Feeling stronger during my run

I ran 5 miles on the Jordan River Parkway and felt stronger and more energetic than I did during the past two days. My wakeup HR was 51 again. I've been sleeping well this past week. My son and I are almost through moving boxes from the storage unit, so the next two days should be a better rest period than they were last week.

Many swallows at the 106th South Tunnel

A flock of swallows have chosen the tunnel under 106th South as their new neighborhood. If you look closely at the openings in the nests, you can see the beaks of swallows that are in the nests. My guess is they are cliff swallows because they don't have forked tails, have the correct coloring, and their nests look like those from cliff swallows. Click a picture for a larger view.

Two swallows at 98th South Tunnel

Two swallows are starting to build a nest on a light fixture in the tunnel under 98th South. They are a dark color and have a pronounced forked tail. Click a picture for a larger view.

South Jordan tree farm is doing well

A few months ago, I mentioned in this blog that South Jordan City was planting a tree farm next to the Jordan River Parkway. The trees will be used to line city streets. The trees have been planted and are doing well.

Feeling better today than yesterday

My wakeup HR decreased from yesterday's 57 to 51, a good sign that my body is starting to recover from my workouts on Friday and Saturday carrying boxes. I could tell, though, that I'm still tired. I thus ran 3.5 miles at about the same pace as yesterday.

A recovery run today

On Friday I spent about 8 hours moving boxes from a storage unit to my son's new house. On Saturday I spent about 6 hours moving boxes. As a result I was tired on Sunday and still tired today. My wakeup HR this morning was 57, a 20% increase above my normal. After I got up, I had to make a decision if I would go running or take a rest day. I decided to go running, and I ran 3 miles on the Jordan River Parkway. I took it easy and didn't push myself. My pace varied from 11:15 to about 12:15. I realized that if I pushed myself this morning, when I knew I was tired, I wouldn't have a good run tomorrow.

The shade temperature was 70 (F) when I returned and was in the high 60s (F) when I left. I felt the heat, and I'm going to have to start carrying water/Gatorade. I've been sleeping well this past week, but my ordeal of the boxes means I'll have to go through a recovery period.

Birds building mud nests on the 106th South Bridge

As I approached the tunnel under 106th South, I saw a young boy looking at the bridge over the tunnel with his binoculars. I saw that he was looking at a lot of mud bird nests on the edge of the bridge. There were a number of birds going in and out of the nests. Tomorrow I'll take my camera and get some pictures of the birds and nests.

Here is my wallpaper on my PC desktop

I just had a request for the photo I'm using on my PC desktop. I thought I'd put it up for all to enjoy. The picture, I think, was taken in Pennsylvania, USA. It reminds me of my 17 years of running in Massachusetts.

Resting today from running but not from boxes

Yesterday I spent 8 or 9 hours moving boxes from my son's storage unit to his house, and I was pretty tired last night. I still have to spend several hours today moving more boxes. Thus, I'm taking a rest day today.

My wakeup HR is still high

My wakeup HR is usually 47-48, but it has been 51-52 for a couple of weeks. My problem has been (as usual) insufficient sleep. I've gotten my normal 7 hours for the past couple of days, so that is progress, but it will take a week or so of good sleep to bring my HR down.

Tired today but ran for a while

I ran for an hour and 25 minutes on the Jordan River Parkway. I was tired during the run and probably should have turned back sooner. The temperature was in the low 70s, and it was a nice day. I'm glad to have the next two days as rest days.

running under the clouds, running under the clouds...

It drizzled most of the day yesterday, but today the sky was cloudy with no rain. The temperature was about 52 (F), and there was a 5 mph tail wind when I went out and a 5 mph head wind on the way back.

I ran the 5 miles in 55 minutes. Most of my running was around 10:30, but I ran a mile on the way out at 10 minutes. On the way back, I slowed down to 11 - 11:30 minutes. I could tell I was more tired than yesterday, but I enjoyed the run today and would classify it as a good run.

Running in the rain, running in the rain...

Well, it was only a drizzle, but that song is fun to sing. I did 5 miles in 57 minutes, including some long walking breaks. I ran one mile at 10 minutes and then slowed down to my 10:30 resting pace.

The temperature was 50 (F), and I enjoyed the rain. By the completion of the first mile, I was starting to sweat, and I had no problems with being cold.

A great run today

I felt great this morning and ran 4 miles on the Jordan River Parkway. My pace varied from 9:30 to 10:50. Most of it was at a 10:30 pace. I ran about 1/4 mile at 9:30 and half a mile at 10. My strategy is to run small bursts of speed above 10:30 and to do rest runs at 10:30. I took walking breaks every half mile and sometimes more often.

The temperature was in the mid 70s, and it felt pretty warm as I ran.

Another short run

I'm still tired, and I only ran 2.26 miles at a slightly slower pace than yesterday.

106th South finally free of water

Yesterday when I checked the Jordan River Parkway tunnel under 106th South, I saw a portable pump being used to remove water from the path. When I checked this morning, the pump was gone and the path was mostly dry. There is a sump pit in the tunnel that, I assume, drains into the river and was, I assume, the source of the water that flooded the tunnel. When I looked at the pit this morning, there was significant water covering the pit and the grating over the pit. It appears that the drain in the pit is clogged.

A short rest run today

I ran for 22 minutes and covered 1.9 miles at a pace varying from 10:45 to 11:15, and then 11:30 during the last half mile. I'm using today to recover from my weekend. On Saturday I had an intense run, came home and mowed my lawns and rototilled a small garden. I then spent the rest of the day cleaning house and helping my wife get ready for our 34 invited guests for dinner on Sunday (my 89 1/2 year old mother-in-law and some of her children, grand children, and great grand children). Sunday, after church, was busy with preparations and the actual party. I was tired when I ran today and was glad for a short run.

