Now that the Run Trainer 2.0 is out in the marketplace, I can see it gaining momentum in the running and triathlon community.  This watch is certainly getting a lot of well deserved airtime out there and for good reason.  Hope all of you enjoy this great new product from Timex!  My favorite video clips are the new “I Am A Runner” videos put together so well from the Timex creative team back in February at camp.  The stories about Meredith and Luis are so inspirational.  You can see them here.

Also, I thought I’d attach a  hill repeat workout I did on Wednesday on a  trail near my home in Highlands Ranch.  This was done in the early AM hours so the use of the the indiglo (which can now be kept on all the time as an option) was definitely handy as I ran in the dark. The 2.0 is certainly getting a lot of use in our house as my wife is training for her 2nd 50 mile ultra run this June.  The watch has accompanied her on her 4+ hour runs and does not dissapoint! 

Hope all of your training is going well,

 Tim

The Run Trainer 2.0′s incredible display in Review mode.

It’s been a while since I have been field testing the new soon to be unveiled Timex Run Trainer 2.0 and every time I take it on a workout, it’s been spot on (you can see full deatils of it on timex.com). This morning I did the PowerBar Big Easy Snowshoe Race while wearing the watch and it was nothing short of spectacular. The most obvious and visually pleasing feature is the new LCD display. I have never seen a GPS watch from Timex have this type of display and it really makes this watch a keeper. 

It was a great day for snowshoe racing.

The race was a challenging 10K race up in Breckenridge, CO and a good lung burner for sure. The 2.0 had a nice and easy to read menu to show me all the basics (time, pace, distance, etc) plus a nice little reminder that my Heart Rate hit 181 at mile 2.13. I finished in a little under 55 minutes to get 1st overall in this tougher than normal 10K. I chatted it up a little to some fellow racers and got some great feedback. Be on the lookout for this new Timex watch hitting stores in March!

As we are only 8 days into the New Year, I thought it was about time to get in my annual long swim for 2013.  After a lot of thought, I decided to do 13 x 1000’s.  I knew this would take be a while to complete, so I hit the 25 yard pool this morning at 5:07AM.  These long pool workouts are primarily mental.  As long as you don’t keep looking at the clock and follow the workout, you’ll be done before you know it.  As my Timex Race Trainer PRO ticked away on the pool deck, the time flew by and I finished in 3 hours and 13 minutes.  Kind of ironic since it is 2013.  Below is the workout that I created.  Have a great New Year!

Westridge Rec Center, Highlands Ranch, CO

Start Time: 5:07AM

Fuel: 4 PowerBar Gels, 40oz. PowerBar Restore drink (800n calories total)

Distance: 13,000 yards (7.38 miles)

13 x 1000′s for 2013 – no more than 1 minute rest in-between each 1000

1) 1000 swim e/o 25 fast

2) 1000 pull e/o 50 fast

3) 10 x 100 swim on 1:25

4) 1000 IM (as 10 x 100′s IM back to back)

5) 1000 as 50 swim/25 kick til you hit 1000

6) 5 x 200 swim/pull alt on 2:40

7) 4 x 100 swim on 1:25, then 100 fast (do this 2 times)

8) 1000 swim locomotive by 500 (1 stroke hard on 1st length, 2 strokes hard on 2nd length, etc.) Should get to 20 strokes by 500 then start over

9) 1000 pull locomotive by 500 (same as above but pulling)

10) 10 x 100 build on 1:30

11) 3 x 300  on 2:05 (middle 300 pull) then 100 fast

12) 1000 IM (125 for each stroke then repeat)

13) 1000 free (100 steady/100 FAST)

Connor (in red) and Spencer (wearing my bib #282) at start of the 1/4 mile run on Colorado Springs. Connor’s wearing the stylin’ reversible TIMEX beanie.

Happy New Year everyone! I still can’t believe that 2013 is here and another racing season is upon us. Something I have never done in all of my years of racing is running a New Year’s Day 5K. After a few brief searches on the web, I found The Rescue Run  in Colorado Springs that the whole family could be a part of. The highlight was by far seeing my 6 year old twin boys race in the 1/4 mile Toddler Trot before my race at 10AM. Spencer and Connor had so much fun that Connor said he wanted to do the School Age 1 mile race right afterwards. It was a brisk 20 degrees at the start, but that didn’t stop over 800 people showing up to vow that getting in shape was at least one of their New Year’s Resolutions.

Mile 2.5ish

Since my 50K race on November 17^th, I really tried to let my body rest and recover (though it is one of the hardest things for me to do).  Even though I thought my body was losing shape, it really didn’t.  The speed came back and a lot of the aches and pains from the many races in 2012 seemed to kind of dissipate.  The 5K was all uphill for the way out, and downhill for the way back. It was very hard and short, but as usual, I pushed myself to the limit.  It really felt good to run fast on the 1st of the year. I placed 4th overall and my Timex Marathon GPS was the best choice for the race. It gave me an exact distance of 3.1 miles! The added topper was winning free admission for the family and I to the famed Cliff Dwellings Museum later that afternoon.

Later on, my dad emailed me and said that on the same day, but only 1000 miles away, my mom had won her age group (F65-69) in the 2013 Resolution Solution 5K in White Bear Lake, MN.  Way to go mom!

Looking forward to another great season on the Timex team!