes to working out.

Last week I went to my friend's house and wowwww...she's looking good!!!! (go Emy!!!). She started telling me about running and everything she has accomplished in 6 months. She got me all excited so I thought...why not?. I will give it a try!. Of course if I'm going to do this, I'll do it right...so of course I needed new shoes and the awesome little gadget from my Ipod Nano!


The actual NikePlus gadget is $29.99 and I believe it only works with the Ipod Nanos. You can either get the Nike shoes with Nike + (that come with a slot on the bottom of the shoe to insert the transmitter) or you can get a little pouch and attach it to any shoe. I believe those can be found in ebay for less than $10.00.

New shoes, new fun gadget and new shorts....I was ready to go. I went on my first run Saturday and was able to comfortably run 3 miles....and I truly enjoyed it!!!. Then came the fun part, uploaded my workout to nikeplus.com and was able to see how I did. I need to do some calibration (which I didn't do before), but I loved seeing my results.

Now I created a training plan in Nikeplus to run a 10K race on Decemeber 20th in my area. It gave me my 12 week program...which is great because I am more effective when I'm on a set schedule/routine.

Once I complete the goal for each day, the columns turn green...basically helping me keep track of my progress against the plan.

Today I go for my second run! Looking forward to it and to hearing all my new "powersongs"!!