Winter Running Jackets and a Pre-Xmas Friday Easy Run

Today's plan calls for an Easy Run. 

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run. Dist: (4.08)mi. Pace-avg: (15:26). Speed-avg: (3.9)mph. Speed-max: (4.9)mph. Burned: (422) Calories. 

Plan: Run (2.0)mi. @ a (17:51) pace for a total of (35:42)min.

Actual: Run (2.0)mi @ a (13:58) avg. pace, bracketed by a (1.0)mi. warm-up walk, and a (1.08)mi. cool-down walk.

Fuel: Pre-run: GU Energy Gel w/ caffeine (Mandarin Orange), and a packet of GU Chomps (Mandarin Orange); Mid-run: (water); Post-run: dinner of some kind.

Tonight's run was nice and simple. I wore my new Mizuno Thermo beanie again, and it was mighty nice. There were a couple other runners out in the park this evening, and a few cyclists, but the cyclists were mainly BMX'ers just out in the park with their friends. I kept a pretty decent pace up using my updated running stride: Kicking up my heels a little more, picking my knees a good bit. Using this newer-to-me stride definitely feels like it is working more of the muscles in my legs, especially my calves. I look forward to using this running style more and seeing where it takes me. I am interested to see how well I can maintain this running stride during my long runs. I may have to switch back to my short stride glide for endurance, but we'll see how it goes Sunday. Running on Xmas Day? Totally crazy, but I feel the need to give it a whirl.

Splits: Mile (1): (13:36), Mile (2): (14:23).

Other News: I am trying to decide on a winter running jacket, and so I will do a little "thinking out loud" here to help myself. I believe I have narrowed it down to at least three: Gore Running Wear Essential Jacket; the Brooks Nightlife Silver Bullet Jacket; the Adidas Supernova adiVIZ Highbeam Jacket. All three seem to have a wind-stopper lining of some variety.

The Brooks jacket has an aluminum membrane lining for added warmth, kind of like wearing a space blanket while you run. I first saw similar technology on some Columbia winter jackets at the local Sports Authority store. It certainly has the Gee-Whiz(tm) factor going for it, but I'm not sure how durable it will be over repeated machine washings. Some other nice-to-haves for this jacket are thumb-hole cuffs that flip out, as well as flip out mitten covers, which would certainly be appreciated whether I am wearing running gloves, or not. I like multifunctional equipment and gear, like Swiss Army knives, et al.; I'm not sure where I get this, maybe it is a natural geek trait.

The Gore Running Wear jacket has a Gore-Tex(tm) lining, as expected. It has Velcro(R) cuffs and two large zip pockets on the sides. I tried on the XL in black at Fleet Feet, and that fit comfortably. I also tried on the blue in Large, but it was a little snug. The color selection is limited to black, blue and red, period. It has some nice reflective stripes on the sleeves. I like the black one because it fits and is in stock. The employee I spoke said these jackets are on back-order, with no estimated time of arrival. Even though black is clearly a bad idea for night-time running, I can throw on a reflector vest that I already have, or get a Brooks reflector vest that has some nice large reflective patches front and back.

The Adidas Highbeam jackets appears to have all the reflectivity one needs without additional reflector vests, et al.: The reflective strips are nice and large, front and back. It even looks like it would be bright enough to wear and be seen walking alongside the highway after your car breaks down, or if you have to change a tire in the middle of the night on the side of the road. The Stockton store says they don't stock Adidas, but the Sacramento store does. 

So far, the Brooks sounds like the best all-around bet for the winter here in the valley. It gets cold late in the year, but the early months can get even colder. I have a bad habit of running after dark, mainly to avoid putting on sunscreen, so cold winter months will definitely need some warm running gear. The Brooks jacket has good reviews on the Brooks Running website, including reviews by runners in the Sacramento area, and Oregon, places I know to be pretty cold at this time of year.

-Lancer!!

Thursday Speedwork Day

Today's plan calls for a Speedwork Run.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Speedwork. Dist: (4.99)mi. Pace-avg: (15:16). Speed-avg: (3.9)mph. Speed-max: (5.8)mph. Burned: (577) Calories. Running lights.

Plan: Run a total of (4.0)mi. with (2x) repeats of (1600) meters @ a (15:19) pace, and (800) meter recovery jogs between each repeat.
Actual:  Run (2x) (1600)meter intervals @ a (12:42) and a (13:53) pace, with (800)meter recovery jogs between, and bracketed by a (1.0)mi. warm-up walk, and a (1.0)mi. cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: GU Chomps (Orange); Mid-run: water; Post-run:.

Temps tonight started out at between (39) and (41) deg. F. before I left the house for my evening run. It is now down to (37) deg. F.
Other News: I rode my bike these evening for the first time in many-many months. I had to drop off some mail at the Post Office and decided I should ride my long neglected bicycle:

Surface Streets: Cycled to the Post Office and back. Had to stretch my legs. Round trip: (8.11)mi. according to cycle computer. Speed-avg: (8.6)mph. Burned: (289) Calories from the Post Office back home. [Forgot to turn on the timer on my Garmin when I left the house.] Cycling shoes.

This bike ride helped me warm up my legs before I went out for my evening run; my first run in over (2) weeks. Yikes.
-Lancer!!

Long Run Sunday No.8

Time for yet another Long Run.

