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Interval work on the track

Legs are still sore from Monday’s leg workout. Was going to take another day off from running, but after walking a lap around the track the legs felt like they wanted to run. I decided to try some interval work. One lap at a fast 6-7 minute/mile pace and one lap walking. Did that for about a total of 2 miles.

It’s been a long long time since I’ve done any interval work (probably since my high school track days) but it felt good to stretch the legs out and run fast, even thought I can’t keep it up for very long.

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What do you see

Sitting by the river
watching the water flow by
Swirls and eddies drifting past
pushed by the current
Islands of calm floating by
like floes of ice

Do you see bubbles of water
pushed up from below?
The currents of water
colliding with the flow?

Spinning whirlpools bumping against each other
and then disappearing,
merging into the current

Equations that describe the flow and turbulence
Numbers and symbols superimposed on the swirls
Like having double vision

What do you see?

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Plymouth Park out and back

Went out for a long(-ish) run. It’s actually a relatively short out and back from my house to Plymouth Park, just over 5km round trip.

Not wanting to push too hard, and since it’s such a nice place to rest and hang out, I ended up sitting by the river enjoying the water flowing by for about an hour before deciding it was time to make the jog back.

My Tracks tells me I did the run back from the park (~2.7 km) at just over 10 km/h. Not terribly fast, but fast enough.

Felt pretty good endurance wise. If I did the whole distance without stopping, I think I’d be looking at a 5km time of just over 30 minutes.

Not bad for having not done any running for at least a couple of years, I think.

It was a pretty good run and the new shoes felt pretty good.

Day off tomorrow to recover. Probably do some walking on the track at the Wellness Center.

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Back to running

A few weeks ago I put running (well, slow jogging) back into my workout routine, replacing the 30 minutes of elliptical work. With the weather cooling down, I’ve been able to move the running to the outside rooftop track. It’s nice to be able to run outside again.

I’ve made attempts in the past to get back into running, but always ended up stopping because of inevitable knee issues. Now, almost 25 pounds lighter, running has become a lot easier than it was and the knees don’t bother me nearly as much as they used to.

Before DragonCon, I was up to doing 6 laps (1 mile) on the track at a pretty comfortable and leisurely 10 minute mile pace, pushing it up to a 9 minute mile if I was feeling good. This week (after not doing anything for about 3 weeks due to post-DragonCon catching up) and with my new shoes, I’m up to 9 laps (1.5 miles) at the same pace.

Not pushing myself too hard yet. I need to build up my endurance. It’s been a long time since I did any running on a regular basis. I find myself enjoying it a lot more now than I did in my previous attempts to get back into running. Hopefully this new found desire to run continues. Not having to lug around the extra weight has really helped.

Maybe I’ll be able to take on the bridge run next year.

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New shoes

As a general rule, when runners find a pair of shoes they like, they usually stick with them.

My old shoes, Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7, although they hadn’t seen a lot of running miles, were getting a little old and worn out. After checking out the Runners World print and online shoe guide to see what was around, I ended up picking up the … Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11.

There have been a few changes in the shoe since my old one. The midfoot area is stiffer thanks to a new plastic plate and there’s more cushioning in the forefoot area. The heel area seems a little bit softer too. but still provides the firmer medial wedge to help control mild pronation problems.

I’ve been wearing Brooks running shoes for years, pretty much since high school when I first started running. They’ve always worked well for me. The new incarnation of the Adrenaline GTS is no exception. My new shoes feel pretty good. They haven’t seen any road miles yet, but have been getting some use on the indoor and rooftop track at the Wellness Center this week.