Two days in a row!

I usually run Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. This week, however, I ran Tuesday, Wednesday, and hopefully Saturday. Yesterday I did my 4-mile rest run, and today I did my 9-mile medium run. My wakeup HR this morning was 50, and I felt pretty good. I had a good run, but as I approached my walking break at the 8-mile point, I could feel that my right calf was getting tight. I thus walked 0.2 miles for that break to relax the calf (I usually walk .06 mile for the break), and my calf felt fine during the last mile of the run. Going into the run I was concerned that I might not make it the full 9 miles since I had run yesterday. However, I did well, and this indicates that I'm getting stronger. I had tried two or three months ago, to run two days in a row and couldn't do it.

The temperature was in the mid 40s (F), and the sky was mostly cloudy on the way out and partly cloudy on the way back. A 8-10 mph head wind on the way out gave me a challenge, and I was looking forward to having that wind as a tail wind on the way back. But, as usually happens around here, the wind died down in mid morning, and I had only a 5 mph tail wind on the way back. I saw several sets of ducks in rain puddles in the canal. Usually I see one male paired with one female, but today I saw one male and two females--must be one of the Utah polygamists that you hear about :)

Training Graphs

First good night's sleep since last week

I had a great sleep last night. I awoke twice but went right back to sleep. The night before was almost as good. Last Thursday night, when I only got 3-4 hours sleep, disrupted my sleep pattern, and it has taken this long for my body to recover. Because of the sleep disruption I didn't do my long run last Saturday.

I would have run my four miles yesterday, but my boss from work called and wanted me to come in ASAP to fix a problem. I thus postponed the run until this morning and had a great 4-mile rest run. We had a lot of rain last night, so I ran the long city street instead of tramping through the mud on the canal road. My wakeup HR was 50 this morning (51 yesterday morning). The temperature was in the mid 40s (F). A great day to be out.

Training Graphs

Taking a rest day today

When I got to work on Thursday, I was given an assignment that had to be completed that day. I worked all evening and into the early morning to finish it. I finally got into bed at 4 am, and I awoke as usual at 6:30 am. I slept a little bit after 6:30, and I took a short nap in the afternoon. As a result I only had about four hours sleep. Last night was not much better, not because I was up late but because my body was tired, and I didn't sleep very well; I got about five hours sleep. I'm not running today to help my body recover from the lack of sleep. I could go out and run, but I probably wouldn't get far, and my body would more tired on Monday.

Training Graphs

Extended my medium run by a mile

I ran 9 miles this morning and had a good run. I kept an even pace for 7 miles, and then I started getting tired and slowed down a bit to finish the run. My wakeup HR was 52. I got 7 1/2 hours of good sleep last night, and I'm sure that helped, too. This week is week 12 of my marathon plan.

It was a sunny day, with a 5 mph head wind on the way back. The temperature was in the 50s (F). I saw two pairs of ducks (1 male and 1 female) in the canal swimming in pools of runoff from the rain and melting snow that we've been having. We'll probably have water in the canal in seven weeks, and then I'll start to see new ducklings swimming with their mother.

Training Graphs

A great rest run that did what it's supposed to do

I ran my four-mile rest run this morning, and I felt great before, during, and after. My wakeup HR was 52 (53 yesterday). The canal trail was muddy from a wet snow over the weekend, so I ran the long city street that I've mentioned in the past.

The temperature was in the 30s when I left and was in the 40s when I returned 48 minutes later. A great day!

Training Graphs

Wow! What a run!

