Honey, Let's Go For a Run...Honey...Honey?!?!: Day 69, 296 To Go

March 10, 2013

I woke up late. Looks like there will be no swimming or biking for me today. Just a long run. But first, I have to continue to help set up for the party. That means more balloons. Fuck.

Once the balloon arch was set up, I finally had time to go for my run. It was 12:00 in the afternoon. I had planned to go nice and early, but that didn't happen. While I was preparing for the party, I started to get my stuff together. Here is my setup:

I labeled everything in case you were, I don't know, a moron, and didn't know what a shirt was. Really, I just wanted to play with the image. Let me go through some of this stuff. First, if I'm being honest, I only really need the shoes. That's what I tell people if they want to start running. I say, "Just put on your shoes and go!" Um, well, you should probably put on pants too...and if you are a girl, you can put on a shirt too, but I'm not picky.

The rest of the stuff - GPS, water bottle, sunglasses, hat, phone and headphones - I can do without. Now, a lot of these things can be necessary if the weather insists. The hat is great for protecting yourself from the sun as are the sunglasses. The phone is great for emergencies and entertainment. The phone has my music and all sorts of apps that can enhance the running experience. The heart rate monitor and GPS are essential training tools that I don't need to use all the time, but I usually do. I'm kind of addicted to the numbers (as you may have noticed). Every once in a while, it is nice to do without, and I plan on going a full week soon without them to just enjoy the run.

And last, but certainly not least, is the water bottle! If you are running for more than 30 minutes, or less if it is really hot, you have to bring your water with you. If you are lucky enough to run a route where there is water, that is great. I run by a 7/11 and I will refill it on my way back. Other options are to drive your route and to drop a water bottle that you can pick up on your run. Luckily, I have the option to stop at 7/11 (Thank Heaven for 7/11!!)

Here are my numbers for my latest long run:

Time: 60:00

Distance: 6.71 miles

Pace: 8:56/m

Max Pace: 6:27/m

Calories: 858

Avg HR: 148

Max HR: 170

It was a good run. I was tired at first, but I felt good on the way back and I decided to stop looking at my watch and to just run by feel. I ended up running out of my target heart rate zone, but I didn't feel winded. I was even able to carry on a conversation. Granted, I was running by myself, so that confirms that I am a nutcase, but I could talk easy enough. Perhaps, my heart rate zones are not accurate. That will take some further research on my part. I thought they were good, but maybe they are not!

The only issue with running harder was that I was feeling it in my legs even though I was not winded. Oh well, that just means I have more to work on.

Now, back to the party. It was fantastic. The kids had a great time. The parents had a great time. Honey and I had a great time. I assume the babies did too, but they aren't all that talkative yet, so I'll just have to assume they enjoyed it. I have put a bunch of pictures at the bottom of the blog so you can see what a great decorator Honey is and what a fun, colorful and yummy party it was! Enjoy!

Run for life!!