Change is good- not just thr coins rattling around in your pocket, but a change in running route. I get pretty tied to favorite routes, running to improve time, pace over the same run, etc.

But ho-hum, time for change.

Today I just ran in the opposite direction, south on Granite Reef to Indian School, west to the Green Belt, and north again to home. It was still on the slow side, but somewhere on Hayden, I had a burst of speed.

At least I did not give in and stay home, especially with the wind storm we had yesterday that dropped the temperatures– this may have been the last “cool” morning for 4 months!

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I’m thinking I need to pick an organized run to aim for. I got up early on a Sunday determined to have a better paced run of my “usual” 6 mile loop. Okay, I should not have stayed up til midnight watching an awful movie (”Ice Harvest”, a real dog), but I did get a nice long afternoon nap yesterday.

Anyhow, I decided to shake up the routine by running the loop in the opposite direction. It dod not go well, when I turned the corner to head north on Pima (behind the wall from the main Pima road). I was going pretty darn slow as as. I saw cones and yellow tape across Pima, but figured it was pacing and I could head up the sidewalk. But it looked like something different as there was a police car stopped acrss the raod, lights flashing. The cop was not happy I had crossed the line, and was not very open when I asked if I could pass around the back of his car. It looked like a car had rammed a telephone pole, as it was bent and tilted. It was a dumb thing for me to do, and the cop yelled at me, “did’t you see the barrier”, so I hunched back, and retreated, and had to back track a different route north.

As my spirit guide would say, “What a Maroon!”

I was pretty plodding along the rest of the route, just determined to finish the loop I had committed to. There were a few stretches of somewhat better paced, nothing near the run of my last half marathon though. I feel pretty much like I lost all the training done over the last 9 months, and was at ground zero.

Also, today was the first day running with the new insulin pump loaded with real insulin. I am imagining as I learn to fine tune it, for running, I will need to do a temp basal drop to decrease the flow while exercising.

And the sun was baking blazing hot… and it is only May. We always forget the full intensity of the Arizona summer until it hits us again.

I ran today for a first test run wearing the new insulin pump. It was not too much a big deal, a few more ounces in the fanny pack (where I carry the iPod, keys, and glucose tablets).

It did not make me go any faster

I fact, I pretty much did this as a lethargic jog- a few bursts closer to a 10k pace.

New Tech Device

Originally uploaded by cogdogblog.

After 35+ year of traditiional insulin via syringes, I am moving into the age of an insulin pump. This little pager size device (Medtronic Paradigm 722) is a powerful litle computer, and comes with a thick ownsers manual.

All of the changes are a bit overwhelming. Okay, I am giving up one thing (in jecting long term insulin, so no more Lantus), but now I have revervoirs, infusion sets, carb counting, and all kinds of micro-managing.

Until now I have been extremely sloppy on my diet and tracking, which will all need to change as my insulin “bolus”- the amount extra taken at meals, needs to be correlated closely with how much I eat.

For the first two days, i wore it filled with saline, taking my normal injections, to get used to having it attached and pretending to do my doses. It seems like a lot, but I am confident it will become second nature.

In the long run, this should help a lot, as the little incrementing flow of small doses of insulin will better mimic what my body is supposed to do.

Ugh, I was slow poking today. But I’ve not run diddly squat in the last month, and the purpose of today’s run was to climb back in the saddle, and run my 6 mile loop. That I did. So it was 6 miles, success.

The sky was unusually cloudy for a May morning, and the sun glasses were not even needed. The temperatures are still tolerable at 5:30 AM.

It will/should only get better.

More work related travel– this week it is Austin for a week long workshop at some forgettable hotel near the intersection of 2 freeways. On 3 mornings, I talk myself out of getting out and running (stayed up too late, not adjustig to the time).

Today, my excuses go weak, and I do a slow 2 miles along the busy frontage road, and then thankfully cutting away to some neighborhoods. The terrrain is nice, gentle hills, enough change to keep the mind challenged. And the air in the morning is still cool and not quite yet laden with humidity.

Gotta get back in regular routine and SOON!

I am in San Francisco for a work meeting at the lovely Grand Hyatt near Union Square. I wake up early, yet even at 6:00 Am the small fitness center is jam packed, and the 3 treadmills are in motion with what looks like a line.

Sigh, I resort to one of the other LifeFitness machines, one of those ski/stepper like ones. Even with my iPod I am bored silly, and manage to do about 35 minutes worth, and according to their mileage, about 2-3 miles worth.

Oh well, it counts, eh?

It’s an old expression we use all the time- we use our cars, but refer to it as “oh I was out all Saturday running errands.”. With gas prices as they are, the environment crumbling in the polar regions, my wife and I are committed to trying to live simpler in small ways.

One thing we did was sell our second car- the Volkswagen Beetle is now in the hands of a teenager, and we have one less gas tank and insurance policy to deal with. My new job allows me to work at home, so it is not a problem at all with one vehicle (the pickup truck is, ahem, not all that gas efficient).

Anyhow, this is all a long prelude to saying this morning, I combined an overdue run (like 2 weeks overdue) with an errand- I ran to my bank to make a deposit, and ran home.

Big deal, eh?

The weather is hinting at a quick heat up, but the temps at 5:30 were delightful… once the sun had poked out, it got hot in a hurry, and I am glad I decided to carry a water bottle. It was a fairly (well completely) easy run, but it was good to get out, and do an hour+ and… I was running an errand. Truly!