Friday, February 22, 2013

Monthly Checkup

So it's been about a month since I resurrected the blog.  As anyone I've cooked for knows, I like constructive criticism.  I'm a big fan of feedback/data in general.

So, what's working? What's not? Anything you want to hear more about? Less?

Would love your thoughts!

This is the interactive part of the blog folks. Post publicly, anonymously, make a pseudonym, whatever works for you.

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Friday's Training plan - 26 minute run

My plan - 2 minutes at 12:00, 2 minutes at 10:00, 2 minutes working up to at least 9:00; attempt 20 minutes at 9:00

Actual - That felt good!  Followed through on the plan above - 6 minute build up to an 8:57 minute mile, 20 minutes at 8:57 and then a 4 minute cool down (because I like even numbers).  I thought about adding in an ab workout but I don't have time (because I have just about every minute of my life planned out for the next week...it's midterms folks). This was also a relatively early workout for me (ran from 7:30 to 8) and it's nice to have my workout behind me for the day. Plus given my schedule and my internship(s) I might need to get used to working out even earlier!

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Saturday's Training plan - 88 minute bike ride



My plan - I had such grand plans for this workout. It's been a while since I've done a long, outdoor, bike ride and I was especially looking forward to doing it at sea level!  I mapped out a 16.5 mile ride (and figured I could go further if I needed to for time) and planned to work in stops at my cousin's coffee shop and my other cousin's boyfriend's bike shop. But it's about 35 degrees here and pouring! So instead I thought I would go to a local gym, I even negotiated them down from $20 for a daily membership (because, really, that's ridiculous) to $10. But then I couldn't get my sister's car to start soo...

Actual - Most miserable 90 minutes on a stationary bike in the basement of my parent's house which is currently under construction and doesn't have heat, ever. I think the thing I found most frustrating about this workout experience is that not 2 hours earlier I had gone back and tracked all my times and distances for all my previous workouts, per my cousin's suggestion (PS - keep those coming), and the bike that I was on didn't track distance so... not really sure what I'm going to do about that one?  Ultimately, the workout happened (and it almost didn't) so, win!

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Sunday's Training Plan - 44 minute run

My plan - Run through my town, along the beach in Spring Lake and turn around at Belmar gates, about a 5 mile run.  I had done this run twice while I was home over Winter Break and it's one of my favorites.

Actual - That was a good one folks! I do so love running at sea level.
12/21 Run Results

12/27 Run Results

Today's run!
The last few runs at this length averaged just over 10:00/mile but DC significantly more hilly than the Jersey Shore.  The elevation graph might be a bit misleading. The starting elevation was only 17ft and I maxed out at 47 feet.  All that is well and good but mostly I just wanted to point out the 8:23 mile, that's a record for me. And I shaved at least 20 seconds/mile off my last attempts at this run...and enjoy some scenery as I did so.

Also, apparently my cousin could track my progress through the mapmyrun.com app we both use.  Kind of creepy!  But since he's the only person I'm "friends" with on that site, I might leave that setting. A little extra accountability never hurt anyone...


10 comments:

  1. I wish we could keep track of how many miles we've put in so far. That would be an impressive total. I know the NTP calendar breaks down time, but not distances. If you love numbers, you should crunch that down and keep a tally.

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    1. Love that idea! Looks like I've got a project for the weekend! (or maybe next week after midterms?)

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  2. Maybe change the name/theme, since it's not solely about your health care work anymore? That, and consider including me as a guest blogger, so I can talk about my random unrelated thoughts of the day...

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    1. I keep considering the name change but I can't think of a good idea for a new one. I also don't think the URL will change and I can't decide if that will be more confusing?

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  3. I think the world wants to know more about your love life. Ok, so I will think about what changes you need to make, and get back to you. I will also not say anything about you messg me at 7:00a.m. to think of ideas. Extremely busy day at hospital. Mike

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  4. So only about .0002% of the people who read this can probably relate to training for a triathalon... to that end, I think you should include a feature section with each post... here are some ideas to consider:

    -Shoutouts to classmates
    -Selfies
    -Music Suggestions
    -Poetry
    -More Selfies
    -'Why Steve is great'
    -More Selfies
    -TV suggestions
    -Underwater traithalon training selfies

    ...I was going to make this post anonymous but I think there are enough context clues here to figure out who wrote it.

    On a serious note (not that anything above was not serious).... you always have random interesting articles you bring up in class/normal conversation/MHSA FB group whether about healthcare, fitness, etc... wouldn't mind seeing links to some random interesting things you come across

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  5. What's the p value on the .0002%

    Also, did you even notice you already got a shout out?

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  6. For those of us catching you on the fly, you'll need to reference the triathlon in clever, synonymous ways. Unless your intended audience is only athletes. BUT, if you're after a larger audience, think about a focus on some universal truth about better health through this rigorous training. More readers will return to find out how you grapple with the training. Frankly, the anon post from 2/22 has a great list of suggestions.

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    Replies
    1. Helen - I really appreciate the comments, both here and on Facebook! Consistency and message/theme is definitely something I'm struggling with on this blog. Also, I know Steve will appreciate the validation as well!

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