Old Man Running

Ran 3 miles again

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:55:00 +0000

I ran for 3 miles this morning, and I felt fine for the first half and then I started getting tired during the last half. My wakeup heart rate was 58. I only had 6 hours sleep last night. I've been having trouble getting dehydrated due to not drinking enough water, and that has affected my sleep at night and probably my wakeup heart rate. I'm trying to drink more water during the day. I do carry water with me and drink one cup per mile, but when I get home, I get busy and forget to drink.

Water, water, my kingdom for a drink of water!

Took a rest day today instead of running

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:42:00 +0000

I had planned on running in the late afternoon, but my heart rate was high all day, so I didn't go out. Because of my age, I'm taking more rest days than I did when I was younger.

Today the temperature was in the 80s (F), and for the next few days the temperature will be in the 90s. We'll get some rain in the middle of next week, and that will cool things down a bit.

I ran/walked 3 miles again

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 05:31:00 +0000

My wakeup heart was 58, and I had a good 7 hours sleep, but I didn't run until late afternoon. I was pretty tired during my run, and I did more walking on the way back than I did on the way down. I took one short rest on the way down and one on the way back. I faced a 5 mph head wind on the way back, and that sapped my energy, too. Yesterday, I mowed and edged my lawns, and I drove to Salt Lake City and edged my mother-in-law's lawn. The edging wasn't particularly hard, but the mowing was hard, and I was pretty tired when I finished. I didn't get my lawns mowed last week, and the grass was longer than usual when I mowed it today. I need more than one day of rest after I do my lawns, and I was tired during my run. I'm going to try to mow my lawns on Thursday so I will have two days of rest before my Saturday run. Because of the lateness of my run, there was quite a bit of shade on the path, and that helped. The temperature was in the high 70s (F), not very high for running but high when I was already tired from the day before.

I did it -- Ran 3 miles again

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 19:02:00 +0000

I just got back from my run. Today is a beautiful day. No clouds. Lots of sun. The temperature when I got back was 78 (F). Almost no wind was blowing. Lots of runners, walkers, cyclists on the trail. In fact, the parking lot at 100th South had about 15 cars, significantly more than the 5 or 6 cars that are usually there. At first, I thought the police academy was having a qualification run, but I didn't see any police cars in the parking lot, and I realized the cars were all civilian cars.

I ran the same 3-mile route that I used on Wednesday. I didn't keep track of my time, but the run probably took about 55 minutes. I used my Fuel Belt for the first time this year, and I followed the same schedule I've used in the past -- one swallow of water each time I started walking, that's a swallow every two minutes. Each bottle in my Fuel Belt holds one cup, and I empty the bottle every mile. I also got a drink from the water fountain at 100th South at the beginning and end of my run/walk. The temperature wasn't particularly high today, but I was glad I carried water with me. After about 1.5 miles I started sweating, and the water helped replace that lost via sweating.

Now, after I eat brunch and take a short nap, I'll mow my lawns. The picture shown below is the belt I have (6 bottles). It isn't very visible in the picture, but the belt has a nice pouch that I use for my cell phone.

My wakeup heart rate is going down

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 14:14:00 +0000

My wakeup heart rate was 58 this morning, after a good 7 hours sleep. It was 63 or 64 last week. If I continue getting good sleep, my heart rate should continue going down. I'm leaving in about an hour to go running so I get my running in early. I'll be working in my yard for most of the day, mowing lawns and trimming trees, and if I don't get my running in now, I probably won't get it done at all.

Finally, ran 3 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:10:00 +0000

I ran south from the 100th South parking lot for 1.5 miles and then returned. I didn't have my GPS with me and didn't record the time when I left and then returned to the parking lot. I've been trying to get more sleep at night, and my wakeup heart rate on Monday was down to 54. But, I only had 3.5 hours of sleep last night plus some naps during the day today. I didn't record my wakeup heart rate this morning, because of the lack of sleep, but I felt relatively fine during my run. I've been using run/walk times of 60 seconds/35 seconds, but I read that Galloway recommends having the two times the same, so in the middle of the run, I changed the timer to give 60seconds/60 seconds. I'm not concerned with overall speed, and the extra 25 seconds of walking helps me recover for the next 60 seconds of running.

