Running used to be a big passion of mine. After I moved back to Peterborough in 2010, Carley asked my to join a running clinic with her and I thought it would be a fun thing to try. I had run semi-frequently before in a very low-stress kind of way. Joining the 5k clinic at the Running Room was amazing for me. I learned how to properly pace my runs and to work up to a goal race target. I ran a bunch of 5ks and a 10k. Plus I met a bunch of really great people. I loved running that season. I ran probably three or four times a week for nine months.
Then the winter came and I realized how much I hated winter running. I don't like how the sidewalks are choppy with frozen mush, or slushy, or icy. I don't like worrying I'm going to fall and hurt (or worse, embarrass) myself. I don't like it being dark when I run. I don't like my ears getting cold.
So I stopped running. I had a few months of laziness, and then Caitlin asked me to join a hot yoga class with her. And I LOVED hot yoga at Hot Yoga Peterborough in East City. For a year and a half I went approximately three to four times a week. I got in amazing shape, mentally I felt better than I have in years. I even did a couple of challenge months where I did six days out of seven in the studio.
But life catches up to you, and hot yoga is expensive. I crashed my car in January and now have new car payments. Tim and I are moving in together and there are all the extra expenses of having a house. I just can't afford to go to hot yoga anymore, so I cancelled my membership. It broke my heart and I still miss it so much, even though it's been a couple of months now. A couple of months where I've been almost a complete slug, by the way.
The original plan was to take up running again. I went out a few times on my own when the weather got nice in the spring. It was good - I do love running. But my conditioning has gone down SO much. I used to run a 6 minute kilometer, running ten minutes and walking one. My 5k time was just under 30 minutes and my 10k was just over an hour. Now I'm out of breath running 3-and-1s, and my pace is more of a 7 min km. And then I had the bright idea of asking Tim to run with me one night. It was a whim, really. He was SO excited. Tim's regular run is an 8 or 9k. He is much faster than I am, and much better conditioned. In a way it's good - he pushes me to go faster and farther. In a way it's bad - I get really grumpy with him for most of the run. I know that will get better as I get better again, though. It's a nice thing for us to do as a couple, and I love how happy it makes him.
Last night he asked me to go for a run with him after work, and we ran this loop:
This is CardioTrainer, an app I have on my Android phone, and it makes my running life SO much better. I pop it in a pocket with the headphones in, and it keeps me on track. At every minute mark, it alternately tells me my distance ran, or my pace. Once I've finished the run, I can pop up this Statistics screen:
I can add notes as to the weather and what part of the run I found difficult, whether I need to adjust my pacing, whether I liked the route or not. Then it saves the run and I can post the info to Facebook or Twitter - this keeps me honest about how much and how often I'm actually running. CardioTrainer then stores the history in this screen:
From here I can pull up any run I've ever saved. The program also saves all the data online, so even when I changed phones, I just had to upload the software again and log in, and all my history was there. You can even log into the website to see all your tracks and data online. CardioTrainer will also save the data from any other workout you want to do - biking, hiking, rollerblading, swimming, yoga. For a runner, it's also an easy way to see how much mileage you've put on your shoes. They're supposed to be replaced every 500 km.
If you're a runner or really any kind of athlete, I'd suggest you check it out! Even if you're just starting, it can be a really good motivational and tracking tool.
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