I'm Still Out There... Did 1.9 miles again

Same time and route as in previous posts.

There were quite a few cyclists heading for home, and a number of walkers, but I don't remember other runners.

One walker had a dog that was only four months old but was quite large. After two years, the dog will be fully grown, and the dog will be huge. I wished the guy good luck with his dog; he will need the luck, because the dog, when fully grown, will probably eat large amounts of dog food....

I saw another walker who had cat food and regularly feeds the cats I see on the path, and one of the cats was following him and allowed the guy to pet the cat. In the past I've tried to call the cats I see on the trail by saying "meow", but they won't come near me. I guess that if I want to pet the cats, I should regularly bring cat food and entice them to come to me.

Another 1.9 miles

Same time, same direction, same route as earlier posts. Several people gave me a thumbs up and said I was motivating them. I guess they aren't used to old people running.

I passed several adults with small children. One adult said she was to go two more minutes and then turn around. I think they were a church or neighborhood group that had a goal to walk for a certain amount of time. The young kids, some on bikes and some walking, were having a good time. The sun was down and we had about 45 minutes of dusk, so the temperature wasn't too bad for August, probably in the high 80s (F).

Ran/walked 1.9 miles again

It was late when I started, and it was almost dark when I finished. I'm feeling great, and I think I'm adjusting to the new distance. The sun was down when I started, and I had shade the whole time.

The Eclipse From the Viewpoint of Solar Cells

There are a lot of pictures on the web about the recent eclipse. I thought I'd add to the pictures and show the partial eclipse in the Salt Lake valley from the viewpoint of my solar cells. Each bar is 15 minutes of power.

Increased my distance a bit and went 1.9 miles

I went running in the early evening and increased my distance to 1.9 miles. I went south from the parking lot, as I've done the past few runs.

Another 1.85 miles

Same route and time as before.

I think I'm getting used to the distance, because I didn't feel tired during the run.

1.85 Again

My wife and I went jogging and walking in the late evening. Same route and distance as that described in a previous post.

Increased distance to about 1.85 miles

My wife and I drove, in the late evening, to the Jordan River Parkway and went south. She walked and jogged about two miles, and I jogged and walked about 1.85 miles. We got back to the car about 10-20 minutes before it became dark. There were a few cyclists and walkers heading for home. I felt good, and it was nice to run with almost complete shade and a temp in the 70s (F). I will do the same distance for a couple of weeks to allow my body to adjust to the new distance. My goal is to work up to 2.3 miles.

1.25 miles walking

I walked 1.25 miles today, making the round trip to a church meeting.

1.8 Again

My wife and I went out in the late evening, and we went south from 100th South. It was almost dark when I got back to the car. She walks faster than I jog, and she was about 5 minutes ahead of me. I didn't carry water, and it was nice to jog and walk in the cooler air. There were a few runners and cyclists heading for home, but the path was almost empty, except for us, of course. There was a strong south wind blowing when we started, but the wind was going down when we ended.

Sleep

Not getting enough sleep is a quick path to injury. Running and walking, as well as other forms of physical activity, increase the stress on ones body, and sleep helps our bodies adjust to and remove the stress.

For various reasons, during the past month I've been getting 4-5 hours sleep at night. This is a reduction from the 7 hours of sleep that is my normal. I thought I'd explain my "system" for getting back to my normal of 7 hours of sleep. If I get my normal amount of sleep, I do fine, but I get tired and fall asleep during the evening when I get less than my normal. So, here is how I get back to my normal amount of sleep.

1. I try and remove the factors that caused me to get less than my normal sleep.

2. Even though I may wake up after 4 or 5 hours of sleep, I force myself to stay in bed until I've been in bed for 7 hours; I frequently add 1/2 hour to cover brief interruptions to my sleep, the result being that I'm in bed for 7 1/2 hours. During this time in bed, my bedroom light is off, and I keep my eyes closed and allow my body to go back to sleep. I also don't read or do other activities in my bedroom, so my body associates the bedroom with sleep.

3. It usually takes about a week or two of forcing myself to stay in bed until I'm sleeping the whole time.

We all have different bodies, and it is likely that you may need a different amount of sleep to get your normal sleep. It is also likely that your body may react differently to being in bed.

The good news is that I'm almost back to my 7 hours of sleep. If you have suggestions that I (and others) might try, please leave your suggestions in comments to this post.

And, another 1.8 miles

Today is a cloudy day with rain showers possible in the late afternoon and evening. My wife and I drove to the Jordan River Parkway, and I went south for 0.9 miles and then returned. I didn't carry water, but I had a good drink at the beginning and end of the run. My wife went north to look at the houses being constructed.

Still getting used to the 1.8 mile distance

My wife and I went walking and running in the evening. Same route and conditions as reported in my previous post. The temperature was in the low 80s (F). I expect to run 1.8 miles several times in the future before I increase my distance.