Garmin good

In a fit of wanting to get back into running I made a few purchases. While actual running is free there are a few necessary pieces of equipment.

So I went to the running room and laid out $180 for new shoes (ridiculous cost but I can't put a price on my health/knee and joints) and got some good socks. Then I decided I need a new gadget to make the training more fun and help me figure out if I am getting enough kms in to do a 1/2 marathon in the fall. I only want to run 3 times a week max so those runs really need to count. I've been coveting the Garmin Forerunner 305 as my new gadget. I checked it out at the running room, said I would think about it, and then went over to Costco and bought it for $90 less than what they were selling it for there.

It is amazing. Wore it for a walk first and it was super cool to come home and download the walk and see an actual map of Vancouver where we had been.

Then I put together some of the workouts I would normally do on the Garmin Training Centre software and loaded them up. Since I am all about the run/walk training method I am pumped that this puppy does it all. Heart rate, speed, time...you name it I can enter it in as the method to calculate intervals. You can even denote intervals, like a one minute rest, as actual rest so it doesn't calculate into your average speed for the workout. There are 5 heart rate zones and 10 speed zones which you can adjust for yourself. For instance, the default fast jog is my 1/2 marathon pace and speed zone 10 default is faster than I could ever run. So I adjusted for my less than speedy running capabilities.

Amazing. And worth every dollar. Love that you can see where/when you get tired and how your heart rate is up and your speed is down.

Now if they could just combine this with an ipod I would be down to just the one gadget.

PS Totally realised on my 9.5k run yesterday that the ipod is way off on mileage. Like way, way off. It was a punishingly long 9.5k followed be the cold bath/hot shower at home to recover.

Shame post

I've been shamed into posting. While I wait for my milk and cheerios to digest before I run I thought I would catch up. Well, not a full catch up but at least a partial. No going back to post photos from the trip (y'all can see them on Facebook anyway) but maybe filling you in on my last 3 weeks.

I jumped right back into work when I arrived. Not really both feet at first. I would say week 1 I had one foot in and the other was just thinking about my next vacation/trip. The bonus from this last trip is that it had clarified for me what kind of travelling I want to do next year.

Realising that I am getting older (yes, sadly true), and not everyone enjoys some of the places I want to visit, I'm going with a theme for my 2010 travel. Are you ready for it? 'Developing worlds and trekking/hiking.' I want to do everything I can't do with kids or a bad hip. And I want to check off some of this really big, once in a lifetime adventures.

My draft itinerary goes a little something like this:

Mid-April 2010 - Finish work. Have a few drinks. Pack up my belongings and put them in storage.

~ April 20, 2010 - Hawaii for a week or 10 days of relaxation and working out. (you will see why the working out is important. Hawaii is great for training. A lot of people go vacation there to train for ironman)

~ May 1, 2010 - Fly to Delhi and then on to Kathmandu. Go on 15 day trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp.

~ Mid-May 2010 - Fly back to Delhi. Travel around seeing Agra etc. If time, possible trekking in Rajasthan.

June, 2010 - Fly to Tanzania. Climb Kilimanjaro. This will be followed by an overland tour through Africa.

First week of July 2010 - Stop and rest up in either in coastal South Africa. I am thinking of Zanzibar.

Third week of July 2010 - Head back to Vancouver to enjoy the rest of the summer.

September 2010 - Start work.

In theory, doesn't it all sound great? I think I end up visiting 8 countries in 10 weeks and 7 of them will be new ones for me.

Off for my run.