Nice group run, cold hands.

Last night I ran with my Thursday group at our winter course, the parks around Muhlenberg collage.  I ran from home so that gave me a little over 7 miles, I felt fine during the run and could have gone a few more miles if desired.  Yesterday morning I walked with JoAnne before she went to work and my hands were painfully cold so today I wore double gloves which was a little better but they were still cold for most of my 30 minute walk.  I may try heavier gloves for my group run in the Parkway tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Day Group run

I remembered to take my waking heart rate ( WHR) yesterday and it was at 50 which is not bad for still having some lingering effects of a cold.  I went with the Saturday group from the LVRR's.  It was around 27 degrees when I left the house.  I got there just as the 06:30 group was leaving but I told them I would pick them up at 07:00 because I wanted to get a good warm-up before running.  I started out walking fast and after a few minutes I jogged about 10 steps and walked 10 steps alternately for a few times and slowly moved up to one minute run/one minute walk.  I have found this to be a good warm-up for me to eliminate strained muscles and heart rate spikes.  After a few minutes of the 1/1 ration I just ran steadily until I met up with the group which was on their way to meet up with the 07:00 gang.  We started out running up the long hill on 24^th street toward Emmaus by way of Devonshire.  I had decided to only run about 5 or 6 miles so I turned around at 2 miles and led those people that wanted to run less than the main group that was doing 10 miles.  I got back to my car at a little over 5 miles and felt good so I ran to the LVRR's club house and back which gave me a little over 7 miles.  I felt good, no left knee pain which has been bothering me since the Via Half Marathon last summer.  My knee did bother me once I got home for a little, especially when going down the steps.  I am hoping my strength training will strengthen my knee and help alleviate the pain.  This was a good way to burn off some calories before the Thanksgiving day feast!

Short run, lawn mowing.

Tuesday I was without a car and I only wanted to run a few miles so I left my house and warmed-up by walking to a local park and then running for 30 minutes.  I still can feel the urge to cough when I exert myself so I took two or three walking breaks and kept my pace slow.  After breakfast I mowed my lawn using the bagger so I could pick-up the leaves which are steadily dropping yet.  The mowing took about one hour so I had a good one and a half hour work-out.

Iron Strength workout

Yesterday was a non-running, strength training day. Since I had taken off from work I had time to walk with JoAnne before she went to work, then I took my car in for some work (had to leave the car until Wednesday ) and returned home. Iron Strength workouts start with foam rolling (sometimes I use The Stick), a warm-up and then two sets of the actual workout.


The weather was fine so I decided to use the bicycle for the warm-up. First I used my foam roller for about five minutes or so and then I rode the bike on my favorite run, the private lane, which takes about twenty minutes. Then I changed to my indoor exercise clothing and did the first IS workout from the book. I am only doing five to ten reps and only one set until I become adjusted to the program-I'm such a wimp! After I complete one set I do my twenty minute yoga routine and I'm done; about one hour and twenty minutes. I am hoping this workout gives me more muscle balance and reduces injuries and maybe even help me run faster.

First run since returning from Copenhagen

Yesterday I tried running for the first time since my return from Copenhagen on the 10th of November. I have been fighting a bad cold that started on the flight back. I finished my last antibiotic on Saturday so I wanted to get going with my training for the Gardenspot Marathon in April. I decided to run my favorite course…I call it "private lane" because I run on a little road marked private. The route starts at my house, runs through an area of nice homes before entering the Lehigh Parkway where I run along a crushed stone path before leaving by way of the private lane and returning home. It is a little over 5 miles, has hills, crushed stone, beautiful scenery and little traffic; a little bit of everything. I also decided to use the run/walk method by Galloway by first walking for five minutes to warm-up and then start running 1/4 (run one minute then walk four minutes). After a mile I go to 2/4 then mile three 3/4 and so on until I am running four minutes/walking one minute. This is a proven method that lowers your chance of injury and lets you run longer distances. The run went well, no pains which is good because I have been experiencing some left knee pain since my last two half marathons. I am signed up for my first full marathon next April and I may use the Galloway method for this attempt because I am running a half marathon a few weeks after that and I want to try a PR of under two hours for the half. So as I start to recoup from this cold I am formulating a training plan which includes strength training; I am doing the Iron Strength program from the book The Athlete's Book of Home Remedies by Dr. Jorden D. Metzl. In addition to being a physician, Dr. Metzl is a marathoner and an Iron Man. He developed theses workouts to exercise every muscle in your body and lesson injury from your primary sport.