You will. :D

I've always been told that arbitrary numbers in training plans aren't that important. Running 10 miles in training vs 9.78 miles in training is not a huge difference.. But when looking at the cool factor for year end reviews, absolutely do it! :)

absolutely agree with arbitrary numbers and all but this 198 is the most I've ever had and it won't even show up on the monthly Strava challenge since many of them kilometers were done on the treadmill, but still...

just mentioned it to my wife and she rolled her eyes. That's probably enough for me to want to do it ;)

And I'm waiting the fruits to be prepared for the chocolate fondue, might as well go burn some extra calories :D

FM

Congrats!

Do it! Do it!

HAH! Not only did I do it, I pushed it, tried that 11 MPH button on the treadmill for maybe 100 meters! That's 3:23 per km or 5:27 per mile :)

Take a look at that beautiful month of December :D

FM

Nice! Now you need to continue that next month too! :)

haha, I doubt it. I had been thinking about going on a crazy runninh streak, maybe even trying to go the whole year starting with January 1st, but 2014 will be crazy enough that I will eventually need a rest day, even if a simple easy mile isn't that much work.

I also know that my training for my May 4th half marathon will begin on February 10 and from then until August 25th, there won't be much break so I will probably take it easy in January. The streak was cool and I might even keep it going to get a 50 day badge from Smashrun but otherwise, I won't pressure myself with it.

I also finished my plank challenge this morning with 4 times 2 minutes of plank, i.e. regular, right side, reverse, left side to which I added 2:15 of regular plank to really push it. Now I need a little break from the planks too ;)

FM

Happy new year to all the FOFC runners! May 2014 bring you as many healthy miles as you can handle and then some more! :)

FM

I set a new mile PR on my last run of 2013. I broke it today on the first run of 2014!

It was 8:52 from my first 5k in September. Down to 8:47 a few days ago. Now it's 8:42.

2014, you're officially on notice.

this is exactly the kind of morning for which I bought a treadmill. From my car's dash thermometer, that's -32C!!! Seriously, that's -26F, without windchill, with windchill it was apparently around -40F... Ran a strong 6 km with incline work inside instead :)

FM

Wind chill here was only -4F for my run today. With the snow coming down though, I think I am getting close to finding my limit on how much I want to tolerate before resorting to the treadmill. :)

My eyelashes were freezing together again today due to the snow. I'm thinking about looking into some kind of running snow goggles maybe.

So I really fell off the wagon during the holidays and let 10 days pass between runs. My two runs back since then have felt slow and sluggish. My New Year's Resolution: never let that happen again.

It does take a little while to get back into the way of running regularly again, but not as long as you think - it will get better more quickly than you expect. (There's no harm in taking a short break from training, either - you won't have lost much fitness by taking a few days off.)

We're moving in a couple of weeks so I should be back running again the week of the 20th. The only exercise I've had lately is running up and down the basement stairs. It's even less exciting of a workout than it sounds.

This cold weather is killing me. I can get myself to run in 20 degrees, but when we're in the single digits, I just can't do it. So I'm stuck with the stupid stationary bike. RRRRRgh.

Missed this - congratulations!

Set a few running goals that I might as well post here:
1.) 500+ miles for 2014
2.) 300+ miles for 2014 outdoors
3.) Run at least 4 5K races
- would match what I ran in 2013
- have first one scheduled already, early April
4.) Run at least 1 10k race
5.) Run at least 1 of the Tough Mudder type races that involve some level of obstacle course/fitness beyond just the distance

Ben,

Not sure if you're aware, but your runs are showing up twice in my Strava feed.

Is anyone else having an issue where their goals are no longer working in RunKeeper? I had a weight loss goal that just stopped updating. Don't think there was a time limit on it.

I thought all runkeeper goals had you set an end date for the goal. Maybe yours just ended at the end of the year?

Could be. Guess I failed! ;)

I quit using runkeeper when it died during my first 5k in September.

Had a 2 mile run today, the first since Jan 1. Weather in the teens, ice and snow on the ground have kept me grounded.

#somebeatsnone

I get back to warmer temps tomorrow so I can start running again. It's been a month since I've run at all.

for anyone who is on the fence, the Garmin Forerunner 620 is really overpriced and not worth the high price, imho. the wireless transfer does not work for me (and many others report the same problems). the watch controls are sluggish and difficult to use while running, the monochrome display seems antiquated.

i may be biased since i previously ran with my cell phone and really don't have much of a problem running with cell phone in hand. (actually i am still running with my cell phone since i still use it as an mp3 player.) the Runkeepper mobile app works better with regards to audio running feedback and display when compared to the Forerunner. The only benefit the forerunner has is the heart rate monitor / Vo2 max calculations. The forerunner calculates a lot of advanced things like vertical oscillation and cadence, which sounded cool prior to getting it, but now that I see these statistics I'm like "so what?". Am I going to start modifying my running style to change my cadence and vertical oscillation? No - especially since I don't get feedback on that stuff until the run is over.

