Maxwells

A slight change.  I moved my day off to Saturday to take advantage of the heat, and rest. So on Sunday morning, after a granola and strawberry breakfast, I made sure to cover 3 miles.  Sunday morning was cool enough; but I was also rested enough.  I ran 1 and 3/4 miles of the 3 miles and completed the distance in 56 minutes.

In 2 miles, I only needed 30 minutes to run 1 and 1/4 mile, and walk off the rest, at a faster than average pace.  What was different this time? This time I used the bike path between 2 parks.  The bike path is flat and exactly 1 mile between parks.  I ran 3/4 mile without stopping on the mile out, then 2 quarter mile segments on the mile back.  The path is clearly marked at every quarter mile.  The path is also by the water, and since it's a bike path, there are fewer other people using it.  On my T/Th/Sat running days, I will use the bike path, and on the walking days, I will return to my favorite park.

It was another hot day, but running when the sun is closer to setting is working for me, as is carrying a small water bottle that I use at some points.  I remembered to use the short stride from a couple of days ago, and found myself less tired. So far so good; if the heat breaks, I will look forward to running again when it's much cooler.

Weather today was blisteringly hot and humid.  The temp was in the 90's but the 'feels like' temp was closer to 110 degrees.  Since it was expected to be like that all day, I waited until early evening, just before sunset, to do my Tuesday run/walk.  I put my whole system through the ringer to finish my 2 miles in 40 minutes; 3/4 mile was spent running.  And here's what I learned...

Delicious Chinese food is a terrific supper for days when I WALK ONLY.  Sometimes, little kids jump out in front of you when running at your fastest speed.  By bringing the water bottle with me today, I was able to complete my time without problem, except for the excess sweating.

On the other hand, I finally learned NOT to stride too much.  I HAD to shorten my stride today because of the heat.  I was able to cover more ground while I realized, my knees were not bending as much.

While I did not complete a full mile today, I did learn that running on the hottest day of the year so far, beside a sunset over a bay is one of the most beautiful things to experience.

I was on my run/walk for 2 miles today.  1 and 1/4 mile was running!  Not much concerned about timing now; just trying to increase my running, so that on running days, I do less walking.

Since it's July, I made a change in the plan.  On the running days, I will try to run an entire mile non-stop. So today, I ran for 1/2 mile, walked 1/4 mile, and ran 1/4 mile which took about 19 minutes.

On race day a few weeks ago, I ran a 5k in 43 minutes.  I think the energy of the other runners may have helped push me along. So, I am now learning how to compete with myself.

Different airport, same coast, but only 1 true mile today and only walking.  Life sometimes has its own agenda.

This morning, I ran 1/2mile and walked 2 and 1/2miles in about an hour and 10 minutes.  The sun was very hot today and there was no real breeze.  I think the work interuption and fatigue from this week have thrown me off  However, I will rest again tomorrow and resume the schedule on Monday.

2 mile walk today in about 50 minutes; again near sunset; plenty of couples and kites and kids; always nice to see in a park. Am going for coffee after this.

My 2 mile run/walk tonight took 40 minutes today. Last night, just walking took the same amount of time, but last night's walk was high pace all the way through.  Today, when I ran, I kept a steady pace, but when I walked, I lessened the pace.  So, I think I did okay.

The weather was favorable again; what as lucky streak of good weather!  Today, I did two things.  I started out with a 1minute walk, then ran (!) for a half mile.  I surprised my self that I lasted so long without stopping.  The end of the run was up a hill, though, so I brought myself back into walking once I reached the top.  Then, I walked a quarter mile before running another quarter-mile, another surprise!  For the second mile, I tucked in one more quarter mile, and did mostly walking.  But, I ran in the last minute to get back to my car, where I then did a cooling off walk around the parking lot. In total, I ran 1 mile, a new thing for me! In high school, I sprinted and did long jumps; distance running is still very new to me.

The second thing I did was to spend time paying attention to my form.  My work habits require I look at a computer screen most of the day, only 2 feet away.  But, today, I kept forcing myself to look to the horizon in order to keep my head up, and my posture straighter.  Then, I made mental notes about where my shoulders need to go and how to properly land my feet.  So, while I was doing all that, it felt like the run was less stressful on my feet and legs.  I am beginning to appreciate the mechanics of my body in order to complete these sessions.  Before, I add more time spent running, I want to make sure all body parts are exactly where they should be during a run doing exactly what they should be doing, and not any more or less.  I think this approach will require more mental observation than I thought would go into just simple 'running.' Works for me though, I like finding efficiencies.

The good news is that I ran 1/4 mile in each of the 3 miles I covered today.  And it didn't exhaust me as much as I thought it was.  The park was breezy and the sky was clear; another beautiful day.

But, on a beautiful Saturday in the park, there were LOTS of people, families, couples, puppies, parties, other runners, birds, music, food, cars...to run around and in between.  To add to this, I mistakenly chose noon to start my run/walk.  All of the distractions at the hottest time of day made my time more difficult than I anticipated.

In the one official run I have been in so far, at least the energy of other runners provided give and take of energy that keeps spirits high.  Today, I kept my focus by listening to a 5k race podcast with lots of high energy music in the background, and a coach/cheerleader shouting motivations.  And, when I was actually running, I visualized how the runners looked when they race, and tried to emulate their movements.

In all, 1 hour spent covering the 3 miles.  Enjoyable, but challenging.