In the Pursuit of Wonder

I have bought a heart rate monitor.  My plan is to keep my heart rate in a training zone.  I hope this will curb my competitive spirit and allow me to focus on getting out of the door 3 times a week instead of trying to beat my previous training time.  Hopefully this will allow me to ease into running without the injuries or disappointments plagued me last year.

Ran 1.92 miles in 27:05.  average HR 144.  HR Range 130-148, 18:58 in zone, peak 157 cal 578 based on 240 lbs.  I was constantly shifting from running to walking and vice versa.  I am sure it looked pretty funny if anyone was watching me.

Ran 1.92 miles in 25:39.  Average HR 148.  HR Range 140-157, 19:12 in zone, peak 172, cal 554 based on 232 lbs.  Last stretch was able to keep HR in zone by walking fast.

Ran 2.29 in 29:18.  AHR 155, 76% Max HR, HR Range 148-163, 22:32 in zone, peak 170, cal  676 based on 232 lbs.  Seemed like a good heart rate zone.  At beginning doing more running than walking, at end doing more walking than running.

Ran 2.23 miles in 27:35.  AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 22:32 in zone, peak 176, cal 645 based on 232 lbs.  Ignored heart rate monitor after leaving mountain rd.

Ran 2.23 in 27:36.  AHR 144, 67% Max, HR Range 148-163, 16:44 in zone, peak 171, cal 568 based on 232 lbs.  Heart rate monitor acting funny, will tighten strap better before next run, believe 144 heart rate is significantly low.

Ran 2.23 in 28:02.  AHR 155, 76% Max, HR Range 148-163, 21:48 in zone, peak 172, cal 656 based on 232 lbs.  Ran in evening, temp a low 48 degrees.  Didn't look at watch, felt like I was putting in a good time, but time was much slower than I thought.

Ran 2.23 miles in 28:42.  AHR 155, 76% Max, HR Range 148-163, 22:48 in zone, peak 171, cal 672 based on 232 lbs.  Ran midday temp 72 degrees and felt warm.  Felt like I was running very slow and doing a lot of walking.  I knew the time would be slow, but the heat was keeping my HR up.  Hands got a little swollen near the end of the run.

Ran 2.51 in 31:16.  AHR 156, 77% Max, HR Range 148-163, 21:48 in zone, peak 177, cal 740 based on 232 lbs.  Ran in evening, temp a nice 60 degrees. Didn't walk at all until corner of warner and meridian.  Felt like I was running well.  Ignored HR monitor last 1/4 mile.

Hiked to a water tank 1.62 miles in the flat desert with Cub Scouts 3 hours prior to the run, took about 1 hour.

Ran 2.51 in 31:28.  AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 23:08 in zone, peak 178, cal 736 based on 232 lbs.  Ran in evening, temp was very nice. I ran around 9 PM, high for day was 81 degrees Didn't walk at all until corner of warner and meridian.  Felt like I was running well.  Ignored HR monitor last 1/4 mile.

Ran 2.51 miles in 30:44.  AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 25:30 in zone, peak 169, cal 711 based on 232 lbs.  Ran at 9 in the evening, temp was 64 very nice for running.

Put in a much faster time than previously and didn't push myself as hard.  AHR lower, peak heart rate lower, and time in zone higher, because I didn't push myself after last turn toward house.  Must mean I am making some progress.

 When I was out on my run through the neighborhood I smelled smoke from what smelled like a campfire.  It didn't smell like a barbecue.  I make a turn and run about 2/3 of a mile and there is a firepit in someones driveway with tons of kids out riding bikes.  I was surprised how far I could smell the smoke and had some sympathy for all you runners putting in outside miles in the colder climates.

Went on a leisurely walk at the greenfield riparian area with the family.  The walk measured out to exactly one mile and took us about 40 minutes.  It has been raining all morning and we got sprinkled on a little bit.  We listened to the thunder and had fun watching the geese honking, shorebirds feeding, and a couple of hummingbirds flitting around.

Ran 2.51 in 31:13.  AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 26:06 in zone, peak 167, cal 714 based on 232 lbs.  It rained on my way home from work, so I hurried and got into my running clothes and rain jacket and headed out the door afraid the temperature would plummet once the sun went down.  It was a bit windy starting off.  I think I started off a little fast trying to warm up.  I have been making it to the corner without my hr monitor telling me to slow down.  Today I did a walk and started running again before I got to the corner.  I felt like I was doing a lot of walking and I based on my ahr being only 153 I think that is true.  I got sprinkled on a little bit, but not much.  The last 1/2 mile the wind really picked and was I was going straight into it.  My time was better than I expected it to be.  I am proud that I was diligent enough to get out even with the weather.  When I first thought about running about a year ago I would listen to a running podcast.  The guy said there was no such thing as bad running weather, just inappropriate clothing.  I thought about that all the way home from work.  I was hoping all the clouds would produce a nice sunset, but the cloud cover was too heavy and there wasn't much of a sunset at all.  I will have to go look at Burt's blog to see if he got out in the rain.

