Running continues.
Completed week one of the One Hour Runner and am into week 2. Last Wednesday I ran the same route as Monday, around Quinobequin Road and back via Route 9. A nice run. Friday was rainy so I stuck to the treadmill. That still sucks. I got the foot pod accessory for the Garmin 305, so I could continue to track speed and distance with the device, and compare it to the treadmill’s reported speed and distance. The thing is, the foot bod needs to be calibrated to be accurate, and from what I now understand, treadmills are generally pretty inaccurate. So I have no idea how far or fast I really ran, but I did my 30 minutes and pushed the heart rate into zone 5 even though I was trying to stay in zone 4.
Sunday, my daughter Kris and I went for a walk along the Schofield 5K Road Race route, which I intend to run next summer. I learned that there are some serious hills in that race. Nice.
Monday I took a new route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19481210. Very nice. You see where I cross the river there? That’s Echo Bridge:
(photo courtesy http://www.hemlockgorge.org)
You can read more about that here. It was designed to carry water more than as a real foot bridge, so when you cross over it, you end up on a wooded path for almost a quarter mile. Very nice. Running across the bridge, you get a view of the old silk mill and waterfall, as seen here:
(photo courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenmama/2381635736/)
Really beautiful place to be all alone as the sun is rising and you are doing something nice and healthy. 
I’ll definitely do the same route tomorrow. As for my Friday route… hehe, this gets fun. I’m heading off to Tokyo on Thursday morning to speak at a Flash conference. I’m pretty psyched about that, as we were supposed to go to Japan again this summer, but had to cancel due to Swine Flu Media Hype. They were getting pretty paranoid there, and being outsiders in a small village, potentially being labeled “bringers of disease” was not something we wanted to subject my wife’s family to. But now I get a second chance to go. Again, there’s media hype about the flu, but I’ll be in the big city this time, and not subjecting anyone to ostracism by my very presence.
But, as for running… I’m hoping to get two runs in while I’m there. My planned route is around the Imperial Palace! It’s about a mile from my hotel, and about 3 miles around. So I’ll walk there, do the run, and walk back. From my past experience, my jet lag will have me wide awake at 3-4 a.m. anyway, so I’ll head out just before sunrise. Should be lovely!
Update: OK, mapped this out in more detail:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3337772
Looks like it’s about a mile and a half there, and a bit more than 3 miles around. But screw it. What else do I have to do at 4 a.m.?
[...] also plan to get a couple of runs in. So if anyone wants to do a sunrise 5k around the Imperial Palace one day, let me know! This [...]
Hey, Keith, welcome to running! Keep at it. About 4 years ago I decided to get off my keister and run a little. Now I run half-marathons regularly, and am working on my first marathon. Always good to have us computer nerds out in the active world.
I wish I were able to go to FITC so I could have run with you. Would have been a route for the books, for sure.
I know you have a Garmin, but I’ve gotta say the best $30 I ever spent on running was the Nike+ running kit for my iPod. Not GPS, not entirely accurate, but it’s one of the few things that helped motivate me through slumps. Watching the numbers climb….it’s fun! And one of the things that keeps me going out for runs in our sub-freezing weather right now (planning a 12 K today and a race tomorrow) is the fact that I’m closing in on 2000 miles on the thing (50 to go!)
And the best $15 you can spend on running (at least at Amazon currently) is the book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. You’ll be convinced that humans are, as the title says, born to run. It’s an amazing read.
Awesome Dru. I need to get this site up to date, but the running is going great. Started some serious heart rate training and it’s amazing what a difference it makes. Did 17 miles total this week and it was a breeze. I now have enough confidence that I’ve signed up for two 5k’s and have entered my name into the lottery for the NYC Marathon. A few people from the Flash community are joining in. Should be fun if a bunch of us make it.
I’ll check out the book. I actually just noticed it this morning on a list of best running books.