Let's Get Down to Business

The last two weeks were full of some great training.  This has been the first two back-to-back, full, training weeks I've managed to get through.  I have a good training schedule going now, and I intend to stick with it.  It feels almost invigorating to have a new race in mind, and a training plan to go with it.

I know the Bangalore Ultra is still a long ways away, but I'd really like to focus on building an endurance foundation this time around.  My goal for this training session, roughly the next 6 months, is to get to the point where 40-50 mile weeks are relatively easy.  I only had 2 weeks that were over 40 miles in my training plan for the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon.  I've got 6 weeks of 40 or more miles in my training plan for the BU, and, depending on how quickly I progress in getting my mileage up, I may add 3-4 more weeks of 40+ miles.  I'm starting from a much different point fitness-wise for this race, not to mention I'm about 30 pounds lighter, so I'm optimistic that increasing my mileage will be a bit easier.

I ran with Hyderabad Runners last weekend, and I was surprised to see so many people.  There were at least 30 runners, and the group was very inviting.  I was excited to see some extremely talented runners as well.  I think this group will be a great help in getting my long runs in, and they will also be a great support system for training for my first ultra marathon, since many of them have run ultras or ironmans before.

Training Summary for Last Week:

Monday:       Off
Tuesday:       6.38 km; 36:33; avg. pace 5:44/km
Wednesday:  6.16 km; 36:16; avg. pace 5:53/km
Thursday:      Rowing: 3 km; 15:06; avg. pace 5:02/km
Friday:          Off
Saturday:      7.47 km; 46:31; avg. pace 6:14/km
Sunday:        10.19 km; 1:05:33; avg. pace 6:26/km

Total Km:         30.2 km
Total Time:       3:04:53
Average Pace:  6:07/km

Happy Running!

The India Roller-Coaster

I feel like I'm at a point where I'm trying to break through the wall between recreational fun-runner and serious runner.  I don't mean that I'm trying to become a competitive runner, as in winning races.  I'm not so disillusioned to think that's even remotely possible at the moment.  I just mean that I want to build an endurance foundation that allows me to run multiple races per year.  I want to get to a point where my training becomes more about bettering my pace, rather than just focusing on being able to make it to the finish line come race day.  I hope that training for my first ultra in November will provide that.

I'm definitely beginning to find my running groove in India.  It sucks running on the road, but I'm getting better at it.  I think it's only a matter of time before I get hit by a car, or bus, or auto-rickshaw, or motorcycle, or camel pulling a cart, or anything else you could possible imagine moving along the road here.  Stray dogs are a bit of a problem too.  In general they tend to run away from me when they see me coming, but every once in awhile they get that look in their eyes like they're thinking, "I could take this guy.  That'd be more meat than I've had all year!"  So far so good, but I'm just waiting for my first encounter with a rabid dog.

I found a running group in Hyderabad, called Hyderabad Runners, who do several weekly runs, including a long run.  I'm going to my first run with them this weekend.  I'm hoping that I'll meet some new running partners, and that they'll show me some nice trail running locations.

At the moment, the only thing that seems to be holding me back from building my endurance is my constant bouts with 'Delhi Belly.'  For the last 5 or 6 weeks, as soon as I start to feel like I'm making some progress I get hit with a severe case of food poisoning and the only place I'm running is to the bathroom.  I'm hoping that this is just my system adjusting to a new, slightly less clean than I'm used to, environment.  I've been recovering very quickly, so I guess that's a plus, but I'd really like to avoid these stomach issues in the future. All in all, I think I'm moving forward, and I'm excited to start training with a purpose.

Happy Running!

Garmin FR60 Running Watch w/ Heart Rate Monitor

That's 2 Indian Ruppees for scale, because I couldn't find a quarter.  They're roughly the same size.

This is a review that I should have probably written over a year ago.  I've logged a ton of miles with this watch, and I love it!  Before I get anyone's hopes up of purchasing the Garmin FR60 I need to warn you that it's been discontinued and replaced by the nearly identical Garmin FR70.  As far as I know, the only real difference is that they replaced the band because there were complaints about the FR60 band breaking.  Fortunately, I have yet to encounter this problem after close to 1,000 miles with the watch.

After a lot of thinking, I opted to not purchase one of the popular Garmin GPS watches (Garmin Forerunner 310XT, Garmin Forerunner 910XT, Garmin Forerunner 610, Garmin Forerunner 110-U) about which many runners rave.  Instead, I went with the Garmin FR60  which wirelessly links to a foot pod accelerometer, heart rate monitor, and/or speed/cadence sensor (for cyclists and triathletes) to give you real-time data on your wrist.  The watch also connects wirelessly to the USB ANT+ to seamlessly upload data to your personalized profile on the Garmin website, Garmin Connect.

Close up view of the watch and foot pod.

The major difference between the GPS watches and the FR60 or FR70 is, well...GPS.  The other watches connect to satellites to track your position, then use that data to give you pertinent information like pace, distance traveled, speed, and in some models elevation.  The FR60 and FR70 models use information gathered from the foot pod, which weighs about 1 oz and laces into one of your shoes.  Don't confuse the foot pod accelerometer with your standard pedometer.  A pedometer only counts your steps.  The accelerometer actually measures the distance, direction, and time your foot is in motion with each step.  If calibrated correctly, this will tend to be more accurate than the GPS watches.

Ultimately, the major decision factor for me was that I don't ever want to deal with waiting for my watch to connect to satellites.  Although the general feedback for the Garmin GPS watches is very positive, I've also heard many frustrating stories about losing GPS signal during a run in the woods/mountains/remote areas, or spending anywhere from 5 mins to 30 mins waiting to start a run because your watch won't track the satellites.  Given the fact that I knew I was moving to India soon after purchasing a watch, I didn't want to arrive at our new house only to find out my watch couldn't find any satellites.  A few minor decision factors were:
     1) The Garmin FR60 and FR70 use a standard watch battery so there is no charging.  (GPS watches are charged via USB cable and the charges last anywhere from 4hrs-8hrs)
     2) The FR60 and FR70 models are quite a bit cheaper than the GPS models.  (I purchased the watch, foot pod, heart rate monitor, and ANT+ stick for around $150 at my local running store)

My watch and foot pod on my current running shoes

Here is a list of some of the capabilities of the Garmin FR60 and Garmin FR70 watches:

• Tracks time, pace, heart rate, distance, mile splits (programmable to different distance splits), and calories burned
• You can program a virtual partner
• You can program interval workouts
• Stores up to 16 previous workouts (I believe, maybe a few more or less) in the watch, and you can store an endless number of workouts on Garmin Connect
• Tracks time stopped during a run, to give you total pace, distance, time, or give you moving pace, distance, time
• Easily switch between miles and kilometers

Here are some of the things that people may be upset if they bought this watch only to find out it can't do what they want:

• You can't display 'current pace' or 'instantaneous pace', but you can view your overall pace and/or your split pace (programmable from 1/4 mile to a mile, or in km splits)
• You can't upload maps or routes to the watch
• You can't compete with or track other runners who have Garmins

Overall, I am very happy with the Garmin FR60, and if I need to purchase another running watch in the future it will likely be the FR70, or whatever the current GPS-less model that has replaced the FR70.  I love not having to worry about my watch tracking satellites, not having to worry about charging my watch, and this watch tells me everything I care to know about running.  Ultimately, I enjoy the simplicity, and I would definitely recommend this watch to runners of all skill levels.

Happy Running!