2013 Week One Review

Back on January 2, I posted my New Year's goals and issued a challenge to you, my readers or doing something to stay healthy and get healthy for this year.  To show you how I am doing, I plan on posting a review of each weeks activities for me this year.  This way I can be accountable to both you and myself and show how I am progressing.

Here is week one.

This was a really good week for me.  24 miles run at an average pace of 10:47 per mile with 4,270 calories burned, all from running.  One Wednesday and Friday I hit the gym, doing full body resistance training.  I did one hour on Wednesday burning 1,149 calories, and 1:30 burning 1,723 calories on Friday.  Total calories burned for the week was 7,142.

I wasn't planning on running 7 miles twice this week; the first time on Thursday just sort of happened.  I started on a easy run and basically kept on running.  Sounds funny I know, but it was a really good run and gave me an indication that I can run longer distances than I thought at this time.

I have a 5K race I am running this coming Saturday, so I'm not sure if I will be running this much next week, but I do know this, I will be running.  I hope you are staying healthy too!

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the day!

Why I am leaving MapMyFitness.com for Nike+

There are a few things I really dislike.  One is being ripped off.  Another is being called a liar.  When you actually rip me off and then call me a liar when I call you on it, especially when I have proof that what I am saying is the truth, I am not a happy person.

Such as my current issue with MapMyFitness.com.

The problem is, is that I actually love their iPhone/iPad app, MapMyFitness+.  I have used it for over six months without fail.  I love using their website and use it to record and analyze my training runs.  But not anymore.

I started off with the MapMyFitness free app for the iPhone and found I didn't like the apps, so I paid the 2.99 for the app, and got rid of the apps, plus got coaching and live tracking features in the process.  A win-win for me and for MapMyFitness as they got my business and I got an app I love and used.  Until I installed an upgrade for the app.  Then the app I loved turned into the app I can't stand at the moment.

I applied the update to the app.  After all, one of the items the update addressed was "bug fixes" and being a software developer myself, I said, yes, fixing bugs in an application is a good thing so I clicked on the "Update" button.  What I did NOT notice however, was the second line:

That second line took away all of the features I used in the MapMyFitness+ app that I paid for.  Notice that nowhere does it say what these advanced features are.

I sent MapMyFitness Support a not so nice email last night asking what the heck happened to the features I paid for.  Here is the first part of the email exchange:

Eric Dickey, Nov 19 20:56 (CST):

I just installed the latest update for the iOS version of your app. I PAID for the plus version for the features and NOW I find they have been TURNED OFF!!!!

I feel as though I have had my money stolen from me; ripped off! Now I have to pay a friggen MONTHLY FEE?? I have used your app for almost 6 months now with only a couple of issues and have been very happy; I used the coaching to help me train better, I have used your website to help me out but now you may have just lost a customer! I will be tweeting this, blogging this, facebooking this, posting on google and everywhere else I can think about! I want me features I PAID for BACK!!!

------------------

Submitted from: http://www.mapmyfitness.com/imapmy/support/

Here is their initial response:

Kristen Dodd, Nov 20 09:27 (CST):

Hi Eric,

Thanks for contacting us! Our +app features only included the music player, integrated camera & being ad free. Our free app previous had Live Tracking available, not just the +app. I apologize for the confusion.

Kindly,

MMF Support

 Now when I read this response I was livid.  First of all they were telling me that the features I cared about most didn't even exist in the app.  So now I felt I was being called a liar.  That did not sit very well with me.

Hi,

 No, I am sorry.  You see, I actually USED the coaching features of the +App during my last race which was TWO weeks ago.  Please do not insult my intelligence with the fact that I know what I was using when running.  One of the features that I loved (past tense) about your app was the coaching feature.  Want more proof?  My wife purchased the + app as well and has NOT repeat NOT updated it and HAS the coaching feature.  

Would you like screen shots of her app on the her phone which has NOT been updated?  Or perhaps screen shots of the app on my iPad which has NOT been updated and HAS the coaching feature shown?  

I DO NOT like being called a liar.  There is no misunderstanding on MY part.  

So who can I send the screenshots to?  You or your supervisor?

Eric Dickey

As you can tell I am not a happy camper in this email exchange.  Now here is the kicker if you take a look at the screenshots below, you will see that I am correct in what I am saying.

The initial screen.  When you touch the Record button you are taken to the next screen shown below. 

