A new week and a new distance to run

I ran 4.5 miles on the Jordan River Parkway this morning. I was out relatively early (8 am), and the temperature was 70 (F) when I left home and in the high 70s when I returned. I didn't have quite as much energy this morning as I had on Saturday, but I had more than I had on Monday and Wednesday last week. Also, my wakeup heart rate this morning was 54, 2 points higher than last week. My lower energy-level this morning probably means I'm still recovering from my faster run on Saturday. The high temperature was about 95 today with higher humidity.

I'll be adding distance for the next six weeks to get my long run up to about 8 miles. Then I'll do 2 or 3 weeks of low-level speed work to get ready for the Daybreak 5K that I ran last year in September. It was in that race that I set my current PB for a 5K, and I'd like to set a new PB this year.

A great run to end my recovery week

I was out early this morning for my 4-mile LSD run, and the temperature was in the high 60s (F). It was nice to out in the cool morning, and a lot of people were using the Jordan River Parkway. My energy level was much higher, and I had a great run. I measured my last half mile as having a 11:35 pace. My wakeup heart rate has been 51-52 all week. I had expected it to jump to 56 or 57 due to my race last week, but I've been sleeping well, and that rest apparently was sufficient for my body to recover without a jump in HR.

If I feel fine on Monday, I'll add a half-mile to all three days.

Last week finally caught up with me

My wakeup heart rate yesterday and today was 51, and that is a good sign. However, I didn't have much energy during my 4-mile run this morning. It was hot (low 90s (F)) and I forgot to take water. I think being tired last week and pushing myself during the race on Saturday has sapped my energy. I'm glad the next two days are rest days.

The mother of all recoveries

I've been having a great recovery from my 5K on Saturday. My right leg felt fine during and after the race and during the day, including during my mowing of my lawns in the evening. However, by bedtime my right leg was a bit sore. I took a 3-hour nap after the race, and that helped me feel fine during the rest of the day. My wakeup heart rate this morning was 51, one beat lower than it was on Saturday.

This week is a recovery week, and I ran a nice 4 miles at a 12:34 pace. I was late getting out, and the temperature was in the low 90s (F). Even with the heat and no water, it was a nice run.

Took first in my age group of 65-99

I decided yesterday to run the 5K that is part of the South Jordan Country Fest; I ran the race this morning and took 1st in my age group of 65-99. There were about 75 men runners, and I was 49th. My time was 34:32, and my average pace was 11:06. That time was 2 minutes slower than last year and 4 minutes slower than my PB. My mile splits were 10:40, 11:26, and 11:15. I started with a pace of about 10:10, and I slowed down as the race progressed. At the beginning of mile 2 there was a half mile of slight hills, and that accounts for my slower pace during that mile. I only took one 30-second walking break, after the hills in the second mile. As I slowed down, a lady who was probably in her late 40s caught up with me. She said her goal in the race was to keep up with me. We chatted during the last half mile, and when we made the turn into the last 200 yards, I told her to give it all she had. She pulled ahead of me, and I followed her over the finish line.

I think I did well, considering my circumstances. I was in bed for 6 hours last night, but I only slept off and on for an hour. This happens when ever I have something important the next morning. I usually get 3 or 4 hours sleep when I'm suffering from anxiety, and I think last night was the worst case of anxiety that I've had. The good news about my sleep is that I've been sleeping well during the past couple of weeks, and my wakeup heart rate this morning was still 52. Disruptions in my sleep usually don't affect my wakeup heart rate for a couple of days, and I'm expecting my HR to jump up to the high 50s tomorrow or Monday. The other reason why I feel good about my performance is that I haven't done a lot of fast running during the Spring. I'm currently running 4 miles three days per week, and my fastest time during the past three weeks of light speed training was a half-mile timed run of 10 minutes and a few seconds. During that three weeks I had a couple of half-mile timed runs in the 11s, and the rest were in the 12s or 13s. So, my performance in this race was in line with my training. I mentioned in this blog last week that I had decided to not run the race, but I felt good this week, and I decided to go for it. I'm glad I ran this morning.

The weather was almost perfect for the race. The race started at 6:30, and the temperature at that time was in the low 60s (F). Since the race is short, the temperature probably didn't change much during our running.

More energy during my 4 mile run

I had more energy during my 4-mile run this morning. It was still hot (90F in the shade when I returned), but I had 16 oz of water, and that helped a lot. We have two grandchildren staying with us, and my wife and the two kids played in a park next to the Parkway while I ran.

A big fish in the river

I saw two fish in the Jordan River yesterday. I heard a lot of splashing, and I saw fins of a big fish about two feet long breaking the water as the fish moved around. The river was shallow at that point, so the fish couldn't go very deep. I saw a smaller fish, about a foot long, next to the big one.

