This is a rest-week: 15 laps for 1.5 miles

It is suggested that runners and walkers take a rest week once a month of about 66-75% of their normal. This is my rest week, and my wife and I went to the South Jordan City rec center.

There are four classifications of air-quality in the Salt Lake Valley, and I go outside for two of the classifications and to the rec center for the other two classifications. Green and Yellow days are for outside running and walking, and Orange and Red days are for inside lap running and walking. The size of the smog particles decides which classification will be in effect for a given day. Today was an Orange day, and I decided to have the week be a rest week because the air is bad outside.

Chugging along with 2.4 miles (24 laps)

My wife and I went to the South Jordan rec center, and I ran and walked 24 laps for 2.4 miles. We went in the morning when there were snow flurries occurring. However, the sun was out when we drove home.

Started a new week with 2.4 miles

Today is a Green day, and normally we would go to the Jordan River Parkway to walk and run. But, a front is predicted to pass through the area about noon today, and further snow flurries are predicted, along with a drop in temperature. So, my wife and I elected to go to the South Jordan rec center and do laps around the indoor track. I added 2 laps and did 2.4 miles (24 laps). I will continue the 2.4 miles for the rest of the week to allow my body to start to get used to the new distance. There were snow flurries and light rain during the morning, but the flurries  and rain have stopped. The sky is still overcast, though. The Green days are predicted to last during the week, but the temperature is predicted to be below freezing. Thus, I'm not sure if we will go to the rec center on Wednesday or to the Parkway. I have a Dentist appointment tomorrow, so it's good that I ran and walked today.

Later: it's snowing again.

2.2 Miles Ended the Week

Today was a Green day (no restrictions), but we had about 9 inches of heavy snow on the ground, so I went to the South Jordan rec center and ran and walked 22 laps around the indoor track. Also, it was late afternoon when I went to the rec center, and it was dark when I finished. I'm glad I was in the rec center, because my wife doesn't like me to be on the Jordan River Parkway after dark. Also, I wanted to give the maintenance people more time to plow the snow from the path.

The daytime temperature was about 36 (F), so there was some melting of the snow and ice. My wife and I scrapped the snow from our driveway this morning and found that there was a thin layer of ice under the snow, because the cement was slippery once the snow was removed. Fresh snow is not slippery, but ice may be under the snow. A few years ago I was running on the Parkway path through a few inches of snow, and all of a sudden I found myself lying in the path. Ice had formed during the night and then snow covered the ice. I didn't break any bones, but I was sore for a few hours.

Another 2.2 miles

Today was an Orange day, so my wife and I went to the South Jordan rec center, and I ran and walked 22 laps for 2.2 miles. The air temperature was about 34 degrees, but we had snow or rain flurries most of the day. There weren't many people using the rec center today. We went to the rec center in mid afternoon, and I had a hard time with the last few laps. I didn't have any breakfast this morning, and I think I was running out of energy. I like to run on an empty stomach, but that assumes I'm doing morning runs. I should eat breakfast when I know (like today) that I'm not running until mid afternoon.

Did 2.2 miles

Today was an Orange day, and the air is pretty bad. I went to the South Jordan rec center and ran and walked 22 laps on the indoor track. Hopefully, the air inside the rec center is filtered and thus better than the outside air. An Orange day is mandatory regulation of smog-producing activities for those who are sensitive to bad air. As far as I know, I'm not sensitive to bad air, but since the rec center is available, and my health insurance reimburses the full cost of the center, I go there when the air is bad. 2.2 miles isn't quite far enough to get the 10,000 steps that are recommended by doctors, but I'm slowly increasing my distance. By the time I get to 3 miles, I will be getting my 10,000 steps.

Here is a picture, taken from the web, that shows the bad air in Salt Lake City due to an inversion. I'm not in Salt Lake, but the bad air extends the full length of the Salt Lake valley. Inversions are caused when a layer of cold air is on top of warmer air, keeping the air in the warmer layer from going into space. The trapped air thus gets worse and worse. Snow is predicted for Thursday and Friday, and that should cause the inversion to disappear, although it will be back in a few days. Later in the Spring, the temperature will be warmer, and the inversions that caused the bad air will stay away until next winter.

