SPACE WALK SAT., RUN ON SUN.

On Saturday there wasn't any time for a run since we were at the United States Air Force Museum. There was plenty of walking, miles of it in fact, as the place is huge. What an enjoyable day. As you can see I did manage to get in a space walk.

That meant that my four mile run needed to be today so mid morning I headed out. Temperature was low seventies and it was overcast and breezy. Very comfortable. So was my running. Two short walking breathers was all I needed. Again my heart rate was on target and again the last half mile or so it did reach the 140-145 area. Guess that is just the way it is going to be. It will be interesting to see how it goes when I go to five miles some day soon.

Tomorrow I'll be going to run in New Haven on the River Greenway Trail. That will be a first and something I've wanted to do since spring. We have no scheduled group session tomorrow since so many can't be there. I will join Kylee and possible some others for a run. More fun and motivating to work out together.

KEEPING UP WITH THE SCHEDULE

It seems that it is getting more difficult to keep on track with the daily training schedule. Conflicting activities and weather seem to be the biggest roadblocks. I finally got in two miles on Thursday and then today I rested. Tomorrow I should be running four miles but that won't happen as we are going on a bus excursion to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. So my plan is to run on Sunday sometime. With the daily thunderstorms we have it is hard to plan a time and the oppressive heat and humidity in the afternoons when it isn't raining is hard to take.
We won't have a group get together on this coming Monday. I'll alter my schedule and still get in the needed miles. There is more travel coming up but I will be able to keep training while traveling so it will be o.k..
I monitored my heart rate yesterday and it was interesting that as I ran the two miles it was at 120 to 130 for a while and then stayed in the high 130's. Then on the last half mile or so it went on above 140 and stayed between 140 and 145 until I finished. That is in my do not exceed area so hopefully it isn't harmful. I went back to normal pretty fast after I finished and that is good. I don't run fast but am able to stay at about the same pace the whole distance and I am glad for that. Always seem to average about 4 miles per hour.

MONDAY GROUP RUN

Our group session on Monday went well for me. It was scheduled to be three miles on the paths at the Aboite New Trails where we meet. After some discussion and questions with Jamey we headed out for our run. Jane and Cindy were both recovered enough from their ankle and leg injuries to walk the course. I ran the three miles with the exception of the 100 yards or so of the path along the little league fields. It was jammed with kids and parents so I walked there. My pace is slower than most of the others so they gradually outpaced me. According to the time it took me I ran at 4 miles per hour. My heart rate was 120 shortly after I stopped when Kevin and Roger reminded me to check. (I didn't have my monitor on) Within a minute I was down to the 70's so that was good.

I have been checking each morning when I get up and am consistantly in the 50's, only once being up into the 60s, so my recovery from the previous days workouts is doing well.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a 0-2 optional day so I chose to just walk some. It helped get the kinks out--I was a little sore from running nearly three miles straight for the first time. Today is to be a two mile run day but it has been raining all day so I haven't ventured out yet.

IT'S GO FOR 4 DAY

Today the schedule is at the end of week three of the "Go For Distance" plan. It is the go from three mile runs to four miles. It was a busy day with a lot of activities packed in. We finally got home at 8 P.M. and I procrastinated and made up excuses to just wait until tomorrow. Forced myself to get to it and we loaded the bicycle for Cyndy to ride and went over to river road. I began running right from the start, and I knew I should run a mile or more as I have been doing that. I didn't stop running until I got to the two mile point. Stopped briefly for a quick photo and started back. A short walk and then more running. I wasn't feeling any muscle fatigue and kept running with a couple short walks. Finished out running to the end. I ran more than three miles of the four miles. The only bad part of today's run was that the soles of my feet hurt and burned toward the end. Maybe my shoes are wearing down. I received a pair of Baluga running socks for Fathers Day so I will try them out and see if they help.

WEDNESDAY RUN--THURSDAY MEETING

I was able to do my required three mile workout on Wednesday morning. We had traveled to Rochester IN. for a family visit and they have a good trail there. Grandson Ethan went with me. (He is the 8 year old who lost one shoe when he started running the mile at school and kept on going to the finish). Needless to say he didn't have too much trouble on our three mile jaunt. I ran in the morning, after having a half cup of coffee and a handful of cheerios. I didn't know what to expect energy wise but I knew I didn't want to run right after a big breakfast. It worked out fine. I ran most of the time with only two short walks. The last portion I ran over a mile and a quarter, from just after the half way point until the finish of the three miles. More gain for me--yahoo!
I didn't work out yesterday (Thur.) at all and today is to be a day of rest too since tomorrow the schedule shows a four mile run.

