<p>Bunsen, can I borrow mr. B and his chain saw? The receding snowscape is revealing quite a scene 
kudos on Boston!</p>
<p>Deb922, how is your hubby doing? Sendin ya the light!</p>
<p>MomWC, Iāve heard napa needed the rain but can appreciate why you might feel a little robbed! My traveling gal pals and I are cooking up a plan for a napa trip this fallā¦Iāll have to pick your bran on favorite stops!</p>
<p>āChainsaw in the rainā? Why do I have an image of a deranged Fred Astaire? Sorry, couldnāt help myself 
.</p>
<p>Yesterday we had torrential rain in the a.m. which slackened off some in the afternoon, only to change to light snow for a while. What the? </p>
<p>But today is sunny and supposed to be back in the 50s. I have a band concert at a bucolic college campus, and DH, S , and I plan to get a nice walk in afterwards. Always fun to explore someplace new.</p>
<p>^^^agree on that. Someplace new and picturesque to explore is a winner !!!</p>
<p>Iām glad Napa got the rain. It was still beautiful and I can survive getting wet. Now Iām about to head out at 5300 feet in Prescott, which is another challenge! ( cue IDad and bent over panting like a dog).<br>
Iām excited for BBās Boston Marathon. It will be a special year. I used to do downhill intervals to prepare for Boston- which was a challenge in Dallas!</p>
<p>BB: 18 milesāyouāre ready for Boston. Peacefulmom is rightāthe weather is hard to predict.(I live in the Boston area too.) We can get rain or snow or it can be brutally warm. Hope you enjoy the race.</p>
<p>I did spinning yesterday. Planned to do yoga today but Iām dealing with skylights that are leaking and water coming in on the second floor. </p>
<p>Iām so sorry for the creepy emoticon. Never ever again!
Thank you all for the encouragement. I promised to D that Iād run Boston when she was still a senior in HS - if she got her application in for that college with the scream tunnel (she thought she was not good enough for it with her grades and ECs). Little did I know at that time that one needed to <em>qualify</em> for Boston to run it. Lol. Long story short, the little kiddo applied and actually graduated from said college almost 2 years ago. So sad that she canāt come to visit Boston with me, because she is using her vacation time to pick grad school. I also tried to encourage the big kiddo to run it, but she takes her MD-PhD studies too seriously.</p>
<p>Rest day for me. This is the last week of superrunning, with the last long run planned for Sunday, and then - taperrrrr!! </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah. If anyone needs any tips on bending over and panting like a dog, Iām your guy! Iām really good at itā¦ :)</p>
<p>Iāve got the little heater on warming up the basement. Time to go sling some weights around!</p>
<p>I ran 5 miles today ā since a year ago I couldnāt run for more than about 5 minutes straight, Iām still amazed I can do this. </p>
<p>I signed up for my first race! 5K next weekend. Itās piddly compared to the Boston Marathon, I know. Iām open to any and all advice ā Iāve never run in a race, never even watched one. </p>
<p>Fireandrain! So cool!! Piddle is only when you are on the couch- everything else is TREMENDOUS!!!</p>
<p>I started running for the first time in my life in Sept 2012 on my 53 birthday. 5k races remain my speed and I donāt want for much more! </p>
<p>My tips:
Donāt overdress. Take the race time weather and add 20 degrees -then dress how you would dress for THAT temperature (unless there is lots of wind)</p>
<p>Line up mid to back of the pack - faster people know to start in the front . </p>
<p>Allow yourself plenty of time to eat there, park, etc. </p>
<p>Make a playlist if you like to listen to music.</p>
<p>Do you know the route??? Donāt start thinking about the finish line. Break the route up into pieces mentally - REALLY helps!! </p>
<p>Expect to finish and donāt worry about anything else - itās your first race - it will be your PR!! People will pass you and you will likely pass people. You will NOT be last! And if you are, no one cares!! People at races are SOOOO supportive of everyone!!</p>
<p>Best of luck!!</p>
<p>Good advice and congrats, fireandrain! We all started somewhere. I would not use music for your first race. You will want to be attentive and aware of other runners and the whole experience.
