Ran/walked about 55 minutes

During mid-day, I drove to the 100th South trail head and went south on the Jordan River Parkway. I ran for about 55 minutes (2 miles). Most of the path was clear, but in the shady spots, there was about 50% ice and 50% asphalt. The temperature was in the high 20s (F), and a slight north wind was blowing. I wore 3 layers, and my body felt fine, but my fingers were cold. When I was in marathon training, it would take about a mile and a half for my body to warm up. Now that I'm older and am walking as well as jogging, it takes longer for my body to warm up. The pain in my fingers was just beginning to subside when I got back to my car, even though I had cotton gloves that provided protection against the cold.

This picture, taken from the web, shows fingers that have frostbite and are thus white due to poor blood circulation. My fingers were cold today but did not have frostbite. However, I have a pair of heavy mittens that would keep my hands warm, but I haven't been using them during my running due to their weight. I'm going slow enough that the weight of gloves shouldn't be a concern, and I think I will use those mittens on my next run if the temperature is in the 20s or below. The mittens have about 1/4 inch of wool with a nylon shell.

I used to do a lot of winter camping as Scoutmaster, and I only remember one time when two or three of my scouts had problems with frostbite. I taught them to check their faces and hands often for frostbite and to check their toes when they first got up, the symptom being small white spots on their hands and feet that indicated frostbite was beginning to occur. One morning after we got up, a couple of the scouts had small white spots on their toes. My car was nearby, and I took the affected scouts to the car and used the car heater to warm them up. I had taught the scouts to use hand warmers in their sleeping bags to keep their feet safe while they were sleeping, and most of the boys were OK.

Ran/walked 40 minutes

My wife and I drove to the South Jordan Rec center, and we walked or jogged about 40 minutes. There is about a foot of snow on the ground, but the city is good at plowing the Parkway. However, the temperature was about 30 when we left home but was in the 20s when we finished our workout. We decided to avoid the cold by going to the rec center. We haven't exercised for about a week, so I went about half of my normal workout as a way to "get back into it".

Ran for about half an hour

My wife and I drove to the trail head at 100th South and went south. She walked two miles, and I ran/walked about half an hour, doing about 1.6 miles. The air temperature was in the low 40s (F), and we went out in the late afternoon. I usually would go farther, but I didn't feel like running, so I turned around and went back to my car. My wife goes faster than I, and we both arrived back at my car at the same time. I've been getting pretty good sleep but just needed to do less activity than I usually do. The path was free from snow but had some water on it in shady spots.

Another hour of running/walking

My wife and I went to the South Jordan rec center, and I ran and walked for an hour, using the same ratio of running and walking that I've used on the Jordan River Parkway (40 seconds running and 60 seconds walking). Using time instead of distance is easier than actual distance since I just have to look at my watch when I began and exercise for an hour. The last time I used the rec center, I had to count laps, and I frequently forgot how many laps I had done. The outside temperature was in the low 30s, but it felt cold. The rec center was cool but felt fine after my body warmed up.

I would have liked to go to the Jordan River Parkway, but it was quite cold outside and I wasn't sure the Parkway path would free from ice. When I was younger, I would have gone to the Parkway, but I'm older now and less interested in "braving the elements", and I have my wife's feelings about this matter to consider. She is younger than I, but not by many years. It was nice to run in a cool but comfortable place!

Completed my 1-hour rest run

My wife and I drove to the East Pavilion and went south. I felt pretty good and went a bit faster, going a couple hundred yards more than I went last week. Also, I didn't take any rest stops on the way out or on the way back. There was a 10-15 mph gusty head wind on the way out, and it was nice to have it as a tail wind on the way back. I didn't push for speed. I just let my body do its thing. There was a small bit of sun during the run, but the sky was mostly overcast. The gusty wind indicates a storm front is moving through the area. The following picture was taken from the web, although today's wind was not as strong as that depicted in the picture.

Beautiful day today for another 1-hour run/walk

My wife and I drove to the South Jordan East Pavilion, and we went south. The temperature was in the high 40s, and there was little if any breeze. Just a great day to be out. Not a lot of people on the path this morning, but several runners were out. I took no rest stops on the way out but took several on the way back (after about 2 miles, I started getting tired).

Another 1 hour of run/walk plus 1/4 mile of walking

My wife and I drove to the parking lot at 100th South and went south. She went about 1/4 mile farther than I went. When I completed the hour of running and walking, I still had about 1/4 mile to go, and I walked that distance back to my car. I took one brief rest stop going down and three stops coming back. I felt pretty good going down but was tired on the way back and went slightly slower. The times given above do not include the rest stops. We were out in the mid afternoon, and the sky was cloudy and thus cooler. During the morning we had mostly sunny skies. The shade-temperature under my deck peaked at 45 (F) and was 44 when we left to go out.