GPS watches

Earlier this year I looked into upgrading my running watch, this wouldn't exactly be difficult because the only watches I had was 2 that I got free with a 'Running World' subscription and one that I bought of Ebay with a heart monitor for £10.
The first 2 watches ( a male version and a female version - long story) were basic running watches that told me nothing more than how long I had been running for and included a stopwatch - very basic.
The second one was beyond useless - it wasn't a GPS (none of them were) and the heart rate monitor was terrible and never seemed to keep it's connection. The calorie counter had to be reset every 30 mins so that proved pretty pointless too, it's not easy to run and fiddle with a watch at the same time.

Originally I wanted a Garmin - the latest model - and would still love it but I just cannot warrant the cost. It's funny but if Mr SG wanted something like that I would insist he have it regardless of the cost - I just don't like spending over £300 on myself so I had pretty much settled on buying a second hand one off EBay and was watching a couple of 305's in the hope of bagging a good deal.
It was while I was waiting for the auctions to end that I did some research on the watches and subsequently discovered a whole mine of information that kind of got me concerned about what I was buying.
One issue I found with the Garmins is that the ones I would need (heart rate monitor etc) weren't waterproof (except the new expensive models) - some had basic waterproofing but I'd read reviews that claimed it wasn't sufficient. I'm not sure why the waterproofing was an issue for me at that point because I only run and I had no intentions of going near water, but it was the first chink in the Garmin armour for me.
The next issue I found affects all GPS watches as far as I can tell and not just the Garmin. The batteries to these watches are not your average tiny battery you pick up from a local supermarket, they're big beefy batteries that have to be soldered.
I did some Youtube research on replacing the batteries but it put me off attempting it myself and from what I reviewed online it can be real expensive to have them replaced by Garmin - which you should do if you want to keep a warranty or insurance valid.
With this in mind I had to make the choice between buying a brand new Garmin at a brand new price (second hand ones would have unknown battery life left)  or looking at other brands - I chose the latter.

The watch I eventually settled on is a Bryton Sport cardio 35

Not my image.

It had all the features I needed such as Pace, Time, GPS, Calories, Heart rate monitor (at no extra cost) and was waterproof to 50mtrs. It also had functions specific to Biking and Running and I actually preferred the look of it to the Garmin 305 - less bulk on the wrist.

Not my image.

Not my image.

I paid around £60 for the whole kit and caboodle.
It's very easy to use the watch once you're familiar with the buttons and has been very accurate on all my runs and bike rides.
The few downsides:
* It can be a long process to set it up before each run. I have to wait for it to pick up satellites which can take a fair few minutes here in the Highlands.
* You can only see the data for one function at a time while running. Basically you choose what that function is before you run and then if you need to see other data you have to scroll while running. I think the Garmin show all data on the face - simpler and preferable.
* If it loses satellite (which it has done on 3 occasions) it doesn't always pick it back up and as there's no warning to let you know there's no signal being received so you generally don't know about it unless you clock watch every few minutes. This could actually be more of a problem of area rather than the watch though.
* Bryton has its own dedicated website for downloading data but the site isn't as interactive as Garmin sites and is pretty basic.
* Bryton watches aren't supported by many other independent interactive sites or apps so you're quite limited in that respect.

I love my Bryton sport 35 - I really do BUT although I'm not a gadget gal generally, I am when it comes to getting the best out of something that I use regular and with that in mind I would still love to get my hands on the Garmin Forerunner 910xt.

Weigh day - eek!

I got up this morning and completely forgot I was supposed to weigh myself, once I realised my mistake I almost - almost - convinced myself that it would wait until tomorrow morning but for once that 'good' voice was the loudest and was telling me that I was just making excuses, I hadn't had a cup of tea or even cereal by this point so I couldn't even use that as an excuse.
So I put my on my big girls pants (had to do that a lot lately), headed back upstairs, stripped off and jumped on the scales. At first I couldn't look down at the number, I kinda knew I'd put weight on cos of all the bingeing I've done over the past month or so and when I was finally brave enough to look  I was kind of squinting out of one eye as if that would some how effect the numbers at my feet.
I've never actually posted my weight on my blog because I'm worried that people I know may read it and it's a scary thought that they'll know my actual weight in numbers but I know that by keeping it a secret I'm not really facing it 100%. So with that in mind I'm going to post my weekly weight along with any losses or gains and hope that my family will be respectful enough not to mention it.
So as of today 23/09/2013 I weigh 205lbs. Yes it makes me obese (though I don't feel it) and obviously that's a serious health issue but I really never thought of myself as in that category - I run regular, I'm active all day most days, I build things outside and I even completed 'Insanity' when I was 14lbs heavier than I am now. Yes my current weight makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable but 'obese'?
Anyway whatever the health recommendations are regarding weight and what is healthy the amazing thing with todays weigh in is that although I've binged for a month or so I weigh exactly the same as I did when I last weighed myself a month ago - no way did I think that was possible.

