Day: August 18, 2024

I didn’t beat my old score by much, an extra 7 calories, and an additional two hundred steps or so. Real close to hitting 5,000 strides in 33 minutes. I think I can make that happen, but I really have to focus on my breathing, and my pace. I’m very happy with the incremental upwards movement of my score.

To get anything  drastically more I will have to really work harder than I’ve ever done whilst running. Maybe shoes so I don’t slip on the pedal platforms once I get all sweaty. Choosing my music and sticking to the playlist songs so as to not divert my attention away from running, and keeping my pace set, instead of fumbling with my phone’s iTunes app.

Perhaps not eat right before a run. Use the bathroom atleast twice before settling into a desire to run. I don’t know. I’m not up on the mechanics of what produces better results for running on an elliptical. Outdoors you have wind, sun, weather considerations, bugs, and other people. Inside I’m by myself and don’t have to worry about any of that. I don’t really know, besides trying harder, what I could do to get better, beyond sticking with it, and watching the step counter and clock to keep near where I want to be at any point in time. I’ll just do that. Seems to work so far, four or five runs in.

Breathing was a little less than I wanted this go around, but I did just eat breakfast before I ran, so maybe that’s it? I took a run yesterday, so my legs today weren’t as rested. I don’t know if that played a part in not getting to 5,000 steps or not. Hard to quantify. I think taking my eyes off the running to figet with my phone cost me those 40 or so steps needed to get to 5,000. Better luck next time!

Not to mention whomever was turning on lights and wandering around at 4:00am this morning set the dog off to barking for a full minute, which I didn’t care for. Not that I admonished the puppy, afterwards I just fell right back to sleep – exhausted. I imagine the puppy will sleep a fair bit today after stressing through last nights storm. The rain doesn’t seem to bother him, noise wise (he isn’t a fan of getting wet) but the thunder really makes him sweat.

I sleep like the dead so storms don’t typically wake me up, but a dog pacing around on my bed does, same with a full belly bark inside my room. So I may be a tad grumpy due to such interrupted sleep. I’m not ashamed to admit that a terrible nights sleep will adversely affect my mood. I try not to let it but my patience will hover near zero at a minimum today. Fun times.

In other news my run didn’t seem to upset my hips, knees or calves. That’s a good thing! My breathing is getting better when I run now too. Usually that is the big barrier to success for me, breathing. That and my ankles wanting to snap off my legs leaving me just about unable to walk afterward, for several days. The elliptical seems to not aggravate that. I guess it’s from the strange truncated gait it utilizes for the modified run path. I’m all for it. My guess is if I try to run for real my ankles and legs will immediately not enjoy it, and my breathing & pace will go right out the window!

If I can get a run in over the next few days I’ll be happy. I thought I might try for every day, then every other, and now I’m just looking to go again regardless of frequency. Better head phones should be used to eliminate technical obstacles, and the need to constantly adjust the listening experience. My playlist is over 4 hrs long, so I have no shortage of good tunes to run to. Keeping the kids occupied so that I can run is another challenge in and of itself. Goodness me.

Oh well, it’s Lazy Sunday-Funday so let us hope the rains pass quickly, the storms are brief and uneventful, and that we don’t lose power or the cable/satellite internet either.