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  • #16
    Originally posted by happyone View Post
    I hope I can get todays walk done before the storm hits, but the wind is really kicking up right now. You can hear it whistling around our building, that almost never happens

    Yesterdays walk/run was done during a snow squall. I really like walking in the snow - if the wind is not blowing. It gives me a real feeling of peace. Wierd I know.
    I didn't quite get finished. It started snowing at about the 4 mile mark. It was a pretty gusty wind for most of it also. As the front rolled in, the visablity dropped from more than 10 miles, I could see Antelope Island, to less than a quarter mile in less 5 minutes.

    I must have looked pretty pitiful, because I was offered a ride home by two different people

    I may be small, but I'm slow.

    A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

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    • #17
      For Christmas I asked to get fitted for running shoes and a new pair. I started running again a few weeks ago. I am just slowly building mileage right now on a treadmill to get my legs back and to prevent any injury. I had a handful of frequent flier miles about to expire so I used them on a Runner's World subscription.
      "Nobody listens to Turtle."
      -Turtle
      sigpic

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      • #18
        I like to run. It just feels good.

        Mornings are the best for me. There is less traffic, fewer people, etc. I like the peace and quiet, the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement, the swishing sound of my running sweats when it is cold. I hardly ever carry the ipod anymore - though I probably will when I get into longer runs during training.

        I usually run 4 days a week - Monday I run a big hill, Wednesday is a speed run, Thursday is an easy/recovery run, and Saturday is a long run. I pulled something in my foot playing basketball a couple of weeks ago and haven't run in that long and it's killing me. I don't want to lose what I've gained and I miss the wake-up.

        My wife decided she was going to start running about three weeks ago and signed up for a Turkey 5K tomorrow as motivation to keep going. She likes to ask me how long it will take before it stops sucking.

        I don't remember how long it takes. I do remember that running wasn't much fun for the first month or two, but then it slowly became more and more enjoyable.

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        • #19
          Although I had jogged occasionally years ago (I'd never run more than four miles), beginning late last year I started running fairly frequently when my sadistic daughters challenged me to join them in the 2009 Silicon Valley Turkey Trot (a 10K). I did, and lived, which was my only goal. Having worked fairly hard for that modest achievement, I decided to keep it up, sort of. Lately, I've been cycling or running 4-5 days a week, and doing strength training two days a week. Running is my least favorite activity, but I can tell it improves my overall fitness and I feel so good when I'm done (and it's more than the relief that ensues when one stops hitting one's head against the wall) that I keep it up.

          Each week I do one long (for me) run of around six miles, and 1-2 shorter runs with a little bit of speed work thrown in. Tomorrow I'll do the 2010 SVTT and hope to beat last year's time, and for a 58 year-old who wasn't running at all 14 months ago, I'm satisfied with where I'm at.

          I've picked up lots of excellent suggestions and encouragement in this forum, and look forward to more.

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          • #20
            Rather than drop 80 bucks (!!) for my wife and I at the Walnut Creek turkey trot tomorrow, I will be racing myself in the morning. 10K somewhere along the quiet streets of Sacramento near my sisters house, where we will be crashing tonight. My goal is sub-46:00, which would be about a 7:25 pace. That will be a bit of a stretch for me, but I think I can do it. I've taken it pretty easy this week with my workouts, so hopefully my legs will be fairly fresh tomorrow.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
              Although I had jogged occasionally years ago (I'd never run more than four miles), beginning late last year I started running fairly frequently when my sadistic daughters challenged me to join them in the 2009 Silicon Valley Turkey Trot (a 10K). I did, and lived, which was my only goal. Having worked fairly hard for that modest achievement, I decided to keep it up, sort of. Lately, I've been cycling or running 4-5 days a week, and doing strength training two days a week. Running is my least favorite activity, but I can tell it improves my overall fitness and I feel so good when I'm done (and it's more than the relief that ensues when one stops hitting one's head against the wall) that I keep it up.

              Each week I do one long (for me) run of around six miles, and 1-2 shorter runs with a little bit of speed work thrown in. Tomorrow I'll do the 2010 SVTT and hope to beat last year's time, and for a 58 year-old who wasn't running at all 14 months ago, I'm satisfied with where I'm at.

              I've picked up lots of excellent suggestions and encouragement in this forum, and look forward to more.
              Good luck to you PAC tomorrow! May you run like the (breaking) wind. And good luck as well to any others running Turkey Trots tomorrow, or races against themselves in Sacramento!

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              • #22
                It is finished. The run went very well, despite 35 degree temps at the start. I realize that won't impress those along the Wasatch Front or in Wyoming, but for Silicon Valley, that's arctic. It was also more crowded than last year, with around 12,000 runners. The throng really slowed me down the first mile or so, but after that I was averaging just over 9:00/mile and ended with a time of under 56 minutes, although the official results haven't been posted. I feel better than last year, with a slightly better time to boot, so I'm happy.

                That said, it bugs me that my 18 year-old son and his pal, both of who are swimmers but haven't run at all in many months, did the thing at an 8:30 pace. Youth is wasted on the young.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
                  It is finished. The run went very well, despite 35 degree temps at the start. I realize that won't impress those along the Wasatch Front or in Wyoming, but for Silicon Valley, that's arctic. It was also more crowded than last year, with around 12,000 runners. The throng really slowed me down the first mile or so, but after that I was averaging just over 9:00/mile and ended with a time of under 56 minutes, although the official results haven't been posted. I feel better than last year, with a slightly better time to boot, so I'm happy.

