Driving > Disco

In regards to running, 2010 is now officially better than 2008.  2009...well, that's a different story...

This post is actually a day or so late, but I knew what would happen if I missed a #MusicMonday post: the villagers would be up in my cube with pitchforks and torches in no time.  Actually, it'd be more like coffee cups and animal crackers and instead of being "up in my cube," they'd be up in the kitchen, drinking and eating said items, saved from another weirdo music post.

Now, don't get me wrong, 2010 has been better than 2009 in every way, shape and form, with the sole exception of running.  For proof, behold as I bust out a table in a blog:

Hahaha...you guys are too trusting.  I kid of course (about the table), but here now for serious:

	2008	2009	2010
July total	0	37.01	53.8
YTD July	93.1	234.2	166.22*
Yearly total	162.41	347.11	166.22

*the 2010 YTD through July total actually includes 1 day from August as well - if you don't agree with my using an extra day in the "YTD July" figure, then go read some other blog, I don't care!  I kid of course (about the caring part).

This poorly formatted html tells us a couple of things.  First of all, July 2010 now stands at number one for my all time best month, in regards to miles run.  Second, my YTD total for 2010 now exceeds my entire total for 2008.  Lastly, you'll notice the goose egg for July 2008.  That was in the midst of what I refer to as my "lazy 2008 summer," in which I took off running for June, July and August.  Just think what 2008 could have been like if I had put up another 30 miles per month...who knows.  

Will I be able to unlock the coveted "destroy 2009" achievement?  I'm not sure.  Gun to my head, I say no.  A slow start to this year left me playing catch up early on.  Can it be done?  Yes.  Would it be tough, undoubtedly.  Will I try my best?  You know it! 

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Back when I made missed making that post about Driving Into Disco's 5th anniversary on the actual day, I got all teary eyed, since, there would never be another "5th anniversary" and how I had missed such a great posting opportunity. Then, I noticed that that very same post was #299 for the old blog. How great would it have been to post my 300th blog post on the 5th anniversary?!? Truly a golden opportunity that had come and gone, unnoticed.

Fast forward to this morning. Still standing on 299 posts, I finished my 4 miles this morning, logged my information on bt.com and found that I had just surpassed 300 miles run for the year of 2009. So, I may have missed the whole "5th on the 5th," thing, but today I give you "300 on the 300th." My totals for 2009...so far:


300.57 Miles - 46h 50m 06s

In one sense, 2009 has turned out to be quite a tumultuous year: a foot injury, adapting to a new phone, etc. On the other hand, I have some new found musical interests (yes, I know you already know) and have discovered a new interest in wine. The point I'm making here, is that I'm happy that running has been a constant source of exercise, activity, stress relief...overall a great thing to be able to do. For the ability, I must thank God. For the motivation and support, all thanks go to my wife, Jessica. But here's hoping that she will still love me when I am too old to run and balloon up to 500 pounds, due to my inordinately high candy intake.

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That's right sports fans, as of Tuesday, June 30th, I have broken the 200 mile mark for 2009. It was the last day of the 6th month, so I'd say I'm probably on a good track for hitting my goal of 300 miles for all of 2009. For the bean counters, let's take a look at the ledger:

June's totals:
Run: 5h 41m 10s - 39.17 Mi

May's totals:
Run: 4h 14m 39s - 28.02 Mi

2009 totals
Run: 32h 23m 20s - 203.19 Mi

2008 totals
Run: 26h 45m 18s - 162.41 Mi

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I planned on getting up early today and doing this the "right" way, but instead, I just went about it like normal. This morning I ran 5 miles with a time of 43:10 which produces a per mile time of 8:38. For comparison's sake, my last 4 mile run was at 34:09 and had a per mile time of 8:30. I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably not going to win any medals or anything, but I was satisfied (impressed actually), with my ability to:

a. run 5 miles without dying (fingers still crossed, I guess)
b. only increase my per mile time by 8 seconds
c. run 5 miles without dying

I guess I should not say for sure that this is the new style, although someone once told me that you can always increase your scheduled runs, but never decrease them. In my experience, I've found that to be very true.

I know your next question is related to #MusicMonday. Don't worry, that post is still in the oven and will be ready to be feasted upon shortly. (Two posts in one day! The world must be coming to an end, right?)

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Well, as you may or may not be able to tell from the title of this post, this morning I broke my mileage total from 2008. For ALL of 2008. Despite my Tweet from earlier today, I did not, in fact, break my time record. I'm still about 3 minutes shy of that. For your perusal, I present a table of my totals for 2008 and to date for 2009:

	2008	2009
Miles	162.41	164.02
Time	26 hours, 45 minutes, 18 seconds	26 hours, 42 minutes, 10 seconds

Yes, you should totally fear my l33t table making skills (/sarcasm) and if you don't think I'll get out and run for at least 3 minutes and 9 seconds tomorrow, then you're clearly nuts. I'll try to tone down my running posts going forward until we reach the major milestone (big gulp)...or until I break a leg.