Another 4 miles

Except for the heat, my run was uneventful. The shade temperature was 80 (F) when I left home and 89 (F) when I returned. Most of my run was in the open sun, and the effective temperature in terms of heat transfer was probably over 100 (F). I didn't have any water with me, and I felt the sun. I took a lot of brief walking breaks. On the positive side, my wakeup heart rate was 51. It has been in the mid 50s for the past few weeks.

Today is decision day about the 5K on June 21

I've decided not to run the race on June 21. I'm not ready to race it, and if I ran it I would have to do it as a training run. It's not worth the time or the $15 to do it as a training run. I ran 4 miles today and felt about the same as I did on Wednesday. In order to break 30 minutes, I'd have to average about 9:45 minutes per mile, and I can't sustain that pace for 3.1 miles. Another factor in my decision is my right knee. I'm feeling some soreness in that leg, and that indicates my speed work during the past three weeks hasn't been good for my leg.

Four more miles

I ran the four miles again, but I didn't have a lot of energy, and I didn't do any speed work. I did measure my pace during the last half-mile, and it was 12:08. I enjoyed the run.

I decided during my Monday run to start running tangents during my training run so I'll be doing it by habit and won't forget to do it during a race. Race courses are measured that way to insure that the specified distance is the shortest way one can run the course. I ran tangents on Monday and again today. I think in a few more runs, I'll have a habit of doing tangents.

Did some cadence drills

During my four-mile run, I did three cadence drills (one out and two back). The good news is that I did two counts more than I was doing a year ago. This shows that my body is getting stronger, even though it's taking a long time to do it.

When I came down the "home" stretch, I saw a bunch of police recruits from the police academy. The were getting ready to do a 1.5 mile qualification test. I waited until the first guy finished (9+ minutes). He was fast, but he was tired at the end and was gasping for breath. I asked their coach what happens if a person doesn't qualify in the run. He said the person doesn't graduate from the academy. Then he added that the recruits have a lot of opportunities to qualify.

A sluggish run with a great ending

During my four miles today, my body felt sluggish, and I took frequent walking breaks during the run. However, I ran the last half mile with a faster pace, but I could tell that pace was faster than my body could handle, because I had a hard time maintaining it during the half mile. My average pace for the half mile was measured as 10:08. Now, if I could maintain that pace for 3.1 miles I'd be ready for the race on the 21st.

Another great run today

I ran the four miles again and did low-level speed work during the back-portion of the run. I started the speed work with a cadence drill. Then I did fartleks for about a mile. The fartleks were from about 20 feet to about 300 feet in length. My paces varied from just a bit faster than my recovery run to a full sprint. The sprint was for the 20 foot fartlek. I did the last half-mile with a 11:01 pace.

When I got up this morning, it was raining, and the rain continued for a couple of hours. I waited until the rain stopped and the temperature was up to 50 (F) and then went running.

I wore new shoes today during my run

I wore a new pair of LOCO Perfecto shoes today. When I first changed to LOCO shoes two or three years ago, I used the Moho shoes that are correction shoes. I then tried the Perfecto shoes that are stability shoes. Both the Moho and the Perfecto worked fine with my feet. Next, I tried the new Carumba shoes that are neutral. I could tell from the wear-pattern on the Carumba shoes that I did need some correction, so I'm going back to the Perfecto.

I still have a pair of Carumba that have only a few miles, and my plan is to use them for short, rest runs and the Perfecto for longer or speed runs. Eventually, the Carumba will be replaced by Perfecto.

I saw four Pelicans during my run

As I approached my 2-mile turn-around, I saw four large birds gliding down for a landing in a fishing pond that was nearby. I could tell they were too large to be geese, so I jogged over to the pond to see what they were. They were Pelicans. This is the first time I recall seeing Pelicans in Utah.

Today was a great run

Last week was bad news for my running, but today was great! On Monday of last week I over extended myself, and it took the rest of the week for my body to recover. On Friday and Saturday my wakeup heart rate jumped up about 10%, but on Sunday it was down to normal, and today it was only about 4% high.

I ran my four miles today with a typical pace of about 11:30. That is the same pace that did me in last week, but this week that pace was my resting pace. I measured the last half-mile at a pace of 10:50. So, I feel good about today's run. My legs felt fine during the run, and they still feel fine after almost four hours. I did two cadence drills during the run, one out and one back. I did two cadence drills, one out and one back.

I was late getting out to run and hit the trail about 11:30 this morning. The temperature was in the high 70s, the sun was shinning, and it was a beautiful day to be out.