WTF Nike?

After years of scoffing at the Nike+ system, I finally caved.  I had given up running with my Garmin,  for many reasons.  Its spotty coverage, long delays to acquire satellites and the overall paranoia it gave me - that I wasn't running fast enough, far enough and my heart rate was too high.  I figured the less accurate and easier to use Nike+ would be a fun way to get me back on track without getting too competitive with myself.

It is definitely not accurate without calibration.  I took it on a training run last Saturday with the group I coach, that day the route was 7.5 mi...without cutting a single corner (and we did cut a few).  At the end, it told me my mileage total was 7.71 mi.  Not bad, a nice estimate rounded up and that makes everyone feel good right?

Today I took it out for a run, that was just me at my own pace...no stopping for people to tie their shoelaces or downtown traffic to deal with.  I know the route is 4.5 - 6 mi. depending on which side roads I choose.  Almost at the halfway point, I stopped to stretch out my left calf which has been super tight the past few weeks, so I pause the workout on my ipod.  I restart the workout and continue on my way, taking my normal 5 mi route, and hoping that I can calibrate the sensor with this run.

Once the run was finished, I pause the workout and start to go about recalling my workout.  At this point I realized I had never resumed my workout as my daily total is only 2.54 mi.  Stupid Nike+, and stupid me for not checking to see if I was doing it right!  Now I don't even want to upload it to Nikeplus.com because I know I ran more than 2.5 miles today, dammit!

So, yeah, this thing is not really helping me with my competitiveness or any of the other things I got this to help out with.  If anything it has frustrated me and made me regret selling out to Nike.  Of course I was already sold out to Nike, you should see how many colors I have of their Tempo Shorts!  So much for my nice stress free run, maybe hill work on Thursday will help me out with that.

Running = Crazy?

Sometimes I wonder if all the running I do is killing off brain cells.  It seems the more I do, especially when I am at the peak of coaching season, the more hare-brained ideas I get.  I am always up to try the latest thing that will make me feel better, run faster or improve my endurance. 

For example:  Last week I decided to try the Blood Type Diet.  A friend of mine is on a variation of this and loves it.  She says that she feels great and she looks amazing, too!  Who doesn't want to feel great?  I don't need to lose any weight but, thought that maybe this could help my performance and recovery.

I have what I consider a normal list of runner complaints: minor  knee aches, slow recovery and occasional lack of energy during my runs.  I figured it couldn't hurt to give the diet a try and see if there is any actual truth to it.  I got the book and of course a lot of the main foods I eat are on the list of foods to avoid.  Black beans, tomatoes, peanuts and whole wheat...just to name a few.

My first grocery trip was a nightmare, try finding foods with no wheat, soy or corn.  But, I did persevere and my cart was loaded with almond butter and about a hundred different organic oat and rice products.  Also a ton of fresh fruits, veggies and lamb...which apparently I should be eating a lot of.  Meal prep has been an absolute terror because I am not used to preparing a lot of these foods or I used to serve them with my "avoid" foods.

Now this is not supposed to be a super strict diet, apparently aiming for 70% compliance is a good start, but math makes my head hurt.  I don't want to figure out what percentage that tomato counts as or how much peanut butter is 30% of my food intake.  So far, obviously, it kind of sucks and I can see how people lose weight...simply because it is so much effort to figure out what to eat!  As of yet, no miraculous change in how I feel, other than a bit dizzy.  I told myself I would give it at least 2 weeks to see if I get any results.  One week down.

Shift.

I am moving all of my knitting/crafting related posts over to my new craft blog, Lachesis and Co.  Hopefully it will make things easier to navigate, dependent upon which you would rather read about knitting or running.  The pattern for Belmondo, my new shawl design will be posted to the new blog...hopefully by the end of the week!

Only Two Years Off?

Well, that was awesome completely forgetting to post for almost two whole years! There was a lot of change and upheaval going on in my daily life, which happily is all settled now. I have adjusted to the new paths that were set before me and am finally feeling introspective again. Also, I became and still am hugely obsessed with Ravelry which took up most of my free time!

Ravelry is like crack for knitters, crocheters and fiber artists! It has also renewed and expanded my love for knitting. Not to mention all the wonderful folks that have encouraged me and pushed me to try things that I never would have. I think without Ravelry, I'd still be knitting simple scarves and very large, plain afghans. That is why I have decided to resurrect this poor blog, as I find myself on a new journey.

Growing up I was always doing something creative, but my ultimate goal was to be a fashion designer. Once the time came to actually make a real decision about my future, I chose the safe route and went to college for a "real" profession. Not like that lasted, as I had always felt too constrained while at school. The next best thing for me being a makeup artist and colorist, it was a more stable job, but still had that creative flair. That didn't last long either, as I began to travel with my late husband whom was in the military, so I mostly took whatever job was available in whatever town we ended up in.

For the past three years I have been completely immersed in the running world, from coaching marathoners to working as a buyer for a running store. That is where the excitement and the possibility was sparked for me again. Looking at the futures lines, apparel that I had to decide on now, but wouldn't actually be in store for 6 - 8 months, I wanted to try designing again.

During my first design efforts, I always had to depend on someone else to bring my ideas to life for me. Mostly it was my mother that ended up at the sewing machine, while I told her that it wasn't quite right and she explained to me that it couldn't work the way I wanted to do it. Ah, but now I have the ability to create my own garments and even if they don't work out, I'll be the one that makes that call after much trying.

For the past 6 months I have been sketching up all the little ideas that pop into my head, waiting for the time when I would be a confident enough knitter to start knitting them. Last week, I was lying in bed and could not sleep. I had an idea that would not go away, so I got out of bed and jotted it down. Upon waking in the morning, I got to work while I waited for the kettle to boil for my coffee. After two days of frenzied knitting, there it was, finally my little idea came to fruition in a finished object.

It is not a magnificent jacket or intricate sweater, just a bulky shawl with fringe, but it is mine! Something that I created from an idea in my head. Of course, that is not to say that it is wholly original or not inspired by other designs, just that for me this shawl means everything. It is the culmination of more than a decade of secret dreams and with one little spark that wouldn't fade, I realized that I could do it and that I didn't have to worry if I couldn't do it until I tried.

My tune may change once I try to tackle that notebook full of scribbles, but I do feel like I could conquer the world right now. Maybe I'll be able to conquer this blog thing too, and post a little more often! As soon as test knitting is done, I'll post my new pattern ♥