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Here at Driving > Disco, we're committed to bringing you quality infotainment, and it's guaranteed to happen at least once a month. Now gather 'round children, cause it's that time of the month!

I was making my way up to the Bellevue gym, bag, keys, phone and clothes all in tow, when I saw one of those 'that guys,' that I had talked to in passing during earlier workout sessions. Pretty sure his name is Steve, but that is mostly irrelevant...it's what he said that was important. "It's such a nice day, you'll have to start running outside!" I nodded, assuming he was wishing me ill (like I assume about everyone) and pledged vengeance on him, once my workout was over (as usual). But, as I surveyed the track above me (it's on the second floor...like Lucas), I noticed several people that were going to get in my way and, consequently, on my nerves. The slow walkers, the power walkers and the chatty types were out in full force. It wasn't the most crowded I had ever seen it, but it was enough.

I stowed all my gear and wondered 'do I dare run out in the real world?' I received a Garmin Forerunner 101 watch about a month ago, but had never used it as it was intended. That came out wrong. I mean that I had never used the gps receiver on board to track my run. Even inside the good graces of the second floor of the gym, satellite signals are too weak, so I'm basically wearing the world's bulkiest stopwatch, simply to track my times.

I decided then and there I'd go for it. I acquired a signal (amazingly fast outdoors on such a clear day), set a waypoint and activated my "virtual training assistant," with a goal of 4 miles in 30 minutes. No, I did not have anything to drink before my exercise, I just didn't want to try to come up with a legitimate time (say 40 minutes) that I'd have to type in manually, so I simply took one of the preset ones.

I swear, as soon as I hit start, it popped up a "you are currently behind" message, but I guess that was just my imagination. All in all, it was a great workout. Beautiful day, probably 80~ something degrees, so not unbearably hot and, Bellevue's grounds provided a much needed change of scenery, not to mention NO TRAFFIC...foot or vehicular. It was great.

And, to top it all off, my little Garmin friend kept up with all the stats. 4.01 miles at 36:03. I ended up having a great time (for me) and only being about 6 minutes off of that 30 minute pace I inadvertently shot for. The best thing of all, was how great I felt afterwords. I honestly felt like I could take a 30-45 minute break, then run another 4 miles. Good times! I may have to relegate indoor running to periods of rain and/or cold.

(sorry for the wall-o-text)

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I had planned a resurgance in posting for May, but issues at the office last week derailed my plans. Our planned Engagement upgrade went pretty smoothly, all things considered and would've been a total success, if one of the information stores on our Exchange cluster had not decided to crap the bed. So, long story short, every free minute was spent working on email issues or Engagement issues. No time for blogging, much to your dismay.

Anywho, I thought I'd peek back in on you folks long enough to wish you a happy Star Wars Day and post my April totals.

April 2009:
Running: 44 miles
Time: 7 hours, 1 minute, 38 seconds

2009 Totals:
Running: 140 miles
Time: 23 hours, 3 minutes, 37 seconds

For comparisons sake, let's look at this same post, circa 2008:
April 2008:
Running: 16.4 miles
Time: 2 hours, 43 minutes

2008 Totals:
Running: 89.98 miles
Time: a little over 15 hours

And just to beat this point into the ground, let's compare my YTD total for 2009 vs all of 2008:
2008 year end totals:
Running: 162.41 miles
Time: 26 hours, 45 minutes, 18 seconds

What I'm getting at here is that I'm having a better year than on the track than I did last year. I'm 23 miles (which could be as soon as next Friday, May 15th) away, as well as (we'll call it) 4 hours away from topping my 2008 totals and we're only in the 5th month of the year. Not to get too ahead of myself, but I may have undershot with that whole "300 miles" goal.

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This morning, after I completed my 4 mile run, my total for 2009 stands at 100 miles. I know my goal is 300 miles, and technically, I'm right on pace, since I've got 100 miles through the first four months, but I feel like I am ahead of schedule.

This is due to my having only run 1 miles in January and only 8 miles so far in April. If I run at my current pace for the rest of the month, I should be able to shatter my old record from last month. Of course, I've never been one to "count miles before they're run," so I'll just leave it at I'm on pace for my 2009 goal of 300 miles.

Also, my New Balances currently have recorded a little over 172 miles, so I guess that answers the question about shoes that are used for running only and their ability to turn the odometer.

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March 2009, or as I like to call it, my single best running month ever.

