C25K: W5D2 Completed

This morning I completed w5d2 of the C25k program and I really enjoyed the run. I feel energized! The session consists of an 8 min run+5min walk+8 min run sandwiched between the standard 5 min warm ups and cool-downs.

I had three goals for this session:

(1) make it through

(2) increase max cadence and avg cadence

(3) improve speed consistency during run segments

I nailed all three goals. Go me!

Make it through:

I started outside – it was 95 degrees with a real feel of 102 – and found that from the start of the warm up walk I couldn’t get enough oxygen (felt like I was breathing water). Therefore I moved my workout inside to the treadmill at the gym. That does take a little bit of wind out of my sails since I know treadmill running is easier than street/trail running. On the other hand, the objective was to get my heart rate up into the aerobic zone during the specified intervals (which I did), maintain a minimum speed of 5.0mpg during the run (which I did) and work on my cadence (which I did). So I’ll mark it as a victory, despite the advantage of the treadmill.

Increase max and avg cadence:

Two runs ago, my average cadence was 64 with a max of 80. Last run average was 66 with a max of 83. Today my average was 67 with a max of 87. Huge jump forward, which is great. (I’m working on improving the cadence b/c studies show max efficiency during runs is correlated with a cadence of 85-90.) Toward this goal I relied on the strategy of choosing music for my workout that had a higher cadence and then just took my strides in time to the beat.

Improve speed consistency:

No doubt the treadmill also helped me maintain the constant speed during the run segments. Hopefully I can keep that up on my next outdoor run.

Here are my stats for the run:

Garmin Stats

Comments

Board Game Review: Hues and Cues

Last week we received Hues and Cues from The Op Games. We recently finished playing through Scooby-Doo Escape from the Haunted Mansion (a fantastic game in The Op Games catalogue designed by Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim, and Kami Mandell that you should absolutely pick up to play with your family) and wanted to give another game from the same publisher a go. I picked Hues and Cues because I’ve been pleasantly surprised by other “test whether our minds think the same way” games such as The Mind and Wavelength. In Hues and Cues , players gather around a large central board comprised of 480 graduating colors of the rainbow surrounded by an x-y axis and scoring table. White and black (which are technically not colors) are conspicuously absent as are shades (mixtures of color + black; e.g., grey) and tints (mixtures of color + white; e.g., cream). On each player’s turn, they draw a card with four colors and the x-y axis codes of those colors depicted and they select one. They are in the

Board Game Review: Anno 1800

Whenever Martin Wallace designs a new game, I am all over it. This is because I absolutely love Brass Birmingham (another MW designed game); in fact Brass Birmingham is my #1 board game of all time. Over the years, his other games I've tried have been pretty good, but not necessarily amazing must-buys. Still, I keep trying each new release of his, searching for that next star performer. That's why I'm excited to report that Anno 1800 is, in fact, a star performer, and an amazing must-buy board game. Anno 1800 was adapted by the publisher (Kosmos) from a Ubisoft video game of the same name. In the board game, players take on the role of industrialists, charged with developing their island economies and exploring other islands. Each player begins the game with a personal industry board with trade & exploration ships, a shipyard, and industrial goods tiles printed on the board. A starting collection of workers (wooden cubes) of various types to produce the goods is a

Board Game Review: Obsessed with Obsession

I'm completely obsessed with Obsession! I received a review copy of the updated second edition along with all the expansions (Wessex, Useful Man, Upstairs Downstairs) and from the moment I took everything out of the boxes, my excitement was over the top. Actually, that's not even the half of it - I remember I was already quite excited before the game even arrived. I'd wanted to get my hands on a copy as soon as I learned there was a game that brought the lifestyle that we all fell in love with watching Downton Abbey to the gaming table. Back in 2021, I was having a great time at the Dice Tower Summer Retreat and a new friend Bonnie sang the praises of Obsession. She had seen me eyeing the box on the shelf and gave me a summary of the game mechanics as she owned the first edition. She explained that the theme is centered on running an estate in Derbyshire and competing against others to have the best home, reputation, gentry guests, etc. Based on her enthusiasm and descripti