No running, walking, or bike riding today, but ...

I really had a workout today, a workout called "yard work". I changed the oil in my lawn mower and edger and got my lawns ready for an Easter party on Monday for 10 grandchildren. I had the mower set as low as it would go, and I scalped the back lawn so my grandchildren could do "golf putting" on the lawn. This was my first cutting of the new season, and I normally cut it lower on my first mowing to get rid of some of the dry grass. Then, during the summer I raise the mower to yield about 2 1/2 inches of length to the blades of grass. Today, I had the mower set so low, that I had to push the mower to get the machine to move through the grass, even though the motor on the mower was trying to move the machine. It took me over an hour of such work to finish my lawns, and I was really tired when I finished. My grass is Kentucky Blue grass, and it won't go green for another month. People around here use a lot of rye grass that goes green in April.

The guy in that cartoon looks like I felt. The picture could be of me, except I wear a wide-brim hat to protect my face from UV, and I wear long sleeves and long pants for the same reason.

Ran/walked for about 62 minutes

Today was a beautiful day! The temperature when I left to go running was in the mid 60s (F), a faint breeze that kept me cool, and lots of sun and beautiful clouds. Quite a few people were using the Parkway today for cycling, walking, and running. When I say "quite a few" people, that means about 9 or 10. That seems like quite a few people, but when you remember that I was out for an hour, that number of people is actually small.

I did about 3.3 miles. I felt fine for the first 1.75 miles, and then I got tired and took two rest stops on the way back. The first one was at about 2.2 miles, and the second one was something more than that, but I don't remember where I was when I sat down for a couple of minutes. I did have my GPS with me, but I forgot to restart it after my first rest-stop, and I ran about 1/4 mile before I discovered the GPS wasn't running. Thus, I'm estimating that 1/4 mile and the time I probably took doing it.

Spring snow in Utah

We've had snow for the past several days. The good news is that daytime temperatures have been above freezing, and the snow hasn't stayed very long on the ground. As long as fresh snow isn't deep and is not covering ice, it isn't slick. It gets slick when vehicles pack it down.

Riding the Expresso Bike

I've been on youtube watching some videos, and I thought I'd show one to you.




I have my Ghost set to be my PB, so I don't beat it very often.

Rode the Expresso bike and ran/walked at the gym

We had about an inch of snow this morning, but the air temperature was above freezing, and by mid afternoon, the snow was gone. I only had five hours sleep last night, so I took a two-hour nap before my wife and I went to the gym. I rode the bike for three miles and then ran/walked the indoor track for about 10 minutes (approximately 1/2 mile). I didn't push for speed on the bike and just did enjoyable rides.

Even though I had a total of seven hours sleep, I still feel tired. A shorter sleep at night plus a nap isn't as good as a longer sleep at night and maybe a shorter nap. When I was younger, I had no problems sleeping in until 10 or 11 am, after having stayed up until late. But, no more. Come 7:30, I'm awake and ready to go, even though I was up late.

Francie: No One Knows You Better

Part two of three in a series

If you missed my first post, Running as Grace, I can catch you up to speed: Girl trains for third Ironman, has breast cancer surgery three weeks before race, scratches race, running is (again) her saving grace. You can read the full story in The Competitor in Me II: Conquer Fear. Though I had running for strength, facing treatment for cancer wasn’t easy. Staring down 31 days of this therapy, I had to take stock in a few things: my faith, and that no one knows me better than me.

Halfway through my sessions, I met with my doctor to talk about progress, side effects, and ways to stay as healthy as possible through the process. Over and over, I was told how two thirds of all patients experience fatigue some time after the halfway point. I was waiting for the shoe to fall but now halfway through my 31 therapies, I had great energy. “How’s your energy?” She asked, though she looked at my chart, not me.

“Good. I have been trying to be conservative with my workouts. It’s working.” “Tell me more. What does that mean?” She asked, her physician’s assistant sitting beside her.

“I limit my training to an hour and fifteen minutes or less; then everything stays in balance. Except swimming. I only do 45 minutes of that.” I was a little worried that telling her this would somehow cause me to be benched.

“That’s a lot of working out.” She looked at me, eyebrows raised. What part of me training for Ironman did she miss? All of it. We talked about all of this before I began radiation, but now it was clear Dr. Gray wasn’t listening. The physician’s assistant, who had followed my story, smirked. “How often do you do that, Francie?”