The first image is me at my heaviest when I did my first 'Dietbet' challenge, the second image is me at my current weight and 15lbs lighter (scuse the dodgy hair).

I decided today that I needed to join another 'Dietbet' challenge to help keep me focused and motivated so I joined 'The Jillian Michaels Dietbet' and paid my $30 (£19) stake. There are alot of players in this challenge (currently 5406) but the pot money reflects this (currently $162,180) and everyone who manages their 4% weightloss in 28 days will get a share of that.
I had a minor panic after joining when I realised I'd need to weigh myself again so that I could take the necessary pictures of my weight and my secret word - I was worried my first weigh in was going to be completely wrong and I'd have put 15lbs back on in the space of an hour. But nope, my weight was exactly the same - I was super chuffed.

We haven't been out for a run for 2 days now, things keep getting in the way but I've been active all day outside dismantling pallets so at least I burned a few calories that way.
Tomorrow we should be heading out for an easy run though I suspect Mr SG will turn it into a speed run as he has a tendency to do.
We're only going to get a maximum of 3 more runs in before Sundays 10k because I don't want to run for 2 days before the race, I find I run better after a couple of days off.

Weigh in? What weigh in!

I can't remember the last time I weighed myself - there, I admitted it!
It would have been some time at the end of my last 'Dietbet' challenge so I guess I could find out the date if I really wanted to. But I don't!
I know I've probably put back on some of the weight I previously lost and I'm dreading finding out how much but I know I have to face it so that I can get back on track.
Over the last 3 weeks or so I've eaten way too much chocolate and sweets, it's a cycle I've only just realised I get into - I lose weight and cut out the bad stuff and then something happens and before I know it a couple of weeks have passed and I have to face what I've done.
The strange thing is my meals stay healthy, I don't go back to the fatty, fried foods or chips etc that I used to eat a year or so ago, I eat healthy salmon, chicken,veggies etc, but I guess I just get the taste of chocolate and it's all down hill from there.
I'm annoyed with myself right now because although I only lost 21lbs I swore I would never put those pounds back on but chocolate brings on a zombie state whereby I don't even think about the damage I'm doing, it's almost like my brain has this switch that turns off that thought process while I'm eating it.

Tomorrow is the day I face up to the damage and weigh myself. I was going to have a week of no chocolate before I weighed myself but that's just me not facing up to the damage I've done so I'm just going to suck it up and weigh myself in the morning - I may even be brave enough to finally put my weight up on this blog, I've never done this because I'm worried someone I know may see it lol.

While I weigh myself I am going to try to keep this picture in mind

This is not my image but I love what it means.

Body knows best.

Tonight was our first run since last Sundays 10k and I have to admit I wasn't really looking forward to it, in fact I would have gotten out of it if I thought Wayne would let me but he's quite disciplined when he needs to be so we headed to the wind farm.
Of all the places I like to run I think the wind farm is my favourite, it's relatively flat and is a circuit rather than an out and back - which I hate.
The entire run went pretty well, we started out slow - slower than most people would - but this enables me to pick up the pace after about 5 mins and maintain it - if I go out to quick then I'll be walking within minutes unable to breathe.
The best thing about todays run, which ended up being about 6.5k is that my breathing was totally under control all the way. I usually have to consciously control my breathing but today I decided to just see what came naturally and not control it  - it worked, it seems that if I relax and don't try to dictate it then my body naturally knows what to do - who knew!
I also decided to work out why I was getting calf pain after about 2k of every run. I know from photos that I seem to run stiff so when the calf pain began just after 2k I tried to bend more at the knee rather than running like a pair of scissors (if scissors ran of course, but you know what I mean). That worked too, there was instant relief in my calves and on top of that I noticed my speed picked up too and it wasn't until the end that I realised I hadn't got numb feet once during that run - first time ever!
The downside to the run was that my GPS watch lost satellite at 3.2k and didn't manage to pick it back up - I was slightly annoyed at that because I think this would have been my fastest pace to date plus I didn't stop once - Grrrrrrr, stupid watch!

