Training Wrap-Up Week Five

Whew!  This past week was exhausting in my typically slow-paced life.
Every year, during the first week in October, we attend a conference in Atlanta (Catalyst).  This year everything changed at the last minute when the Government shut down.  Thank goodness my husband was not furloughed - but as an "essential" employee, he was prohibited from taking leave of any kind.  So, it ended up that I went and he stayed.... I hated that!  Also, one of my daughters was celebrating her 19th birthday so that party had to be planned (something I had not anticipated being a part of, but got drawn into!)
By the time I left Wednesday morning, I was already tired... then there were the 3 days of non-stop conference stuff and eating.  Yes, eating!  I realized that the only time I ever actually eat 3 full meals a day is during vacations.
I'm not sure how I survive the other 50 weeks a year!!

So, let's recap shall we?

• Days running: 3
• Long run: 9 miles
• Total miles: 19
• Runs while on vacation: 0 
• Days strength training: 1
• Best running-related discovery: denture cleaner!

The low point this week was my long run on Saturday evening.  After 3 days of "3 squares" I was tired, bloated and miserable!  The whole run was slow and laborious.  However, by Sunday evening I was feeling more myself and had my best run of this training season... 5 miles at a 10 minute steady pace!  That was a full 35 seconds per mile faster than I ran the same run last week!  

JOY!

My daughter's birthday party was a success!  It was a murder mystery party, where each guest came in character and one was revealed to be the murderer.  Here is the murder scene (in our guest bathroom):

Pretty awesome!!

I enjoyed the conference very much!  We had a special guest star: Uncle Si from Duck Dynasty.  I'm not really a fan of the show, but It was still neat seeing him in person (PS... he sounds exactly the same as on the show!)

Sorry about the lousy quality of the photos, but there were over 13,000 people there and all I had was a cell phone!

And now for my favorite new product!

A few months ago, I received some Bottle Bright cleaning tablets in this StrideBox.  I thought they worked great at cleaning our hydration belt water bottles, but when I looked them up to purchase more I found the cost way too high.  $10 for 10 tablets!!!!

So, I looked for an alternative, and thanks to helpful reviewers I discovered that denture cleaner works great on those hard to clean bottles!!

Best of all, 90 tablets cost me about $2!

First I fill the bottle about 3/4 full with warm water.  Then plop in a denture tablet:

It fizzes and starts cleaning right away!  I then put the top on and do a little dance and shake it all around (no reason I can't have fun, right?)  My next step is to open up the spout and squirt some of the liquid out so that the solution gets in all the crevices of my spout:

Been using this Amphipod bottle for about a year, so it's a little beat up!

If the bottle is really nasty, I leave it propped upside down somewhere for a while, then give it another shake and empty it out.  The denture cleaner is easy to rinse and - if anything- leaves a fresh minty smell behind.  I've never noticed any aftertaste.

So there you have it - an easy, low-cost option for cleaning your water bottles!

Any new products you have fallen in love with recently?

Don't Call It A Fanny Pack!

When I first started running, I had nothing but my smartphone (Droid Bionic) to track my miles.  I had already been using it for walking, and since I didn't always wear pants with pockets, I even had a Sport Belt (DO NOT call it a fanny pack!) that I used - the Nathan 5K Runner's Waist Pack.  Amazon conveniently reminded me that I ordered this belt in November of 2011- and in the past 18 months I have gotten very comfortable with it being around my waist.  It doesn't bounce - at all - but I do find that I have to wear it around my natural waist (see pic).  However, that has never really bothered me. 

After I had been running for a couple of months I realized I was going to have to find some way to carry water.  Brian and I run in a place that is mostly inaccessible by vehicle, and our courses consist of huge loops, so there was no practical way to stash my water along the route.  I tried carrying water bottles in my hand.  Ummmm - no!  That's when I discovered the Amphipod Snapflasks.  These water bottles fit on just about any belt and can be positioned horizontally or vertically.  And they absolutely don't leak.  I love them!

Everything was fine at first.  I used the Endomondo app on my phone to track my runs and listened to music on my phone as well.  But I started wishing I could see my pace and distance without having to pull my phone from my belt.  After some research (and by "some" I mean around 40 hours!), I purchased the Garmin FR60 watch. (HERE is the link to DC Rainmaker's in depth review.)

I'm gonna have to say that I LOVE this watch!

Why didn't I think of that??

It pairs with a footpod on my shoe to tell me my pace and distance.  I never have to wait for satellites (it uses an accelerometer), it is lightweight, waterproof, and I just changed the battery for the first time after 10 months of heavy use!  It does just about everything that my husband's huge Garmin 305 does - intervals, customizable pages, running partner, heart rate etc with the exception of GPS finctions (map and elevation)

There are some cons - namely, the buttons can be a pain to push, the watch is cheaply made and looks worn out already,  and I do have to re-calibrate the footpod every time I move it to a different pair of running shoes - but I would definitely (and probably will) buy it again in the future. (They have an updated model  - the FR70, which I skipped because it was only a cosmetic upgrade and at the time the FR60 was cheaper.)

If I didn't already have to carry water on a belt, I think I might have gone for one of the GPS Garmins.  But since I must use the belt - and I need tunes - the phone works perfectly for the GPS functions that my Garmin can't.

However, my beloved Bionic got lost (stolen really... if the person who "found" your phone won't return it despite texts and phone calls, isn't that stealing? *sigh*)  and I have been persevering with a Droid X.  (By persevering, I mean complaining incessantly because it keeps closing Endomondo and can't even play my tunes without hanging.)  Thankfully, I am due for an upgrade in one week!

That means I have been researching smart phones - which led to smart phone cases - which led to "Why don't I just get a whole new sport belt!"    Today, I finally made a decision and ordered the

Tune Belt Sport Belt

I'm excited at the thought of being able to access my phone controls without taking it out of the belt.  Can't wait to get it (and my new Galaxy S4) and take it for a test run.  Review is sure to follow!

Do you run with a hydration belt?