Welcome Seasonal Changes

Good day!

With the seasons changing from winter to spring the sun is rising ever so slightly to the left each day and no longer way to the southeast. This means the sun is shining directly at me at times as I sit in my favorite chair. What a problem to have. As I type this a red Cardinal has landed on my patio deck. A sure sign of change. This is an exciting time of year. Even wildlife celebrates and becomes more active and happy. It won't be long before we will be mowing the green lawn while watching the hopeful tulips bend from the weight of their own heads.

Yesterday's run was an 8 miler Yasso 800. I decided to run a first slow warmup mile. After that, the first 1/2 mile would be run at approx 8:00 mile pace and the second 1/2 would be run as fast as I felt possible or within reason. So, I am going to make some assumptions. If I run the first half mile at 8 pace and the entire mile is run in 7:03, like my 4th mile I must have run the second half @ approx just over 6 pace. Half at 8 and half at 6 should equal a whole at 7.

Looking at my heart rate data I probably could have pushed it more. Sometimes it is difficult doing this type of speedwork on the streets of Chicago. Cars will pull in front of you, lights turn red, etc. But, it does make it a bit more interesting.

Miles 7 and 8 were a little slower as I experienced gastrointestinal distress. Code brown as Jim would call it. Lots of alleys in Chicago to relieve yourself in case of emergency. This is only the second time in my running career that this has happened. It must have been the smoothy from Bloomingdales I ingested one hour before the run. It was a coffee frozen yogurt with a shot of espresso, skim milk and wheat germ.

Run info:

Split Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Speed Max Speed Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:08:25 1 30 89 8:25 6:50 139 179 0 74
2 0:07:36 1 125 33 7:36 5:14 129 144 0 82
3 0:07:08 1 52 72 7:08 4:11 140 152 0 83
4 0:07:03 1 102 177 7:03 4:29 144 155 0 81
5 0:07:20 1 148 33 7:20 4:44 145 157 0 86
6 0:07:34 1 62 141 7:34 4:55 148 157 0 90
7 0:08:09 1 62 49 8:09 6:22 142 145 0 89
8 0:07:58 1 20 33 7:58 7:02 138 147 0 78
9 0:00:42 0.09 7 0 8:09 7:06 146 148 0 8
Summary 1:01:59 8.09 604 627 7:39 4:11 140 179 0 671


Born To Run:

" Distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn't live to love anything else. And like everything else we love-everything we sentimentally call our "passions" and "desires"-it's really an encoded ancestral necessity. We were born to run; we were born because we run. We're all running people, as the Tarahumara have always known."