Ran/walked 2.4 miles in 46.5 minutes

My body and legs are still tired from yesterday's marathon work in moving 5 cubic yards of compost/mulch. However, I had a good 7 hours of sleep last night and a short nap early this afternoon, and I decided to go running. I went north from 100th South and ran for 22.5 minutes and returned to my car. The temperature was in the high 50s, and a 15 mph north wind was blowing. I had two layers (T-shirt and wind breaker) and felt fine when going north into the wind but was a bit warm on the return phase. I'm glad that tomorrow will be a rest day.

Ran/Walked for 2.5 miles

I ran south from 100th South on the Jordan River Parkway, going out for 1.25 miles and then returning. I've forgotten the time it took, but it was around 45 minutes. My wakeup heart rate was 58 and is going down as I get more sleep at night. There were lots of people on the path. The temperature is in the 60s (F), and Spring is definitely here. Also, South Jordan City has turned the on the fountain at the 100th South trail head, and I was able to get a drink at the beginning of my run and another drink at the end of the run. The canals have their summer water, and this is the time of year that ducks and quail hatch their young. It's a nice time of the year.

Time to check out my sprinkling system and repair any damage from winter frost.

Not much running this week

This week is turning out to be mostly a no-run week. My 95 year old mother-in-law died last Saturday. We held her viewing (wake) last night and the funeral is today. I've spent most of my spare time working on a slide show of her life. We used the slides last night at the viewing and will show them today during a viewing before the funeral. The funeral and grave dedication and family dinner at my mother-in-law's church will take up most of my time today. Visits with the rest of my kids will take up the rest of my time. I'm hoping to run either tomorrow or Saturday, but we'll see.

Sleep really helps!

I've had good sleep the past two nights, and my wakeup heart rate was 56 this morning. If I can continue to get good sleep, my WHR should come down even more. My 95 year old mother-in-law died on Saturday, and I'm in the middle of creating a slide show of her life to show at the viewing (wake) tomorrow night and the funeral on Thursday. I hope I don't have to be up late tonight finishing the slides. I wake up at the same time regardless of when I go to bed (an aspect of getting old), and staying up late thus means sleep deprivation.

Ran/Walked 1.5 miles in 26.5 minutes

I didn't do any running, walking, or biking last week, so today I eased into it and did half of what I normally would do. I felt fine during the run and could have kept going if I had wanted to. The temperature during my exercise was 52 (F), The sky was cloudy, and there may be showers later in the day. A wind of 10 mph or so was blowing from the north. I only wore one layer (T-shirt) and could have worn a wind-breaker. I'm still using a run of 3 minutes and a walk of 1 minute.

Bombs at the Boston Marathon

Yesterday two bombs were exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The clock time when the bombs went off was about 4 hours. It's a sad day. Watching the videos of the bombing and hearing the reports makes me want to cry. I don't understand why people have such little respect for human life. It's obvious to me that the massacre was planned to maximize the civilian deaths. I hope the police can identify the people responsible for the bombing.

Ran/walked and biked at the gym

We've had snow showers for the past several days, and the daytime temperature has been in the 30s (F) and 40s. My wife suggested we go to the gym today, and that is what we did. I didn't get a good measurement of how long we were there, but it was about 45 minutes to an hour. It's kinda boring to go around the small jogging track in the gym; I'd much rather be outside on the Jordan River Parkway path. I've only been getting about 6 hours of sleep each night, and I was tired today.

Francie: Definition of Determination

Part three of three in a series

If you missed my first two posts, Running as Grace and No One Knows You Better, 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.

The week following my last radiation therapy, I had a follow up appointment with the radiation care team. Katy the RN went through her list of questions, to make sure that I was able to be released from their care. I enjoyed this nurse. It was a little sad that I wouldn’t be able to hear about her progress with learning to swim, but I was on my way and she would do absolutely fine without me.

“Do you feel any fatigue?”

“No. I feel good.” I smiled. The shoe never did fall on me.

“Hmm. That’s good. You know, two out of three people experience fatigue.”

I did know that statistic. In fact, I had heard it so many times from this place that I think I may develop fatigue on account of hearing about it so much.

“I really thought I’d be one of them, but I lucked out.”

“Are you still working out?”

“Yes.”

“Great!”

“My theory is to keep moving. Now that this is over, I can build up again.”

“You know, you are quite…exceptional.”

I didn’t think so. “Um…” I squirmed…

“Really, you worked so diligently and it has paid off. You really are exceptional.”

“I don’t feel it, but thanks.”

“You should be proud of your efforts. This was hard. You took good care of yourself and sailed through it. How did you do it?”

I paused. I had no idea what I was doing! Well, yes I did. I’ve been a runner since I was 15. I knew exactly what I was doing.

“Katy, every day was a battle with fear, even just to drive to this place.”

“I can only imagine. What worked for you?”

“If I think about how I would prepare someone else to sail through it, I would tell them it takes two things: prayer and determination. And a few great supporters. So, three things.” I found myself smiling. Yes, I was smiling about how I handled breast cancer. What a moment this was!

“Your determination is beyond most people’s determination.”

“This may sound sassy, but I mean it honestly: maybe most people don’t have the definition right.”

Do you have your definition of determination right? I’m not saying everyone can continue running through a major illness, but when you are 100 percent determined, and excuses are few and far between, things will fall into place for you.

Ran 4.2 miles in about 80 minutes

Today I did a split. I ran/walked 50 minutes in mid afternoon and another 35 minutes in the evening going to and from a ham radio meeting in preparation for the State of Utah Shake Out on Wednesday the 17th. The shakeout is an annual drill for earthquakes. I'm a member of a ham radio group that will provide communications within the LDS (Mormon) congregations in the area in which I live. We provide radio communications when telephone and cell circuits aren't available.

My wakeup pulse rate was 58, still high but lower than it has been. I've been getting more sleep at night, and that has helped bring my pulse rate down. The temperature when I left home to go running was 33 (F), and there was a stiff wind of 30-40 mph. It was OK when I was going south, because the wind was a tail wind, but it was hard when I was going north and had to face the wind. My nylon jacket and long pants did a good job of breaking the wind, but my face was cold while I was going north. It felt fine when I went south. The wind chill was about 17 (F). In terms of body strength, I felt pretty good, because I had breakfast earlier in the day and thus had energy when I ran/walked along the Jordan River. When I ran and walked to and from the evening meeting, the air temperature was still in the low 30s, but the wind was almost gone, and I felt fine both ways.

Rode the Expresso Bike for 3.5 miles

My wife and I went to the community rec hall this evening. She walked her mile while I rode the bike for 3.5 miles. The route I used is flat, and I choose a gear that gave me relatively easy peddling. I wasn't concerned about speed and wanted an easy ride.

Ran/Walked for 61 minutes (3.25 miles)

Rain was forecast for this evening and the sky was dark and cloudy when I left home. It didn't rain, though, during my workout, but it started to rain as I drove home. I felt pretty good during the workout and went a bit faster than I did on my last run. I didn't check the temperature before or after my run, but it was nice. I felt a bit cold for the first mile, but I felt fine after that. There is standing water under the 106th South bridge, but it is only an inch or so deep, and I walked through the water.

Ran/walked 60 minutes (2.9 miles)

Today is a really great day. Temperature in the low 70s (F) and no wind. I went south from 100th South, using the same route that I've used for the last two or three workouts. I was tired during most of the run, and I took two or three short rest stops on the way back. My 60 minutes ended with about 1/5 mile left, and I stopped my GPS and walked back to the parking lot. Lots of people on the path.