Warning: I was particularly long-winded today.
I really need to start running at night again. I set my alarm for 4:30 this morning, pressed snooze until 4:45am and didn't get out until 5:40 or so. At night, I don't seem to waste so much time. Running in the morning darkness seems safer for some reason, though.
Since this autumn is only going to get busier for me rather than calmer, I've decided to switch plans. The Gateway to 8k program is good and I love the podcasts, but the time needed gets longer and longer as you go on and I want to limit the time I use running right now. Maybe I'll pick it up again in the spring when the daylight hours are getting longer rather than shorter and our schedules have (hopefully) settled down a bit.
So, now the question is, what to do? I think for now, I'm going to stick to 5k and try to get it down to 30 minutes. Podrunner has fixed-bpm podcasts available. Today I downloaded a 154 bpm podcast. This was more my pace. The running segments of the g28k program were 146bpm, a little slow. It didn't really speed up my running. I ran for 31:16 and according to MayMyRun, covered a distance of 2.78 miles, for an average of about 11.24 minutes per mile.
Since I was running later than I wanted to, I kept having to talk myself out of quitting early. At about 10 minutes, I decided I would stop when I got back to my house. However, about 6 or 7 houses before mine, someone came out of her house and started running ahead of me. That motivated me to continue. It's funny how much of a mind game this is. That one little happening that actually had nothing to do with my own actions flipped my thoughts from quitting to continuing. So, I ended up running another 15 minutes and finishing out the 30 minutes.
That kind of head game is one reason why I'd rather have a plan like gateway to 8k. I let the podcast determine when I quit. My mind is left to wander onto other topics more because I must obey the podcast! Maybe there are subliminal messages in the podcast? It is kind of trancey music!
I think my goal for the time being will be to run at least three times a week and at least 30 minutes per run. I'll probably do two runs during weekdays and one on the weekend. I have enough activities spread throughout for cross training and some runs might be replaced by other activities. I thought about entering a 5k at the end of the month, but I think I might hold off, train for the winter and start entering races again in the spring. OR, I just noticed a group I belonged to in college is holding a Pi Mile Run, a 5k which is close to 3.14... miles (it's an engineering student organization - we're geeks, ok?). Maybe I'll do that instead. That is in town and on the same path as my first 5k. Even cooler that I'm an alum of the organization.
This morning, the bunny count was 9. Even with the full moon, it was rather dark, so I might have missed a few. They were all alive this time, although one didn't look very animated. Maybe it was too cold and just wanted to stay put. It was 45F degrees this morning (7.2C). Chilly, but not too bad. I did get a little squeaky in the lungs when I got home. I actually saw four people today. One was running (the one who motivated me to continue). The rest were going about their morning routine, it seems. I passed by the local coffee shop twice on my run. The first time it wasn't open, but by the second time I smelled the lovely scent of coffee wafting across the street. Some day, I'm going to plan my run to end over on that side of the neighborhood and bring a long a bit of money for a coffee. It smells so good!
So, as I mentioned, I used a fixed-bpm Podrunner podcast today. I had always thought that DJ Steve Boyett and DJ Beatsmith were one and the same and DJ Beatsmith was just an alter ego of Steve Boyett. But, it sure seemed like the voice on today's podcast was a different one than I heard oh-so-many times on the Podrunner Intervals podcasts.
7 comments:
Nice work. I'm exactly like that, I need the podcasts/playlists to tell me exactly when I should start and stop running ;)
I've started thinking about running early in the morning too, kind of curious if you turn in any sleep for running or do you go to bed really early?
Daisy,
I definitely don't get as much sleep as I should, anyway. But, I'm used to that. Generally, when I run in the morning, I do it because I was tired the night before, so I actually get to bed on time rather than staying up too late. If I run at night, I generally get to bed later.
I honestly don't have very great sleep patterns. I consider it a good night if I get about 6 hours of sleep. Less than 5 hours two days in a row or more and I am hurting. Ten years ago, I could handle sleep deprivation much better than I can now.
Obey. OBEY! :)
I'm glad these are working out for you. Just for the record, I am NOT DJ Beatsmith. He selects the P:I tracks, mixes them, and records the intros. I really only kind of supervise P:I. Beatsmith has been a friend of mine for nearly 10 years, and mutual friends have commented that we sound a lot alike on the phone.
Have fun!
Steve mailed me the URL to your blog. Not only are we not the same person, we currently live on opposite sides of the U.S.!
:)
-DJ "I'm not Steve" Beatsmith
I think I'm going to faint. Both DJs commenting on my blog in one day? I'm not worthy!!
Actually, it didn't take much googling to figure out that you were two distinct people. It's funny because during the P:I podcasts, the maker of the fixed bpm podcasts is referred to as "my partner in crime" or something to that effect. Somehow that registered in my mind as a Jekyll and Hyde type of relationship rather than being serious. I'm not sure which one was Jekyll and which one was Hyde in my mind!
At the time, I just thought "Oh, that's cute, he uses a different name when he does the interval programs." Ha!
Well, I'm all straightened out now!!
Thanks to both of you for all of your work on the podcasts. You are both very talented! BTW, week 4 was my fave P:I mix... or was it week 2 of the Gateway series? I guess they are tied. I listened to those two while doing stuff around the house and my husband rolled his eyes every time the chimes started.
I haven't used enough fixed-bpms to have a fave yet, but I have been listening to Groovelectric at work!
So, tell the truth, do you guys put subliminal messages in the podcasts??!?
Thanks for your reply Melly, I'm thinking being a morning runner really isn't feasable for me right now >.<
I can't seem to function on less than 8 hours and going to bed earlier than 10.30 pm is not gonna happen. I need that time in the evening to wind down from my day. I keep up the runs after work in the evening :)
I tried chanting "Send me money,send me money, send me money" quietly under my mixes but I'm still living on saltines and pond water so I guess my subliminal messaging skills aren't up to par.
-DJ "send me money, food, ANYTHING" Beatsmith
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