My basic problem with lack of sleep is that I really enjoy doing things at night. I've always been a "night owl" in this regard. In the summers during high school, I was a bellhop at a resort hotel, and I worked 18 hours out of 24 (two 9-hour shifts) and then had the next 24 hours off while the other guy worked his two shifts. During my 24 hours off, I stayed up late at night making ham radio contacts all over North America and the Pacific islands. I would sleep in late until 10 or 11, and then I would get ready for my two shifts. But, as I've gotten older, I'm finding it harder to sleep in late but still easy to stay up late. I'm having to go to bed earlier to get my seven hours of sleep before I wake up. Mornings are for sleeping and nights are for doing things...too bad society doesn't realize that :)

Top 20 Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 29 May 2013 18:32:00 +0000

I just learned that this blog has been added to the Excite list of the top 20 healthcare sites. It's an honor to be on that list.

Family schedule comes before running schedjule

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 26 May 2013 04:44:00 +0000

Well, I didn't get my run in today. My wakeup heart rate was down to 59 and I was planning on running, but a last-minute change in my family schedule prevented me from going out. Actually, I could have gone running as it was getting dark, but I was too tired to go that late in the evening. Darkness comes about 9 pm Mountain Daylight Time. When I was younger (mid 40s), I had no problems running late in the evening, but I can't do that anymore. One of the problems with getting old :)

I had hoped to run today but wakeup HR is still high

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:27:00 +0000

My wakeup heart rate was 61 this morning. A couple of days ago it was 65. I probably could have run a mile this morning, but I'm taking a rest day to give my body additional time to adjust to the extra sleep I've gotten the past several days. Tomorrow is a normal rest day, so my next run will (hopefully) be on Saturday.

Ran 1 mile and was glad I got that far

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:27:00 +0000

My wakeup heart rate was 63, and that is high enough that I should have stayed home. But I went running with a hope of doing 2.5 miles. However, at 1/2 mile, I turned around and went home. My legs felt like they were made of lead, and I had no energy for walking much less for running. I took a nap and felt better. I've been seriously sleep-deprived for the past couple of weeks, and it finally got to me. I did have the last two nights of good sleep, but my body still sent me a loud message that I need to change my behavior.

Riffle Books

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:09:00 +0000

An interesting web site is Riffle Books. People who enjoy reading can create lists of books they've read, are currently reading, would like to read, and recommend for reading. The site is a great place to learn about books that would make a nice companion for an evening of reading before the fire, so to speak.

I've joined the site (free) and have listed my books. Becky, one of the bloggers at Riffle, has featured one of my book-lists in her blog, and she conducted an email interview with me. Click here to read the interview.

Here is my list that is featured in Becky's blog.

Better sleep & ran/walked 2.25 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:27:00 +0000

My wakeup heart rate was 58, and I felt stronger when I went running. I ran about 1/4 mile with a run/walk of 60/25 seconds. Then I changed to 60/30 and then to 60/35 and finished my run with that ratio. I did take a couple of short rest-breaks. One guy asked me, as he ran past, if I were OK. I said, "Yes, just taking a rest break". The temperature was 84 (F) when I left home and 81 when I returned. I think Spring is gone and summer is here.... This warm weather is not good. It may melt the snow in the mountains and cause flooding in the valleys and then a drought in the summer.

I ran in the late afternoon as the sun was going down. Due to the late hour, there was a lot of shade on the trail, and that felt good. There was a slight south breeze blowing, which helped cool me and didn't offer much opposition to my running. A lot of people were on the trail while I was there, including a couple of kids on skateboards.

Did another 2 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:04:00 +0000

My wife and I went to the Jordan River Parkway in the late afternoon. She walked 2 miles, and I ran/walked the same distance. The temperature when we returned home was in the low 70s (F).

In the past I've run 3 minutes and walked 1 minute. The thought occurred to me that I might do better with more frequent but shorter walk breaks, so I ran 1 minute and walked 20 seconds during the first half of today's run, and I ran 1 minute and walked 45 seconds during the second half. I meant to walk only 25 seconds, but I think I set the timer incorrectly. I'll change it to walk 25 seconds on my next run.

There were a lot of cyclists out today. Not many walkers or runners, though. Had we gone out earlier, we might have seen more walkers and runners.