Our Baxters Loch Ness 10k packs arrived today - always exciting to get things in the mail

See that little orange ticket, that's for my free soup and roll at the end of the run and as sad as it sounds it's the main thing me and Leanne are looking forward to.

Turbine 10k

Yesterday was the day of the Baillie windfarm 10k and when we woke in the morning I think I was the only one out of the 3 of us that was excited, or at least looking forward to it.
The weather forecasters had issued weather warnings for the area due to severe gale force winds and rain coming round from the North West - the run was in the North West!
I had everything planned and packed extra clothes for us all in case we got drenched, energy drinks, recovery drinks and every other contraption I thought we may in some way need.
The race was due to start at 10.30am and we arrived about 9.15am so that we could get our numbers within plenty of time - 37 for me, 38 for Leanne and 64 for Wayne. On the morning my daughters fiancee John decided to join in despite having done no training other than regular football, apparantly my FB comment that he had chickened out from the run enticed him to do it lol.
I was feeling fine about this run right up until the start but then my legs went to jelly and I started dreading it, then when I realised the start was up an incline I could have walked away there and then - I struggle with inclines at the start because I have to get my breathing/asthma under control before I do inclines or hills.

(Look at my running style compared to all the others - is this why I find running hard? My shoulders are hunched and my legs are always stiff looking).
By the time we'd hit the top of the incline Wayne and I had deliberately dropped right back so that I could breathe properly but I still went out too fast and struggled to get my breathing under control after that.
I hated this run from the very first section but when I saw the first hill (yes, the first of many) I think I gave up there and then, the hill was ridiculously steep and pretty much everyone was walking it, Wayne doesn't do walking though and he pushed me to run it. I couldn't run it so I walked it and this didn't go down well with Wayne, in fact this is where it all started to go wrong - Wayne thought he was doing the right thing by moaning at me not to walking and having a go if I did but it had the opposite effect on me, I was getting seriously cheesed off with him.
Leanne and John had gone on ahead and we only caught glimpses of them as we went round, I hated that!
This particular run included some running through Heather and over ditches and again Wayne expected me to run it but yet again I couldn't, I had to walk the Heather. Wayne pretty much had a go the entire time and said I should have been able to run it then at the end he agreed with everyone else and said that there was no way anyone could run those hills or the Heather!!! When I glared at him and asked why he yelled at me do run it then, he said he thought that if he hadn't then I would have given up and walked the entire way! I was fuming!!
With the finish line in sight I was encouraged to up the pace but I really had nothing left by this point, my legs were dead as a dodo and I couldn't find the reserves to get me up the incline finish. Both my daughters saw my struggles and joined me to get me past the finish line - Leanne pushed me lol.
I'm not sure what the official time will be but according to my GPS watch Wayne and I completed it in about 1hr 18mins, we'd hoped for a better time but the wind, rain and my attitude put paid to that. Leanne finished about 15 mins ahead of us and John about 20 mins ahead of us.

We passed Leanne and John during one point of the run and we both managed to state that we were never running again and weren't doing the Baxters run at the end of the month either - such was our lack of enjoyment of this race.

As usual we were pretty much over our grievances of this particular race 10 minutes after finishing, the atmosphere and support from the entire crowd was just brilliant and the medal, goody bag and Tshirt always goes a long way to soothing a bruised pride when I've had a naff run.
I don't think I would do the run again next year though, not unless they change the course so that we don't have to run over boggy Heather.

Speed work.