Ran 2.51 in 32:20.  AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 27:18 in zone, peak 171, cal 757 based on 232 lbs.

 Ran in evening, temp was very nice.  I focused on running slow so that I could run farther without my hr monitor telling me to walk.  It seemed to work as far as that goes.  I ran considerably farther before the first time I had to walk and it seemed like I ran more than normal even though at a slower pace.  I also focused on keeping my walking at a very fast pace.  I expected my time to be much better.  I read an article a while back that talked about the average speed of changing your gait from walking to running was around 12 minute miles.  So I figured by walking fast and running more, but slower I would lower my time.  It didn't work out that way.  Apparently I was runnng so slow that it was less efficient than running faster and taking more walk breaks.  The 12 minute mile is sort of a psycholigical barrier for me.  I feel more like a runner when I can get under that pace as that is the minimum pace most people can run.  Anyways, it was a nice run and I felt like I recovered and got my wind back fairly quickly after the run was over which I take as a sign of improvement.

I will go running later tonight, but for now here is a news article.

Teenage handbag thief outpaced by 72-year-old ex-sprinter

She added: "I didn't think of my safety, but I did pay for it a little the next day. I was covered in aches and pains and my daughter turned to me and said it was because I didn't warm up properly."

PM  - Ran 1.92 in 23.17  AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 19:16 in zone, peak 166, cal 545 based on 232 lbs. 12.07 pace.

 I scaled back my mileage this run, because Sasha has convinced me to run 6 days a week.  I plan on running 2.5 tomorrow as long as I feel good as I have Sunday to recuperate from it.  This will be the first time I have ever run 2 consecutive days.  I have been thinking about why Sasha wants people to run 6 days a week and I have decided it is so their are more blog posts which will increase the google page rank and get him higher in search engines, which gets more bloggers signed up and generates more add revenue.  I have seen him blogging about linux, so he is savy enough to pull that off.  I hope the website continues to bea a success so I can buy into that reasoning to.

 This run felt like a big improvement.  Normally I get just under half a mile before my hr monitor beeps and tells me I have reached the upper limit of my zone.  Today I got nearly a mile before that happened.  also my walk breaks before my HR beeped telling me I am at the bottom of my zone were much shorter.  I haven't run this short route in a few weeks, I will have to look at the log and see how much my time has improved in the last couple of weeks.  I really want to get under a 12 mpm pace. Oh and a car that passed me peeled out after he passed me.  He is a neighbor just up the street from me.  He won't be getting any cookies next christmas.

Ran 2.23 in 26.21 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 22:18 in zone, peak 167, cal 617 based on 232 lbs. 11.49 pace.

 I have been running consistently for just shy of a month.  I started out with a 1.92 mile run, then a 2.23 mile run, then a 2.51 mile run.  Now that I plan on running 6 days a week I plan on going back to the 1.92 mile run.  But on Saturday I figure I can run longer because I have an extra day of rest.  So I planned on doing the 2.51 mile run.  But my hip was hurting, so I decided to do the 1.92 mile run, then I decided it didn't hurt that bad, so I ended up doing 2.23 miles.  Apparently I have no concept of how fast i am really going.  It was cool, but the sun was out.  The radiant affect of the sun seems to have a big impact on my perceived effort.  I felt like I was going much slower than yesterday and walking much more, but I ran farther at a lower pace.  How I ended up with a lower pace baffels me.  Not that I am complaining.  I am very happy to have it come in under 12 mpm.  Well I am off to a Valentines day dinner.

Went for a walk with my daughter at the greenfield desert riparian water park.  Went 1.63 miles in 1:02.  Trying to figure out what kind of hummingbirds we have been seeing.  I think they are black-chinned hummingbirds.  We also so gila woodpeckers, curve billed thrashers, a snowy egret, as well as all the usual ducks.  Lots of birds were gathering material for their nests.

AM - Left the house at 7:00 with a friend, destination wind cave trail in Usery Park.  It was around 45 degrees at the start.  Took 37.18 to go 1.6 miles and 800 foot elevation gain up to the cave.  Spent about 10 minutes resting and watching the ground squirrels which are always there.  No bees this time with the cool weather.  Decided to check out the trail past the "enter at your own risk" sign.  It was a lot further than I thought We saw a hummingbird on our way up to the ridge where we could the goldfields to the east.  We also had a good view of the pass that pass mountain trail passes through.  Including the rest at wind cave it took us 43:54 to make it up to the ridge and back down to the cave.  I don't have any data for the distance, but the guess is about 1/3 mile up and another 200 foot elevation gain.  Took another 35:17 to get to the car.  for a total time of 1:57.29, 3.85 miles and 1000 foot elevation gain.  The Mexican Gold Poppies were starting to bloom.  I was hoping it would be warm enough for them to open up on the way back down, but it was still too cool.

