Ran/walked a tired 1.2 miles

Yesterday I spent 5-6 hours on my feet pruning trees, and today I'm really tired. I went running but didn't expect to do much, and I didn't. I ran/walked 1.2 miles in 24 minutes, mostly walked. We're having a storm front move through, and there were wind gusts of 20-25 mph. Tomorrow is my day of rest, and I hope to feel better on Monday.

Had a good medium run/walk for 50 minutes

When I left home about 3 pm to go running, a few sprinkles of rain were occurring, but by the time I parked at the South Jordan East Pavilion, the sprinkles had stopped. The sky was overcast, and a light north wind was blowing. The temperature was pleasant, probably in the mid to high 60s (F).

I ran/walked (using my usual 3:20 running and 1:00 walking) for 50 minutes and completed 2.6 miles. I went south from the East Pavilion and turned around at the Draper City litter bin that is 1.3 miles from the East Pavilion. One runner passed me, and except for him I had the path all to myself. I felt good and had relatively high energy.

As I passed under the new bridge at 11400 South, I saw that the level of the Jordan River had gone down about a foot. I use the footings for the bridge for my gauge of the level of the river. I could also tell that the water level wasn't as high in the bushes on the river bank (on the Draper side of the river).

I saw two geese standing by the river. I assume one was male and one was female. As far as I could tell, they had the same color-scheme, but one was larger than the other one. I assume the male was the larger one. I've been wondering how to tell the gender of the geese, and maybe size is the way. With Mallard ducks, telling the gender is easy, because the females are all brown while the males have the characteristic color-scheme of the Mallard ducks.

A good 30-minute rest run

I ran/walked for 30 minutes going south from 9800 South and did 1.55 miles. The temperature was 60 (F), and wind gusts were 15-20 mph. While I ran south, the wind was a head wind, and I was glad I brought my wind breaker. But when I turned around and headed back, I wasn't so sure I needed the jacket. I unzipped the jacket but didn't take it off. The sky was overcast, but no rain is forecast until tomorrow evening. There were several runners and dog-walkers, and I saw one cross-country skier on roller blades. He used his ski poles to push himself, and his leg movements were the same as he would use on skies.

My wakeup heart rate was 46, and I felt pretty good. I had a good 7 hours of sleep last night. Last week I only got about 6 hours per night, and that raised my wakeup heart rate into the mid 50s.

A nice 68 minute run/walk with my grandson

My wife and I have two grandsons visiting with us for a few days. On Thursday and Friday I did about 2 miles of walking with the oldest grandson (age 4). He drove our electric Jeep, and I walked behind him. He drove much faster than I walked, and he stopped and waited for me several times.

Today, we took our grandsons down to the Jordan River Parkway. The oldest grandson rode his bicycle and I did my usual running and walking. The one rule that we had was that as long as the grandson could see me, he could go ahead, but if he came to a curve that would block his view of me, he would stop and wait for me or would return to meet me and then go ahead again. In 68 minutes I did 3.2 miles, and my grandson did about 1/4 mile more than that due to his returning to meet me. My wife took the youngest grandson (age 2). He walked for a while, and then she pushed him in a stroller. They did 1.5 miles. The parkway is a great place for youngsters to ride bicycles. No vehicular traffic. Smooth path. Not a lot of walkers, runners, cyclists, skate boarders, etc.

My grandson and I saw a garter snake. It was on the path, and then it slithered off the path and through some grass and dirt. The snake was about the diameter of my little finger and maybe 2-3 feet long. Watching the snake gave me the opportunity to explain to my grandson that some snakes are dangerous and some are harmless. My grandson asked what garter snakes ate, and I said, "insects". However, Wikipedia says, "Their diet consists of almost any creature that they are capable of overpowering: slugs, earthworms, leeches, lizards, amphibians, birds, fish, toads and rodents". I forgot that snakes can open their mouths very wide and eat animals larger in diameter than they are. The following picture is from the web.

We had great Spring weather today. A 5 mph or so wind, sunny skies, clear air, and temperatures in the mid to high 60s (F).

Joined my wife for my 50 minute run/walk

I invited my wife to join me for a jaunt along the Jordan River. She accepted, and we drove to the East Pavilion in South Jordan and went south for 1.3 miles, giving us a total of 2.6 miles. I ran ahead of her, and when it was time for me to walk, she caught up with me and we walked together (she walks fast, and I run and walk slow). The temperature was in the high 50s (F) to low 60s, and a slight wind was blowing from the south. The air was clear, and we had magnificent views of the Wasatch Mountains that border the Salt Lake and Provo valleys on the east. It was a great day to be out with ones spouse or friend.

Another good day for running: did 1.65 miles in my 30 minutes

The sky was partially overcast and the air temperature was in the mid 40s (F) during my 30-minute rest run. I did 1.65 miles. I felt pretty good during the run, and afterwards. I didn't check my wakeup heart rate, but it was probably in the mid 50s. I didn't see many people on the path. There was a cold 10 mph north wind, and that may have kept people away. We had about an inch of light snow last night, but by early afternoon when I did my run, the snow was gone and the path was dry. As I neared the end of my run, I saw a few snow flakes drifting to the ground, and the dark clouds over the Wasatch Mountains were slowly advancing into the valley. The weather will get warmer as the week progresses, and by Thursday the daytime temperatures are expected to be in the low 60s.

Ran 3.5 miles in my 70-minute run

I was out early this morning to avoid being out during an afternoon shower. I ran/walked for 70 minutes and completed 3.5 miles. There is a storm front going through Utah, and the wind was blowing at about 20 mph. I ran out and back on the north-bound segment of the Jordan River Parkway, and then I ran out and back on the south-bound segment between 100th South and 106th South. Running against the wind was really tough, and I slowed way down when going south to preserve my energy. Going north was easier because the wind was pushing me, and I went faster. After about 2 miles I took a one-minute break, and I took another break about half a mile later. I was going south against the wind when I took those breaks.