Did another 2.0 miles to end the week

Today was a Yellow day (use moderation and common sense), and my wife and I went south from the trailhead at 100th South. The sky was overcast, and a slight wind was blowing. The mid-day temperature was in the low 30s (F). Not many people were on the path. I saw 3 cyclists, two runners and one walker. I didn't notice the wind until I turned around. I then immediately felt colder, indicating the wind was a north wind. I looked at tall grass and saw a slight movement, and I realized that any wind reduces the wind-chill factor. I wore gloves, and my fingers started feeling cold on the way back, but on the way out, my fingers felt fine.

Did 2.0 miles again

Today is a Green day (no restrictions due to air quality), so my wife and I drove to the Jordan River Parkway and went south from 100th South. The ice that I saw on the path two days ago was gone. The sky today was mostly cloudy, but the sun peaked out of the clouds once in a while. During my run/walk this morning, it sprinkled rain, and the path was wet from previous rain. The air temperature was in the mid 30s (F). I saw three other runners on the path; two of them were a man and a woman and a dog on a lease. When I first saw them, they were going north, but when I saw them the second time, they had turned around and were going south.

There were a lot of ducks on or near the path, but it looked like South Jordan had cleaned most of the duck poop from the path. Or, perhaps a heavy rain during the night washed the poop from the path. At any rate, it was nice to use a relatively clean path.

I also saw a South Jordan maintenance truck on the side of the path. The truck was slowly moving down the path, but I couldn't tell what the driver was doing.  The truck would stop for a while and then move to a new spot on the path and stop for a while.

Did 2.0 miles

Today is a Green (no restrictions) day, so my wife and I drove to the Jordan River Parkway and went south. We both went 1 mile out and 1 mile back, for a total of 2 miles each. The sky was mostly cloudy, but the sun did peek out on the way back, and the warmth of the sun felt good. The air temperature was in the low 40s (F), but there was a south wind of about 15 mph. This wind made running hard on the way out, but it was a tail wind on the way back and made running easier. I saw two runners and one walker on the path. Both runners were in shorts and had no wind breakere, so they probably were cold. However, they both were going much faster than I was going, and their speed probably helped to keep them warm. My nylon wind breaker (uninsulated jacket) did a great job of increasing the chill factor of the wind.

The ducks, who use the path in the winter, don't have very good bathroom habits, and it was almost impossible to avoid their poop on the path. I just ran through the poop and didn't worry about my shoes. There were a few icy spots on the path, and a lot of wet spots, but the path was mostly dry and nice for running.

Finished week with another 1.7 miles

My wife and I drove to the South Jordan rec center and did laps around the indoor track. The air temperature outside was 17 (F), and a brisk wind was blowing, such that the wind chill was probably 0 degrees or lower.

I felt fine while running laps, but every 5 laps, I sat down and took a brief break. I completed my workout with 17 laps. My wife did all walking and completed 20 laps. She walks faster than I jog/walk.

Increased a bit to 1.7 miles

Even though the air temperature was expected to reach the low 40s (F), there was a winter storm alert for tonight; the alert started at 11 am (MST) this morning. So, my wife and I went to the SJ rec center and did laps on the indoor track (10 laps = 1 mile). Even though I only had about 5 1/2 hours sleep last night (got to bed late and woke up early) I felt pretty good and didn't get dizzy. It rained while we were in the building.

Ran 1.6 miles

There was a light snow falling this morning, and I elected to go to the South Jordan rec center. I ran and walked 16 laps around the indoor track, which corresponds to 1.6 miles. I had hoped to go for 20 laps, but I started getting dizzy, and I aborted and went home. I had a light case of the flu yesterday and Saturday, and that probably accounted for my dizziness. Also, I ate 3 Norwegian pancakes before I left home, and my breathing wasn't very good. The temperature today is expected to be about 35 (F), so the snow should begin melting. By the time I started home, the show had stopped and the sun was peaking out from the clouds.

Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday are predicted to be Green days (no limitations), so the inversion causing our bad air last week is gone, and things look good for running, assuming South Jordan City clears the path on the Jordan River Parkway. When I was younger, I didn't mind running on ice, but now that I'm older I'm more cautious about my running.

In the following clip from the movie Bambi, Bambi is a newborn deer who is just learning to walk but walks like an old person; he is slipping on the ice. Thumper, the rabbit,  is a youngster who is running with no problems on the ice.

 

Latcr: The snow continued throughout the day and was heavier during the evening than it had been during the day.