Start slow and pick it up. Enjoy the finish line. And come tell us all about it!</p>
<p>Only had part of the basement. Overnight rains had come in the bulkhead and wet a corner of the carpet, so I had to rearrange the exercise mat and the weight bench. But, like a trooper, I got 'er done. Kind of a āmehā punch the clock workout. Single leg deadlifts were ugly (I might have to go back to 50 pounds on those). Everything else was OK. Iāve got three fans drying the carpet (itās industrial type carpet with no pad, so I think it will dry fine). I guess I donāt need to run the humidfier for a couple of days!</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips! I really need to listen to music ā one thing I cannot do on my own is pace myself. Without running to music set to the right beat, I run much too fast and get tired much too quickly. Itās only by pacing myself to music (or using a treadmill) that Iāve been able to run for any length of time. I just need to hear the beat, so I can lower the sound. </p>
<p>MNK - LOL!!!</p>
<p>Fireandrain, that is so awesome! There is nothing piddly about running 5 kilometers! We all started (or re-started) somewhere, as MOfWC says. I think you would be surprised with what adrenaline rush can do for you. I never ever in my life thought that Iād be able to qualify for Boston on my first try, but somehow my legs did better than I though they would, even in record heat. Go, fireandrain!</p>
<p>Really nice walk with my H yesterday. Fast and lengthy. As I reach the three month mark of joining this thread, I am happy to report that I exercise a lot more and have lost almost four pounds. I have learned about my heart and the benefits of āonlineā friends that share common goals. Thank you all for your encouragement and shared wisdom!</p>
<p>Idad- For the most part, I have cut carbs and eliminated sugar. I think this is contributing to the quicker weight loss last week. Gosh, I was so ignorant about sugar!</p>
<p>Peacefulmom:</p>
<p>At the most basic level, cutting back on sugar (and refined grains) automatically lowers the calorie intake, simply because itās such a large part of the typical diet. Plus, it tends to scale back the junk food and the āfillersā. In some people, there will be an added bonus from hormonal/metabolic stuff ā lower insulin levels, reduced fat exported from the liver, increased burning of stored fat, etc. Those are significant factors for many people, less so for others (who only get the benefits of reduced calorie intake).</p>
<p>A five k is great. Who knows where it will lead? </p>
<p>Spin today. I have been emotionally eating lately and need to get that back in check. </p>
<p>How 'bout a little Garmin talk?</p>
<p>Iāve got a new Garmin toy on the way. Long story shortā¦ I took advantage of the trade-in offer last year to upgrade to a Forerunner 610. My one concern is that the metal back was known to corrode, but it appeared Garmin had made changes to prevent it. Well, my 610 has started to corrode, so Iām going to carry it right back to REI. </p>
<p>I had planned to replace it with a [Forerunner</a> 620](<a href=āhttps://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01128-00/g/rf-lg.jpg]Forerunnerā>https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01128-00/g/rf-lg.jpg). Itās the latest touch screen running watch. All plastic, very thin. Does away with the ANT+ wireless uploading of workouts, replacing with WiFi wireless to upload to a computer or the internet or a smartphone. Still does custom workouts, heart rate, etc. But, for reasons that only Garmin could explain, they didnāt include the bike mode of the 610, so it wonāt like to the speed/distance sensors on the Airdyne. They have promised to add the bike mode with a software update āthis springā, so Iāve been patiently waiting. Hasnāt happened yet.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, they introduced an updated version of their [Fenix</a> hiking watch](<a href=āhttps://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01040-60/g/cf-lg.jpg]Fenixā>https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01040-60/g/cf-lg.jpg). The last time I looked at this model, it didnāt have the custom workouts and all the fitness stuff that I use. But, theyāve now added all the fitness features.</p>
<p>It works with my heart rate monitor straps. It has a bike mode and links to the sensors on the Airdyne. I wonāt use it, but it even links to bicycle power monitors. In addition to running and cycling modes (that I use all the time), it has hiking mode, indoor modes, swimming modes, skiing modes, etc. In short, I can set up a separate mode for everything I do, with custom screens for each one. The data screens can either be 1, 2, 3, or 4 fields. And, you can scroll thru a dozen or more screens (compared to four screens on the 610).</p>
<p>All of that is nice, but the real upgrades (for me) have to do with the hiking features. First and foremost, it has more than double the battery life of the running watches. I was routinely hitting the low battery warnings on the 610 on a five hour hike. This meant that I had to make sure the watch was fully charged and turned off until the instant I started the hike. The hiking version will last for up to 15 hours of GPS tracking.</p>
<p>And, you can pause an activity, turn the GPS off, and resume it later (after lunch or even the next day).</p>
<p>It has a magnetic compass. Not that important since I have a compass in my backpack and a compass on my mapping GPS, but a handy feature. More important, it has a barometric altimeter. The running watches rely on GPS for elevation and it isnāt that accurate, especially in the mountains. With a barometric altimeter, you can calibrate it for that dayās barometric pressure at a known elevation (like the parking lot for a hiking trail on the topo map) and then the watch will display and record accurate elevation gains.</p>
<p>Physically, itās much larger than the sleek lightweight running watches, but also much more rugged. Scratch proof glass lens instead of plastic, heavy duty strap attachments, etc. It does not have the touchscreen control of the running watches, instead using the old-fashioned push buttons. For winter hiking in gloves, the push buttons are probably better. For summer, itās six in one, half dozen in the other.</p>
<p>It does not have wireless upload of workouts to the computer. But, that is no big deal, since Iāve got to plug any of them into a USB cable to charge them anyway. Just as easy to plug them into the computer for charging. A big plus is a charging clip that actually clip securely to the watch. The charging clip for the 610 attaches with magnets (the reason for the metal back that rusts), but I canāt count the times the clip has jarred loose and not charged, especially trying to charge it in the center console of the car or overnight in the mesh pocket of a tent.</p>
<p>That sounds perfect for your purposes, iDad. Technology is so amazing!</p>
<p>Hope everyone is doing well and is feeling chipper! </p>
<p>I canāt really update much, but to those who have helped me on packing info for my trip I just wanted to thank yāall again. Iāve gotten my luggage, equipment, and gear! Only thing left are clothes which Iām going thrifting for. I might share some pictures and videos a la āidad fashionā. I have a feeling these sites are going to be great. Our travel guide just shared with us our routes and areas in which weāll be headed to. Fortunately, weāre not traveling in heavily forested areas for the majority of the time. Looking forward to it. </p>
<p>Till next time!</p>
![https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01128-00/g/rf-lg.jpg]Forerunner](https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01128-00/g/rf-lg.jpg%5DForerunner){kind=link}
![https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01040-60/g/cf-lg.jpg]Fenix](https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-01040-60/g/cf-lg.jpg%5DFenix){kind=link}