                  That said, it bugs me that my 18 year-old son and his pal, both of who are swimmers but haven't run at all in many months, did the thing at an 8:30 pace. Youth is wasted on the young.
                  Congrats - you are so right about youth wasted on the young

                  I may be small, but I'm slow.

                  A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    I remembered one thing I had forgotten about running this time of year - Yesterday I started out jogging and there was just enough snow on the sidewalk to hide the ice patches. Within 1/4 mile I had slipped twice and almost fallen another time. I dialed it down and ended up walking the distance.
                    Last edited by happyone; 11-29-2010, 09:15 AM.

                    I may be small, but I'm slow.

                    A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      I set my alarm for 6:15 so I could go out running. I woke up at 5:45 with running on my mind. It's crazy to think I'm actually enjoying this especially given the fact I knew it was cold outside.

                      I got up and hit the pavement at 6:15. It was 32 degrees (very cold for Houston) but the cold gave me a chance to try out my new running gear. I got in 4.25 miles, which is one mile farther than I've done previously. I decided to go for distance instead of speed and it's amazing what a pace 30 seconds slower than normal will allow you to do. My average pace was 9:15/mile and even after 4 miles I probably could have gone another 2 except that my ankle was still bugging me from the turkey bowl.

                      It was nice to run in the dry, cold air instead of the hot, muggy nights.
                      "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Eddie Jones View Post
                        I set my alarm for 6:15 so I could go out running. I woke up at 5:45 with running on my mind. It's crazy to think I'm actually enjoying this especially given the fact I knew it was cold outside.

                        I got up and hit the pavement at 6:15. It was 32 degrees (very cold for Houston) but the cold gave me a chance to try out my new running gear. I got in 4.25 miles, which is one mile farther than I've done previously. I decided to go for distance instead of speed and it's amazing what a pace 30 seconds slower than normal will allow you to do. My average pace was 9:15/mile and even after 4 miles I probably could have gone another 2 except that my ankle was still bugging me from the turkey bowl.

                        It was nice to run in the dry, cold air instead of the hot, muggy nights.
                        be careful, you might actually find yourself enjoying running in the early morning.

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                        • #27
                          I know I said I liked running/walking in the snow, but it does have it's drawbacks.

                          There are two that have been reinforced to me this last couple of days - wet feet and cleaning the dog's paws of snow build up

                          On the positive side, I like listening to the crunch of the snow under my feet as I go along

                          I may be small, but I'm slow.

                          A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            So I've taken to heart some of the advice in this thread and it is paying dividends. I'm seriously kicking myself for not starting this thread 3 months ago.

                            I decided to do some distance runs just for fun. My first 3 months of running was hell (but an okay hell as I like to push it) and I wondered if I ever really enjoyed running in the past.

                            My goal today was 4.5 miles at a 9:30 pace as I thought that this pace would allow me to hold a conversation if I were running with someone. I finished with 5.3 miles at 9:08 pace. Here are my splits:

                            Mile 1: 8:49 (this surprised me and I decided to take it noticeably slower)
                            Mile 2: 9:52 (whoops, too slow)
                            Mile 3: 9:33 (Speed feels okay but I think I should go faster)
                            Mile 4: 9:01 (Probably the right speed or just a bit fast for distance run)
                            Mile 5: 8:30 (Was feeling really good so I decided to push it a bit more)

                            The run felt fantastic. I was barely breathing hard and after two minutes from stopping my breathing was back to normal. I'm a bit sore but very happy about being able to go far. Now I'm thinking that I might someday.......ah nevermind.

                            In any case, I think next time I do a distance run I'll shoot for 9:15 splits.
                            "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              OK - so maybe this is a dumb question with an obvious answer that I should just know. But I don't.

                              My approach has always been to get faster by running faster, longer, etc. Obviously the longer runs are a little slower than the shorter runs - but just run as fast as you can while still feeling good and maintaining a general pace.

                              In looking at training schedules intended to prepare a person for for longer races, it seems like they are always talking about going slower than race pace on long runs. So the thought occurs to me - if you are always running slow, how in the world are you supposed to get fast?


                              So - what is the benefit of running a slower pace than you anticipate racing at? Help me understand why I should run at a 8:30 or 9 minute pace if I can do 8?

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by Eddie View Post
                                OK - so maybe this is a dumb question with an obvious answer that I should just know. But I don't.

                                My approach has always been to get faster by running faster, longer, etc. Obviously the longer runs are a little slower than the shorter runs - but just run as fast as you can while still feeling good and maintaining a general pace.

                                In looking at training schedules intended to prepare a person for for longer races, it seems like they are always talking about going slower than race pace on long runs. So the thought occurs to me - if you are always running slow, how in the world are you supposed to get fast?


                                So - what is the benefit of running a slower pace than you anticipate racing at? Help me understand why I should run at a 8:30 or 9 minute pace if I can do 8?
                                I don't understand it either. I talked with an elite woman runner, who was running 2:45 in the Boston, and she said people asked her all the time how to run faster. She said, run faster. That is it plain and simple.

                                Of course this means running intervals and doing speed work, all of which really sucks.

                                My wifes best marathon time was when she planned on running at a certain pace and did all of her training runs at that pace, even the long ones. Now there may be some truth to the running faster thing in long runs. She trained at a pace to run 3:30, and did end up running faster to get a 3:23. So that is what I would recommend. Run at the pace you wont to get, and then you know you can do it.

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