Runner's World Run Plan App: So far, just a lot of random tapping

This morning I cranked open the Runner's World Run Plan app to see what new workout goodness awaited me.  This is what I saw:

"Threshold," I thought.  "Looks like speed work to me.  I don't think I've ever intentionally done a threshold workout.  Are they kind of like tempos?"  So I went to the Google and found this from a Runner's World article:

Well.  That clears it up.  Maybe.  I guess what I did could be considered a cruise-interval from the information above.  What I think I did is get completely tricked into running a-little-over-a-mile repeats, as the workout clearly called for two 2000K (around 1.25 miles) repeats.  And we all know how much I love (not really) mile repeats--I love them like getting three root canals all at once.  Large dog, as per his usual nonplussed self, was not bothered by this run plan trickery.

ZOMG WE WENT RUNNING ZOMG

While I sucked it up, buttercup, and did the workout, I felt good about those pseudo-mile repeats.  So good, in fact, that I threw up some jazz hands at the hubbs when he asked me how it went.

Jazz hands and animal butts.  You're welcome.

Anyway, enough about running.  Let's talk about this Runner's World Run Plan app.  Or rather, let's talk about how I'm basically paying for the time spent poking around in this app and asking questions only experienced (aka, those who have larger numbers on their ages) people who can't program their VCRs ask...especially since no one uses VCRs anymore and there's no one left that knows how to do it so they're asking questions to essentially the air around them.

But I digress.  Let's go through some of the questions I had to ask myself while trying to figure out this app:

1. Wait...*taptaptap*wait...*morefurioustapping*...where's my training plan?  For as much as I paid for the yearly subscription to this app, you'd think the training plan would jump out at you and be outlined with blinking neon lights.  Nope.  I opened up the calendar thinking it would be listed for me on each day, but all I saw was an empty wasteland of white space.

Where are the workouts? There they aren't.

People...it took me two full days to discover that I had to tap on the day and date to actually see the workout for each day.

Look over there...where you wouldn't expect it to be at all if you're old.

I was relieved to actually find the plan I paid for.  But then my stupid questions continued about the plan itself.

2. Wait...wait...how do I switch the days I do the workouts?  Now, you all know I get up at around 3:30 AM most days, and on Thursdays I have to be up at 3 AM to torture myself with exercise so I can get to work earlier than normal.  The plan originally had my easy run on Wednesday mornings and my threshold (aka "mile repeats in disguise") workouts on Thursday mornings.  Since I like to keep my Thursday morning workouts as short as possible, I tapped around the app for a good 15 minutes before I found out how to switch it in the preferences.  

While it took me forever, it's actually pretty neat that you can customize the plan so much after it's generated - and then it will recalculate the plan for you through the magic of computers and running pixie dust.

3. Wait...wait...WHOA why do I have double the mileage?!? So the app does transfer workouts you do in other apps, like Garmin, Strava, and Fitbit, to name a few.  I did set that up when I first opened the app, but then got all confused one day when I was tap-tap-tapping around trying to find a workout when I saw this screen with that big blue tantalizing button at the bottom:

It's big.  It's blue.  It's begging to be tapped.

That button lured me in, making me think that the app hadn't picked up the workout from Garmin-land where I normally keep my workouts.  So I logged it, and then ended up with double the total miles and a stern "Off Target" warning in the "Manage" section.  And I ended up with one last question...

4. Alright.  Wait.  I have to delete the workout I just stupidly logged.  How do I do that?!?  One stupid act leads to another stupid question, I guess.  It took me a solid 5 minutes to realize that to delete a workout you had to head over to the calendar, click on the name of the workout, click the little pencil and whatever that is icon that means "Edit," I guess, to get to this screen:

Oh there it is. SO OBVIOUS

I give that whole process a frowny-face.

While I have really enjoyed the workouts so far this week, I have not enjoyed feeling like my mom every time we got a new TV growing up that came with an increasingly complicated remote control ("Uhh...kids...I was trying to find a cooking show and ended up deleting all the channels except the one that shows nothing but static all the time.  Can you reprogram this thing?!?") every time I try to operate this app.  But, you know, God forbid I tap over to Chrome on my phone and, you know, like Google these answers. God for-freaking-bid.

And God forbid we forget the learnings:

• I didn't know if those pseudo-mile repeats were going to be successful this morning in the 14 mph winds we had.  But they were, to my pleasant surprise.
• This blog definitely needs more jazz hands.
• I know that mistakes are how you learn but when you're old you just wonder if those mistakes are a sign you're losing your marbles earlier than expected.
• I was not kidding about my mom - two TVs destroyed beyond repair after she got ahold of those remotes.
• I could have Googled what I needed to know, but it's way more fun not to and then blog about it.

Tomorrow's workout: Supposed to be a 3-4 mile easy run, but that's going to turn into some strength training if we get the thunderstorms they're predicting.