Please notice the coaching part of this app. Hmmm....it seems that perhaps I am not lying after all about what I use. 

This screen is to determine what kind of coaching you would like to have tracked.

So here I decided to make the pace to be coached into 8:00 minutes per mile. 

This screen in the Coaching feature that MapMyFitness says was never a part of the "+" version of their app is letting me select the frequency.

I really hope you can appreciate why I was so irate here.  I actually have the screen shots proving me right and them wrong.

The latest response from MapMyFitness is below:

Kristen D., Nov 20 11:36 (CST):

I apologize for the confusion. Yes, this was previously a free feature available on both the free and + apps. It is now part of our premier membership packages. Again, we apologize.

Now, I know that when I had the free app, the coaching was not part of this.  This was the main reason I bought the app.  Not for an ad free environment, as ads do not bother me.  I wanted the coaching features.  I guess what I will need to do now is to open up the free app on my phone, as I have never upgraded it, and take screen shots to prove my point to them again.

For now, my best advice to any of you who are using MapMyFitness.com and it's apps is to ditch them and go with Nike+.  I tried it last night and I actually have a better experience with it than the one I had with MapMyFitness, as well as the same features offered for a monthly fee now by MapMyFitness.com are FREE from the Nike+ app.

It actually hurts to leave, as I have six months worth of running data and maps on their site, and no way to get them that I can see, but I will not tolerate being ripped off and called a liar by a company I trusted.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great rest of the day.

Downfalls of Pushing Resistance Training Too Hard -- Possible Injury

I think I have suffered my first injury from training, though I am not quite sure yet.

I had a really good weight lifting session yesterday after church and everything felt good to me.  A tired good but good nonetheless.  Nothing hurt, nothing ached, nothing popped.  I had done a 100 minute resistance circuit training routine, only adding a couple of new exercises to my routine; barbell bent over rows and quadriceps extensions.  Then last night I was stretching and I felt like the right side of my upper back near the shoulder blade had simply caught on fire.  It was very centralized to a small area, but it was one of the sharpest pains I have ever felt.

The black circle is where I feel the pain when it happens.

I believe that I may have partially torn, or pulled my major Rhomboid muscle in that area.  I'm am not going to do any resistance training over the next couple of weeks, which will bug me to no end, but I'm hoping that be resting my body from that exercising, this will give that area time to heal.  I will still run, but weight training is out for at least two weeks, maybe more.

Pushing the Running Limits

I'll be honest, I am physically tired.  My legs feel heavy and I thought about going to the gym tonight to do a full body circuit workout, but I cannot do it tonight.  You see, I pushed myself running today and I ran the longest continuous run I have ever done.  Not only in distance, but in duration as well.

The last couple of runs I ran this week were at the gym on the treadmill due to the cold weather.  Normally I am only able to run at night during the week and I really do not feel like running at night in 35+ degree weather.  Plus I get to do my circuit training after my run.  Today however, I was able to run during the day and I made the decision to make this run a distance run, something I have not been able to do in a while. 

So I took off running and decided to take a different route than I normally do.  The route I took today allowed me to add more elevation to my run.  I expected to gain some distance today; I had set my goal at 5.5 miles, and if I pushed it, maybe even run my second 10K distance (6.2 miles).  Well, I pushed it alright.  I pushed it all the way to 7.68 miles in 1:25:32.  What surprised me was my pace.  Normally on my long distance runs I run about a 11:25 to 11:40 pace, but today I finished with an average pace of 11:08 minutes per mile. 

Here is the details of the run:

My longest run ever, both in distance and time.

Here are the splits for the run:

For some reason, I felt like I was getting faster with each mile.

After running this distance, and for this duration today, I really feel good about training for my first half marathon.  I still have as my goal for my first half marathon to be next September, running the Plano Balloon Festival's Half Marathon, but knowing that I can do this distance and duration now, I may move my first half marathon race up to June or July.  Stay tuned.

And the other best part of the day?  I dropped over 3 pounds today in my weight loss!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great rest of the day.

Catching Up on My Runs for Early November

Eight days into November and I have three runs for the month!  Of course the first three days of the month I spent doing prison ministry, so that does count as something more important than running to me. 

So far for this month I have run on Sunday the 4th, Monday the 5th and Wednesday the 7th.  Here are the details for those runs.


