Another tired 2.4 mile run

I walked and ran the 2.4 mile run this morning. I was tired and did a lot of walking. The high point of the run was the three apples that I ate from "the" tree. I've slept well the past few days, but it takes a few days for my body to become rested. My wakeup heart rate this morning was 61. Even though I was out at 11:30, the shade temperature was in the high 60s.

I saw a garter snake during my run

I saw a garter snake during my run. It was about 3 feet long, and about as big around as my thumb. It was on the asphalt path basking in the warmth of the sun. I got close to it and stamped my feet, but it didn't move. I could see its forked tongue moving, so I knew it wasn't dead. I threw a small stick at it but it didn't move. I walked around to its rear and lightly tapped my foot against its tail, and the snake slithered off the path into the bushes. I was worried that if it stayed on the path, it might get run over by a bicycle. Here is a picture of a garter snake that came from the web. Click the picture for a larger view.



I saw another garter snake a couple of weeks ago.

A tired run which I aborted

I started on my 2.4 mile run during the morning, but I was tired, and I aborted the run after 1.5 miles. My wakeup pulse rate has been high for several days, and I can tell when I do my pre-run stretches that my energy level is low.

A terrible 2.4 mile walk/run

I didn't run today until dusk after the sun had gone down. I had a hard time breathing, and my energy level was low. The main problem, I think, was that I hadn't eaten much during the day, and I was concerned about not having enough energy for the run. I ate two peanut butter sandwiches about half an hour before I left for the run so I would have some energy. I really knew I shouldn't do that, because I've done similar things with bad results. But, I was hungry and yielded to the temptation to eat. I did my planned distance, but I did a lot of walking during the last part of the distance.

I normally eat a few handfuls of dry cereal before I run, and they are fine because they are easily digested. Apparently peanut butter isn't easily digested. In addition, peanut butter has a lot of protein, and it isn't a good idea to eat protein during a run (save the protein for the first half hour after you finish). Live and learn; I'm doing plenty of living, but I'm not sure how much learning I'm doing :)

Increased my run to about 2.4 miles

Another great run on a beautiful fall day. My wakeup heart rate was 55. I felt pretty good but had not quite as much energy as I had on Saturday. I actually ran more during the 1.5 mile round trip on the north segment of the Parkway path than I have in past runs. As I ran the 0.9 miles on the south segment of the path, I could tell I was getting tired, and I did more walking on that segment than I did on Saturday.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a highway police car and three highway police motorcycles leaving the parking lot. I don't know why they were there. Sometimes cadets from the police academy will do timed runs on the path, but there are many police cars in the parking lot when that happens. I've also seen on a number of occasions a single highway policeman running on the path, but I've never seen four or five policemen do that.

Saw the Heron in the river again

In the past I've seen a heron standing in the river. I saw it again this morning, only he was closer to the bank this time, and I got a really good look at him. His body is gray. He has a large black stripe and a large white stripe on his head. A beautiful bird! He is a good 4 feet tall.

Not going to do the steeple chase fun run on Saturday

I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to do a 5K fun run this coming Saturday. I reread the race pamphlet and discovered it is a 5 mile run not a 5K run. I could handle the 3.1 miles in a 5K, but I'm not ready for 5 miles.

Another great 2.2 mile run/walk

We're having a cold front pass through, and the temperature when I hit the trail at 9:20 am was in the 60s (F). A great temperature, lots of shade, and even some ducks quacking in the river. I ran more during this run than I did on Wednesday. My body felt good (wakeup heart rate was 54), my legs felt good, and I just kept running.

I ate three apples from "the" tree. Eating those apples is becoming a ritual with me. The apples are close to being ripe and are a mixture of green and red. I don't know what kind of apples they are, but they are crisp and juicy. Eating them hasn't been a problem with my stomach, and I hope they might give me some energy. Probably not during the run, since it takes about three hours for food to leave ones stomach and enter the small intestines, but hopefully more energy later in the day. When I do these early runs, I run on an empty stomach, except for a few handfuls of dry cereal that I eat just before I leave home, and I eat breakfast when I return home. I do drink a couple of glasses of water before I leave.

I had the greatest run this morning

Today was a great day for running, and I had the greatest run that I've had in a long time. I did the 2.2 miles again, and my legs felt great the whole time. I've been running and walking about equal distances, but today I ran significantly more than I have in past runs. Instead of a 1:1 ratio of running to walking, the ratio was probably 1.5:1 or so, meaning I ran about 1.3 miles and walked about .9 miles.

The shade temperature was in the high 60s (F), the sky was blue with no clouds, and there was quite a lot of shade from the Russian Olive trees that border the river. A wonderful day!

Legs vs. body in getting tired while running?

A question that a lot of runners ask when they get tired is if the legs or the body limits the distance one can do. The answer, of course, is both; it depends on the circumstances, and different people will have different answers to the question.

Since my blood clots in January, my legs have been the limiting factor. I've been combining running and walking, and I usually run until my legs start to show the stress, and then I walk for a break. Today, however, my body was the limiting factor. My legs felt great while I ran, and I stopped to walk when my body told me it needed some rest. My legs didn't feel tired at all during the whole distance. This is a really good sign!

