Quit Hasslin' Me, Pip

See that little girl down there, the one who's complaining about her sedentary lifestyle and trying to goad me into a run?

She's a bit of a pip.

She's also a liar! I have been running. I didn't while we were in California, but in the month since we returned, I've gotten back on the 'mill. It never fails to amaze me how much easier it is to build up my (modest, but important to me) mileage once I've established a foundation. Before we left, I was running 3+ miles 2-3 times a week. After almost four weeks off (2 weeks on vacation, followed by two bouts of sickness in quick succession), I could struggle through two and a half miles. But within 2 weeks, I'm now back up to 3+. It feels amazing!

Anyway, my little Nike+ girl (did I ever give her a name? How about Pip? Ok. Pip.) has been getting some bad information. Somewhere in California, I lost the receiver that my Nike+ transmitter talks to. It plugs into the bottom of my Nano, so it seems that'd be a logical place to keep it, but it drains the battery so I packed them separately (and used neither). Now I can't find it. I'm lucky, because my transmitter will also talk to my iPhone, but I don't want to run with the phone, and I have a spotty record of remembering to start the program when I'm on the treadmill. So Pip's a liar, I have been running.

Incidentally, it doesn't seem I can buy a new receiver, only a receiver and a transmitter, or just a transmitter. But not a receiver alone. What?

A weird thought to wrap up this ramble: Some mornings I work out before work, and use the toiletries (shampoo/conditioner/body wash/lotion) provided by my swanky gym. Then all day long, I feel like someone else is standing near me, just out of eyesight, because I don't smell like myself. It's bizarre.

45.79 Miles!

Hi there! Check out my little runner girl, down there on the left - she's so pleased! Just synced some new runs. Post to come tomorrow night, a follow-up to the framing post - we now have 6 framed beauties in need of wallspace, and I had a top-secret project that turned out well, so details soon. Sleep well, my friends!

Fleet(ish) Feet

I know I have a ridiculous number of blogs listed on the left here, but if you scroll all the way to the bottom, you'll see a new addition. See her, down there, my little Nike running girl? I love her. Or, more accurately, I love my Nike+. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a little kit with a sensor that sits on my shoe and a receiver that plugs into the bottom of my Nano. It tracks the distance and speed of my runs, but even better, it's a little electronic trainer. My Nike+ trainer has a woman's voice (I really need a name for her, don't I? Hmmm.), and she is the best. She tells me how far I've gone, a half-km at a time, and anytime I ask her, she tells me how fast I'm running and my exact distance. After a run in the rain last week, a new lady congratulated me - I'd PR'ed on my mile time, dodging drops. Sweet! I'm not sure how accurate she is - I'll have to test it out at a 5K sometime, or on a track (unlikely) - but I can tell you she's a great motivator.

I've only recently taken up running again, after more than a year off. It's more enjoyable than it's ever been. When I'm running, whether on sidewalks downtown or trails in Rock Creek Park, there's rarely a run where I don't feel, for at least a kilometer, like a runner. I should explain, I run very slowly. Not quite as slowly as my little runner girl on this page would have you believe - that time includes some walking after I finish my run - but slowly. And every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a plate glass window, I'm shocked. I lumber. I plod. I'm hunched over and monster-y. But I feel like an athlete. I feel like I'm standing up straighter and my legs are moving faster than they actually are. But a kid on a swing feels like she's flying, and so do I. I guess that's what really matters.