 I plan on going to YC's Mongolian restaurant for lunch.  Hopefully I can get a short run in this evening.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 22.48 AHR 152, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17:36 in zone, peak 165, cal 516 based on 232 lbs. 11.53 pace.

This was the first time since high school I have ever ran over a mile without stopping.  I know I ran the mile in high school as part of PE, but I don't remember whether I ever did it without walking.  I was never the poor soul who walked almost the entire way and did it in like 15 minutes, but I doubt I ever did it without taking some walk break, if just because I didn't care that much about it.  Today I made it almost to the 1.5 mile mark when my hr monitor told me to walk.  I only took two walks and they both were around 30 seconds.  This was after my fairly rigorous hike in the morning.  Up until this point I have been making progress, but in pretty small increments.  Today was a pretty big jump.   I did get a headache during the run, which I attribute to only eating a muffin for breakfast and a trail bar and dried peaches at the top of the mountain, and then a huge lunch, but nothing for dinner and then ran around 9PM.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 22.07 AHR 144, 67% of max, HR Range 148-163, 11:36 in zone, peak 169, cal 455 based on 232 lbs. 11.31 pace.

I planned on running yesterday, but had cub scout blue and gold banquet and went to get a hair cut and didn't end up running.  My calves were sore from my president's day hike so it was probably a good day to miss.  My calves were sore today as well.

A couple of runs ago I tried running slower to keep my heart rate down and eliminate my walks thinking that would give me a better time.  That theory didn't hold up.  So this time I ran a little faster and took more walk breaks.  The result was shaving over 20 seconds off my pace.  I have never had the opportunity to pass anyone on a run before.  Today I passed two different sets of arm pumping fitness walkers.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21.45 AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18:22 in zone, peak 165, cal 497 based on 232 lbs. 11.20 pace.

Ran faster than yesterday with more walks, lowered pace by 11 seconds.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 22.21 AHR 154, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18:38 in zone, peak 168, cal 517 based on 232 lbs. 11.38 pace.

 Right shin hurting.  It is always my right side that hurts.  Don't know if I have some form issue or if it is because of the slight camber of the road.

PM - Ran 2.51 in 31.20 AHR 149, 71% of max, HR Range 148-163, 19.06 in zone, peak 166, cal 685 based on 232 lbs. 12.29 pace.

Today was Saturday with my planned day off tomorrow, so I planned a 2.5 mile run compared to my typical 1.92 mile run.  after about 3/4 of a mile, my right calf started to hurt.  I didn't think much about it as I usually have some pain on most of my runs.  About half way through the run, it was affecting my gait pretty good.  It's hard to explain, but it is like the strength in my calf faltered for a split second while that leg was on the ground and I had to sort of fall forward a little bit.  I kept hoping it would get better.  Even during my walks which are now generally like 5 seconds my gait wasn't normal.  At about the 2 mile mark the bottom of my left foot started to hurt and I figured it was because I was running with such bad form and decided to walk the rest of the way home.  I think there is a good chance I will be skipping monday's run, but I hope not.  The last time I ran this distance was on Feb 11th.  I ran it a minute quicker this time even walking the entire last half mile.  Perhaps I am pushing forward too fast and need to cut back my mileage next week.  I don't have a gym membership or a treadmill at home, so I don't know what else to do to keep my cardio going without running and I need the mileage to lose some weight.  It is kind of a catch 22.  Can't increase mileage to lose weight because I will get injured, but can't lose weight because I can't run the miles.  I will try not to get to dissappointed and will try to think it through with a clearer head tomorrow.

I plan to run every day, so thought it was a good idea to get a second pair of shoes.  I have been running in Brooks addiction and bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline today.  They did a gait analysis on me at the running store.  I ran on a treadmill for the first time in my life while they video taped it to show me my gait.  My left foot pronates slightly, while my right foot pronates moderately.  The sales person thought my current pair of shoes had a little too much stabilization.  I liked the lighter shoe and the little more cushioning.  I don't think the new shoes caused my problem today, but I can't completely rule it out.  One thing I noticed about the new shoes is when I step on a half inch sized pebble, the shoe kind of cushions it as I run over it.  My other shoes are much stiffer and I kind of roll over the top.

