#MealtimeMiles - Lunch runs

So this week, I have been committed to moving a mile during my lunch break.  It occured to me that if I would walk/run/move a mile during my lunch break each day that I would have moved 5 miles each week.  Now part of the motivation comes from Run the Year 2019.  For RTY, you commit to move 2019 miles.  Now some people run that many miles.  I'm not there yet.  For me, the goal is to move 2019 miles, walk, run, crawl if I have to but move.

Why bother?  So it is not about losing weight.  I do have plenty to lbs to lose but I am a point in my life that I know the scale does not reflect my worth, hotness, or health.  I want to be healthy.  There are skinny people with ideal BMI that can't run a mile!  There are obese people who finish ultra marathons so yeah, the scale is a lier if you are measuring health.

As a goal oriented person moving 2019 miles gives me a goal.  Now according to RTY, I would need to move an average of 11,000 steps or about 5.5 miles a day to get 2, 019 miles this year.  I"m not there yet.  I am part of a team and while the other two members only record runs, I'm recording everything.  It is important to me that I see my number growing and if I only count runs than I know I'll abandon the whole thing.

Right now I'm getting a mealtime mile each day, with a goal of 6,000 steps each day.  Now that should translate to 3 miles a day but Samsung Health says that for me it is only about 2.5 miles.  What the hell?  Anyways, not important, the point is to move.  In theory if I move more than my weight should come down with it.  I am not going to change my diet.  Being gluten-free, plus the allergies in my family, are hard enough.  I have started bringing 10 boiled eggs to work with me on Monday.  They are my emergency breakfast/lunch/snack eggs.  Unless I have a mealtime meeting, I am not allowing myself to go out for a quick bite.  Thankfully I really like eggs and love egg salad.  I think this will help me save money and eat healthier too.

Will any of these change stick?  I'm not sure.  Will anything about me change?  I'm not sure about that either but I like the challenge.  This week so far, I've hit my steps before leaving work each day.  Twice, I've gone out for 30 min runs, which have gotten me just over 2 miles per run.  I haven't stepped on the scale or done measurements but I feel good, with a bit more energy.  I have also noticed that my left ankle hurts so I"m not sure about tomorrow's mile but we'll see.  Surely I can crawl a mile!

So join me.  Get in your mealtime mile!  Move a mile and then eat that Whataburger!  Just commit to moving.  We can't wish our way to health.  Who knows maybe by the end of the year, I'll be able to walk up a flight of stairs and not be breathing so hard at the top that I want to die!

FYI: This picture is from the one and only time I ran a half-mary distance.  Still haven't run a half-mary race and that is totally cool!

When your heart still misses your soulsister

So today I was scrolling Facebook, taking a mental break between tasks and I saw a post about Bikini Kill reuniting for a tour.  Now I'm not a huge Bikini Kill fan and I never claimed to be so don't start with the hold poser bs.  But I do love Kathleen Hanna and my former bestie soulsister loved them.  We bonded over Kathleen's bio movie back on one of my birthdays.

So back to the post.  So I saw the post and my 1st thought was "Oh yeah, I can't wait to tell Soulsister and even take SwornEnemy." Now obvious I used their real names in my mind but I don't do that here.  Then I was hit with a wave of sadness.  The quick stab of "they don't speak to you anymore." It was not until that moment that I remembered they were gone out of my life.  Like I knew it but for half a second, I didn't, if that makes sense.

Soulsister has been on my mind off and on for the last year anyway.  Something about 2018 being so crappy and lonely that made me really long for the days when I had a person.  For upwards of two years Soulsister was the one person who cheered me on and literally the only person who congratulated me when I got the news I got into my doctoral program.  A fellow introvert and wife of a recovering alcoholic, she knew me in and out.  I like to think that maybe we could be friends again later on but who knows.

The point is that I guess despite my best efforts to forgot people, I knew do.  I pray for them.  Think about them.  Have wonderful conversations with a version of them that lives in my mind.  (We introverts have lots of "conversations that we will never actually have.)  So Bikini Kill is having a reunion tour, maybe DH will go with me.

Random Review- #NRC Speed Run setting

I've been using the various incarnations of Nike + Running since 2012.  It has always been fairly easy to use and I like the tracker.  I run with my cellphone to track my runs and normally that works just fine.  Pick my run goal and go.  Pop my phone into my run belt and I don't worry about it again until I'm trying to stop my run.

I love love love the guided runs.  When I was working up to the half-mary distance I started using the guided speed runs and they were great.  The coach tells you when to go, how long you'll be at that pace, usually something motivational during the run, and then when to stop/recover.  Honestly do them; they are great.  The one from Kevin Hart had me laughing out loud as I ran and let me tell you it is hard to laugh in the middle of a speed interval!

Since Sharon over at Run Blog 365 is training for a marathon in March, I decided to try Nike's new training program to be a better athlete.  I'm backing off the miles and just want to feel more fit.  The plan is 9 weeks long and has runs plus cross training workout from the Nike Training Club app too.  I'm still learning to work with the app but so far I've really enjoyed the different workouts.  Now I'm still learning to use the workout plan and I've had some unpleasant surprises too.  Namely, the runs aren't guided workouts.  Because the guided runs are so good, I just figured they would be part of the workout plan but no.

I did a tempo run per my training program and there was zero warm up or speaking by the training program at all.  I hit start and bam I was supposed to just be in a 1-mile tempo run.  Again, the coaches in the guided runs are awesome, why didn't Nike pull them in for this?  So be warned, they expect you just to go for that tempo run.

Today I had a speed run scheduled.  Again, I wasn't too worried.  I had done the guided ones and they were awesome surely this is formatted the same way; nope.  I hit the button expecting a warm-up or quick reminder about the intervals we were running today or at least a quick tutorial on how to do a speed run using the app; nothing, just the timer going.

I looked all over youtube and google for how to actually use the speed run before going out today just to give myself a heads up since the tempo run had been kinda jarring.  I couldn't find anything!  So I'm telling you how it works:

1. You hit start and it starts measuring time and your distance in meters.
2.  It does have the number of intervals you should do at the top left corner of the app (1/6) or (1/4) how ever many you have.
3.  You have to remember the distance you are supposed to go and how long you should be giving yourself to recover.  It is not marked anywhere on the screen for you.
4.  Once you hit the pause button, it will mark 1 interval and then it is timing your recovery but you have to keep an eye on it since it won't tell you to start the next interval.
5.  You hit play and your next interval starts, again it doesn't tell you how far to go, you have to remember and you have to watch the phone/app for the distance.  The distance jumps about ever 10 meters but that changes too.  Sometimes it 10 meters, sometimes its 15 or 12 or 5.  It is pretty random.

If you run with a phone and use a belt, the I don't recommend the speed interval setting.  You have to hold your phone, watch it, and mark your intervals.  I find that stressful.  I run for stress relief not more stress!  If you need a speed workout use the guided runs.  Those are truly wonderful.  I started with Simone Biles and have used it several times.  You start it, put your phone in your belt, and go.  She tells you when to run, recover, stop, and the app marks all of the intervals for you.  I love the Kevin Hart speed run as well.  He's funny and it is a good speed run. 

Well there you have it.  Nike Run Club app is nice overall.  Definitely use the Guided Runs.  Avoid the speed intervals setting unless you have a smartwatch where you can mark your intervals because it is a pain in the ass to use with a cellphone.