Rain is wet, but 63 degrees feel pretty darn good

It was just misting a little bit this morning when I headed out. I don't check the weather before I go out in the mornings; I only check the low the night before. I don't want anything to discourage me from heading out in the morning. So, last night's low was 58 and I dressed accordingly. It was nice to not have to put on all those layers. I also only wore an ear band instead of my wooly little hat. I found out pretty quick that the ear band is not a friend of the iPod ear buds....there were some issues there. I also found out that when it starts raining, a cap is in order. I was wiping the rain off my face. It wasn't real hard rain, but it was enough for me to think that I was a bit nuts for tackling today's run outside. But, I did it. All three miles. And I only had to stop one time. Small victory there. About the time I finished up, the bottom really fell out of the sky. Good timing there.

I do think that I almost have the Nike thing set on my iPod. The Nike Voice Man did give me accurate distance today. (I drove my route in the car last night and also wore a pedometer this morning.) Nike Voice Man was pretty cool too. I set the distance I am going to run and then select "begin workout". Then, along the run he would tell me when I was 0.5 miles, 1.0 miles, etc. Then he said something about "workout half way completed". That was pretty good timing because that is when it was raining pretty good. But his encouragement, along with 'Brick House' by the Commodores on my iPod, encouraged me to continue. Once I got half way, Nike Voice Man started counting down the distance. So that's a nice little push too. And, since this was the first real callibrated run that I've done with the Nike+iPod, it registered as a "personal best" and I got a congratulations message from Lance Armstrong. How about that! Other music that kept me moving this morning was The Cars, OK Go, and Good Charlotte.

My shins did not hurt this morning as much as my calves. So I'm chalking that up to success because maybe it's more muscle today than bone. I can work through shin splints, but I do not want a stress fracture. I'm hopeful some of the soreness is because of the stretches I'm doing. I'm still holding out for progress to be made as a result of my new fancy running shoes and the exercises Nanette gave me. Plus, I have to remember that I've only been doing this distance stuff a little over a week.

Overall, a very nice, albeit wet, morning.

Training schedule for the week:

• Sunday - cross training (did Pilates yesterday)
• Monday - 3 miles (done!)
• Tuesday - off
• Wednesday - 3 miles
• Thursday - 3 miles
• Friday - off
• Saturday - 6 miles

Progress made:
Nike+iPod successfully calibrated.

Lesson learned:
Even the slightest bit of mist or rain really calls for a cap.