I saw a running/pirate movie today.  I can't imagine coming up with such an idea, but that is what Disney's Blackbeard's ghost is.  Blackbeard is cursed to limbo until he does a good deed and his good deed is attempting to help a track team win a tournament.  There are funny moments, but the acting is bad and the special affects are atrocious.  I highly recommend it. lol.  Well if you actual read all that then thank you for listening to my ramblings.  Hopefully my next run will have a more positive outcome.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 22.01 AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.00 in zone, peak 169, cal 510 based on 232 lbs. 11.28 pace.

I was nervous about the run after my last one.  I was prepared to bail early if my leg started to act up.  I wore my old Brooks Addiction shoes.  I didn't have any issues.  My right shin hurts a titch.  I really think I need to find a new running route without any camber in the road, but it is nice to start from my doorstep.  I might have to start driving to a canal or something.

I signed up for a study at ASU where they will test my vo2max, test my percent body fat with some kind of machine where I get doused with radiation while holding still for 20 minutes, have a stress test where they make me talk about stressful situations and put my hand in cold water for three minutes while they see what affect that has on my cortisol production,  They will measure some hormones with blood tests during the vo2max treadmill test.  Should be interesting.  My turn should come up sometime at the end of next month.  They don't pay anything, but I will get the results of my tests.  If I get picked for the non-control group they will have me do some "simple exercizes" while standing on a vibrating board.  If anyone in az is interested I would be glad to give you the info.  They need 100 people and have 23 signed up so far.  You have to be a militart aged guy, I can't remember the exact age range, but I think 21-40.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21.46 AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18.10 in zone, peak 167, cal 503 based on 232 lbs. 11.20 pace.  2nd run with the new Brooks Adrenaline

Right shin hurting more, tied one of my shoelaces with too big of loops and they annoyingly slapped my other leg the whole run. 

 Lifetime Miles Logged - 100

PM - Ran 1.92 in 22.01 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.54 in zone, peak 167, cal 515 based on 232 lbs. 11.28 pace.

Need to figure out how to keep my shins from getting worse.  It is difficult to stretch them, maybe I need to research that a bit more.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21.32 AHR 158, 78% of max, HR Range 148-163, 13.38 in zone, peak 176, cal 521 based on 232 lbs. 11.13 pace.

I really struggled with this run from the start.  My shin was hurting and I wasn't into the run mentally.  Even after I got out the door and started running I seriously considered going back inside.  Part of it could have been the in-n-out milkshake I ate.  After about half a mile mile my runs were getting pretty short before my heart rate monitor told me to start walking.  About the mile mark I pass two walkers.  As I pass them, one of them says hi, and asked how my wife and baby are doing.  It was my wife's visiting teacher.  Just before I passed them I started running even though my HR monitor hadn't gotten quite to the bottom of the training range.  Just a few seconds after I passed it told me to slow down.  I just turned a corner before I passed them and I had a half mile before I could turn another corner and be out of sight.  So I ignored my heart rate monitor and contintued to run.  So for part of my run I was above 90% of my max heart rate.  Even trying hard not to look too bad I ended up walking a bit of that half mile.  At least I put in a PR time on the route.  Not bad considering how much I dreaded the run from the beginning.  I may not run tomorrow because I really think my shins need a rest.  I keep thinking "pride cometh before the fall."  Lets hope that isn't the case today. Please excuse me while I go get some ice to put on my shins.

Thought I was doing pretty good with soreness and pains, but today I had a meeting upstairs and learned I wasn't doing as well as I thought.  I took a rest day today.

 I did the initial test for the hundred pushup challenge.  I will start on monday.

PM - Ran 2.51 in 28.01 AHR 155, ??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 23.14 in zone, peak 169, cal 656 based on 232 lbs. 11:10 pace.  Brooks Adrenaline.

 Beat previous best on this route by 3:19.  Last time I ran I had to walk the last half mile and was in pain much of the rest of the route.  Most of my runs have been 1.92 miles and after a days rest I ran this longer run at a quicker pace than my best 1.92 mile run.  My shin still hurts quite a bit and I felt a twinge of the pain in my calf.  Tomorrow is another rest day, so hopefully on monday I will be in pretty good shape.

 I watched my daughter play volleyball today, played catch with her, and watched Goonies.

Goonies never say die!

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21:46 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.54 in zone, peak 166, cal 509 based on 232 lbs. 11:20 pace.  Brooks Adrenaline.  Right shin still bug'n.

Completed Day 1 of the pushup challenge.  Man that was tough.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21:45 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18.22 in zone, peak 167, cal 509 based on 232 lbs. 11:20 pace. Brooks Addiction.

Nearly identical run to yesterday.  Saw a toad on the road.  Didn't stop to examine it, but I am pretty sure it was a red spotted toad.  Today was really warm, so the herps must be starting to come out.  There was a new noise out in the desert.  It was probably bugs, but I am not always very good about telling bug noises from frog noises.  It was kind of humid to.  Also, a bug hit me in the face.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21:06 AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.30 in zone, peak 167, cal 488 based on 232 lbs. 10:59 pace. Brooks Adreniline.

