Ran 2 miles this morning

My wife and I were out this morning about 10 am. The temperature was 41 (F) when we left home We each did 2 miles, her walking, and me jogging/walking. My knee felt tight when I did my stretches before we left home, but it felt fine during my jog/walk. The temperature was 55 when we returned home. Quite a few runners and a skater or two were on the trail but not many cyclists. If my right quad continues to feel fine, I'll do 2.25 miles or so next week.

Ran for 34 minutes

My right quad is still tight when I run, and today I stopped every two minutes (one run/walk cycle) to hold my leg in the air for 10-15 seconds. Later, I changed my running from 90 seconds to 60 seconds to see if that affected how long I could go before my leg got tight (I went more cycles but my leg still got tight). My leg feels fine before and after my workout and all day on my rest days.

My wife walked her two miles. We intersected each other when I was about 0.16 miles from the one mile marker. I turned around and went back to our car, getting there a few minutes after my wife got there. In the 40 minutes, I ran about 1.7 miles. I didn't run further, because my wife had to get home and then leave for Salt Lake City.

My wife said she saw a large flock of quail on the path. I didn't see the quail, though. I have seen the quail on other days. Most of them were born this spring, and now they are adults.

Ran two miles in my neighborhood

My wife and I were planning on going down to the Jordan River, but my son and his family stopped by for a visit a few minutes before we were to leave. When they left there wasn't much time left before darkness, so we did loops around the streets in our neighborhood. My right quad was still tight, and I had to stop frequently to stretch the quad. The stretch that helped a lot was just the raising of my leg to let gravity provide resistance. My quad provided the energy to keep my leg suspended in the air. Each time I stopped, I would hold my right leg in the air for 10-20 seconds.

Ran for 60 minutes

My wife and I drove to the South Jordan East Pavilion, and we went south from there. My wife walked about 2.5 miles, and I ran about 3 miles. We ran in the late afternoon, and it was just getting dark when I finished. The temperature was in the low 60s (F) during our outing, although the sun was down before I finished, and I started getting cold. I had anticipated the cool evening and brought my new windbreaker, but I left it in the car while I ran. After I finished my run, I put the windbreaker on while I drove home.

My wife saw a red fox, but I didn't see it. I did see a stray cat; the cat hid in some bushes while I ran past.

Ran for 1 mile and aborted my run

I didn't have a lot of energy when I began the run, and after 1/2 mile I decided to abort. My wakeup heart rate was 55, and I felt pretty good (energy wise) this morning, but when 5 pm came and I left to go running, my energy was gone. I ran this afternoon instead of this morning so my wife could come for her 2-mile walk. Hope I feel better on Wednesday.

Ran for 3.1 miles

I finished the week with a 3.1 mile run in 60 minutes. I've completed the first part of my goal -- a rest run of 60 minutes. The next part will be a medium run of 80 minutes, and I will pursue that goal by making 10% (approximate) increases in time to my mid-week and end-week runs. Next week, I'll aim for 60 minutes on Monday and 66 minutes on Wednesday and Saturday. Depending on how I feel, I might achieve that next week, or if not the week or two after. I'm still using a run/walk ratio of 90 seconds running and 60 seconds walking. I measured my stride rate at 136 steps per minute. I used to do 175 steps per minute, so I'm getting slower as I age. All runners should aim for a stride rate of 170-180 steps per minute. Doing this will help avoid shin splints and will help runners use a midfoot strike instead of a heel strike.

The sky was cloudy when I began my run, and it rained for about 10 minutes. Then the sky cleared up and the remainder of my run was a nice fall run. I only saw one other runner on the path, but I saw several cyclists.

Ran for 60 minutes

I had a good run today. I felt strong and went very close to 3 miles (2.92 miles). My wife accompanied me to the JR Parkway, and she walked 2 miles and then read her book while I was finishing my workout. The sky was overcast, and the temperature was in the high 70s (F). Later in the day, the sky cleared, and the sunshine came out -- I was glad to have finished my run about noontime.

Day 2 of this week: Ran 2.8 miles

My run took me about 56 minutes. I'm using the same run/walk ratio that I've been using: 90 seconds running and 60 seconds walking. I started running at 6:30 pm, and the path was mostly shade, especially on the return half. My wife came with me to the Jordan River Parkway, and she walked approximately 1.8 miles. I didn't carry any water with me and used the fountain at the parking lot at the beginning and end of my run. When I do carry water, I use a fuel belt that holds six 8-ounce bottles.

On the way back, I saw two flocks of quail. I was closer to them than I was on Monday, and I confirmed in my mind that they were quail. There were about a dozen in the first flock and about 6 or 7 quail in the second flock. The younguns are getting pretty big, so they are finding sufficient food to allow them to grow. I don't remember seeing quail during the winter, so they must migrate south or somewhere. They can fly, but I usually see them when they are walking on the path.

On my way back, I was passed by a younger runner ( probably in his later 30s), and he asked how I was feeling. I replied, "tired". And, then I added, "I'm getting old". He replied with, "You're doing good".

I was tired during my run. Not from running but from mowing my lawns this afternoon. I cut some of the lawn on Tuesday evening. Then I cut some more last evening, and I finished it this afternoon. Mowing my lawn takes more time than I spend on running, and it takes more energy than running. I'm glad that tomorrow is a rest day. I water my lawns via a sprinkling system that turns on during the night, every other day. So, I don't have to spend time or energy watering my lawn. When I lived in Massachusetts, I never watered my lawn or garden -- I let mother nature do it for me. Here in the Utah desert, I have to water everything three or four times per week.

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Began my running week with a LSD of 2.6 miles

My run took 54 minutes. I'm not breaking any speed records, because I'm a lot slower than I was in my mid 40s when I ran marathons. But, I'm still alive, healthy, and moving....

I ran during the mid-day, and because of this there wasn't much shade on the path. I zig-zagged across the path to pick up the patches of shade. I carried and used 2 bottles of water (each bottle = 1 cup). My ratio of running and walking has been 60 seconds of each, but about two weeks ago I changed (and am still using the new ratio) the ratio to be 90 seconds running and 60 seconds walking. The mid-day temperature is in the high 80s (F) to low 90s, a big improvement from July when the mid-day temperature was high 90s to low 100s.