The equipment that has really helped with my training is the heart rate monitor.  I never go on a run without it.  Monitoring my heartrate will be my best bet to finishing the upcoming half marathon with an acceptible time.

In the few races I’ve been in, there seems to be a pattern to the start.  You arrive a little early to pickup you number and timing chip.  After that it’s all waiting around until the start of the race.  Usually that is the toughest part of the whole deal because all you can think about it the upcoming run.

So, when the race actually starts all you want to do is take off and run and run hard.  The problem is that I will wear out that much quicker.  That is where the hear rate monitor works the best for me.  I can get a good pace going early that is not so over the top that I end up walking part of the race.

The first race I ever ran in was the Raleigh Old Reliable and it’s also the only race I ran in without my heart rate monitor.  I started out too fast and ended up walking for a bit near the 2 mile mark.  After walking for about a minute, I ended up pacing myself with someone my size and experience who had a monitor on and ended up doing OK in the run.

The Polar S120 Heart Rate Monitor is what I ended up buying.  It consists of a strap that goes over my heart and a watch that gives me the reading.

I remember going to REI to purchase a monitor and saw the S120 and a similar Polar model for about the same price.  It was when I asked the sales guy what the difference was when I dicovered there wasn’t much difference at all except that the S120 was shiny.  So I went with the ’shiny’ one.  It does great for me and I’m probably not even using all of the features.

Ideal for the recreational runner, this wireless monitor has advanced features to guide your training and assess the effectiveness of your workouts.

• Exercise Set™ feature allows you to program your favorite workout, and start it with the push of a button
• Features three heart rate target zone settings with out-of-zone alarms
• Records time in, above and below target zone; calculates recovery and average heart rate
• Watch functions include dual time zone, time of day, date and alarm, and stopwatch with count up and count down timer
• Chest transmitter is designed for comfort and performance

The Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach has announced the headliner and it’s 3 Doors Down.

Platinum recording artist 3 Doors Down is set to rock the oceanfront in Virginia Beach for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon post-race concert Sunday, September 3, 2006. In conjunction with the Verizon Wireless American Music Festival (AMF), thousands of runners, walkers and rock ‘n’ roll fans will celebrate the final night of a weekend filled with music and sport hosted by the City of Virginia Beach.

The race registration is closed, so it looks like it’s going to be a packed race.  Tickets for the concert are still available.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon starts at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, runs through the scenic Virginia Beach oceanfront and finishes on the spectacular oceanfront boardwalk. Participants will be treated to 14 stages along the 13.1-mile course, featuring 20 local bands as well as 16 local high school cheerleading squads spaced approximately every mile.

3 Doors Down will start playing around 8:15 the evening of the race.

After fighting the urge to stay in bed this morning, I got in a six mile pre-dawn run. I got an earlier start than usual and found that it is really quiet outside at 5:15am. I didn’t see any other cars or runners/walkers until about 5:30am.

My dog Annie ran with me since it was only 70 degrees out and managable for her. She seemed to enjoy most of the run except for when the school buses go by. That big yellow thing coming at her gave her a good scare.

This run wasn’t bad at all, so I went home and started planning out 10 mile routes to better prepare myself for the half marathon. That run is a little over a month away at this point and I really want to be able to run well in it.

I have another soccer game tonight and I’m sure it will be tiring. I’ll probably be taking the day off from training tomorrow to let the body rest.

For now I’ll leave you with an article I was checking out just before I wrote this post. Mindful Chi Running

I just read a great article on measuring how truly fit you are. According to the article, there are three areas to measure to see if you are in shape. Strength, Flexibility and Cardiovascular Capacity. This site will give you three tests to test eacy of the areas. So, are you ready to see how fit you are? Check it out.

Diet Detective: Are you really fit?

Well, I played my first indoor soccer game and found out how out of shape I really am.  With just a few sprints up and down the field, I was beat.  It’s a whole different ballgame than distance running.  I started to look into it and it seems to come down to VO2.