 Woohoo!  first time I have ran anything under an 11 mpm pace.  Felt like I was running faster than normal.  Right hamstring hurts, may give it a rest tomorrow, we'll see.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 20:33 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.02 in zone, peak 168, cal 481 based on 232 lbs. 10:42 pace. Brooks Adreniline.

I was exhausted and it was tough getting the shoes on.  Glad I did it was a nice run, perfect temperature with a slight breeze.  Going hiking up South Mountain to Hidden Valley tomorrow.  We'll see if I can make it through fat man's pass. hopefully I can see a Chuckwalla or two.

8:30 AM - Went on a hike at South Mountain.  Did Hidden Valley via Mormon Trail.  It is 3.9 miles with 775 feet of elevation gain.  This is the third time I have done this hike and completed it in a leisurely 2:01.  All the elevation gain is in the first mile.  Then you connect with National trail and then Hidden Valley Trail.  I made it through Fat Man's Pass even though I had to suck in my gut a bit.  There is a cool natural cave you walk through as well.

I wore my HR monitor and my average HR was 124, peak 172 which was during that first mile, min HR 67 at the start, and total calories 1875.  Just for the record I think the calorie calculator is total crap, but since I have the data I feel compelled to record it.  It probably provides some useful info on how hard you worked even if it doesn't relate to calories.

Saw of few scrubby wildflowers, but no poppies.  No Chuckwallas either, but there were a couple lizards around.  I don't know birds very well, but there was some kind of Jay that was cool looking.  I crushed some Elephant Tree (Bursera Microphilia) leaves in my hand and smelled them, it is really a nice smell.  It  is related to the Myrhh tree from the bible whose sap is used for incense.  South Mountain is the northern most they are found in AZ, maybe the US.  They are a pretty rare tree in the US.  I've shown them to two people now and neither of them weren't very impressed.  They don't get too big at South Mountain, more like big bushes.

I felt good with my performance.  In the past I would have had to stop and rest.  This time I did stop a bit on the way up, but not out of necessity.

Update: I am about to head out for my run (otherwise I am going to fall asleep in this chair) and so I have to clear my watch from my morning hike and wanted to record one more peice of data.  I spent 15:50 in my targeted heart rate zone.  Some of the elevation gain early in the hike as above the range, so I think I got in as much or more of an aerobic workout as on my normal training runs.  That makes me feel a better about not running yesterday.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 21:02 AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18.04 in zone, peak 166, cal 487 based on 232 lbs. 10:57 pace. Brooks Addiction.

Would have liked to have ran 2.51, but my shin is still hurting (didn't hurt at all on the hike) and I could tell I wasn't as fresh as I normally am, so I ran the shorter route.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 20:37 AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.14 in zone, peak 167, cal 477 based on 232 lbs. 10:44 pace. Brooks Addiction.

Felt strong today, heard an owl hooting which was kind of cool, and noticed some brittlebush in bloom.  Thought about extending my run, but I really want to do a week with 6 days of running.

I don't have a good excuse for not running yesterday, I was just lazy.  On top of that I ate two extra long cheese coney's from Sonic.  Those buy one get one free coupons are sent by the devil.  Today's run was one of the runs I really hated, but even though I wasn't having fun I ran a little farther than my typical run as penance.  Still managed to be under an 11 minute pace which is kind of surprising to me.  I felt very slow.

 PM - Ran 2.23 in 24:25 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 21.02 in zone, peak 166, cal 572 based on 232 lbs. 10:57 pace. Brooks Addiction.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 19:58 AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 15.26 in zone, peak 174, cal 457 based on 232 lbs. 10:23 pace. Brooks Adreniline

When I started running the moon was just over the horizon and was a deep orange color and looked very large.  I felt like I was moving at a good pace.  When I turned the corner to come home the full moon was higher in the sky and guided me home.

PM - Ran 1.92 in 20:11 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 16.58 in zone, peak 167, cal 473 based on 232 lbs. 10:31 pace. Brooks Addiction.

I have two observations from my running.

1.  There are always lots of rocks in the road near elementary school bus stops.  Here in az their is desert landscaping everywhere and lots of rocks to get in the road to annoy me when running.

2. Running increases your olfactory capacity.  When out on runs breathing hard I smell trees and blossoms and fireplaces and all sorts of things and when I come home I smell food items and poopy diapers.  I smell all these things much more stongly than when I am not running.

Ran 3.23 in 38:35 AHR 156, 77% of max, HR Range 148-163, 30.46 in zone, peak 168, cal 913 based on 232 lbs. 11:57 pace. Brooks Addiction.