I hesitated with a crooked smile. “Six days.” “Exceptional. But that is a lot of working out.” Spoken by someone who sees a lot of sick, not healthy people. And by someone who wasn’t listening to me from the get-go. “My theory is that if I am a moving target, I will be harder to hit. Just keep moving.” Dr. Gray went on to say I had to be careful about listening for signals from my body. How ironic that she was telling me to listen to my body when in fact she could not listen to me! Yes, of course I would listen for those signals. I am an Ironman and a mommy. Signals are my life.

I hope you see the signals in this post. You must know your body in order to know your limits during times of stress and illness. There is a time to play hard, and a time to rest hard. Miss out on the signals for either one, and you are missing out on taking care of you. Trust me, no one else will do as good of a job of taking care of you.

Walked/ran for abouty 60 minutes

I went south from the 100th South trail head and back, for a total of about 3.25 miles. I mostly walked the last mile. The temperature during my workout was 51 (F). Another beautiful Spring day. I've only been getting 5 1/2 to 6 hours of sleep each night, and it is showing in my feeling tired during the last part of a run.

Ran/walked 60 minutes

My wife and I drove to the Jordan River Parkway and went north from the 100th South trail head. She walked 1 mile and then waited on a bench for me to do the second mile, going 1/2 mile further north and back. Then we returned to 100th South.

Today was a beautiful day. Temperature was in the mid 50s (F) with a light breeze blowing. Lawn grasses are just beginning to green, and the only trees with leaf-buds are the willow trees. There were quite a few walkers, cyclists, and runners on the path.

I received an email yesterday saying the restrictions on burning (air quality) have ended and people can burn wood every day if they want. This means we won't have more inversions until next winter. Inversions happen when warmer air moves in over colder air, disrupting air convections that normally disperse pollutants. In summer, the air next to the ground is warmer, preventing inversions from happening.

Ran/walked for 60 minutes again on JR Parkway

Today was a wonderful day. The temperature was in the mid 50s when my wife and I left to go to the Jordan River Parkway. Sunny sky but a 10-15 mph head wind when we started. The air was warm, and the headwind didn't make us seem cold. I ran for 60 minutes (3.2 miles) and my wife walked 2.5 miles. It's nice to have Spring back. There were quite a few people out enjoying the day.

The Jordan River is very low, compared to this time last year. This means that the powers-that-be aren't releasing any extra water from Utah Lake into the river. A weather report on the radio said our snow pack is 80% of normal, so we'll likely have a water shortage in the summer, unless we get a lot of snow up there before summer. Another factor is the temperature. If it gets warm too early, the snow in the mountain melts too fast and creates flood-like conditions in the rivers, and we still have a water shortage in the summer. The ideal conditions are a lot of snow in the mountains and a cool Spring.

What a beautiful day! Ran/walked for 60 minutes

My wakeup heart rate was 57, and I felt pretty good. I drove to the South Jordan East Pavilion and ran/walked south for 30 minutes and back. Today is not only a green day but a green, green, green day. The snow covered Wasatch Mountains look clear and majestic. It's probably about 10 miles to the mountains, but they look much closer than that! My legs got tired on the way back, and I did more walking during the last 0.75 miles. My total distance was 3.1 miles.

The shade temperature was in the mid 30s (F) while I ran. The high today is expected to be in the low 40s. At least for this week, Spring has come. It's been about 6 months since I ran that part of the Jordan River Parkway, and it was nice to be in that area again. When I ran there last Fall, there were big machines moving dirt to build up the height of the area, I assume so they could put houses or buildings there. No construction has started yet, but the dirt used to build up the height should have settled during the winter, and I expect to see construction there this summer.

I'm not riding the Expresso bike today but will ride it tomorrow as cross training.

No Running or Walking Today But Rode Bike

My wife and I went to the gym in the afternoon. She walked about 1.5 miles, and I rode 6.75 miles over 3 routes: Campus Loop, Evening Bliss (PB), and Rabbit Run (PB). We've had good air for over a week. Today and tomorrow are Yellow Days (voluntary restriction of burning wood/coal and excessive driving). It's nice to look in almost any direction and see the snow covered mountains.