I considered returning it - but since I've used it a few times already I won't.


Edit: it's not that it is horrible, just not worth the price. To me it really seems like something that should be selling for $99.

Hmm, that is a little discouraging to hear. I've really been looking forward to that watch.

A few notes that might be able to help.. My wife has a 220 and had problems with the wireless transfer not working as well. She eventually got it to work and now it works every time for her. She said she had to completely unpair her phone/watch and power both off, then back on and repair them again (or maybe twice) and it started working for her and she didn't have to mess with it again.

For the cadence and Vertical oscillation, those are actually some of the things that I am wanting the watch for, as I have been really working hard on improving my running form lately for better efficiency. I know for a fact that you can modify the display screens with what information that you want on it while you run though. You should be able to modify one of the user pre-set displays to include the cadence information to see it while you run for instance if you wanted.

I don't think the manuals do a good job of detailing how to do it, but DC Rainmaker's walkthrough of the watch shows how to do it if you are interested in it.

New personal best for a 5k today. Can't wait for spring and summer. I'm going to kill it!

After yesterday's run, all I can think is I sure hope it is not hail during my marathon next month

Two weeks til my first 13.1

At this point I will be working to avoid a DNF. Hakuna Matata!

this is a crazy time of year to be entering a marathon, you are a brave man...

FM

So my wife is getting me a Road ID wristband for my birthday. A Road ID is an identification tag that includes your name and emergency contacts, and other vital information, useful when out for a run/ride and don't carry much on yourself.

You might have one or two extra lines on the bottom that allow for inspirational or funny quotes/slogans such as "Never Give Up" or "Pause my Garmin"

I've left myself with two lines (24 char max each), and I've narrowed down my choices to the following:

• It's Not That I Finished But That I Started
• I Run Against Myself. Today I Intend To Win
• Still Faster Than The Guy On The Couch
• The First Two Miles Are The Worst Two Miles
• Go Outside & Take A Step. The Rest Is Easy
• You Have Gone This Far. Go Farther
• LAST > DNF > DNS

A couple of these such as "Still faster than the guy on the couch" and "The first two miles are the worst two miles" and "Last > DNF > DNS" resonate with me on a personal level. The rest are more generic quotes I found online, but still offer some inspiration to me.

Which do you like, or do you have a quote of your own?

I also like "Still faster than the guy on the couch" and "Last > DNF > DNS" very much myself.

Someone on the Lose It forum had a t-shirt done with something I thought was pretty good: "If I stop now, how will I get back home?"

And one simple one that gets me going, but it's based on how much I like the narration behind this video, is a simple "Rise and shine"...

FM

"I've got the runs."

I like this. :)

My Road ID is boring and doesn't have any saying on it. :(

For sayings, I think the one I would have on mine if I had thought about it would be "The hardest part is stepping out the door"

ABC, you ready for Surf City? :)

"Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" -Confucius

FM

Short answer: I will be running with this mantra... "Last > DNF > DNS" {edit to add} Looks like I found what I'll put on my Road ID.. :)

Long answer: Being sick in November and the laziness of the holiday season, I never got to kick start my half marathon training. I only mananged to get in a few short runs here and there. My 10K race in December was my longest run during this training regimen.

I'm guessing I'll finish in the 3:30 - 4:00 range.

"Especially when it's 5F out."

Yeah, it has been a tough go for training for me, too.

I ran a half on city streets on Monday, and I did okay, but I definitely got sore. I plan to ran another one this weekend, either tomorrow or Sunday.

Apparently there exists a mantra like this:

DLF > DNF >> DNS

Dead Last Finish is better than Did Not Finish and is much better than Did Not Start.

I found my Road ID quote. :D

Anything wrong with Tapiriik tonight? I'm on Manual Sync, and it's saying "Queuing to synchronize (approximately 73 hours)"

Dc rainmaker featured them in a blog post about two weeks ago that crazily ramped up their usage. It has set times caused some delays but for the most part I thought everything was straightened out. I still get those messages like 143 hours to sync, but it ends up only taking a minute after I tell it to sync. Not sure if that is only because I am a donor or not though.

You can check their twitter feed though if it is not working to see if there is a reported problem tonight.

I checked again later on in the evening, and it all sync'd okay. It took a few minutes longer than usual, but it was fine. I saw a twitter post from tapiriik stating that it's some glitch and should take minutes, not days.

Surf City Half Marathon coming up on the morning of Superbowl Sunday.

Expecting about 15,000 half marathoners and 2,000 full.

Partly cloudy with a high of 60F... Perfect running conditions!

Chief Rum and I are both signed up for this event. Cheer us on!!!

let's rock this thing ABC! Give it all you got! I'll be sending you and CR good vibes! :)

FM

Good luck Chief and ABC! Have a great time in the race!

Kick some non-FOFC ass, boys!

Just checking in for my end of January report.

Going to end up with around 1,025 miles biked this month, plus I have lost 11 pounds since the beginning of the year.

Looking forward to February!