The temperature was in the low 70's.  I decided to drive to a canal and try out running on dirt instead of pavement.  I started off on sidewalk for a short ways and passed some brittlebush and globemallow in bloom.  Then I got to the canal and there is a paved road along it and I ran on the dirt shoulder.  Next time I will run on the opposite side where there is a wider flat dirt area.  I felt hot and the HR monitor kept telling me to walk.  I crossed a major road and didn't have to wait long for traffic. I missed my turnaround point and went a little farther than I planned.  I wanted to exactly 3.1.  On the way back most of the way was walking with small portions running.  I saw a tractor pulling a fake cow around in a field training a horse for some rodeo event.  I made it back in under a 12 minute pace which shocked me.  less than a month ago I struggled to do than a cool temperature 2 mile night run.  my hands swelled a little bit.  I don't think it was the temperature that made it so tough, more the radiant affect of the sun beating down.

Ran 1.92 in 20:03 AHR 155, 76% of max, HR Range 148-163, 15.12 in zone, peak 175, cal 469 based on 232 lbs. 10:26 pace. Brooks Adreniline.

 The best I have felt on a run in a long time.  Got just a hint of what people mean when they talk about spring in there step.  I think I need to pack my running gear in a bag, change right after work and hit a dirt path on my way home from work.  I think the pavement is holding me back.

 non-running observation:  I don't think I have ever been in a home where there is a door between the kitchen and family room, yet every sitcom home has a door there.  I guess it is more dramatic to open doors or something.

Ran 1.92 in 19:47 AHR 154, 75% of max, HR Range 148-163, 15.40 in zone, peak 170, cal 458 based on 232 lbs. 10:18 pace. Brooks Addiction.

I've been having some car issues and have had a little trouble staying motivated.  I've missed two days in a row.  This run my legs felt strong and I turned in a PR, but I hated the run.  I even felt (still do actually) a little nausous.

Ran 1.92 in 20:27 AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 16.38 in zone, peak 165, cal 467 based on 232 lbs. 10:40 pace. Brooks Adreniline

Shins hurt considerably last half of run to the point of limping a bit.

Sick, sun-burned, and my back hurts from being hunched over under the hood of a car all day.

Still sick, called into work.

Objective: Run slow and see how far I can run without walking.

Ran 2.51 in 31:21 AHR 149, 71% of max, HR Range 148-163, 20.54 in zone, peak 162, cal 686 based on 232 lbs. 12:29 pace. Brooks Addiction.

I have had a head cold/sinus infection for a few days, but I really didn't want to go 4 days in a row without running.  So I did some nasal lavage/irrigation so I could breath and went for a run.  If you don't know what that is I recommend  googling it. It is not as gross as it sounds.  I am a big fan and if you are brave enough to try it I would be glad to give tips.  Anyways, normally I run kinda fast (for me) and then walk when my hr monitor gets above 163.  That has proven to give me much better times than running at a more even pace.  But since I am sick anyway I thought it would be fun to run really slow but run for a long time.  I made it the entire run without walking or my HR monitor going off.  I made it about .8 miles before my HR reached 147 which is the bottom of my normal training zone which I usually reach in less than 1/4 of a mile.  I am now wondering if I could do an entire 5k that way.  Even though my time would be really bad.  It was a nice relaxing run and I felt good the entire way.  The front of my shirt looks kinda gross from running with a sinus infection, but I haven't enjoyed a run that much for some time.  A little slower than 12:30 pace seems to be where my prefered gait changes from walking to running.  Kind of an interesting number to know.  Should help me with some hiking time predictions.

My boss just came in and told me to go home, so I must look pretty sick still.  I hope to run tonight.

I signed up for a military study at ASU.  They said the military has a lot of personel who have to be placed in a desk job because of stress or physical limitations, so the military is funding a study to determine if they should target recruits who have lower responses to stress stimuli or meet certain physical characteristics.  He basically already invited me into phase two which would involve them giving me a free personal trainer and access to ASU's workout facilities.  Today was the first day of 3 different days.  My next day will be a Vo2 max test.  but today they tested cortisol production and stress.  After filling out forms and signing disclosures they inserted an IV.  Then they took me in a room and put heart monitors on my chest and a heart monitor on my finger.  They said that by having the heart monitors in both places they can tell how long it takes blood to reach my finger from my heart.  Not quite sure how that works, but it sounds interesting, even if it was an overly dumbed down laymans explanation of what they were doing.  They had an ekg maching running that showed both pulses.  Also on two of my fingers they put some pads that they said measure how much I am sweating.  They said that is what they use for lie detector tests.