I added 10% to my run/walk (2.2 miles)

Today was a great running day! My wakeup heart rate was 53, I had lots of sleep over the weekend and I felt great. I was out relatively early while the temperature was still in the low 70s (F). I did 2.2 miles, about half running and half walking. The sky was sunny with fluffy clouds. We are, though, expecting thunder showers this afternoon and tomorrow.

There is a 5K steeplechase run that I'd like to do at the end of the month. No timing, no medals, just a fun run. I'll have to see how my running goes between now and then. Most of the people I know who will be in the run are walkers, so my combination of running and walking won't be too noticeable.

I had my usual "feast" of three apples from the old tree near the path. The three apples are small and probably amount to one "normal" sized apple.

Later: We did have a thunder storm this afternoon. The sky was dark, lots of thunder and lightning, some rain, and some wind. I was glad I ran earlier in the morning. I enjoy being in a summer rain, but I don't run during thunder storms. Lightning is something I stay away from. If I am in a run and I see lightning, I count seconds until I hear the thunder from that lightning. If the time is 5 seconds or less, I head for a shelter. That 5 seconds means the lightning was only a mile away, and lightning can easily move a mile for the next strike.

I didn't run today

Four of my grandkids were visiting last night and half of today. In the afternoon, my wife and I spent a couple of hours walking in the hot sun looking at exhibits at a Conservation show. One exhibit I enjoyed was about using a heat pump to heat as well as cool ones house. The horizontal pipes for this only have to be down about 10 feet to be in the zone of the ground that is at a constant temperature of, if I remember the temperature, 51 degrees (F). Or, they can drill a well about 150 feet deep and put pipes in there instead of in horizontal trenches.

My wakeup heart rate continues to be lower

On Wednesday I reported that my wakeup heart rate was 54 and on Monday it was 56, while it had been around 60 during previous days. It was 54 yesterday and today, and all of this suggests that getting more sleep at night is helping my body to relax and to better handle stress. I'm anxious to see how I do in my run tomorrow.

I'm still struggling with getting to bed earlier because I love to stay up at night. But, I also love to get up feeling rested and have good runs as well as good activities during the day. I'm hoping my love of getting up feeling rested will overshadow my love of staying up later. When I was younger, I could stay up late and sleep in, but as I get older I'm finding that I wake up around 7 am regardless of when I went to bed.

Ran/walked the 1.5 miles at mid-day

My wakeup heart rate was 54 this morning, and I felt pretty good. However, I only had 5 hours of sleep last night, and after I started running, the lack of sleep caught up with me. I did, though, feel stronger than I did on Monday. I ran at mid-day, and the shade temperature was in the mid 70s (F). However, the temperature in the direct sunlight was probably in the low 90s. I picked up 5 or 6 pieces of litter that had blown in with the wind.

I ate two apples during my run. I quite like those apples. I don't know what kind of apple they are, but they taste good. They're not quite ripe, and they will probably be ripe in a couple of weeks. I looked for the heron but didn't see it.

I walked/jogged 1.5 miles

I could tell, when I started my run, that my energy level was low, and, in addition, I felt some low-level pain in my right hip. I did complete the new path that goes north from 100th South, doing more walking than usual. I'm not surprised at my low-level energy. Yesterday was "Fast Sunday" in the Mormon church. Each month on the first Sunday, Mormons fast two meals and contribute the equivalent cost (or more) to their local Bishop (Pastor) for use in helping persons in need. The result is that I only had one meal, yesterday evening. I frequently have less energy after fasting. My wakeup heart rate was 56, and that is a good sign.

I ate three more apples from the tree I mentioned on Saturday, and I fed one apple to a horse (he didn't seem to like the apple, and most of it fell on the ground while he was chewing it).

I ran my two miles today

My hip pain is pretty much gone. My "bible" for injuries is The Runner's Repair Manual" by Dr. Murray Weisenfeld. The book says the following about hip pain.

Side of hip pain is an overuse injury. It's an inflammation of the fascia, a fibrous, somewhat flexible material that's found in the hips, legs and many other places in the body. The inflammation may start with the tendons that attach the muscles to the bones; then the inflammation spreads to the fascia.

I've been doing stretches to strengthen my hips, knees, and lower back, so I'm assuming the inflammation came from some other cause. For the past few days I've been taking internally 100 mg of Calendula twice a day. About 24 hours after I started the Calendula, my pain subsided. I mowed my lawns yesterday with no pain, and I ran/walked the two miles today with no pain. I did feel some pain last night due to my wife and I dancing at a wedding reception in the evening. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have more pain .... Calendula is a pretty yellow flower that acts as a mild antiseptic.

My run/walk went well. The temperature was in the high 70s in the shade with sun and clouds. A great day to be out.

Ate 3 apples from an old tree as I ran

There is an old apple tree near the Jordan River Parkway path. The tree looks pretty old because it hasn't been pruned in who knows how long. The apples on it are small, and many have worm holes. Some, however, are without worms, and they are near being ripe. I picked and ate 3 of them as I ran the path. They were good!

So far today I've felt fine

A few minutes ago, for the first time today, I felt the pain in my hip (about 5:30 pm). I just put Arnica on it, and I feel fine right now. That is the first application of Arnica cream since last night. I'm avoiding long walks, mowing lawns, etc. and am just spending the day working on my web sites. I walk around for a few minutes every hour or so, and I'm continuing my buttock exercise.