Author: Fallon @ Slacker Runner

2017- The Shiny and The Dull

It’s that time again- time to recap the Shiny and the Dull of 2017.

Let’s get the Dull out of the way first.

So yeah, remember that post 12 months ago where I said I hated goals, that I considered them 4 letter words so I wasn’t making any? No? Well, here it is if you’re feeling really bored. I was going to make 2017 the year of Challenge. Ha! More like the year of complacency.

Instead of running all the miles in 2017, I didn’t even clear 650.

Did I find my old pace? Yeah, no.

I was turned down for 2 jobs I applied for.

Should we even mention the weight I put on? I’m less irritated about the number and more irritated about how uncomfortable I feel in my skin.

Had migraine issues, thyroid issues, leg issues, back issues, bed issues. Maybe I’m the issue?

Ok, enough with the dull.

Shiny!!!!!!

I ran 10 races, 8 13.1’s, one 5 miler and one 5K. If I had to pick a top 3, they would be –

Las Vegas! I went to Vegas! I ran a half and a 5K in one weekend. I finally met Kate in real life! We ran her first half together. I met Helly! I hung with Mai and other BibRave Pros! There were lights and miles and good times and it was awesome. Tiring but awesome. And I am a bad blogger because I don’t have the pictures.
Rock N Roll San Diego 13.1– My first Rock n Roll race and it was great one. I loved the course and the whole experience. I met Mai and Emily and made the We Run Social photo on race morning. And I met Chelsea! It was also my fastest race in a few years. Until…
City to Sea– Home town love. Yeah, I consider the entire county my home town. 5th time running this race and I still love it. Somehow pulled off my fastest race of the year too. Still don’t know where that came from.

Honorable mentions- Salinas Valley Half Marathon, SLO Ultra 5 Miler

I had the opportunity to work with BibRave again in 2017 and it is a great group of people. Plus I tested some pretty awesome products. I’d have even fewer miles if BibRave hadn’t pointed me in the direction of my Ultra Boost X’s. My running store doesn’t sell them so I wouldn’t have found them on my own. I’m on pair 2 now.

I was also given the chance to be an ambassador for Miles and Pace. If you’ve been around this blog for the last few years, you may have noticed that I am pretty attached to my Miles and Pace trucker hats so I was stoked. My current hat count is 4.

As for work, I have a Rock star crew, so can’t complain about that.

So 2017 did not go like I hoped but then again I maybe got a little too comfy in the comfy chair and rationalized my way into being a little too Slacker like. I mentioned on Twitter the other night that I have a tendency to get in my own way.

As for 2018? Time to Sound the Alarm.

Week 52-And a cold

And just like 52 weeks have gone by and bring 2017 to close.

And the calendar did me a solid and worked out perfectly… unlike last year.

I had my second PT appointment and this time they had me try lumbar traction. Then all laughed at the expression of fear on my face as they described it. It really wasn’t that bad.

Last week was a little rough, I felt a little ragged around the edges. I was looking forward to the 3 day weekend- not for the New Year’s parties but more for the opportunity to sleep. Truth- I just barely managed to stay awake through midnight on New Year’s Eve but I still managed to miss the ball drop on TV. Oops.

Monday- Christmas And I was about as active as a lump on a log.

Tuesday- Rest/ PT Exercises I knew work was likely to be busy after the 3 day weekend and oh boy was I right.

Wednesday- Missed Run Work was exhausting and I was tired and cranky so instead of running I just headed home. Which might have been fate telling me something- maybe that’s dramatic but barely moments after picking my mom up to go to dinner, we were driving down the street to see flames literally shooting out of the top of an apartment building. Then it hit the power lines. I pulled over while my mom called 911 and jumped out and stood with the homeowner, we asked if anyone else was inside or if there were any pets. I then just got my car out of the way and stayed out of the way while we waited for the fire department and PD to show up. It was definitely not how I thought the night was going to go.

Thursday- Rest/PT exercises Work this week just kicked my butt. Plus I was denial that I was sick. If I ignored the sore throat and the coughing, that meant they weren’t real right? Despite the fact I’d fallen asleep in my chair almost every night. I missed a dinner with old high school friends because I didn’t want to get anyone sick, so I wasn’t being completely stupid.

Friday- Rest More of the same. This time I missed a dinner with a coworker who was leaving another location. Boo. Also fell asleep in my chair again.

Saturday- 3.1 miles After sleeping in, I headed out for what I figured was going to be an afternoon slog. Except I was moving way faster than I should have been for only having run once last week and being sick this week. Legs what are you doing? I had no business seeing miles in the 10 minute range and my lungs let me know so I ended up take a break to sit on a wall at one point.

Sunday- 4 miles Once again I headed out expecting a slow run and once again my legs and lungs were at war. My legs just wanted to go! But my lungs were not quite on board. It was better than the day before though. Other than a little wheezing, this 4 miles felt pretty good.

7.1 miles for the week. Better than last week. Still super low but I’m not mad. The last week of the year always throws me a curve ball and this was no exception.

How was your week?

Rambling On 24

Last ramble of 2017.

I totally just zoned out on the page…oops!

Every year I tell myself to take the week after Christmas off because things always seem to go completely screwy at work and I end up feeling a little ragged. This week was no different. Someone remind me of this next year. Please.

I am behind on my 2017 wrap up post…but if it is still 2017 can you really be behind??? Hmmm.🤔

This week has been weird, sick dogs- Zoey went to the vet, sick coworkers, houses literally on fire- not mine. Like I said before, a screwy week.

