Days 55-56

Wow, I can't believe I'm 56 days into the training season. I rested yesterday and did double duty today. This morning was a 4 miler with Uli the pup 4.14 miles in 58:35 at 14:08. And lucky for me, I got an email from the bosses saying that today was an early close day so I decided to get a mountain bike ride in. I did the ride to Metallica's Gate which is an 11.86 miler (hills!) and I did it in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

I am also completely obsessed with GPS watches these days. I have an older Garmin which used to work very well but it's probably 5 years old now and it's tired. It can carry a full charge and then shut down while I'm running. I know that the Garmin technology is very good but I really like the look of the brand new (sold out) Nike GPS watch. Garmin is coming out with a brand new version in 2 weeks and I'll probably get it because I'm seeing reports that say that the Nike GPS technology isn't great. There are many great apps out there that track distance, pace, and your basic stats. My favorite is the Nike plus App. You can listen to your music, the distances are measured accurately (they match the mile markers from when my Garmin watch worked better) and there are audio messages from Tracy Morgan and Lance Armstrong congratulating you as you progress with your training. But I need a watch that will tell me the pace that I am running and I need that to be accurate. I haven't found an App that does that. If one exists that you know of (and allows you to set a pace goal and you get audio notices if you are off pace), will you let me know?

I also found a GREAT new product. Camelbak has a hydration "shirt" called a RaceBak that has the water pack sewn into the shirt so you don't get chaffing from a backpack. I hate carrying water bottles when I run, backpacks give me brush burns and waist belts give me brush burns and they flop all around. And truthfully, I don't want to try one of those belts with multiple bottles all around it. I'm ok for now but when I start doing 12+ miles, I really should bring water with me. So I'll wear my Camelbak Racebak! I guess I shouldn't be too excited yet because I have not received it but it is on order. I'll let you know what it's like once it arrives.

Better get to bed, 7 miles to run tomorrow!