Busy but not much running

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 10 May 2013 03:48:00 +0000

Yesterday was yard work and today was grandchildren day, so I haven't done much running. Between yesterday and today I did about 1 mile of walking. Most of it was on the Jordan River Parkway. We took two grandkids to the South Jordan East Pavilion so they could play at the playground there, and we walked about 1/2 mile round trip to a fishing pond south of the pavilion. Yesterday's yard work was rototilling and lawn mowing. Not a lot of distance but more energy used that just sitting around. My 10 year old grandson and I got in two games of chess today. He still makes a lot of dumb moves, but he has improved a lot in that past couple of years.

I won't be running tomorrow so I'll be able to run on Saturday.

Ran/walked 2 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:45:00 +0000

My wife and I went to the Jordan River Parkway, and we went north 1 mile to the Sandy golf course and back. My wakeup heart rate was 59, and I felt pretty good. It is a beautiful day today. Lots of sun, temperature in the 70s (F) and not much wind. A guy passed us on his bike. A big dog was pulling him, and he said he does little peddling. He didn't get much exercise, but the dog had a good workout.

Ran/Walked 1.5 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

I went running in the late afternoon. I knew before I left that my body and legs were tired from doing yard work, including rototilling, and I decided before I left to only go a short distance. I took a nap before I did the rototilling, and I felt fine for 0.75 miles. I turned around at that point and went back to my car. I felt tired on the way back and took a short 1 minute rest stop with about 0.4 miles left. The temperature was comfortable, the path was dry, and it has been a nice day to be outside. Tomorrow is my Sabbath day, and I never run on Sunday. So, we'll see how it goes on Monday.

Ran/walked 2.4 miles in 46.5 minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:19:00 +0000

My body and legs are still tired from yesterday's marathon work in moving 5 cubic yards of compost/mulch. However, I had a good 7 hours of sleep last night and a short nap early this afternoon, and I decided to go running. I went north from 100th South and ran for 22.5 minutes and returned to my car. The temperature was in the high 50s, and a 15 mph north wind was blowing. I had two layers (T-shirt and wind breaker) and felt fine when going north into the wind but was a bit warm on the return phase. I'm glad that tomorrow will be a rest day.

Ran/Walked for 2.5 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:13:00 +0000

I ran south from 100th South on the Jordan River Parkway, going out for 1.25 miles and then returning. I've forgotten the time it took, but it was around 45 minutes. My wakeup heart rate was 58 and is going down as I get more sleep at night. There were lots of people on the path. The temperature is in the 60s (F), and Spring is definitely here. Also, South Jordan City has turned the on the fountain at the 100th South trail head, and I was able to get a drink at the beginning of my run and another drink at the end of the run. The canals have their summer water, and this is the time of year that ducks and quail hatch their young. It's a nice time of the year.

Time to check out my sprinkling system and repair any damage from winter frost.

Not much running this week

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:45:00 +0000

This week is turning out to be mostly a no-run week. My 95 year old mother-in-law died last Saturday. We held her viewing (wake) last night and the funeral is today. I've spent most of my spare time working on a slide show of her life. We used the slides last night at the viewing and will show them today during a viewing before the funeral. The funeral and grave dedication and family dinner at my mother-in-law's church will take up most of my time today. Visits with the rest of my kids will take up the rest of my time. I'm hoping to run either tomorrow or Saturday, but we'll see.

Sleep really helps!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:26:00 +0000

I've had good sleep the past two nights, and my wakeup heart rate was 56 this morning. If I can continue to get good sleep, my WHR should come down even more. My 95 year old mother-in-law died on Saturday, and I'm in the middle of creating a slide show of her life to show at the viewing (wake) tomorrow night and the funeral on Thursday. I hope I don't have to be up late tonight finishing the slides. I wake up at the same time regardless of when I go to bed (an aspect of getting old), and staying up late thus means sleep deprivation.

Ran/Walked 1.5 miles in 26.5 minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:52:00 +0000

I didn't do any running, walking, or biking last week, so today I eased into it and did half of what I normally would do. I felt fine during the run and could have kept going if I had wanted to. The temperature during my exercise was 52 (F), The sky was cloudy, and there may be showers later in the day. A wind of 10 mph or so was blowing from the north. I only wore one layer (T-shirt) and could have worn a wind-breaker. I'm still using a run of 3 minutes and a walk of 1 minute.