Anyone racing on New Years? How about a Polar Plunge? I have both options available actually but I don’t think either are likely. A jump in the ocean doesn’t seem like the best idea for the sore throat and cough that I currently denying exist. Nope, don’t have time for that.

However, the 3 day weekend sounds very nice.😀

Share your random.

Week 51- Christmas Slacking

In more ways than one. 😛😛

Last week was a little chaotic. Work was super busy, I was running behind on all things Christmas and I received some not great news about that job interview I had a few weeks ago. I admit I fell into a cranky funk for a few days but I climbed out of the hole and perked up. I think….maybe I should get a second opinion on that.

Monday- Christmas shopping. With barely anything to wrap- this was necessary. Crossed some things off my list but not much.

Tuesday- Cookie baking! And eating a few too many. Also planned. Well, maybe not how many I ate. Oh and my PT exercises.

Wednesday- Missed run. My replacement bed was delivered and once again, Pops was there for the delivery. Instead of running I headed home to take the family out to dinner.

Thursday- 3.3 milesOn the treadmill!!! Holy crap, who am I? And it wasn’t miserable! I warmed up with plenty of walking as the treadmill always makes me achy and then I worked on focusing on my cadence. Both to see if I could improve my average number and if it would help with the on again, off again shin pain. Partial success to both! What was not cool was that Monsters Inside Me was once again on the TV in front of me. Why?!?!?!

Friday-Work My hopes for a calm day were not granted.

Saturday- Missed run. I had planned on a 6 mile run longish run for the week and scheduled my day accordingly. However that schedule had me running in the afternoon because I wanted to sleep in. Which was all fine until my brother decided to take my mother and I to the movies and dinner. Instead I enjoyed yummy food and walked out of theater with a strange fascination with Adam Driver. Someone send help. 😛

Sunday- Christmas Eve Try as I might, I could not get the motivation up to go for a run. So other than some errands- why did I not grocery shop before Christmas Eve?????- I spent the day with family relaxing and lounging.

So yeah, 3.3 miles for the week. I’m not going to say ouch because I chose to miss those 2 runs. I chose dinner and the movies and family time over the runs and I’m ok with that.

How was your week?

How was your Christmas?

Stepping it Up

Disclaimer: The WEAV Run app is currently free but I will be receiving a lifetime subscription in January 2018 as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro(ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Google average running cadence and any number of sites and sources come back with 180 average steps per minute. Dig a little deeper and some will say 180 and above is usually elite runners and most everyday runners average between 160-170 steps per minute. Either way you dice it- I fall short. I usually average in the low 140’s, my two fastest half marathons this year didn’t even hit an average of 160. Ouch.

Knowing that it’s something I need to work on, Weav Run seemed right up my alley. Weav Run is a newer app on the market that is designed to use music to motivate your running tempo. Want to run 175 steps per minute? Weav Run can get you there. Weav Run has 2 options for setting the tempo- detecting the tempo based on your movement or letting you choose your own.

Weav Run works with the individual music files in order to give the runner the best listening experience possible. So instead of speeding up the entire song and getting that helium sounding effect, aspects of the background speed up while the lyrics remain pretty close to what you hear on the radio. It’s like your feet are the DJ.

The set up questions were more in depth than I anticipated- where do I keep my phone?- but took hardly anytime. Pushed a couple buttons and I was set to run. But I was kind of injured, boo. So, I adapted and hopped on the bike. I used the “I Know My Tempo” option, set it at 150 steps per minute and figured I would test it out that way. For once, my cadence on the bike was even! It also helped me really familiarize myself with the app.

But how was running?

I say my right leg is the troublemaker but what I really mean is that my right leg is the dead leg. The lazy leg, the leg that never seems to want to do any work. As a result I over compensate with my left and end up hurting. All previous attempts to focus on my form and bringing my leg around have ended in failure. I would succeed for a short time but end up with a headache from having to focus so hard. So I usually gave up.

With Weav Run, I didn’t even have to try, somehow my right leg just wanted to join the party. Something about the beat and the music working together and flipped a switch in my brain and both legs were on board and working together. I powered up a couple of hills in ways I never have- I felt kind of bad ass. 😛 Now, this isn’t saying it was all perfect- I have 2 left feet and no rhythm so I’d usually get off step at some point and have to work my way back but it’s awesome when I’m on point.

Since Vegas- I’ve been running less, a little sick and the air has been filled with smoke but the paces of my runs using Weav Run have all averaged about 30-45 seconds faster than they should be given my current state of fitness. And that’s with the walk breaks I’m still taking. Consider me a Believer. Which by the way is a song on the Weav playlist.

So-are there downsides?

I take walk breaks- it’s how I run these days. While the app adjusts to my pace and cadence pretty well, sometimes it has issues. When I slow down, it seems like only half of it slows down with with me and the other half is too fast. It eventually evens out but it’s kind of an odd 20 seconds or so.
The technology is new and while it is great that Weav Run is working directly with artists and music labels, the library currently only has 25 tracks.
This is a both a plus and a possible downside- As a BibRavePro, we were able to test some of the tracks that are coming in the future (you will be happy🙂) but all those tracks mean the app needs a little more space on your phone. As I write this, the app is using 2.25 GB on my phone. I have plenty of space on my phone but it something to keep in mind.
It’s currently only iPhone- ios compatible.

I look forward to many more runs with Weav Run and oddly more bike rides. I rode the bike more since downloading the app than I have in months. 😛

What are you waiting for? Go download Weav Run!

Want to read more? Check it out-

Brenda– Lindsey– Meridith