Everything You Didn't Want to Know About My Runs

 I'm trying to build aerobic fitness.  I've realized I've been running too fast most of the time.  I only have two speeds: sitting on the couch and as fast as I can go.  I need to develop some intermediate speeds.  I plan to get a  rate monitor and do most of my training in the aerobic zone.  For now, I'm just doing it by feel--trying to keep it at a conversational pace.

 I ran a little over 6 miles and kept it slow.  Towards the end I felt like I could go at that pace forever.  Afterwards, my legs felt fresh but my heart felt like it had been working hard.

Details

A longer slow run.  8 miles.  I focused only on keeping my heart rate low.  I even walked up the last third of Eastdell hill--which was hard to do because some guy was running up on the other side of the street.  I could have beat him, but I had to just let him go by.

 This is a whole new game.  It would be easier to play if I had a heart rate monitor.  The old game was seeing how far I could go in a given time or how fast I could finish a particular distance.  Now it is about a certain amount of time or distance at a certain level of effort.

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I decided to start doing hill sprints as a VO2 workout and to build leg strength and running form.  I am starting slow.  Two sprints.  I'll do this twice a week and add a sprint each week until I get up to 8 and then do it once a week.  I was just going to do a 10 minute warm-up, do the sprints, and then a 10-minute cool-down.

 After doing the sprints, I thought I should spend more time and just do a couple more miles at conversational pace.  So I went half way up Newcastle and back down.  I saw Stacie returning from her run on Newcastle just before I crossed Highland.

The sprints went well.  I focused on moving my arms in a straight line front-to-back and getting my hands up to eye level.  The running was very smooth.  It felt good. 

Details

Did another longer run.  This time with most of it in the aerobic zone, but with two miles pushing the anaerobic threshold towards the end.  I started running with Stacie, but she was running farther and was running too fast for me, so I sent her ahead and hung back at my conversational pace.