Goals for May

Back in the days of sparkpeople it was easy to stay motivated within the community that constantly presented challenges and feedback from fellow members to keep its users motivated. Since moving away from spark people it's not always easy to keep motivated with no feedback from a community, fewer encouraging words from other athletes. Thanks recently to an update on the great site buckeyeoutdoors.com I've been able to get back into challenge mode amongst a group.

The challenge I am taking part in is to run 750 miles in 2009. It seems a little daunting, but reachable, so to keep up the challenge I'm setting a goal for May to run 75 miles and additionally bike 100 miles in preparation for the Little Miami Triathlon at the beginning of June.

Let's get moving.

Running = 75 miles
Cycling = 100 miles

Cinci Rat Race 10K '09

For a massage and a pop. That was to go to the winner of the Rat Race last Saturday. I bet that I could beat Gina's 5k time while I was running the 10k. Neither of us had a very good race, but I still owe her a massage and a pop. Enjoy. :)

It's a flat, fast course. I PR'ed there for the 5K last year. All I had to do was maintain a 7 minute/mile for a few miles and then bring it on in for a new 10K PR. It all sounded so easy in my head. Despite the fact that I haven't had a good run since the Heart Mini a couple weeks ago I thought come race day I would be up for the race. I thought I would perform. I was overly confident and not prepared for the my second running of the Rat Race, and my first 10K since the Thanksgiving Day Race in 2007. The heat and the cheeseburger I had for lunch didn't help. Stupid! I paid for my lack of preparation and poor choice of a pre-race meal big time.

Lesson probably not learned. I've been down this path before. Except last time it involved some biscuits and gravy and a treadmill.

The Winner

The Puker

If you can dodge a wrench...

Please don't throw wrenches. I couldn't dodge the ball either. So you thought the dodgeball craze came and went with the movie of the same name 5 years ago? I can assure you it is alive and well thanks to the Cincinnati Recreation Commission.

Thursday night I got a taste of the dodgeball life when I was invited to play in the final regular season game for the...ummm..they never told me if they had a team name. Isn't that the point of joining these things? You must to have a witty name.

According to Missy Thursday morning via IM (because all important communication in the 21st century is by IM or text), "it is our last game of the season and... we are playing the first place team...hahaha. we are gonna get creamed. it will be so fun!"

So what. They're the first team in a recreatioal dodgeball league. Nobody takes these things seriously. We'll go out throw the ball around and have a good time. But she added..."for real, we are gonna get creamed...this team is a beast" Oh crap.

I could tell you how they had three dudes that I'm pretty sure were on performance enhancing drugs and went into a 'roid rage on the dodgeball floor. According to one of my teammates still dazed, "He was 3 feet away from me. He could have thrown it easy instead he beamed me in the head!"

I could tell you how by the end we were all hesitant to go back out on the floor. "It's cool, I was in last game. Go ahead."

I could tell you how we got creamed. Instead I'll link to these photos and with a little bit of historical revisionism make us look like the champions we are in our hearts. Eat your hearts out other dodge ball playing team losers.

It's so shiny

I'm a sucker for new gadgets. I don't run out and buy every gadget that comes along, but I would if I could. You'll be mine soon you smooth, sleek iPhone. Well, probably not, but I can dream.

When it comes to running my all time favorite gadgets are two great tastes that taste great together: the iPod Shuffle and my Garmin Forerunner 305. These two little gadgets have really changed how I view long runs. The Shuffle weighs practically nothing and clips to any piece of clothing, so my music is not at all a hindrance. The 305 gives me constant updates on my pace, heart rate and time while on the run. It's all the extraneous information you could ever want on a run and more when you download it on to your computer.

I love these toys. I would never give up these toys.. unless... Ooooohh, new shiny ones! Yay! All of a sudden Apple and Garmin have released new versions of my favorite things! Now, I know that Garmin released the 405 a while ago, but I've heard and read mixed reviews on it. It was never really a contender.

So now we have the new iPod Shuffle which apparently is smaller than a AA battery. I applaud Apple for making these amazing breakthroughs in ever smaller mp3 players and computers that have just as much, if not more, power and functionality as the dinosaurs from 3 months ago we all have now, but I think they've hit the wall on size. While I appreciate their ingenuity I don't need an mp3 player I might easily swallow. The size also means all the controls have been moved on to the headphone cord. I cannot run with Apple's ear buds. They constantly fall out of my oddly shaped ears. I buy cheap earhook ear buds in bulk, because they stay on and they aren't going to last long. I'm sticking with my 2nd generation beauty.

While Garmin may have missed the mark with the 405 I really like the looks of the new 310XT. It's so new it isn't even on their website. We'll see how it functions, but I already like that they have kept the screen size and the button placement while making the casing smaller so it doesn't look quite like you're waiting to be beamed up to the Enterprise. Now it just looks like a cool calculator watch from the 80's. I dig it. According to the specs it also features longer battery life and is waterproof for triathlons. I swore off triathlons 8 years ago after getting pummeled in the murky waters of East Fork Lake, but I might try another with this bad boy on my wrist just to see how it would work.