There were a lot of runners on the path, along with walkers and cyclists. I enjoyed being out. The sky was cloudy, and rain showers are expected this afternoon.

When I got home, I ate breakfast and then played Clue with my grand kids who are visiting today. My daughter will be in a concert this evening. She accompanies a Celtic musical group.

Today was my 50-minute run, and I did 2 miles in a bit less than 50 minutes

I ran for approximately 50 minutes. I took a rest stop on the way back, and I forgot to turn my GPS back on when I resumed my running. Thus, I lost track of the time. I did, though, do 2 miles, and my time was a few minutes less than 50 minutes. The sky was overcast, and there was a slight south wind, but the temperature was in the high 50s (F), and it was a great day for running. I wasn't as energetic as I would like to have been, but I was in better shape than I was on Monday. I ran my 3:20 running and 1:00 walking for about 3/4 of the distance, and then I dropped to about 2 minutes for running and for walking.

Ran (mostly walked) my 30-minutes

When I started running, I only ran about 20 feet before I realized I was already tired. I stayed up too late Saturday evening, and that plus the loss of an hour due to going to daylight savings time, meant I was sleep deprived, and my run today showed that. I used my 3 minutes 20 seconds running and 60 seconds running for a couple of cycles. Then I switched to about 2 minutes of walking and 2 minutes of walking. After a mile, I turned around and walked most of the distance back to my car (I went about 1.3 miles during the 30 minutes and 2 miles total distance.

Today was THE day for Running

Today was almost a perfect day for running. The temperature was in the mid 40s (F) when I left home and in the mid 50s when I returned. No wind to speak of. Lots of sun and lots of beautiful clouds in the sky. There were a lot of runners, walkers, kids, dogs, cyclists on the path. I guess I look pretty old, because several people said as they passed me that I was doing a great job. I was going pretty slow, so their compliments were geared more to my apparent age than anything else. One runner even held out his hand which I slapped as he went by.

My wakeup heart rate was 50. It has been in the range of 48-52 for almost a month. I've been making a special effort to get to bed earlier, and I've been getting a good 7 hours sleep each night. It's paid off in a significantly reduced wakeup heart rate as well as an old man who feels pretty good. I ran for 70 minutes and did 3.43 miles. I ran south from the South Jordan East Pavilion for 35 minutes and then returned. I was slower in returning, because I still had about half a mile when my time expired, and I just walked that last half-a mile. I took one two-minute break on the way down and two breaks on the way back. Obviously, I don't count the time of the breaks. For most of the run I did my 3 minutes 20 seconds and 60 seconds walking. On the way back I reduced the running a bit and increased the walking appropriately. When I got home I took a nap for an hour.

Did 2.6 miles in my 50 minute run/walk

Today wasn't THE day to go running, but it was a good day and I had a nice run/walk. The sky was partially cloudy, and there was a lot of sun. The temperature was in the high 30s (F). A brisk 15 mph or so wind was blowing from the north. I didn't feel it during the first mile, because it was a tail wind. But, after I turned around I was facing a head wind, and I could tell the chill factor was lower than the air-temperature. However, my nylon wind breaker did a good job of stopping the wind. I ran slow today because of the head wind. I saw two walkers but no other runners and no cyclists. We had about an inch of snow last night, but by the time I went out (about 2 pm) the snow was all gone, and the path was clear and dry.

Today was THE day to go running

My wakeup heart rate was 48, and I felt rested and strong. I invited my wife to go walking along the Jordan River Parkway, and I ran 3 minutes 20 seconds and walked 1 minute. My wife is a fast walker, and she walked as fast as I ran/walked. When I run/walk, I walk slow, because I'm walking to rest from the running. In 30 minutes I did 1.62 miles, and I then walked 0.4 miles to get back to my car. The temperature was 52 (F) when we left home and warmer when we finished running. The sky was clear, the smog was gone, and the snow-covered Wasatch mountains contrasted with the blue sky. We left home a few minutes after 10 and returned a few minutes before 11.

My cold is almost gone. There is just a trace of thick mucus in my nose.

My cold has returned

A week ago I came down with a cold due to not getting enough sleep.  However, on Monday the cold was almost gone, and I ran that day and also on Wednesday. I was surprised when my cold returned on Friday, and I skipped my Saturday run to give my body more rest. As I get older, I'm finding that my takes more time to heal from a cold than it used to take. If we run with a cold, our bodies have to have enough energy to propel us down the path and to overcome the cold. Thus, the cold represents additional stress on our bodies. My cold was almost gone on Sunday.

Ran a medium run of 50 minutes

We had about three inches of snow last night, and more is forecast for tonight and tomorrow. I didn't go out running until dusk, so I went to the South Jordan Recreational Center and ran/walked for 50 minutes around the indoor track. My GPS didn't work inside the building so I don't know how far I ran (probably about 2 1/2 miles). I felt fine for the first half hour but got tired during the last 20 minutes. My wife and I have a free membership in the rec center and several gyms in the nearby area as part of our medical plan.

There were a lot of people in the rec center. As I did loops around the track, quite a few high school age kids went flying past me like I was standing still. They are probably part of the cross country team at Bingham High. I was much slower than them, but I'm old enough to be their grandfather and I did OK. After they finished running, they worked out on the weight machines, and I continued to plod along. However, when I left an hour later, the rec center had about 1/3 the number of the people who were there when I arrived.