A great 7-mile run

I just returned from a great 7-mile run! The temperature was 50 when I left, and the sun was just peeping over the mountains. On the way back I stopped to talk with a friend who lives next to the canal about 0.8 miles from my home. He was picking apples and gave me one to eat on my way home. Boy, fresh apples sure taste better than the ones in the stores! He said he would have a sack of apples for me to take home when I pass by on Saturday.

My wakeup HR was 50 this morning, a great sign that my body is recovering from my last surgeries and resulting layoff from running for a week.

A great running day

My wakeup HR was 51, and I felt pretty good! I've slept well the past couple of weeks, and that helps my HR to come down. I sleep until I wake up naturally. Normally, I get 7 hours of sleep. However, after my surgeries, my sleep has gone up to 8-9 hours, and then as I recovered it has come back to the 7 hours. After my last two surgeries three weeks ago, I went through two weeks of 8 hours sleep, and now I'm back to 7 hours. Interesting how our bodies adjust conditions to give them the rest they need.

I added 0.6 miles to my route for a total of 7 miles. I was out early, and the temperature was in the mid 40s when I left -- a great running day, and a great run! The canal water was low on Saturday, and I was worried they might have turned it off for the winter. However, it was back up this morning.

My body is starting to recover from my last skin cancer surgery

This morning my wakeup HR was down to 53, a good sign that my body is recovering from my last two skin-cancer surgeries two weeks ago. I ran the 6.4 route again and felt pretty good. When I had about half a mile left, I saw my wife and grandson, Eric, walking along the canal road. They came out to see Grandpa. I walked home with them. We stopped to get some plums from a tree growing next to the canal road. It was nice to see them!

My body is still tired

My wakeup HR was 55. I ran my 6.4 route along the canal and felt ok but a bit more tired than on Tuesday.

A nice 6.4 mile run today

My wakeup HR was high today, 57, but I ran my 6.4 mile stretch along the canal. I felt pretty good. The last two times I ran, I only ran 5.9 miles because I started getting tired (recovery from my 7.8 mile run). I didn't get tired today, even though my HR was high. I had a pretty good recovery from my last two skin-cancer surgeries two weeks ago, and I would have run last week but I had a busy schedule and chose to take rest days instead of running in the evening when I was tired.

Today, when I had about a mile left, I could feel my legs starting to tighten up a bit, but the tightening didn't increase (in fact it went away) so I continued running. It wasn't much, just enough that I could feel it a little bit. It felt good to get back on the canal road again.

My pace varies from 10 min/mile to 12. I'm running at my comfortable pace and am concentrating on distance not speed. I'll run 6.4 miles this week and then if I feel good, I'll try 7.0 miles next week. It's getting cooler, and that helps a lot. It was about 58 or 59F when I left home for the run. Lots of shade along the road.

I saw several families of ducks along the canal. The ducklings are now fully grown and fly away when I approach, but they seem to be staying together as a group. I guess they will stay on the canal until instinct tells them to go south for the winter. I saw two ducks that were beginning to get color on their head and wings, while the third duck was all brown. So, I guess the beautiful mallard color takes a couple of years to develop.

Family hike today, skin cancer surgery tomorrow...

Today was Labor Day, and we had a family outing up Big Cottonwood Canyon to hike up to Lake Mary. The trail is only 1 mile each way, but it is all uphill. In the 1 mile, we increased in elevation by 700 feet, which is about a 13% grade! I was pretty tired when we got down. No running today. Not much of a rest day, either. Tomorrow at 7:15 am I report to the doctor for removal of two skin cancers.

Still Tired today

My wakeup HR was 53 again. I still felt tired, so I ran the 5.9 miles again. I'm going to be taking off next week due to skin cancer surgeries, so I wanted to get a few miles in. After I recover from the surgery, I'll have to work up to the 6.4 miles that I've been running and then do smaller increments to get back up to the 7.8 miles.

Very tired today, but I didn't listen to my body :(

My wakeup HR was 53. I ran this morning, but I felt tired and aborted and came home. My distance was 5.9 miles. I should have rested today. I could tell when I left home that I was tired, but I ignored my body and went out. Fortunately, after 2.9 miles I heeded my body's call for rest and turned around. Violating the 10% rule last Tuesday was a poor idea :(