The tools of the trade

I have a bunch of 'tools' that will help me in my journey.

The first is www.gmap-pedometer.com. It is an application by Google Maps that you can use to lay out a course on regular roads and it will tell you how far of a distance it is. I use it to plot my running courses to get an accurate measure of how far I've run. I use the 'satellite' option so that I can spot landmarks when I don't know the name of the streets. And if I don't want to follow the main roads (like at work, I use backroads to run) I use the 'manual' option in recording my route. Have fun playing around with it, I love it.

I also use www.dailymile.com. It is a training log for workouts. It tells me my average speed if I put in my time and distance. It keeps a log of how far I've run, how many times, etc.

I also have an excel spreadsheet where I also keep this information as well. It is easier for me to see my speeds and distances in this spreadsheet than dailymile and comopare them than on dailymile. Plus I have different tabs in my workbook to also keep track of my weights and my training schedule to make sure I'm following it.

My watch, which helps me with both of the above tools. I bought a cheap $15 watch at Target. All I wanted on it was a stopwatch. I use it to time my runs. It works great except that it is giving me a watch tan line ;)

I bought face sunblock for my runs that occur during the daylight hours. I was told that I looked like I was getting a tan and that worried me. I was worried about getting skin cancer on my face because I was running out there in the sun 4 times a week. So I bought some facial sunblock and have been using it. Don't know if it is working or not, but it makes me feel better that it is there.

I also bought a headband from Fit2Run (the running store here in Tampa). It is one of those ones that helps pull the moisture off of your head (that's what they're for, duh!) but supposedly it 'wicks' the sweat away from you and out into the air. So it helps keep you dry. Yes, I look like a dork wearing it, but hey, anything to help keep the sweat and sunblock out of my eyes.

FitDay is the one I don't use enough - www.fitday.com. It is a free website where you can log your food intake. If you don't have the nutritional information on what you are eating, you can look it up and it gives you the average of all the different brands out there (from my understanding anyway). It really helps you keep track of your food intake and you can see what foods you need to eat more of (like protein over carbs).

As I'm typing this, I'm unable to connect to FitDay. I'm at work and it is a possibility that the site became blocked (though I don't know why it would be). I was going to share with you my specific FitDay page. Perhaps that would keep me on track better, if I was thinking that you all were watching what I was eating as well.

You can use FitDay to also track your exercise if you want to. But I've not done it before. I have used it to track my weight, but again - not consistently.

The biggest and best tool of the trade is my iPod. I don't know what I would do without it. I need the background noise. I don't use it to set my pace as I listen to all types of music with different beats. I just need the noise and the distraction of it.

Those are my tools and the items that help me get through my workouts. Hopefully one of them will help you as well in your journey (whatever it may be).