Sunday, November 4, 2012:

I decided to make this a speed run instead of a long run.  I will be running another 5K this Saturday and I needed to see what my pace was right now.  On shorter runs, those under 3.5 miles, I tend to pace myself faster and I needed a bench line to see what to set a PR bar at. 

11-4-2012 Details

11-04-2012 Split Times

I think that I will be able to get close to my goal of running a sub 30 minute 5K during this next race.  It'll be close but I think I can do it.

My next two runs for this month, and this week have been longer runs.  Both have been over 5 miles and both have been in just about one hour in duration.  I'm thinking that in the next three weeks or so I'll be moving on to even longer runs.

Monday, November 5, 2012 run:

11-05-2012 Run Details

11-05-2012 Split Times

Wednesday, November 7, 2012 run:

11-07-2012 Run Details

11-07-2012 Split Times

I have noticed that when I do a long run, well, long for me anyway, I tend to stay on pace for an average 11:30 mile.  I'm not sure if that is a great pace or not; I'll have to look at that, but I am happy with that pace so far.  It won't win me any races, but I think it's a respectable pace for a 248 pound guy who's only been running for 4 months!

Till next time, thanks for reading.

Have a great rest of the day!

The Last Run of October, 2012

Since tonight is Halloween, I don't think I'll be getting any running in, unless I hit the treadmill at the gym, so I would like to post the results of last nights run.  I have to say that it was a good run.  I felt great, had a decent pace, and actually ran the last mile in under 10 minutes!  My legs did feel heavy at times though, so it wasn't perfect, but it was a good one nonetheless.

Here are the details from last nights run:

10/30/2012 Run Details

Here are the split times for this run.  Actually not too bad, especially the last full mile.

10/30/2012 Run Split Times

Thanks for reading.  Have a great rest of the day.

Sprinting To The Finish

I did my run yesterday and during the start of my run I still was not sure if I wanted to make it a long run or a speed run.  I had set my goal for 4.5 miles before the run, so I decided to make it a long run.  There was a problem with that decision, however, in that with the app I use on my phone to track my runs, I can only use the coaching feature to track distance, pace, or a few other aspects of running, but not multiple.  It has to be one or the other.  When I crossed the first mile and heard what my pace was I was annoyed at the slowness of my speed, but I decided to press on.  Then I heard my second mile and decided it was time to kick it up a notch on speed. 

At the three mile mark, I had decreased my overall pace for the run, but I wasn't satisfied, so I kicked it into a gear I didn't know I had!  When I finished the last part of the run, I had simply run out of steam.  Then I looked at my splits and realized that if I could have held on for just another tenth of a mile, I would have run a mile in under 9 minutes.  Talk about disappointment!  The good news I can takeaway from this is that I should be able to kick up my 5K race pace now when I hit that last mile in any 5K race.  If I can stay at a 10:30 to 11:00 pace for the first two miles, then hit that fourth gear and get in the last mile in under nine minutes, I should be able to break that 30 minute barrier I so want to break!   At least in theory anyway.

 But enough of my rambling.  Here are the stats for last night's run:

10/28/2012 Run Stats

Here are the split times.  Pay attention to the times and how they started decreasing.  I am going to attempt to start duplicating that even after my long runs to build up stamina and speed.

10/28/2012 Split Times

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the day!

Thursday's Long Run...My First 10K distance!

There are sometimes when my body surprises me and last night was one of those times.

We had a cold front move through the region yesterday and I thought that I would do a run last night with a stiff north wind blowing.  When I started my run, the air temperature was at 57 degrees and by the time I had finished, the temperature had dropped to 55 degrees.  With the windchill, it actually felt like 44 degrees or so during my run.  I decided to run in long compression pants with shorts and a long sleeved compression top worn with a tech fit running shirt over that.  I decided to play it safe and wore running gloves as well.  Yes, I probably looked a little weird, but I was determined to stay warm!  To finish my ensemble, I wore a tight fitting ball cap with an attached light on the brim.

I had decided that I wanted this to be an easy run.  I really did not want to do a speed run, where I try to do a PR (personal record) each and every time I run one of my speed runs, instead, I wanted something a little more leisurely.  I wanted to try and stay at a pace of 11:30 to 11:45 minutes per mile.  when you look at the stats below, you can see that I actually finished the run at a pace of 11:35 so I accomplished that part of the goal.  It was the distance goal I set of 4.5 miles that surprised me.  I actually finished with a distance of 6.58 miles!  I ran my first 10K distance last night and I am excited about that.  Now that I have broken that barrier, I plan on trying for that distance at least once a week.  Now it's time to break the time for that distance and really get going on training.