53 miles
8 hours, 36 minutes, 44 seconds

[update]
Forgot to include my YTD totals, so here they are:

92 miles
15 hours, 25 minutes, 53 seconds

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Well, after basically taking January off, much like last year, I got back on the wagon in February. I ran on 10 days out of the month and came up with the following totals:

38 miles
6 hours, 35 minutes, 9 seconds

This puts me at 8 miles ahead of my pace from last year, and squarely on track of my formerly secret goal of 300 miles for 2009. This was my goal for the year, but as I think I mentioned before, I didn't publicize it, so I wouldn't have to explain myself if I didn't hit it. Guess all of that doesn't matter now. That would make me need 25 miles a month, for 12 months, which some of you may take as me actually being behind my pace by about 12 miles. The way I see it, if I run 30 miles a month for 10 months, that gives me 300 and 2 months worth of days of what I affectionately like to refer to as "slacker time."

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Some time ago, I purchased some new shoes. I had debated whether or not they could last for a full 100 miles. As it turned out, my old shoes did not last 100 miles, but in fairness to them, they were used for many, many things besides running during their lifetime.

The old wheels


Well, I answered my question yesterday, when I broke the 100 mile mark in my New Balance 473's. I'm currently sitting on 107.43 miles...and counting!

I guess the question now is, how far can they go? I had toyed with the idea of doing 300 miles this year (although, I didn't want to publicize that number, so I couldn't be held accountable for it), so I guess that may be the new "goal" for my shoes as well. I'm only at 35 miles so far for 2009, but, at this time last year, I only had 30 miles total, so I guess I'm already ahead of schedule...yay me!

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So, for my past 4 runs, I've been doing 4 miles. I've been running at the Bellevue gym, which makes the weather a non-factor, and since the track is a uniform shape, grade, etc (ie - no rocks or potholes), I've been doing some pretty decent work. I slowed my pace down so that I could do the entire run at the same pace, as opposed to running through the first three miles (or 24 laps) at my 3 mile pace, then dragging on the last 8 laps. My times have been fairly consistent with my old 3 mile times (3 miles @ 30~ minutes vs 4 miles at 40 minutes), but I'm hoping to build up to more mileage per run, which will cut my 3 mile time down significantly. That way I can run a 5k and not finish dead last!

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I just finished updating my stats on beginnertriathlete.com from last week. For Friday, November 14th, I ran 3.28 miles in 29 minutes and 16 seconds. Not overly impressive, even though I am happy that I broke 30 minutes again for the second time this week, but what it represents does impress me.

So far, for 2008, I have run for 24 hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds, over 146.57 miles. 24 hours! I have run for more then a solid day this year. If you look at it that way, it does not sound like that much: 1 day out of 365, but I guess if you imagine running for 24 hours straight, it kind of puts it back into perspective.

I'm certainly not done running for the year, but I thought I would toot my own horn for a moment, in celebration of passing the 24 hour mark.

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Since I'm still ironing out my latest 'recurring' blog post idea, I'm going to do the next best thing...steal an idea from a friend.

Memphis, this blog post is for you!

September Totals
Run: 4h 2m 19s - 23.95 Mi


2008 totals
Run: 19h 39m 38s - 117.05 Mi

(New Balance 473 totals:
Run: 4h 35m 19s - 27.07 Mi)

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Or is it back off the wagon? Whichever the good one is, I'm there. I'm sure this will serve as a bevy of post material for one Jaymz Dean, but I felt the need to announce this, in order to get my whole "social accountability" thing going again.

Monday, September 15, 2008 - distance: 3.28 miles; time: 33 minutes, 43 seconds; knee and ankle condition afterward: dangerously close to breaking

Obviously, this is only one day, but I am a firm believer that it is much easier to continue running than to stop. When I was running 4-5 times a week at the start of the year, sometimes I would not be able to sleep well, if I knew I was "off" the following morning. I felt that even 1 day's rest (although very much needed and appreciated) was the first step towards being a non-runner. This time around, I'm going to try to stick to a 2on/1off approach and get my time down.

Another "obvious" thing is that the family vacation is over. I meant to post while in Florida, but was happily distracted by other things. I will get some recap/pictures up as soon as I can, but you know Jessica has all the real goods anyway, so just head over there.

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Yeah, you read that right. Got up before my on call shift started this morning to run, but for some reason thought that it was too cold (it was probably only like 50°, and I've run in much colder weather). Anyway, the thought of having to dig up my workout pants made so little sense that I instead drove up to the Bellevue gym.

I did the elliptical machine, a recumbent bike and an old school exercise bike. So, an hour and a half later, I checked the heart rate monitor and found that I had burned 1301 calories. Jessica tells me that some women go on 1200 calorie a day diets so I basically just worked off the equivalent of an entire woman in an hour and a half. That sounded much better in my head...

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