Training Shake-up

Blessings from Mother Earth before
my first Paleo Shoes workout.

I use the word "running" loosely. It's more like the goal rather than what's happening with my training right now. I've downloaded a million tracking apps and beginning running apps to help me run more miles. However if there is anyway for me to take something simple and make it overwhelming complicated - I am always up for the challenge!

The voice apps dictating how many walking / running minutes I need to do just didn't work for me. What do I do about street lights? Waiting for cars? Do I stop the app? When do I start it again? Is it valid now?!?!?  Plus I really don't like being told what to do. I have a *bit* of a gypsy soul. (Link: "Gypsy" by Fleetwood Mac).

5 years of Walk/Jogs

What I really love about running is that it is an individual experience rather than a team one. No one has to depend on me and I don't need to depend on someone else. However it's also something you can do individually with a lot of people. My individual gypsy soul can be part of a communal moving meditation.

Right now I am using the Nike tracking app. There is a lot I wish it had but I also hate the idea of starting all over after all the miles I've logged.   Seeing the cumulative miles does something for me psychologically. And last Saturday I reached 500 miles! Six of them were in Paleo Shoes and more to log this week!  The app is really simple. I set the pacing notifications for every half mile to assess where I am at in my workout. I also really enjoy mocking the "atta girl" messages at the end of the run from athletes I don't know. Sarcasm motivates me but deep down I appreciate them.

First Workout in my Paleo Shoes!

In my first Paleo Shoes run I realized I could use the half mile notifications in a different way. Kind of the like the walking minutes / running minutes apps.  I've decided the first half mile is walking, the second half mile is running as much as I can and repeat. The goal is building up distance and actual running time. Hopefully I will connect more of the running half mile segments together. Like individual legos coming together and building a glorious structure of full running miles.  I can tweak with it down the road changing  run / walk orders and frequency. Plus it is really simple for my complicated brain!