Running with the Pack Podcast

Today, we ran 12.5-13 miles today on the inside track and then sat down for our podcast. We talk about Weight Watchers, what we eat before we run, power foods (including basmati rice and larabars), speed workouts, the Mountain Back Run (50-mile relay race), Running on the Sun, and some additional shout-outs to our listeners and commenters.

Leave comments at http://parkedthoughts.com or send to allan@parkedthoughts.com or jeff@jsswain.com.

Jeff and Allan talk about Kris’s success at the Sydney Half-Marathon, running indoors at Penn State’s Rec Hall, running while traveling, using a health screening to track your improvements in fitness, using the “SPI Belt” to carry running fuel, and the movie “Running on the Sun”.

Relevant web sites:

• Kris’s blog (www.web-goddess.org)
• Brandon’s Marathon (www.brandonsmarathon.com)
• The name of the running belt that I couldn’t think of is the “SPI Belt” (web site).
• Running on the Sun (movie)

Most of the time, I love when my Nike+ system tells me something new — like I’ve set a new PR for the mile or have run a new long distance. But today, Nike+ told me that its sensor battery was low and I’d have to replace it soon.

What? I thought that the mystical energy emanating from my feet would recharge the sensor with every step I took. Or more realistically, that there might be some kind of kinetic energy recharging system built into the sensor. No such luck. There appears to be a normal expendable battery in the sensor that needs to be replaced after a certain amount of use. How much use? According to Apple’s FAQ, about 1000 “active hours”. Based on what some other runners have written about the Nike+ battery, this appears to include times when the sensor is in motion, even if you aren’t actively sending data to the Nike+ receiver (attached to your Nano). In other words, the motion of carrying your bag to the gym and back or walking around the grocery store in your running shoes counts as active use time.

For me, the bottom line is that I really like the Nike+ system. I’ve used mine for over a year now. The replacement sensor is $19 from Apple’s web site. Honestly, it’s worth paying that cost once per year in exchange for getting reasonably accurate information about how your training is progressing. So with that said, I’m going to place my order for a new sensor, but do what I can to ensure that this one lasts as long as possible.

Jeff and I talk about the week after the Flying Pig Marathon: how we’ve been feeling and what we’ve been doing. We also discuss “diagnostic runs” and what we think about while we’re running. We’re all in this together.

Jeff and I discuss the Flying Pig Marathon, which we both completed today. We talk about our trip to Cincinnati, what we did in town yesterday, the race expo and Flying Pig swag, the start of the race, the people we met, crowd support, hydration, the problems that we both encountered, and other random thoughts. Leave a comment here at parkedthoughts.com or send Allan an e-mail at Allan@parkedthoughts.com