Then they put me through a bunch of stessors.  First they put different colored words of color words on the screen.  For example the word would be green but the text color would be red.  I would have to say red.  These blinked by quickly and there was a beep and I had to say the color of the text before the beep.  This is all while some guy is drawing my blood in one arm, the blood pressure cuff is going off on the other arm and a guy is tapping his pencil on his clip board saying things like concentrate, you can do it faster than that, and what not.  Then I had to do multipication and division problems.  77 x 8, 3/246 things like that in my head.  They showed 6 on the screen at one time and when time is running out, a beeping sound gets closer together and the images fades away.  Once again the guy was there with the clip board trying to get you to encourage you to do it faster and trying to stress you out.  Then the same routine where I had to do anagrams.  Then they put my hand in a bucket of ice water for two minutes.  It was freezing cold.  Throughout the study they kept asking if I was ok and they kept telling me I could take my hand out of the water if I wanted.  I asked how many people took that option and she said about half.  After about a minute my hand was numb and I could have left it in forever.  Then for the final test they had me talk about a stressful event in my life and tried to get me to feel those same feelings again.  In between each test I put this cotton thing in my mouth to soak up saliva and whatever cortisol my mouth produced.

 Yay! I finally got a run in.  Still coughing up a storm.  I've decided I must have become a runner, otherwise I wouldn't feel such guilt for missing runs.  Especially when my mind thinks I have a good reason to miss it.

 Ran 2.93 in 33:29 AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 25.58 in zone, peak 166, cal 766 based on 232 lbs. 11:26 pace. Brooks Addiction.  May fine tune distance tomorrow.

 Last half of run, toes on my right foot went numb and got kind of painful near the end.  Not sure what caused that.  My shoelaces weren't too tight.  Hopefully that was a one off thing.  My other issue is last saturday I got sunburned working on my car.  Now my neck is sticky with sweat and my shirt collar seems to have irritated the brand new skin.  Someone flashed their brights at me in irritation even though I was in an ample bank lane and there was little other traffic and he had two lanes and a median.  Americans are trending toward far too much pride these days.  Temperature right now 56 degrees.  I was a little chilly on my run.  Also, my time includes an excursion to water the creosote bushes.

Ran 2.57 in 30:03 AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 19.20 in zone, peak 167, cal 689 based on 232 lbs. 11:42pace. 1% incline.  Brooks Addiction.

First treadmill run ever.  I stood on the side while I ramped up the speed to 5.2 mph. then ran for 30:03.  So the distance started counting before I actually started running (the difference between my watch and the TM was about 45 seconds).  I stopped running at 2.6 miles and don't really know how far it went before I got on, so there is a little estimating on the distance.  Next time I will ramp it up while I run.  Some people on the blog are compulsive about stopping running on even numbers.  I don't have that affliction, but it does drive me a little crazy not to have the distance exactly correct and I don't like that I can't just start the treadmill at the speed I want.  Maybe I can find some reset button or something. It took quite a ways before my HR reached my normal training zone and then at the end of the run I had to keep bumping it down until it got to 4.9 or 4.8 because my hr got high.  I was surprised to see my average HR at only 153.  It seemed like I ran quite a ways at around 163.  I had wanted to run 3.1, but I think I will have to build up to that.  Oh, and my right toe went numb again.  If anyone has any ideas on what could be causing that I would love to hear them.

The new gym at work is nice.  I was a little worried it would be packed the first day, but only 5 of the 12 treadmills were in use.  I don't know how some of you folks run for hours at a time on one of these things.

Treadmill - Ran 2.7 in 31:37 AHR 153, 74% of max, HR Range 148-163, 25.40 in zone, peak 165, cal 723 based on 232 lbs. 11:43 pace. 1% incline. Brooks Adreniline.

Started the TM off at 5.4 a little faster than last time to try and get up to the training zone faster and then started lowering the speed a little earlier than last time. AHR still fairly low. This is the third run in a row where my right toes have gone numb. Right after my run I took off my shoe and felt around. The pain seems to be coming right from behind the middle toe. The ball of my foot right there seemed to be slightly swollen. I can't go to the gym tonight so plan on running outside. Thursday and Friday I may be hitting the ellipitical to give that a chance to resolve itself.

Took the in laws to the Easter Pageant.

Played Volleyball. I am pretty tired and know I will be sore tomorrow, so I am counting it as crosstraining.

Elliptical - 31:01 AHR 145,??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.44 in zone, peak 161, cal 646 based on 232 lbs. Brooks Addiction.

Did the Elliptical in an attempt to let whatever is causing my right toes to go numb to heal.  Had a hard time getting my HR up to where I wanted it.  I don't care for this elliptical much compared to what I have used in the past.  The stride length seems shorter (I am 6'4") and the variable program I chose changed the resistance, but not the angle.  I plan on running outside tomorrow, but between conference, preisthood session, and my daughters volleyball game, it may be pretty late before I get it in.  I wonder if there is enough light at the canal.

