Diary the577

40 Miles to Oregon

So tonight I finished my calibration sets, which means tomorrow will be my first official run!

I originally proposed to run 50 miles before the Oregon Reunion, but cuz it took so long for my SportBand to get here, I'm gonna have to cut down that goal to 40 miles. I know, I know...40 miles in 8 weeks isn't much at all -- that comes out to 1 mile per day, 5 days a week 'til 4th of July -- but really my short-term goal is to be able to jog a full mile non-stop.

I've been in this position before. In 6th grade, I was a chubby kid that would eat two hot dogs & fries everyday for lunch, struggling to not be the slowest guy in my class. In 7th grade, I was convinced by Mike H. to join cross-country for fun. By 9th grade, I ran my best mile at 6:48 minutes and was just 2 inches shy of getting the Presidential Physical Fitness Award.

I've done it before. I know I can do it again.

Anyways, you'll be able to track my progress with this little widget that'll be plastered on my blog:

In other news, James hit me up earlier tonight and told me www.nikeplus.com has restocked on the new SportBand, so order yours today while you still can!

Once you get yours, here's a few things you should expect:

  • You need to calibrate your SportBand in two separate sessions -- one for walking, one for running. Reason being you can only calibrate from your last session.
  • Do the walking calibration at a track, sync it with your computer and make note of the exact distance you completed.
  • Do the same as above but with you running the whole way.
  • These two calibrations must be over 0.25 miles (i.e. one lap around the track). I suggest doing at least 0.375 miles (one-and-a-half laps) so you don't get the dreaded "your last run was not good enough" error.
  • After calibration, the sensor will know when you're walking and when you're running.
  • You can do multiple sessions before you sync it with your computer.
  • You can pause in the middle of a session if you really, really, really need to.
  • There is no backlight on the SportBand, which kinda sucks if you plan on running at night like me.

That should help you get started. Lemme know when you get yours! In the meantime, starting tomorrow, I'll be working on my 40 miles.

Happy trails!