Bombs at the Boston Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:33:00 +0000

Yesterday two bombs were exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The clock time when the bombs went off was about 4 hours. It's a sad day. Watching the videos of the bombing and hearing the reports makes me want to cry. I don't understand why people have such little respect for human life. It's obvious to me that the massacre was planned to maximize the civilian deaths. I hope the police can identify the people responsible for the bombing.

Ran/walked and biked at the gym

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:29:00 +0000

We've had snow showers for the past several days, and the daytime temperature has been in the 30s (F) and 40s. My wife suggested we go to the gym today, and that is what we did. I didn't get a good measurement of how long we were there, but it was about 45 minutes to an hour. It's kinda boring to go around the small jogging track in the gym; I'd much rather be outside on the Jordan River Parkway path. I've only been getting about 6 hours of sleep each night, and I was tired today.

Francie: Definition of Determination

noreply@blogger.com (Francie Van Wirkus) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Part three of three in a series

If you missed my first two posts, Running as Grace and No One Knows You Better, I can catch you up to speed: Girl trains for third Ironman, has breast cancer surgery three weeks before race, scratches race, running is (again) her saving grace. You can read the full story in The Competitor in Me II: Conquer Fear.

The week following my last radiation therapy, I had a follow up appointment with the radiation care team. Katy the RN went through her list of questions, to make sure that I was able to be released from their care. I enjoyed this nurse. It was a little sad that I wouldn’t be able to hear about her progress with learning to swim, but I was on my way and she would do absolutely fine without me.

“Do you feel any fatigue?”

“No. I feel good.” I smiled. The shoe never did fall on me.

“Hmm. That’s good. You know, two out of three people experience fatigue.”

I did know that statistic. In fact, I had heard it so many times from this place that I think I may develop fatigue on account of hearing about it so much.

“I really thought I’d be one of them, but I lucked out.”

“Are you still working out?”

“Yes.”

“Great!”

“My theory is to keep moving. Now that this is over, I can build up again.”

“You know, you are quite…exceptional.”

I didn’t think so. “Um…” I squirmed…

“Really, you worked so diligently and it has paid off. You really are exceptional.”

“I don’t feel it, but thanks.”

“You should be proud of your efforts. This was hard. You took good care of yourself and sailed through it. How did you do it?”

I paused. I had no idea what I was doing! Well, yes I did. I’ve been a runner since I was 15. I knew exactly what I was doing.

“Katy, every day was a battle with fear, even just to drive to this place.”

“I can only imagine. What worked for you?”

“If I think about how I would prepare someone else to sail through it, I would tell them it takes two things: prayer and determination. And a few great supporters. So, three things.” I found myself smiling. Yes, I was smiling about how I handled breast cancer. What a moment this was!

“Your determination is beyond most people’s determination.”

“This may sound sassy, but I mean it honestly: maybe most people don’t have the definition right.”

Do you have your definition of determination right? I’m not saying everyone can continue running through a major illness, but when you are 100 percent determined, and excuses are few and far between, things will fall into place for you.

Ran 4.2 miles in about 80 minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:00:00 +0000

Today I did a split. I ran/walked 50 minutes in mid afternoon and another 35 minutes in the evening going to and from a ham radio meeting in preparation for the State of Utah Shake Out on Wednesday the 17th. The shakeout is an annual drill for earthquakes. I'm a member of a ham radio group that will provide communications within the LDS (Mormon) congregations in the area in which I live. We provide radio communications when telephone and cell circuits aren't available.

My wakeup pulse rate was 58, still high but lower than it has been. I've been getting more sleep at night, and that has helped bring my pulse rate down. The temperature when I left home to go running was 33 (F), and there was a stiff wind of 30-40 mph. It was OK when I was going south, because the wind was a tail wind, but it was hard when I was going north and had to face the wind. My nylon jacket and long pants did a good job of breaking the wind, but my face was cold while I was going north. It felt fine when I went south. The wind chill was about 17 (F). In terms of body strength, I felt pretty good, because I had breakfast earlier in the day and thus had energy when I ran/walked along the Jordan River. When I ran and walked to and from the evening meeting, the air temperature was still in the low 30s, but the wind was almost gone, and I felt fine both ways.