Oxygen uptake (VO2) is the amount of oxygen your body comsumes.  Don’t confuse this with inspiration — the amount of
air you intake into your lungs.  “Consumption” denotes how much oxygen you burn.  This is a measure of how hard you’re working, and how fit you are.

A couple years ago, I had my VO2 max measured.  This involved an air tube measuring my breathing while I rode on a stationary bike.  I didn’t know or understand much about VO2 then and didn’t take the time to remember my reading, but now I wish I had.

VO2 max is measured by getting the lungs to work as hard as they can.  The body will reach an exhaustion point where the lungs are working at their maximum.  This is the point where the measurement is taken.

You can find more info about VO2 Max from the Wikipedia entry.

Just looked at the weather for the next couple days and temps are going to be approaching 100 degrees.  With that humidity it puts the heat index from 105 to 110 degrees.  That’s hot and it makes for training tough. My training runs this week will need to be early morning  pre dawn where the temps are around 73 degrees.  It’s starting to enter crunch time with training since the 1/2 marathon is the first weekend of September.

So I forced myself to wake up for a pre dawn run yesterday and it was still hot!  I got in a 6 mile run and the temp was 76 degrees.  Now that is much better than the afternoon temps of low to mid 90’s, but with the humidity, 76 was still a challenge.

I did feel good after the run and didn’t have much time to stretch before catching the bus to work.  So, after a 30 minute bus ride, I was pretty stiff walking to my office.  I’m going to try for another pre dawn run tomorrow morning and hope the forcast brings cooler weather because I’m definately not a morning person.

This week has above average temps and humidity for this time of year.  It’s hot!  The heat makes it hard to train for my 1/2 marathon.

Today I went for a 2 mile walk and I was still a little beat and sweaty.  My dog also was walking very slow by the end of the run.  I just couldn’t imagine getting much training for the race in this type heat.  As of right now it’s 9pm and still 89F degrees.

Some things to watch out for in the heat are:

Heat Stroke and the symptons according to about.com are:
Heat stroke is a medical emergency and should be treated thusly. It can cause death. Its symptoms include:

• flushed red skin
• hot, dry skin
• difficulty breathing or hyperventilation
• a moderate to severe headache
• dizziness
• burning sensations in the extremities
• disorientation or confusion
• delirium
• lack of perspiration (sweating)
• vomiting
• loss of consciousness
• sudden chills
• unable to run straight (or at all)

Heat Cramps:

Heat cramps are sudden, painful cramps or spasms, possibly causing muscles to jerk involuntarily. Heat cramps primarily affect the arms, legs, and/or stomach. Because heat cramps usually involve tired muscles, runners often have cramping in the calves, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles.

Alone they are not dangerous, but are a sign of worse things to come. Ignoring heat cramps often leads to heat exhaustion.

Heat Exhaustion:

Heat exhaustion is a more serious disorder than heat cramps. Its symptoms include:

• increased heart rate
• a headache
• dizziness
• weakness
• nausea
• feeling faint or fainting
• becoming pale
• clammy, cool skin
• quickened breathing
• dramatic increase in pulse

Ignoring heat exhaustion leads to heat stroke (which is very dangerous).

I went out for a training run yesterday in my Ascis running shoes. I could really notice how comfortable they were after wearing flip-flops all day at work.  So far I’m really happy with my shoes and I was looking to see what professional runners say about these shoes.

According to a review at The Competitive Runner,

“ Fans of the Asics 2100 should rejoice: Asics hasn’t messed anything up with this ‘upgrade’. In fact, the Asics GT 2110 is a compelling shoe. The first thing you will notice is that the shoe envelopes you heel a bit better than past versions. This nice snug fit, when combined with changes made to midsole, makes this shoe more stable than it’s predecessor. For those who need only a mild amount of support, that may not be a good thing. Although the heel is more snug, the designers of the GT 2110 left plenty of room for your piggies. The Asics 2000 series has long been a favorite of people with wide feet. With the GT 2110, this tradition will continue.”

According to Smarter.com,