I cannot believe the first month of 2010 is already over! January went by so quickly. In an attempt to get more organized, (and since I don't have a fancy Garmin!) I created an excel spreadsheet to keep track of my runs and other forms of exercise. I am pleased I was able to keep up with it because it will be a good thing to look back on for future training. The spreadsheet started out fairly basic and I continued to add things as the month went on. It needs some tweaking, but so far I am happy with it. I kept track of distance run, time, pace, weather, any workouts I completed at the gym, and had a Notes section.
During the month of January I ran 85.75 miles. My longest run was 6 miles, and I ran 23 out of 31 days. I went tot he gym 14 out of 31 days and mostly took the group fitness classes. The classes I took at the gym included: FIT, Pilates, Yoga (various types), and Kickboxing. I usually make it to the gym 3-4 days a week.
January was a bit unusual because I was in Mexico for 5 days, caught 2 colds, and, oh yeah, it was (is) FREAKING FREEZING. In New Jersey, anyway. Actually, I have to admit, the cold weather doesn't usually keep me away from running, but it definitely shortens the run, which is why I ran so many 5Ks this month. Overall, I am pleased with this month's performance. I hope to give each run more purpose in February, and not exhaust my legs with wasted miles a la Run Less, Run Faster. Also in the spirit of Run Less, Run Faster, I bought a speedo bathing suit! A swimmer, I am not, however, I figured if I look the part, maybe I can manage to crank out a few laps in the pool. Conversely, if I look the part, then people will actually think I can swim, so when I get into the water and make a fool of myself I will be even more embarrassed. I'm going to try to focus on the former :)
Being that this IS a RUNNING blog, I plan to start posting more specific weekly updates about my fitness routine. I haven't been posting much about running lately because I haven't been training for anything specific, mostly just enjoying being able to head out and do whatever I want during a run (something I wasn't able to do while training for Philly.) With the spring racing season quickly approaching, its time to get my butt in gear and get serious. Last week my Dad and I hit the track for the first time in months for a couple of 400s. My first race of the season will be the Morristown St. Patty's Day 5K on March 13 and yes, I need to update my "Upcoming Races" section of this blog, so look for that soon!
How do you keep track of your runs/workouts? Do you bother to keep track or just do it for fun?
1 comment:
I love tracking my runs... one of the best investments I ever made for my running was buying a polar s625x heart rate monitor, with foot pod. It helps track distance, heart rate, altitude, temperature. unlike the garmin it will also track mileage done inside the gym on the treadmill or elliptical. I can also track distance pedaled in spin class, and I can wear the watch and heart rate monitor while swimming to track heart rate and calories burned while doing that. It was spendy, and they actually call it a "running computer" which is sort of intimidating, but seriously... it was worth every penny! I'm a smarter runner, and gym athlete for it.
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