Track running

I'm thinking that I should do more running on the track.  Maybe that is why my knees got a little sore -- all that sidewalk running. I did three easy track miles on Thursday and wanted to get in a few miles on Saturday as well.

The track I run on is close by and has this beautiful view of the lake.  Nice.  I wanted to do a longish run but was wanting to also pay attention to my body and not push it too hard, being only a week away from my last half, where I did push it quite a bit.  Tried something new.

I did my normal 4 minute warm up, then ran three miles at 90/30 intervals. Pretty slow.  Average pace (including the 4 minutes of walking to start with) was 13:05 minute mile. (I really need to quite counting my warm up in my time!)  My average heart rate was 136 with a max of 163.  Stopped to walk some.  I probably walked about a mile, then decided to see if I could run another mile with no stopping.  I was able to and it wasn't that difficult.  My pace was 11:08.  I was pleased with that.  My heart rate was higher, average of 154 and max of 175.  Sounds high, but mine is always pretty high with no puking or feeling faint.  It got up to a max of 208 for my last half.

I've been reading some in my old Galloway's Book on Running, and found he recommends this type of training.  Especially as we age, he said it is better to run less frequently but longer.  Take some time to walk, rest your legs, relax, and then do a few more miles.  Think I'll try to do this more often. I also read of a woman, who didn't start running until she was 47, who ended up doing 12 marathons a year! Eight years after she began running she settled on 2 minutes of running to 1 minute of walking and did her best marathon of 4:13, at age 55! That is awesome in my book.  I also want to try his accelerations.  It is supposed to improve your form.  I'll have to look them up on Youtube to be sure I understand what he recommends.

Isn't it great to read something that is encouraging to you?  No matter your interests or abilities, sometimes just reading how other people improved their lives, it helps you.