VO2MAX = 44.9 ml/kg/min, 4.63 L/min Max HR = 186 I have been basing my training off 185, so the calculator did pretty well, need to reassess min HR as I think it has fallen quite a bit. I have been using 60, but probably need to lower that. That number is better than I though it would be. I will have a complete probably rather lengthy report tonight and will have lots of interpretion questions. Also I have a picture w/snorkel to upload.

Treadmill - Ran 2.66 in 30:53 AHR 156, 77% of max, HR Range 148-163, 23.10 in zone, peak 166, cal 730 based on 232 lbs. 11:37 pace. 1% incline. Brooks Adreniline.  My right foot hurt, but it was numbness in my toes.  Different is good.  Hopefully that has healed.

I had trouble getting my picture to upload from my camera.  Will give another try, hopefully tonight, but it will probably take me a while to summarize all the data and formulate a post.  I also have bone density, % body fat, and Wingate test results to share.

Played volleyball for 2.5 hours

Treadmill - Ran 2.5 in around 31 minutes AHR 146, 69% of max, HR Range 148-163, 23.38 in zone, peak 166, cal 650 based on 232 lbs. 12:24 pace. 1% incline. Brooks Adreniline.  Accidently pushed a button on my watch on the way home and started the timer back up, so not sure of the exact time and the HR monitor wasn't making good contact at the beginning of run, so numbers are shady except for the distance.

Last Thursday I played volleyball.  There were a couple of times where I landed on my knees digging the ball.  The next day I ran on the treadmill, no problem.  That night I felt/heard some grinding in my knee without any pain.  I can make my knee make the grinding noise by sitting in a chair and swinging my leg and still don't feel any pain.  I did a bike yesterday for 3 minutes and did feel a little pain, so I switched to the elliptical and had no problem.  I have a doctors appointment set-up for friday with the guy the handled my bursitis.  I think I must have torn/damaged some cartiladge.  Hopefully it isn't a big deal, but I am a little worried.  I have been taking glucosomine/chondrotine since.

Elliptical- 2.7 in around 30:05 minutes AHR 156, 77% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18.54 in zone, peak 171, cal 711 based on 232 lbs. Did a performance hill program which took the incline all the way to the top for a bit. Brooks addiction.

Elliptical - 37:21 AHR 145,??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 20.02 in zone, peak 162, cal 777 based on 232 lbs. Brooks Addiction.

Treadmill - 2.6 miles 30:33 AHR 157,??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 26.58 in zone, peak 166, cal 731 based on 232 lbs. Brooks Addreniline. 1% incline

Canals by riparian institute - 2 miles 24:20 AHR 155,??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 19.12 in zone, peak 167, cal 570 based on 232 lbs. 12:20 pace. Brooks Addiction. Hot, did lots of walking on the way back.  Wind at back first half, into wind second half.

Treadmill - 2 miles 1% incline 21:36 AHR 157,??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 18.24 in zone, peak 164, cal 517 based on 232 lbs. 10:48 pace. Brooks Adreniline.

 I've ran 100 miles this year.

Treadmill 1.5 miles 1% incline, 16:15.  12:38 in zone, AHR 153, Peak HR 166, Cal 371, Brooks addiction, HR was doing fine, but I have a bit of a head cold.

Treadmill 2 miles .5% incline (didn't realize it didn't go all the way up to 1% until after), 22:50.  15:02 in zone, AHR 159, Peak HR 167, Cal 551, Brooks Addiction

After I got on the treadmill and had ran on a treadmill a lady got on the treadmill next to me.  She reaked of cigarettes and the addition of a very strong mint gum made it even worse.  I am glad you are trying to get healthy, but please don't do it right next to me.

Treadmill - Ran 2 in 22:56 AHR 157, ??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 17.42 in zone, peak 166, cal 548 based on 232 lbs. 11:28 pace. 1% incline. Brooks Addiction.

Treadmill - Ran 2 in 22:51 AHR 158, ??% of max, HR Range 148-163, 13.04 in zone, peak 167, cal 552 based on 232 lbs. 11:26 pace. 1% incline. Brooks Adreniline.

The guy running next to me dropped his mp3 player and it hit the treadmill and shot across the gym. about 2 minutes later the same thing happened to a girls Ipod about 5 treadmills down.

Ran 2.29 on treadmillin 25 minutes, forgot HR monitor strap.  10:55 pace.  I ran must faster than usual, I am sure my HR was much higher than normal some of the time and i slowed way down some times.

Another pet peeve of the gym.  A girl listening to her ipod feels the need to sing and hum along.  Ugh.