DC Bike Path/Surface streets: 1/2 Marathon Training, Long Run. Dist: (13.17)mi. Pace-avg: (16:42). Speed-avg: (3.6)mph. Speed-max: (5.3)mph. Burned: (1428) Calories. Running Lights.

Plan: Run (11) mi. @ a (17:27) pace, for a total time of (3:12:07) hrs.
Actual: Jog/Walk ((11) mi. @ a (16:29) avg. pace, for a total time of (3:01:18.54) hrs. Bracketed by a (1) mi. warm-up walk and a (1.17) mi. cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: PowerBar Fruit Smoothie Energy bar (berry Blast) [2-hrs. pre-run], GU Roctane (Mandarin Orange); Mid-run: Sport Beans (Orange), GU Chomps (Strawberry); Post-run: Whatever is quick.

Tonight's run went pretty well. I slept very late into the afternoon so I did not get out the door till after sundown. I noticed one of my running lights, the one that got dropped earlier in the week, was dimmer than the other one. I think the LEDs might have been jostled loose when the unit was dropped, but it's hard to tell for sure. Anyway, the lights still work well, though I have noticed a good deal of dimming since my last run. I was hoping to get more life out of the batteries, but that may not be the case after all. We'll just see.

There were surprisingly few people out on the bike path tonight. Usually, I run across at least five, or more, groups during the course of my Sunday long runs. I think I only came across three this evening. The first group I encountered was on my outbound leg, and they were not carrying lights at all. The second was a cyclist with a bike light, and the third was a BMXer with no lights at all, and I startled him out near the orchard on my return leg because I had turned off my lights to exercise my night-vision. Frankly, we startled each other. I checked my heart-rate data in TC, but I don't see any unusual heart-rate spikes due to that last encounter.

My best jogging effort this evening was (3.44) mi. continuously. The splits for that are: Mile (1): (14:14); Mile (2): (14:31); Mile (3): (16:51).

Weekly Mileage: Planned: (22) mi. Actual: (30.72) mi.

Well, now I am pretty tired and very hungry. Better stretch out and eat, post-haste!

-Lancer!!

Easy Run Friday

Slept all day. Had to go run my (2) mile Easy Run, and not wuss out and skip it.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run [Walk/Jog/Walk]. Dist: (5.45) mi. Pace-avg: (16:47). Speed-avg: (4.3)mph. Speed-max: (5.5)mph. Burned: (613) Calories.

Plan: Run (2) mi. @ (17:39) pace, for a total time of (35:18).
Actual: Jog/walk (2) mi. @ (13:58) pace, for a total time of (27:55.64) mins., bracketed by a (1) mile warm-up and (1) mile cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: GU Energy Gel, Lemon-Lime. Post-run: GU Chomps, Orange.

I left the house about 1815 hrs., so the sun was still up and the temperature was about (90) deg. F., with a slight breeze. I did my warm-up walk into the park, where it was nice and shady at first, and then started my jog. Last night I was able to "jog" continuously for (2.02) miles, today I was only able to keep up the pace for (1) full mile. This may have been because I did not actually eat anything before I left the house. I had the one GU gel, and plenty of water, but I was anxious to get out and do my run early-ish so I did not end up running in the dark like last night. (Mission accomplished.) I slowed down and walked about (0.06) miles before I picked up the pace again. I managed to jog another (0.33) miles, then had to walk again for (0.14) miles. I was able to jog out the last (0.47) miles to complete the (2) miles of my Easy Run. After that, I turned around and walked home. So, it seems that if I am properly fed (and digested) before I head out the door, then I am better for it in the long run, so to speak.

People all over the neighborhood seemed to be BBQ'ing hamburgers in their backyards today, and in the park. There was quite a large group of people in the picnic area of the park this evening, and I really was craving a burger. I already took a shower, and I'm still sweating. I just finished dinner, and still need to stretch out. My legs are nice and sore in a good way. I can still feel some soreness from my Wednesday workout at the gym. I should make the effort and go to the gym tomorrow and repeat that same workout, at a minimum. I should definitely ride my bike there.

One thing I have noted over the last week is that my left sock feels soggy and squishy once I am jogging, but that did not happen on today's run. I wonder if I need to pull out the insoles and let them air dry in between run days. I will keep an eye on that.

Other News: It's the weekend, so I think I will go out and see some movies, finally.

Tomorrow: Gym day!

-Lancer!!

Long Run Sunday No.5

Got out for my Long Run today.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Long Run [Walk/Jog]. Dist: (10.31) mi. Pace-avg: (16:39)min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.6)mph. Speed-max: (5.1)mph. Burned: (1142) Calories.

Oof! Tired and sore. Not to mention salt-crusted all over. *bleh*

Plan: (9) mi. at a (17:50) pace for a time of (2:40:32) hrs.
Actual: (9) mi. at an average (16:30) pace for a time of (2:28:34) hrs.
Fuel: (1x) PowerBar Strawberry-Banana gel; (1x) GU Chomps, Orange. Those really hit the spot when I needed them.

Mileage for Week (5): Plan: (18) mi. Actual: (23.38) mi. [Does this make me an over-achiever, now?]

Starting to develop hot-spots on the balls of both feet. I probably should have stopped and adjusted my socks, or adjusted my shoes at some point during today's "run," but I decided to just keep plugging away and stay in motion.

Today's Weight: (200.2) lbs. post run.

-Lancer!!