An enjoyable hour run

I ran for an hour on the Jordan River Parkway. This was my first run since last Wednesday, and it felt good to be out. The temperature when I left was 32 (F) and was probably in the mid 30s when I returned. The sky was overcast, and there was no wind. A beautiful day! I ran at my comfortable pace which was about 12-minute miles. My wakeup HR was 55 due to not getting enough sleep the past two weeks.

Started speed training today

My plan has been to begin speed training in January. My plan is to replace my Saturday long run with half an hour of speed. My Wednesday 2-hour run will thus become my long run. My goal during January and the first week of February is to run fartleks.

I ran a fartlek at the end of my run this morning. That fartlek is often called a "kick", and it is a nice way to end a run or race. For the last 150 or so feet, I increased my pace a bit. Not a big increase, but enough for the first time. I will do this kick after each run from now on.

Shorter but more frequent walking breaks

Jeff Galloway, in his new book Running Until You're 100 recommends shorter but more frequent walking breaks. I've been taking one minute walking breaks every mile, but this morning I tried 30-second breaks every half mile. I enjoyed them and will continue with the shorter breaks.

I know where the mile points are on the Jordan River Parkway, but I'm just guessing about the half-mile points. Also, I didn't time the 30 seconds. My walking pace is about two steps per second, so I just counted steps. I don't think the distance and time have to be exact. If my half-mile mark is off a bit, it will be corrected at the next mile mark.

It's been a week since I last ran

My previous run was a week ago. I thus decided to make today's run a short, slow "warmup" run. I ran two miles (25 minutes) along the Jordan River Parkway. It felt good to get out again. The temperature was in the mid 30s, and the sky was overcast. We're expecting rain or snow tonight.

My schedule is improving, but...

Due to a hectic schedule, it has been a week since I last ran. During that week, we had a lot of family activities: We had a nice family dinner on New Years eve with about 25 aunts, uncles, cousins, children, and grandchildren attending. My daughter had a new baby. Her two children, who were staying at our house for a few days have returned to their home. My wife went with them and will be with them for a few days. My son and his family who visited from Arizona left this morning. As my neighbor said, "It's nice to see them [grandchildren] come, and it's nice to see them go."

I'm still working on the DVD that I mentioned in a previous post. It's taking me a lot more time than I had expected, because I'm doing some new things in the video. It's been a great week, but I'm glad that things are returning to normal.

It's not the clothing, it's the training

A runner posted a comment in the forum at about.com about running clothing. I replied to his comment, and I thought I'd post my reply here for those who don't read the about.com forum.

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Many years ago there was a runner named Dr. George Sheehan. He was one of the legends in running. In one of his books, he talked about running clothing. He said you could tell the newbies, because they had the latest fashion. The experienced runners wore grubbies. Running shoes, of course, were an exception to his statement.

Things are different today, because running clothes have improved, and wearing the latest clothing has advantages to runners in extreme conditions. I bought my first poly T-shirt last summer, and I'll never go back to cotton. I bought my first 100% poly socks last year, and I'll never go back to cotton. I do, though, wear mostly grubbies. I'm still wearing my nylon running pants that I bought 25 years ago, and I still have my nylon wind breaker that I bought almost 30 years ago. When I layer for winter, I include old cotton shirts that still fit but are too worn to be used as an outside layer. Cotton is a good insulator if it is kept dry. If it gets wet, it is dangerous because it freezes.

You're right that training counts! And, I would add that common sense about pushing yourself too much or too little in training counts, too.