Late Life Runner: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Anyone had this before?

It doesn't hurt. It must be from my garmin bouncing on my wrist for the two hour run today. Weird.

I've been doing a lot of reading from Jeff Galloway's book of running. I adjusted my training plan a bit, which made today a nine mile run. I went to the run 3/walk1 intervals, which is what I've done for a week now. I really like these. I am pretty well spent, but nothing really hurts or requires any ice, so I think that is a good sign.

Average pace of 13:19. He recommends you do your long runs about 2 minutes slower per mile than your projected race pace. If I can do the race at a pace of 11:30, I will be thrilled.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Drop back week

My schedule only had six miles for today. I couldn't bear the thought of the 17mph winds, cold temps, and no sun, so I did the interval running in the house. I am now doing the 3/1 run/walk intervals and am really happy with that. I used the Fitbit to calculate my distance so I am not sure how accurate it is. Six miles at 1:08:24 time calculates to a pace of 11:24. Really not sure if that is correct, but it is all I have to figure it.

My track

A little unconventional, I know. We build our house to be handicap accessible and I prefer sparse furniture and decor. So round and round I went......for over an hour.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Weekly long run

I braved the cold for my eight mile run. I've had a bit of hip pain the last couple of days but I am positive it is arthritis, so I did the Jeff Galloway 4/1 intervals. It was a great run. Normally the first three miles are really tough for me. Today they weren't bad at all. I started out very, very slow. I am sure that is why. My first mile is the hilly part anyway so I did quite a bit of walking, a little more than just the 4/1 intervals. I intentionally tried to keep the run part slow, but I seemed to get faster with about every mile. The last mile was downhill so it was pretty fast. Love those negative splits.

North face winter gear. Excellent.

Happy little Late Life Runner!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Friday Long Run

On the schedule today was 7 1/2 miles. My running buddy hurt her ankle so we have been researching the run/walk interval method by Jeff Galloway. At my age, I'm thinking if it prevents injuries, maybe that is what I should be doing. So I tried it today. I may stick with this because my time was a bit faster. I did a modified version. I ran for five minutes and walked for one minute, repeat. I did find that I sipped more water during the run. It is easier to drink when you are walking. I feel fine tonight. Left ankle is just a tad sore so I am icing it. Even though it is hard, I really do enjoy long runs.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Saturday long run

Friday's long run took place today. I am catching a cold, so I really wanted to get it over with before I got worse. Seven miles. Last week was a drop back week (5 miles) and this week was back up to seven. I've adjusted my half training schedule a bit to allow me to increase only a half mile a week. It still includes a few drop back weeks and will have me up to 11 miles two weeks before the race on March 30th.

Stretching afterwards. I didn't warm up since I had so much distance to cover. I just started out very slow. I walked a lot on the hills in the first mile. I am kind of a driver, so it is always hard not to worry about pace. I really want to get faster, but I have to continually give myself the talk, "you are not a spring chicken, you are almost 55 years old, you just started this less than a year ago, just cover this distance, don't worry about pace, that will come later...." Yes, I give myself a llloooonnnnggg talk....continually.

For not feeling well, and a feels like of 28 with a 6 mph wind, I was pleased with the results. I absolutely love the tiredness after a long run. I don't seem to get that with a 3 mile run anymore.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:24:12.4	7.00	12:01
1	13:45.8	1.00	13:46
2	12:10.7	1.00	12:10
3	11:48.9	1.00	11:49
4	11:50.7	1.00	11:51
5	11:42.3	1.00	11:42
6	11:45.6	1.00	11:46
7	11:06.4	1.00	11:07
8	:02.0	0.00	8:08

Oh yeah, anyone run in wool socks? I have some smart wool socks that I love. I ran in them today and my feet stayed nice and warm. I don't feel the need to ice anything down since I finished. That is always good.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year's Day 5k

Started the year off right, with a 5k race! The hubby went with me.

Pretty cold at about 25 degrees.

...and pretty crowded....

I think I started off too fast, because I wore out and didn't do as well as I had hoped. I did beat my best 5k time of 33:14 with 32:33. The lure of getting under 30 minutes is strong, maybe that will be a 2014 goal.
...I am about ready to send my garmin back to the factory. It seemed to die when I tried to upload it to the computer. Nothing. Computer won't recognize it, and it doesn't show any life. It is still under warranty which is good. It worked fine during the race. I just don't remember my mile paces and would like to see them and my heart rate. I know it was very high the whole race --170's.
...and after a hot shower and clean clothes......I thought the shirt we got for the race was awesome!

I got a medium, but I think a small would have been better. You never know how they are sized.
Happy New Year to you! I hope 2014 is a great year for ya!

Finally got the Garmin to upload. I am requesting a repair. I think I'd like to trade it in on a better model. I've had trouble with it several times since I got it. My average heart rate was 170 and my max was 185, which was a spike right at the first. That seems too high. I did notice the monitor kept slipping down my chest. Overall, I am happy with a new race PR!

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	32:33.4	3.14	10:22
1	10:20.1	1.00	10:20
2	10:54.2	1.00	10:54
3	10:04.8	1.00	10:05
4	1:14.4	0.14	8:58

Late Life Runner