Ran/Walked 2 miles

My wife and I parked at 100th South and went north to the bench at the Sandy golf course and then returned to our car. I had planned to go 3 miles, but I stopped at 2 miles. My body felt strong, but my legs were starting to feel tired, and I wanted to rest my legs in preparation for mowing and fertilizing my lawns tomorrow. I mowed and fertilized about half the lawns yesterday. I was glad for some rain during last evening and last night to help the fertilizer soak into the ground. The fertilizer is for winter application and helps the lawn roots survive the winter.

Ran/walked for 64 minutes

I had a great run in the late afternoon. I went north from 100th South one mile to the bench in the Sandy golf course, and then I returned to 100th South and went south slightly past the 0.5 mile marker to a bench and took my first and only rest stop. Then I returned to the parking lot for a total of 3.2 miles. I was back to my car just a few minutes before it got dark. During most of my run, I saw nobody else on the Parkway path, but I did see a couple of cyclists and a couple of other runners on the path in the vicinity of the golf course bench. They looked like they had been out for quite a while and were trying to get to their car before the rain started. During my run, I used my usual 1 minute running and 1 minute walking.

The weather forecast for today and tomorrow is for rain. The sky was overcast all day, but it only sprinkled during my run. Just before I got to the bench in the golf course, the wind picked up to 30-40 mph gusts, and some rain came down. But, by the time I got back to the parking lot at 100th South, the wind had died, and the few sprinkles of rain had ceased. During my last mile, there were only gusts of 3-5 mph and no rain. I'm expecting it to rain during the night and tomorrow morning, or maybe tomorrow afternoon.

Missed running today

I planned on going running early in the morning, but before I left, my wife fixed breakfast, and I chose to eat with her, thinking I would go later in the afternoon. During the early afternoon, I put my two vegetable gardens to bed by rototilling the corn stalks, tomato vines, and other plants so they would decompose during the winter. When I finished, I was too tired to go running, and I stayed home and rested.  My rototiller weights about 70-80 pounds, and it is a struggle to control it when the ground is soft. Doing the rows themselves aren't a problem, but I struggle to turn the machine at the end of each row. When I was younger, I could handle the machine pretty good, but as I get older, I'm finding that my physical ability to turn the machine is limited. As I tilled today, I began to wonder what it would be like in about five years from now, and I realized that in just a few years, I may have to hire someone to do the tilling for me.

The following picture of a troybilt tiller is from the web.

Ran/walked another 60 minutes

I had a nice run/walk this afternoon. I went out at 5:30 pm and finished about 15 or 20 minutes after the sun went behind the Oquirrh mountains. I forgot to charge my GPS, and the battery was too low to power the GPS. I thus don't have an exact mileage, but the distance was close to 2.8 miles. I took five rest breaks, one going down and four coming back. Each rest break was 1-2 minutes.

During my last quarter-mile, I passed a group of men and women who were going south. At first I thought they were from Bingham High School, because they had new running shorts and t-shirts, but I realized they were older than high school students, and I decided they were from the Police Academy. When I finished my run, I asked a man who was timing if they were from the Police Academy, and he said "yes". While we were talking, the first runner finished the 1.5 miles, and the timer gave the time of 9 minutes and about 15 or 20 seconds. The runner was really pushing to finish the run. A second runner came in about 30 seconds later.

The temperature was in the mid to high 50s (F) during my run, and I wore long pants, because I knew the sun would be down before I finished, and in the desert, the temperature plummets as soon as the sun goes down. I wore my old nylon jacket for about half the run, and tied the jacket around my waist during the rest of the run.

The following view of Salt Lake City and the Oquirrh mountains was taken from the web. The camera is facing South-West. It isn't very noticeable due to the snow on the mountains, but the Bingham openpit copper mine is in the picture, slightly to the left of the center of the picture. Local TV stations have their antennas on Farnsworth Peak which is just to the right of the picture but not shown in the picture. Ham radio operators also have repeaters on that peak. Click the picture for a larger image.

I Didn't Run Today

I thought I had pretty good sleep last night, but when I got up my heart rate was 67, and I felt tired. I thus didn't go running. Later in the day I took a 1-hour nap and felt better when I woke up. My son and his family came for dinner, so I didn't run in the late afternoon. Whether I run on Monday or not depends on how I feel and how high my wakeup heart rate is.

