#42 Exercise: I think my watch is a fake

Last Wednesday, I proudly hit the snooze from 6:30 to 7:20 in the morning, before I finally pried myself out of bed for a morning run. Less than a quarter mile in, I forget how to get off a curb, and land hard. On my phone! (I've had it a month). I've been using it as a timer for my intervals, and to time my fixed run (only 1.5 miles at this point).

Scratched but alive, me and my phone get up and continue for the rest of the workout. I even do weights that night! (The  reason I was running in the morning was missing my Tuesday night workout, but due to cooler weather, I might try to continue it.) However, Thursday I make my way to the store to get a watch.

The Timex brand seems to have good reviews for sports watches, so I pick their "Marathon" brand. In my ignorance, I think a split/lap functionality means it's good for intervals. Wait, no, it's for timing the miles within a marathon!

Friday I was going to run, but I forgot the sports bra, so I ended up using the elliptical, and did the run Saturday. At this point, I'm two days behind schedule. However, I spend an hour on Saturday trying to find the manual for my watch (none came with it). Timex apparently doesn't remember carrying this model, nor does it have any configured this way. Interesting. Using the other Ironman X Lap manuals as a guide, I realize-- my watch is missing all kinds of features, like, REPEATING A TIMER.

So, now every time I want to repeat a 1-minute interval, I have to reset the timer. I also don't have the option of a 2-minute timer, it just goes straight from 1 minute to 3!

Perhaps this is why it was on sale? Should I try to return it?

#42 Exercise: I will Run a 10K

I'm nowhere near as fit as many of my friends, and by that I mean most weeks I'm lucky to move more than it takes to get to the bus stop. However, reality is creeping in: I drew a bad number in the healthy-genes lottery. My diet is mostly good, so exercise is my focus: lose weight, run, and get stronger.

So, I've decided to train for races as both carrot and stick. Carrot: when I finish, I can tell people I did it! Stick: if I don't, I have to admit failure. I already ran/walked a 5K back in May, and there aren't any more 5Ks soon, so I signed up for a 10K! In two months.

In order to do this in a reasonable time, I will have to train quite regularly. I will also have to live a little healthier (give up that occasional cigarette when out with friends, that third cocktail, all that). I also need to care for my knees, since they start to feel bad after about 5K.

I'm a week in, and so far, so good. Weights tomorrow, run Tuesday.