As I approach the two year mark since beginning my walking / running exercise routine I began to stagnate. Since there is no long term baseline for performance I wasn't sure if the normal aging process slows you down as the years tick away but I knew my speed was slowing is because I track way to much data.
Being a numbers nut everything is dumped into Excel and being a gadget guy the data has increased this year. Last Christmas my newest toy was a heart rate monitor and about that time I gave up carrying the hand held GPS because the batteries didn't last very long in the sub-freezing temps of winter.
So... All this info tells me is I have run over 620 miles so far this year and taken about 1.1 million steps to cover the distance. What it did not do is help me achieve a quicker pace. In keeping my heart rate within recommended parameters I was actually slowing down.
I knew my speed was faster in races or when running with a friend but due to constantly conflicting schedules we rarely seemed to find a mutual time for training runs.
Finally I discovered the push I needed. The Runners Meetup! This morning I did my third run with the New Haven Runners and can see my times are improving. So far each run has brought out between 6-12 runners that go at various paces and distances but everyone provides incentive for each other. The front runners are pushing themselves knowing people are following and the back of the group pushes their pace to keep up.
Anyone that is training alone and wants to kick it up a notch should consider the group run. It works!
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Dan,
I love working out with a trainer, they seem to push you harder. The group sounds like it is good for your competitive spirit as well. Keep us posted my friend! :)
620 miles. WOW! I am glad you found the push you needed. Did you just start 2 years ago, or did you run before that? I am sure there might be a blog somewhere I need to find to learn more. I have never been a runner, but I started to walk a lot after I had my first child, which led to running. It was great..but then I got derailed by an injury. I have a really great spin bike, which has been my exercise. Unfortunately, I jixed myself with my blog or jog post- it broke that day. The part won't be in until the end of September. Uggh! I bought a new jump rope yesterday. My daughter likes that- she chants jump rope songs while I jump -cinderalla, dressed in yellow, how many doctors does it take!! Sorry this comment turned into a post!!
Teri... I'm pretty good with sticking to a routine...
George... All the gadgets and number crunching helps keep it interesting.
Sandi... I can self motivate pretty well but the group adds speed, most are 20 something students from Yale.
Suzanne... Never worked with a trainer... My gym memberships go in spurts and when I got busy I let it lapse... been about 5 years now...
Ariz... Still got most of the gadgets going... The group only meets Saturday mornings.
Ginger... My first walking started almost two years ago in preparation for a Thanksgiving Morning 2 miler, from there it evolved into running which I'd never done in my younger days. The transition from walking to running was a painful one. Tried to do to much to fast and had severe knee pain to the point that I limped around for a week after my 5k run. Tried everything, new shoes, iced my knee after running and it finally found some stretching worked. You lost me with the jump rope chant.... we only have boys...
Dan - you should see the excel workbook I created when I was losing all the weight. I tracked every carb, protein and fat gram, and every calorie in and calorie out. I was obsessive about it until I had kept the weight off for a couple of years and realized how much time it was taking to maintain it! Now I just go back to it if the scale starts to creep up. It's all about accountability!