In the Pursuit of Wonder

Back in the saddle.  To be successful I will need to manage my tight hamstrings, which have knocked me out on two previous attempts.  This run was lots of walking, swollen hands, and a tight right hamstring near the end.  I have been trying to stretch my hamstrings lately, I have been focusing more on my left, because that is the one that has given me problems in the past (bursitis and sore knee while climbing stairs or sitting in cramped places like a movie theatre.)  Took me a bit to remember how to use the watch.

Earlier in the evening I helped with cub scout pack meeting where we had a slip and slide where the scouts held onto a rope connected to a pulley system giving adults pulling a mechanical advantage where they would whip the kids down the slide at quite the speed and the kids would have great fun until they ran out of plastic and were stopped by the increased friction of the grass on their tender underbellies.

Miles: 1.91 Time: 30:09 HR: Avg: 158, 85% of max, HR Range: 148-163, In Zone: 21.56, peak HR: 170, min HR: 122, cal: 728 based on 232 lbs. Pace: 15:47. Shoes: Brooks Adreniline(34.75). Time: 10:15 PM Temp: 100 degrees.

Miles: 1.91 Time: 27:27 HR: Avg: 156, 84% of max, HR Range: 148-163, In Zone: 20.28, peak HR: 177, min HR: 90, cal: 649 based on 232 lbs. Pace: 14:22. Shoes: Brooks Adreniline(36.66). Time: 9:15 PM Temp: 97 degrees.

Miles: 1.92 Time: 26:00 HR: Avg: 155, 83% of max, HR Range: 148-163, In Zone: 20.24, peak HR: 170, min HR: 94, cal: 609 based on 232 lbs. Pace: 13:33. Shoes: Brooks Adreniline (38.58). Time: 10:15 PM Temp: 87 degrees.  Light rain.

I wonder how much of the improvement was from the lower temperature.  Did much more running this time.  Interestingly, my avg hr has been going down because I can't keep my HR pegged at the top of the range by walking fast.

Miles: 2.92 Time: 40:14 HR: Avg: 153, 83% of max, HR Range: 148-163, In Zone: 34.46, peak HR: 166, min HR: 74, cal: 921 based on 232 lbs. Pace: 13:47. Shoes: Brooks Adreniline(41.50). Time: 11:40 PM Temp: 92 degrees

Was at 1.45 miles at 19.12, was at 1.93 at 25:50.  So that bests my last 1.92 mile run by 10 seconds with out my usual extra push near the end.  The last mile was mostly walking fast for a 14:24 pace.

Feel really good about tonight's run.  I was feeling a little guilty about skipping running yesterday.  I am trying to do Sasha's philosophy of run 6 days a week and only run as much where you feel as good 24 hours later.  I'm an analyzer and I like firm rules.  That is one reason I really like the HR monitor.  It acts as a independent judge on when I should reduce my effort.  Last run my hamstring felt tight and I had a twinge of the knee pain I have previously had.  Longer run today and completely pain free.

In an effort to prevent injury I started running on a treadmill last time around, figuring it involved less pounding.  I think that contributed to me not being motivated enough to work through my tight hamstring that was causing my knee issues.  Also the toes on my right foot were going numb.  I'm not really sure what caused that or how to prevent it, but last run it started to happen just a bit.  Maybe orthotics or something.  But I think running outside is where I need to stay.  Hopefully I can find some dirt paths nearby.

The need to start back running has been a lingering guilt in the back of my mind for a long time.  I know lots of people on the blog are interested in helping people get back to it.  For me there were a couple things that made me finally put the shoes back on.  1) I read a book called "Don't let me go."  It is about a father-daughter relationship where the daughter reads the book "Into Thin Air." which results in her asking her father who has never been a hiker to climb a mountain with her.  They hike Pike's peak, run some marathons, and do some other hiking.  I really would like to be in the type of shape to do those kinds of things with my daughter.  2) My ironman watch broke.  So I was looking for a new watch and found the Garmin watches with built in GPS and saw the Garmin Connect website.  I am a very technical person (work in accounting) and like tracking things.  So that got me really thinking about actually doing a run, even though I can't really justify spending that kind of money.  Maybe I can set a goal with that as the reward.