Last evening our group met for an informational meeting with a nutritionist who is a runner and had a lot of specific information for us since we are training at the levels we are at and will have to build to in the next three months. She was from Parkview Hospital and provided much beneficial information. Everyone had lots of questions. I found that I am probably not getting enough carbohydrates each day. That is counter to what I have been doing to lose weight. So I will make some adjustments and increase my intake of complex carbs. I need to come down some on my protein and fat but only a small adjustment to get into the recommended levels. Daily ratios I want to target are: Carbs 60-70 % of intake. Protein 10-15%. Fat 20-30%. I have a page of notes that I need to review. Lot's of information.

FELT GOOD--KEPT GOING

Even though Monday was group workout day I couldn't resist. It was such a nice, comfortable morning so Cyndy and I walked two miles. When we gathered at the pavilion by the Jorgenson Y at 5 PM it was still a nice, comfortable afternoon but WINDY. It was to be a two mile run and after a few brief questions and answers on some things most everyone headed off on the path. I walked briefly and then began to run. It was a breeze, so to speak, with the wind at my back but the section into the wind got to me and I walked for a bit. Then when I turned I started running again and surprised myself by sustaining a long running segment. All the way until my two miles was finished. Happy happy day! It was just over a mile and that's a new level. .8 was my old longest running segment.
Tomorrow is to be a 3 mile workout day. Today is an optional so I'm resting. Have some traveling to do the next couple days too so will have to see how it all fits together. Thursday evening is a group meeting where we will have a nutritionist speak and answer questions. We have all been anxious for this.

RUNNING ON FAMILIAR TRAILS

Today was a another busy day. First here at home and then over to Ft. Wayne for a softball tournament that our grandaughter was playing in. It was at Homestead High School's sports complex which is adjacent to the trails we train on each Monday evening. Since today was to be my scheduled three mile run it worked out perfectly to get my session in. Daughter Leslye and I headed out on the trail in the late morning. I only made it a quarter mile running at the start and had to walk. After a short bit I was able to go again but only another quarter mile. My legs would just feel like they were starved for energy. I kept alternating short runs after a tenth or so mile walk and was finally able to get some momentum. I did a little better toward the end and did get in the three miles. It took about 50 minutes so I was disappointed--that was more my time a few weeks ago when I tried 3.1 miles the first time. That was before I ran the 5K in New Haven last weekend.
So today was the start of week three on the new schedule. This week I will run a two, a three, and on next Saturday a four mile run. (These are not solid running the whole distance. I wish it were but not yet for me.) Not sure how I will work it all out yet because we will be traveling on Tuesday and Wednesday.

THURSDAY'S OPTION--Workout or Not?

Thursday is an option day on my schedule so I did a lot of procrastinating all day. Should I or shouldn't I? It was hot and humid and easy to find excuses. When evening came there seemed to be some relief and a little breeze so about 8:20 I decided to just do a two mile walk. That proved to get me out of my lethargy and gave me some workout at least. I had decided to just walk and that proved to be a little difficult as several times I wanted to break into a run. (Is that cool or what?) So at least on one of my optional days I chose to train. Today is definitely a day off though to rest up for tomorrow when I am scheduled to go three miles. I'm looking forward to it and I will see if I can match my time in last Saturday's 3.1 mile run.
I have recorded my heart rate each morning as required and it stays real steady in the 55 to 58 range. I get into the 140 to 150 range when running and that is in my do not exceed range but all seems well. Will bring that up during question time on Monday at group session.
I have checked my weight a couple times and it is staying steady. Would like to see it continue to go down as I would like to lose another 25 to 30 pounds. (I've lost 17 so far since March 1).

MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY

Monday was our group workout day so I headed for Ft. Wayne at 4 P.M. and ran right into a thunderstorm. It passed and I was optimistic enough to keep on going. Things looked pretty good at Indian Trails and we started out by calculating an individualized heart rate scale for each of us. The Karvonen Method (some of us jokingly referred to it as the Kervorkian method) uses age, resting heart rate etc. to come up with a target rate for Fat Loss, Cardiovascular, and Do Not Exceed. The rates it calculated for me all seem on the low side as compared to what I usually show. For instance my Do Not Exceed is 142 and 140 to 145 is where I am usually at when running. We had a lot of questions about it all and by the time we got around to starting on our two miles another storm had moved in. Some of us started off but within a quarter mile the lightning started and then sprinkles. Quick exit to the cars.
Cyndy and Landon picked me up and it soon was a major storm. Lots of wind, rain, lightning, power outages and we headed for home. Yesterday (Tuesday) I felt I needed to do something to make up for not running on Monday. We were leaving at 10 A.M. with a group on a trip to Bear Creek Farms so I did a mile first thing in the morning on the treadmill. Proceeded to over eat twice to finish off Tuesday. This morning the weather is beautiful and I finally got in a proper workout. Did my 2 miles. Ran 1.4 miles and walked for breathers. First run was .8 mi., second was .4 and last was .2 . Tomorrow is an option day but the plan is to run like today. Even with the nice weather I got pretty hot at 10 A.M. so I think an earlier start might be necessary.

CANAL DAYS 5K RUN

I did a good session of exercises on Thursday which was an optional day for my training sessions. Then on Friday I totally rested as far as running goes. Saved up for today so I could do my first ever 5K Run. Thankfully the weather was comfortable--70ish--and overcast with a breeze. I felt good going into the race other than having some nervousness. We started out running down the parade route for about 3/4 mile in front of all the spectators. I probably over did it then because I didn't want to look wimpy for the public. I walked for a couple hundred yards up a hill and then ran again. I stayed pretty strong, with only a couple walking stints, to the two mile point but then I started to fade and had to walk quite a bit. I ran two times during the last mile for maybe 1/4 mile each and then ran the last couple hundred yards to the finish. Gwen from my Challenge Group pulled away from me at the end and I stayed ahead of two ladies who were in the rear. Until the last that is--when they too pulled ahead of me. So I came in last--but with a new personal best time for me. (compared to the couple of times I did a pretend 5K when I was on training runs) 39:28.

Be assured when you have family and friends as well as spectators cheering you on it is a real good feeling.

Kylee, Barb, Gwen, from my Fort4Fitness Challenge group--and my daughter Leslye and her friend Lori--ran in the race too. Everyone did great and reached new levels. Cyndy, daughter Carolyn, son in law Paul, and grandkids Jesse, Eliza and Landon were there at the start and finish for me.

I'm not hurting at all and the only discomfort is when I get up from sitting down. So I'm not sitting much. I did go out and pick up some sticks and limbs left from last night's storm but enough is enough so that's all folks. I'm done for today.

THE LADY ON THE BIKE KEPT GOING BY

Today was a required running day according to the new schedule. I waited until Cyndy was able to accompany me and then headed off to run. She rode the bike. Today I was able to do two miles in 27 minutes and 30 seconds. So that was another gain for me. I ran 1 1/2 miles and walked 1/2 mile. I was hot and tired but I think I could have gone further. The lady on the bike said her legs were getting tired.

STARTING THE NEW ROUTINE

Last evening our group workout was the beginning of the new phase of our training. We are working on developing distance and not concentrating on time. We have a new set of daily goals that we will work on over the next 13 weeks. Again, as we did in March, we will start with small steps and build up. Our daily mileage goal is well defined and we have rest days built in to optimize our recovery between workout days. For the first couple weeks we will be dealing with two mile runs and then some longer runs will start to mix in as we build up. Very few of us will run two miles straight and we will have some short walking breathers as needed. Some time soon the new program schedule should be posted on the IndianaNewsCenter web site on the Fort4Fitness Challenge page. Even though it will be more than two miles there is a 5K at the New Haven Canal Days this coming Saturday which a number of us are going to do.

Last evening my workout for the two miles we did was a mix of running with walk breaks. At first I had some leg cramping which worked itself out. I averaged 4 miles per hour which is at the top of what I have been accomplishing to date. I hadn't done any workouts over the weekend except for some core exercises. I have the option today of resting or doing something so at this point I will rest. I have a number of other things to get accomplished today.

The biggest problem last evening was the heat and humidity. It was 86 when we ran. I didn't have any water with me but I did get some right after and I didn't feel any ill effects. Just would have been nice to sip a little during the run.