And I was Running

Just me and the open road:  Butler rd. Franklin Park, NJ

One of the best stress relievers I've found is running. Not that I can run the fastest or the furthest, but there is something about being out there on the open road and the camaraderie of seeing other runners and bikers. It's the only thing I've done where everyone you encounter is polite and gives a wave or a "good morning". It also gives me time to think and appreciate what I have.  It wasn't easy at first and it still isn't.  I've slowly been building up my stamina.  At first it would be a mile or two, and before I knew it I was up to 6 miles.  Some days I feel like I'm going to pass out after the first .5 mile and other days I run six and feel like I could go six more.  I guess that is where conditioning comes into play.  One of the most important things I've learned is to pace myself.  If I burst out of the gates there is no way I'm going the distance.  My next adventures will to start taking on some races.  I'll start off with 5k and hopefully one day I'll work my way up to...who knows...a marathon?  The possibilities are endless as long as I put my mind to it.

Here's a quick review of a couple of the tools I use along my journey:

Nike+ Iphone App:

My favorite part about running is seeing exactly what I accomplished.  The Nike+App does all of this for me.  This app is extremely accurate and keeps track of my pace, distance, speed and even the elevation I run at.  All I have to to is hit "start" and when I get home it is all synced to my page at Nikeplus.com.  I love the fact that it shares automatically with Facebook and Twitter.  While I'm running I get cheers if anyone comments or likes my status.  This gives me the extra little push I need.  There is also a lovely voice that tells me my stats every half mile, which is great if I'm running for time. The only downfall of this app is the amount of battery it drains from my phone.  I need at least 50% battery in order to make it through a 6 mile run while listening to music.  All in all this is the best app I've found so far for running.

Nike Vomero

I learned very quickly that the shoes I was running in were not for me.  At first I just thought it was me and I wasn't made for running.  Then after talking to a couple people I decided to go and get proper running shoes.  I visited Road Runner Sports and quickly found out this was exactly where I needed to be.  After talking with the salesman for a little bit they decided to run a couple tests on me to fit me for the right shoe.  I felt like a lab rat in the middle of the store but it was well worth it.  They scanned my feet to check my arches, had me run on a treadmill to determine how my feet impact the ground and finally fitted me for inserts.  I knew there was a catch and this is where they got me, but I'm glad they did.  The end result was a new pair of Nike Vomero shoes with custom inserts.  My feet no longer get sore when I run and I've been able to improve my running immensely.