Here are the stats for my run last night:

The stats for my first 10K+ distance.

Here are the split times.  Again, I wasn't trying to break any land speed records here, but wanted a nice steady, respectable pace.  I believe I got was I was looking for.

Split times for my first 10+ distance.

So that's my long run for the week.  Here's to many, many more.  Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the day!

The Night Before My Birthday...

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even....Oh, who am I kidding?

I decided last night after the lightening left the area to do my evening run.  I actually felt really good last night, so I decided not to do a speed run but a distance run, and the distance I wanted was that elusive 10K I am trying to reach as my next goal.  I felt sure I could reach it, as I kept running, and went past my normal turn around point to show myself I could do this.  However, as I came upon the four and three quarter mile mark, I was really starting to slow down, and made the decision then to make it to five miles and then call it a night.  Trust me, I wanted to stop at 4 3/4 miles, but decided that if I could do that, I could do five.  I'll hit the 10K distance soon.  I know I will.

After the run I had a nice surprise!  Find out after the pictures below.

The details of my latest run (10/22/2012)

The split times for my run. (10/22/2012)

So what was my surprise?  I achieved my third weight goal of going below 250!

Third Weight Goal of being below 250?  Check!

So Happy Early Birthday to me!  On to my next weight goal, which is to be at or below 225 pounds!

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the day!

Friday's Run (10/19/2012)

Some days I feel like I am "On" during a run and there are sometimes when I don't.  Tonight was one of those runs that I just didn't feel "on".  I felt like I ran slower and according to my split times, I did run slower. I felt like I was going to throw up a few times and overall I felt like I didn't have a good run.  But I kept the run going and ran through the feelings my body was giving me.

It probably did not help that my meals consisted of mostly crap today.  I had to visit one of our company's construction sites very early this morning and missed my normal breakfast, resulting in a Whataburger sausage, egg and cheese taquito.  Lunch wasn't much better.  I had a Chik-Fil-A grilled chicken club sandwich (without the bun) and a small waffle fry.  For dinner I had ham wrapped grilled chicken with a slice of provolone cheese.  Not a great day eating.

But the important thing is that I ran.  So here are the details and the split times for tonight's run.

The details.  Not a very good run for me.

My split times. 

I am very grateful that at 252 pounds, I am able to run at a sub eleven minute mile, but I am looking forward to the times when I can run a sub ten minute mile.  That will be an accomplishment for me.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great rest of the day.

Using A Workout Playlist To Run Faster

I have read several articles on running and whether or not having a playlist with more upbeat music helps you increase your running pace or not.  There are good arguments on both sides, but I wanted to add my two cents on this topic.

I have noticed that when I used previous workout lists, I tended to run slower, only running 11:50 to 12:00 miles.  An example of one of my previous workout playlists is below:

One of my previous workout playlists

I love praise and worship music, but my problem is that the beats were too slow and I believe were affecting my running times.  So I decided to make some new playlists, this time with much faster music.

New Christian Workout Mix. Notice the different styles including rap, rock and pop.

My Pop Workout Mix.  Notice I have different eras and genres.

My Rap Workout List.  Yes, I actually do like rap.

My Rock Workout List.  This is really the best one when it comes to beats per minute.

 If you look at my run from last night, you'll see that I had a much faster pace and I will attribute that to the fact that I changed up my workout list as last night I listened to my rock list.  Tonight I will try my pop list and see how that goes.

My advice to you, for what it is worth, is to build a list of music you enjoy and like, somewhere in the range of 150 to 190 beats (or more) per minute and run to it.  Compare your times running to the faster music you like to the runs listening to the music you used to listen to, or in some cases for those who normally do not listen to music, to the runs you ran without music.  I would be very interested in hearing if your minutes per mile increased or decreased and by how much.

I would also like to know what you listen to.  Leave me a comment telling me what's on your playlist. 

I hope you have a great rest of the Day!  Thanks for reading.

My Upcoming 5K Race Schedule

I have had a couple people ask me about what upcoming races I am planning on running in the next few weeks, so I thought I would post my upcoming schedule here on my blog.  Here are the races I am planning on running in.