My HR was in the 70% zone

I used my HR monitor during the run to see if I were still in a resting zone during my run. The monitor said 70%, so it was a good rest run.

I'd like to run the 5K on June 30 at a 9 minute pace, so I'll be using my HR monitor before the race to see if 9 minutes looks feasible. I want to stay away from my lactate threshold.

Young girls doing cartwheels down the path

I saw a father and his four children on the path. Two of the children were doing cartwheels down the path. I've seen runners, joggers, walkers, cyclists, roller bladers, skate boarders, artists painting, and now cartwheelers.

A "wicked good" 8 mile run

I ran for an hour 33 minutes and covered 8 miles. Most of the time I was running between 10 and 10:30 miles, but on the way out I did some half-mile segments around a 9 to 9:30 pace. On the way back I slowed down to 11-11:30 pace to give my body a rest.

I felt fine during he run and was glad that I was going faster and farther than I've been doing since my half-marathon on April 21.

I forgot to bring some water with me and was pretty thirsty when I finished. The temperature was in the 70s during the run, and it was a beautiful sunny day.

Ran in a pair of LOCO Carumba shoes

On April 30 I explained in this blog that I think I've been running for 20 years in the wrong shoes, that I should be using neutral shoes. I ordered a pair of LOCO Carumba shoes and did my first run in them today. They felt fine. I'll need to put quite a few miles on them before I know how they are doing with my stiff jointed, supinated feet.

I've explained in previous posts that I was born with a defect in my skeleton that causes me to walk on the outside of my feet, especially my right foot. In the past, the top of the heel of my right shoe would bulge to the outside of the shoe, and the outside of the heel would compress. All of this caused my ankle to be tilted to the outside. For 20 years I used motion-control shoes, and this helped with quite a bit to keep the heel from compressing and to reduce the bulging. I noticed a few weeks ago that the heel of my right shoe was slightly compressed and slightly bulged to the outside. After I read about shoes, I discovered that supinators should use neutral shoes, not motion control or correction shoes, because the MC and correction shoes cause the foot to go to the outside. What I really need are motion control shoes that would cause my foot to go to the inside, but since only 2% of the runners are supinators, shoe companies don't make shoes for them. Thus, the best supinators can do is use neutral shoes.

South Jordan Country Fest 5K

One of the towns down here is South Jordan. I just signed up for the SJ Country Fest 5K race on June 30 at 6 am.

South Jordan Country Fest

Ran for an hour today

I felt better this morning and ran for an hour on the Jordan River Parkway. I had a good 7 hours sleep last night. My wakeup HR was 52 because it usually takes several days of rest before the HR comes back down.

I covered 4.82 miles during the hour, which isn't bad since I take walking breaks every half mile (I took some extra ones during the first half of the run). Most of my paces were around 11:30, but I did one half-mile at a 11:08 pace.

I was out earlier this morning, and the temperature was 68-72 (F) during my run. The high today is forecast to be 82 (F).

Helping youth

Faithful Soles, a web site dedicated to inspiring, motivating and encouraging walkers, runners, and multi-sport athletes of all ages and abilities, and whose main outreach is to get young people involved in a walking or running program, needs help from individuals and businesses in support of its PR10K (Promote Running for 10,000 Kids) program. PR10K helps youth and teens in underserved areas to learn goal setting skills that are not only related to running, but can be used in other aspects of their lives as well. The program started in January and already has about 500 students involved from all over the USA, and the goal for May-June is to get at least another 1,000 involved over the summer vacation time period. To learn more about Faithful Soles and its many programs and web site features, click here.

Once again, thank you so much for your support of the Faithful Soles PR10K program.

Today was a tired half-hour

I could tell before I left for my run that I was tired. First, my wakeup HR went from 48 to 53. Second, I didn't feel energetic, just a tired feeling. When I started running, I quickly had confirmation that I was tired. So, after 15 minutes I turned around and headed back. My pace varied from about 11:15 to 12:15, and I did 2.36 slow miles.

I'm running about a minute/mile faster than I was before the SLC half marathon to get my body used to a 10:30 pace as my recovery/rest pace, and I'm not surprised that my body needs a break. Also, I've only gotten 6 hours sleep/night for the past few nights, and that takes its toll, too. It will be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow.

Another great hour run

I ran for an hour on the Jordan River Parkway and felt great! I ran 10:20 to 10:40 paces, not counting walking breaks. While going down the steep hill that I used for hill repeats, I clocked myself doing a 9:00 pace, and my pace for that hill plus a level segment about the same length (0.31 mile total) was 9:30. I did three short fartleks just before I finished, probably running around a 9 minute pace.

The temperature was in the mid 60s (F), and it was a beautiful day.

My 2nd place medal -- SLC half marathon

I picked up my second place medal. There were seven runners in my age class. I was 33 minutes behind the 1st place winner and 5 minutes ahead of the 3rd place winner.

A great 5 miles

I ran 5 miles on the Jordan River Parkway. I felt great before, during, and after. My wakeup HR was 47. The temperature was 41 (F), the sky was cloudy (storm front passing through), and, except for a 10 mph headwind on the way back, it was a great day for running. This is the longest distance I've run since the half-marathon on April 21.

My GPS didn't work because I forgot to recharge the AAA batteries, so I don't know my pace. I think it was close to 10:30 - 11:00 because I was moving at a nice speed.

I'm tired!

From 8:00 Tuesday morning until 11:30 pm Tuesday night, I was on my feet carrying heavy boxes and some furniture helping my son move to a different house. The only break I had was eating a light supper and a minute or so here or there to get a drink of water. I won't be doing any running until Saturday, and then maybe not then if I have a slow recovery from today.