Ran/walked 60 minutes (3 miles) again

My wife and I drove to the South Jordan East Pavilion and went north. Judy did her usual 2 miles walking, and I did my 3 miles running and walking. I went north until I reached the parking lot at 100th South (where we usually park), and then I turned around and returned to the East Pavilion. When I reached 60 minutes, I turned off my GPS and walked (about 1/4 mile) to my car. The temperature was in the high 40s (F) when we started and in the high 50s when we finished. I wore two layers, my normal t-shirt and my old nylon wind breaker. About half a mile before I reached the turn-around point, I took the windbreaker off and tied it around my waist. A lot of people were on the path, enjoying the warm day.

I slept well last night. My wakeup heart rate, which has been in the low to mid 60s, was 59 this morning, and I felt fine.

Ran 60 minutes (3 miles) again

My wife and I drove, in the afternoon, to the East Pavilion, and we went south. She walked her usual 2 miles, and I ran/walked my usual 60 minutes (3 miles). I wore my old nylon jacket as a second layer, because the temperature was in the low 50s (F) and there was a slight breeze blowing. I felt comfortable while I ran/walked, but I would have been cold without the jacket. We thought it might rain while we were out, but, instead, the sky cleared up. We're expecting a hard freeze tonight.

Ran/walked for 60 minutes

I drove to the East Pavilion in South Jordan and ran for 30 minutes going south and then returned for a total of 60 minutes and 2.82 miles. It was a nice day with temperatures in the mid 60s (F). My right quad has felt fine for the past couple of weeks. My right leg, though, is swollen, compared to the left leg. The swelling seems to be going down.

Rain, rain, we pray for rain

Last evening, my wife and I discussed the rain we've had this Fall. We both agreed that we've had more rain than usual during the Fall. I hope so. We live in a desert and need all of the water we can get. The level of the water in the Jordan River, where I run, has been low for the past year. The level of the river is so low that bushes are growing out of the water in the middle of the river. I'm happy to go running in the rain, because I know we're getting precious water. Of course, if the rain is a downpour, I might go to the local rec center and run, but I enjoy running in a light rain.

The following picture was taken from the web and isn't the Jordan River in Utah.

Ran 3 miles in the rain

I ran 3 miles this morning, during a rain storm. It was raining when I left home, and the rain continued until I reached the turn-around point on the Jordan River Parkway. The rain then decreased but lasted while I finished my run/walk and drove home. There was no thunder or lightning, just a nice Fall storm, although the rain was cold. The air temperature was in the mid 40s (F) during my run. After I got home, I took a nice, hot shower and then left for Evanston, Wyoming to visit my daughter and her family and to celebrate the 12th birthday of my grandson. In the evening we attended a nice concert by the Evanston Civic Chorus and Orchestra, and we had rain most of the way back to the Salt Lake valley. We need the water, so I'm not complaining about the rain.

The following picture was taken from the web, and it shows puddles from a light rain. In order to keep my feet dryer, I moved around the path to dodge the puddles.

Ran 2.5 miles

My wife and I started our workout about 9 am, going north on the Jordan River Parkway. When we left home, there was a brisk breeze blowing, but when we started our workout, the breeze was gone. However, I noticed it was back as I did the last half-mile. The sky was almost clear, and the sun felt good. The temperature during our workout was in the high 40s (F).

I noticed my right quad was a little-bit sore when I knelt down to do my situps or my pushups, but it felt fine before, during, and after my run. This is the third run in which I haven't had to stop and stretch my quad. However, my right leg is swollen compared to the left leg. The swelling started at the same time that my right quad felt tight. I've been taking a natural remedy for joint-stiffness and soreness, and I've temporarily stopped that to see if it is the cause of my right leg being swollen. So far, I haven't notice any change.

I've mentioned in previous posts, there is an old apple tree about at the 0.7 mile mark on the path. I stopped at the tree to get an apple and found that all of the apples I can reach are gone (apparently someone got there before I did). There are some nice looking apples up high, but I can't reach them. I did get a small one to eat, and my wife, who can reach higher than me, got another one for me. The apples taste good. In previous years, I've gotten quite a few apples from that tree.

The following picture, taken from the web, shows a wild apple tree by a river.

Ran/walked 3 miles

My wife and I were out early (for us) this morning, about 9 am. It is a beautiful day, and we enjoyed being outside. The temperature during our workouts went from 49 (F) at the beginning to 67 at the end. My right leg felt fine so I went for my normal 3 miles. I did notice, though, that my right knee is swollen, and that might be the result of what ever has been causing my right quad to be tight. I noticed yesterday when kneeling down to pick up leaves, and again this morning when I knelt down to do my 10 pushups, that my right quad was tight and slightly sore. I'm being more diligent in doing my stretches, and I hope the stretches strengthen my quads.