The first is the Gary Burns Frisco Fun Run, Saturday, October 27, 2012.

Proceeds from the Frisco Fun Run go to the Frisco Education Foundation to build scholarship opportunities for our Frisco ISD students, including the Gary Burns Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The next race is The Spirit Run 5K, Saturday, November 10, 2012 in Richardson, TX.

Four High Schools will compete for bragging rights and a coveted traveling Spirit Trophy based on your end of race votes for the most spirited High School. Each High School will be assigned one of four spirit stops and have their Drum Lines, Jazz bands, and others entertain you and cheer you to the finish!

After that comes the first of the Thanksgiving themed races, The Gobble Hobble, also in Richardson.  This race is Saturday, November 17, 2012.

This is the seventh year for The Gobble Hobble!

On Thanksgiving Day, it will be not just me but me and the family running in the Dallas Turkey Trot!  I am really looking forward to running with the family in this one.  This race is, of course, on Thursday, November 22, 2012.

This is the largest Race on Thanksgiving in the nation!

The last race I have on my schedule so far happens on Saturday, December 8, 2012 and is in again in Frisco.  I will be racing in the Frosty 5K that day.

Christmas in the air with a great run in Frisco!

If you like to run and get a chance to run in any of these races, please look me up and say hi!

Have a great rest of the day!

My Last Two Runs: Running Indoors

My last two runs have been what are considered indoor runs, which means I have been running on a treadmill in the gym instead of running my normal routes.  Now considering that I actually enjoy running outdoors, you might wonder why I have run my last two runs on a treadmill.  The main reason has been for convenience.  I ran indoors this past Saturday simply because I had no choice.  I was in San Antonio for family business and I needed two things: I needed to de-stress and I needed to run.  The hotel we were staying at was a very nice one and the machines in the fitness room were first rate.  Here are the details from that run:

Indoor Run on 10/13/2012

Not a bad run, but I was hoping for a longer run.  Usually on Saturdays, I try to run further than the last week, or at least equal what I ran the previous Saturday and on the previous Saturday I ran 5.07 miles.  However, I had both of my daughters with me in the fitness room and with a swimming pool calling to them and the hot tub calling to me, I decided to make sure I got my 5K distance in at least.

Last night's run was again an indoor run by necessity.  Not because of rain or inclement weather, but because of the lateness of the run.  I started my run around 9:50 PM or so and to be honest, I simply didn't feel like running outdoors at that time of night.

Here are the details for last night's run:

Indoor Run on 10/15/2012

So that's it for now on my latest runs.  I'll be posting a little more a little later on today.

Have a great rest of the day!

Thursday's Run (10/11/12)

So Thursday's run was brought to you by the numbers 11, 12, and 13, as in October 11, 2012 (10/11/12, get it?). 

I decided to keep my run in the neighborhood last night, in order to stay close to my home.  It wasn't a bad run, a tad bit slow, but the distance was nice.  I think I have decided that my best course of action for maintaining a good pace, say 10:30 to 10:45 minute miles, is to try and run with a partner or with a group.  When I have others with me I tend to run a faster pace.  When I run by myself, the opposite occurs.  So I am attempting to start a running club at my work.  So far only two others have expressed interest, but it is a start.

Onto this particular run.

Here is the overall of the run:

Overall information for Thursday, October 11, 2012's run

Map and Splits for the run.

Overall it was better than the last run I had and was the first time I have actually run in my own neighborhood on the streets and sidewalks.  I think I like this one a little better, especially at night.  Just in case something happens, I know lots of neighbors and can get to help a lot sooner than if I am by myself on the trails in the park.

Anyway, thanks for reading!  Have a great rest of the day!

My Run Tonight

Well, I ran tonight, but it was a difficult run for me.  I am not sure if I was simply tired, or my food had not digested enough or what, but I was way off my normal pace, which is around 10:40 to 11:20 per mile, and there were at least five times that I wanted to simply stop the run, and walk the rest of the way home from where I stopped.

But I didn't stop.  I kept on running until I came to my normal stopping point and then I finished the run.  Then I walked home, using my walk home as my cool down.

For those of you who might be interested, here are the details of the run.

Overview of tonight's run.

Time Splits and map

Thanks for reading.  Have a great rest of the day!