Last night Wayne and I headed out to the windfarm for our run, the sun was quite strong but thankfully there was a mild breeze that kept the midges at bay.
We decided to do a speed run, I'm not sure of the correct term for it but basically after a gentle warm up run we used the markers along the windfarm to pick up the pace a couple of times and then drop back to a casual run.
Neither of us being experts on this technique made it a bit of a hit and miss method though, I don't think Wayne gave me enough time to warm up at the easy run at the beginning - less than 1/2mile, and I hadn't really got my breathing where I needed it to be for any kind of speedwork and controlling my breathing is a must for me as I have asthma (though only induced by exercise, colds or hayfever).
The first time we hit a mark and he told me to pick up the pace a bit I managed that ok, then he told me to increase again at the next mark and to keep on his shoulder but you have to understand Wayne has such a long leg stride compared to my short stroppy stride that there was just no way I could get to his shoulder. At the next mark he then said we were to sprint to another marker. Well, as far as I was concerned I already was sprinting but I gave it a shot and had a go at lengthening my stride the way my daughter runs, this gave me a bit more bounce than I was used to and definitely helped me with the sprint. We continued doing this for about 3k and at one point Wayne asked if I wanted to stop for a minute (think my loud breathing worried him lol) but I'd stopped for a breather a bit back so felt I should continue.
At the 3k mark we turned round and headed back but I told Wayne I wasn't doing speedwork like that on the way back because there were some inclines and if I lose the control of my breathing on them then I'd panic and give up - instead we ran at a steady pace, not too slow but not a sprint either. We made no stops on the way back but the GPS shows some so I can only assume it was when we had to cross the cattle grids.

I've noticed this graph shows less spikes than usual so I assume this means we kept a pretty even pace?
Judging by the time we're running at the moment and the fact that I felt as though I could continue another 4k at the end of this 6k I'm pretty sure we're going to be on time for the 1hr 15 min that we want to do the 10k run in on Sunday. The aim is then for me to improve the run time 2 weeks later at our next 10k.

Last night was my first time out in the new Mizuno trainers too. I have to say I didn't feel a tremendous new ability to run faster which I had secretly hoped I would BUT I didn't feel any pain either, I got no blisters AND one foot only began to go numb at about the 5k mark - usually they both go numb at about 2k and it makes running difficult.
I still think I would have been better purchasing a 6 or a 6.5 though rather than a 7 (I will remember Mizuno run true to size next time I purchase) but I don't feel the larger size hindered my running in any way and in fact the extra width was most welcome.

Mizuno Wave Inspire 7

After Thursdays disastrous run I was determined to get back in the groove on Fridays run. Leanne and I decided to head out without Wayne just to prove that we were capable of a decent run by ourselves and that it wasn't just Waynes presence that was making us run without stopping.
Seems it actually IS Waynes presence that keeps us going.
We started off well (as usual), we ran the forest track anti clockwise to reduce the hills and we were going great guns for the first 3 k, then I made an excuse to stop. Yes, I admit it, it was an excuse. I did have tight running shoes and I did need to loosen them a tad but to be honest I could have continued with them as they were. Once I had stopped I struggled to get going again and stopped within another 10 minutes - we pretty much walked from that point on and felt like crap because we knew we were going to have to explain ourselves to Wayne who's put all this effort in to help us get to this point.
I considered not telling him but I've never ever lied to Wayne and I don't intend to start over something so trivial, instead I threw myself on his mercy and claimed I just cannot run without him lol. Hey, don't judge - it worked!
Following our pathetic run Wayne suggested that maybe I should enter him for both the 10k's we're doing this month just to ensure we get round, he's now officially running the Baillie windfarm 10k on the 15th and the Baxters Loch Ness 10k on 29th.

I think we should maybe take a break from running the forest tracks because I think we're over doing the hills, the problem is it's such a nice place to run

That ground is pretty tough to run on as it's so slippy, hence why Leanne is walking lol.

The start! Fabulous scenery.

This is where the hills get hard.

Remember those new trainers I said I bought - the Mizuno Wave Inspire 7? They arrived!
They looked fabulous in the box and I really didn't want to disturb them from their packaging. This is the first pair of Mizuno trainers I've ever owned so I'm looking forward to trying them tonight but first impressions walking around in them is that they're very comfortable. They feel bigger than the Asics and the Saucony and I think I would have got away with a 6 or a 6.5 and not actually needed to size up as you do with the other two.
Due to them being stability shoes they feel slightly off centre when I walk in them so I'm intrigued to see how comfortable they're going to be to run in.
The only thing I don't particularly like is the Mizuno badge - for some reason it reminds me of Flash Gordons badge which then gives them a tacky kind of feel - just me I know.

Flash a .. ahhh! Still just me?

Weird heels, see how long before they start coming apart.

The mesh holes are bigger than Asics and Saucony but hopefully they won't be weaker.