Category: Music

So What?

8/24/2015

I planned to run at least three miles today. Since I had the steroid shot in my knee last week, I have been feeling pretty good.

I went for a 4 mile run with good friends that made a trip down from Connecticut on Saturday. Sunday my knee felt great. My legs were a different story, but hey, its been a while.

So today I put on my favorite MGr running shirt (a red New Balance with a gray logo), laced up my Mizunos, put the kids in the double stroller, and then started the Nike Plus running app at 6:15 pm. With my music playing (which is rare), away we went.

About a half mile in, I could see my 4-year old nodding through the clear plastic of the stroller. I asked if she was sleeping. She assured me she was not. When I asked her again a few seconds later, there was no response.

Daddy decision time.

Do I keep running and let her sleep this close to bedtime? Or do I cut the run short? Very short?

Well, knowing that any run will change my mood for the positive but messing with a child’s sleep is near deadly, I put on her favorite song (Roar by Katy Perry) to keep her awake and headed straight home.

I logged only 1.2 miles. And I’m okay with that.

So what it was shorter than I thought. I ran. I’m on my way back.

Something is always better than nothing!

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iRUN

8/17/2015

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I run has changed to iRun the past few years.

There are still a few “natural” runners that just leave the house with their shoes and clothes. But those old schoolers are rare.

Garmins, fitbits and Beats, oh my. How did we run without them and survive?

Within the past year, I’ve stopped listening to music while running for a few different reasons.

It’s much safer on the country roads to be completely aware of my surroundings. I am completely one with all of my thoughts. It is my time away from everything where my mind can just be.

I hear from many people that they don’t think they could go without some tunes. How do I do it? Don’t I go crazy?

Well, I did at first, just like I did when I first starting running in general. You get used to it and love it.

Next comes the watches and heart rate monitors. I do wear a Garmin watch, as I need to know how far and fast I’m going. But that’s me. I need to know more than just the time I ran. I want to know how far, my current pace, and how far ahead of my virtual partner I am. (Recently, he has been way in front.)

I haven’t used a heart rate monitor (yet). Have you?

No watch? How about a health tracker (FitBit, Withings, Nike Fuelband, etc)? What’s the perk with these thingys?

I got one for Christmas and only two months in, I couldn’t survive without it. It does track mileage, just as the Garmin does, but it also acts as a pedometer, calorie counter, elevation guide, heart rate monitor (bpm) and tracks my sleep. Oh yeah, and a watch.

The sleep tracker is the coolest part. With a swipe of a finger, you signal you are hitting the sack. When you wake up, another finger swipe. The device does the rest. It tracks when you fall asleep, wake up throughout the night, your light sleep and your heavy sleep periods.

Being a father of two youngins that have yet to master the art of sleeping, my sleep charts are a tad unordinary.

I wear both my Garmin watch and health tracker while running. I do not have a hook up for a heart monitor, but the health tracker does help with checking my heart rate.

How about a running belt? Wear one of those?

I do not, but I know they are an easier way to carry keys, phone, water bottles, snacks and more while on a (usually long) run. Now a lot of these come with an LED light for night running too.

And of course, there are running apps. Runkeeper, Map My Run, Couch to 5k (C25K), Nike +, Runtastic, Strava, and many, many more.

Being a numbers person, I love all of them, as they keep track of just about everything you could possibly ever want.

Are you an iRunner? What do you NEED to run?

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So What?

iRUN

By Eric

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