Today I added a mile to my long run and did 11 miles. Even though I wasn't trying for speed, I ran faster than I have been and averaged 12.25 minutes/mile. That time includes 10 one-minute walking breaks and 10 brief stops to wait at intersections for traffic. The walking breaks and stops probably cost me about 8 or 9 minutes, but the walking breaks invigorated me such that I kept up a steady pace for the whole 11 miles. I ran at my "comfortable pace", and today that pace was faster, indicating my body was rested. My wakeup HR was 52. I was surprised that I felt so good, because I got home from work very late last night, and it was 1:30 am when I got to bed. I woke up every two hours to go to the bathroom and to drink some more water. Then, I woke up at my usual 6:30 am as the daylight was beginning to come in. I measured my wakeup HR then, and it was 55. I went back to sleep until 8:00, but it wasn't a sound sleep. All told, I think I had about 6 1/2 hours instead of my normal 7 - 7 1/2 hours of sleep.

The temperature was 50F when I left, and the sky was overcast. I wore my running shorts and a regular short-sleeved T-shirt. A few drops of rain came down soon after I started, and the sky became partly cloudy for the rest of the run. It was 50F when I returned.

Now that my long run is stretching out, I'm getting back into the areas of the canal road that I ran last November and December. Sorta like old home week...

Yesterday I used mapmyrun.com to map the canal road. Here is the link to my map. I've mapped 10.85 miles and still have a few more miles to figure out. So far, I've run about 8 miles of the road (not all at once, of course). The map won't show with Firefox, but it will show with IE and Netscape 8.1. I've had the best results with Netscape.

The canal road

8 Mile Medium Run -- Nothing to it :)

I didn't run on Monday because I didn't sleep very well and was tired. Today, however, is different! I had a great 8 mile run today. My wakeup HR was 52, and I felt great when I left, during the run, and after I returned. I've done the 8 mile run probably a dozen times since last Fall, and I'm getting used to it. I'll be glad when I feel that way about my 15 mile long run; I should be adjusted to the 15 miler before my next birthday in October.

I don't know what the stress was that interfered with my sleep Sunday night. Monday night was a bit better, and last night was pretty good. A lack of sleep really affects me.

Training Graphs

Me run 10 miles? No problem!

Since last week was a fall-back week, this week was my recovery week, and I ran a 10-mile long run again. I felt fine during the run and afterwards. My wakeup HR was 51. During the run there were snow flurries, but nothing heavy. By the time I got back, the sun was out. If all goes well next week, I'll do 11 miles next Saturday.

When I first woke up, I'd had about 6 1/2 hours of sleep. I measured my wakeup HR and it was 54. I felt tired, so I went back to sleep for half an hour and then measured my wakeup HR at 51, and I felt much better.

Training Graphs

My body adjusted to yesterday's medium run ok

Today and tomorrow are rest days, but I checked my wakeup HR this morning to see how well my body is recovering from yesterday's 8 mile run. My HR was 52, the same as yesterday, indicating my body is recovering well. I feel fine this morning.

Training Graphs

Felt good to run today!

My wakeup HR was 52, and I had a nice 8 mile run. There was a cool 5-7 mph tail wind when I left, and I had to run against it on the way back. The sky was partially cloudy, and the sun felt good. The temperature in the sun was 32 when I left and 46 when I returned. Probably in the mid 30s in the shade when I returned.

I took one-minute walking breaks and enjoyed them. Since last week was my fall-back week, this week is my recovery week, and I'll do 10 again on Saturday. Next week will be week 11 of my marathon plan.

Training Graphs

Nice family walks over the weekend

On Friday my wife and I drove 12 hours to southern Arizona to visit my son and his family. Because of this I didn't do my planned 8-mile fall-back long run. Instead, we (my wife, my son, his wife, my granddaughter, and their two dog and I) went for a nice, easy 3.0 mile walk on Saturday and another 1.5 mile walk on Sunday. An enjoyable time together. On Monday, my wife and I drove back to our home in Utah. We stopped in Zion National Park and walked 1 mile in the Zion Narrows. We would have walked farther but we still had a 6-hour drive ahead of us.

Training Graphs

Today is an unexpected rest day

I only got 5 hours sleep last night due to getting home from work quite late and having some things to do before I went to bed. When I awoke, I could tell I was tired, so I'm not running today. My wakeup HR was 53.

Training Graphs