A Penguin in the Orchard

Posts tagged fitness

Runkeeper activity.

85 F, 93 Real Feel®, 55% humidity. Moderately tough run. Seemed much more humid than 55%. Felt awkward for much of the first half, though periodic self-checks were all good. Focused on Lakeside and the 17:00 mark, and made it through. Was pretty wiped out at the end of the run.

Big Thing(s): Kept visualing turning the corner from Lakeside onto Nevada. That got me down Lakeside and through that difficult 17:00 mark. Wasn’t so good about visualing after Nevada.

Little Thing(s): First 5:00 was at 9:47 pace. Brought the overall pace down by 20 seconds over the run.

I think a slight strategy change is in order. My original strategy was to increase time by 10% per week. The new plan is to increase by 10% and stay there until I’m comfortable at or below the target pace for 3 consecutive runs - then bump up 10%.

Runkeeper activity.

Started off well, but quit at roughly the 17:00 mark. No physical reason, just mental. And, no real explanation.

Big Thing(s): 1) Humidity in the low 90% range. 2) 17:00. Not sure what that’s about, but it’s the first mental wall. If I can get to 20:00, I’m good to go. Making it past 17:00 has been hard.

Little Thing(s): 1) Some tightness in the left thigh. DIdn’t really affect the run, but I noticed it almost from the start. 2) Felt the mental shift on Sycamore just before turning onto Lakeside.

Runkeeper activity.

82F, 92 Real Feel®. A good solid run. Didn’t struggle during any part of the run. Kept the positive mental conversation going, checking and confirming that everything felt good. Didn’t consider walking at any point.

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Runkeeper tracking here.

I’m moving the run log from the old format at steidler.net, and combining the narrative I’ve been posting in Runkeeper. That’s in an effort to keep everything in one place.

There probably won’t be a lot of startling insight here. I’m just a 50-year-old man who came back to running after a 26-year hiatus filled with cigarettes, fatty foods and sedentary jobs. But, I do want to capture the runs and the thoughts of any other runners who might venture or stumble this way.

This was another good run day, though not as easy and freewheeling as the Saturday run. I had to work a little harder at it. The heat (83 F, 83 RF, 65% humidity) was a factor. I’m finding out this year that I’m less tolerant to the heat than I assumed. Overall, though, I found a reasonable stride early on and was able to maintain a pretty consistent pace throughout. My target pace is 9:20. I stayed in that ballpark for the full run, finishing at 9:16.

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I started running outdoors in May for the first time in more than 25 years. Family health issues clearly indicated that it would be a good idea to raise the level of exercise I’ve been getting for the past few years. I’d been running occasionally on the treadmill, but I suspected it wasn’t quite the same as running outside.

I was surprised at how much more difficult running on pavement is than running on a treadmill. However, after 4 solid months, I’m happy to note what feels like real progress. My mile pace has decreased by roughly two minutes and the duration of my runs has increased two-fold. I look forward to the 4x-weekly runs. And, more frequently, the runs are smooth and natural even when they’re difficult.

I can say honestly that I’m starting to feel like a runner again, rather than a guy who runs. Though the distances are less and the pace slower, it’s beginning to feel like the running I did at 24 - productive, challenging and positive in all respects.

That’s an unexpected rediscovery at 49.