Run-Walk-Run 1:1 Fun

I went for a short run yesterday over the lunch hour and learned some things. Three points: dress for success, check your gadgets first, and walk breaks work.

Dress for success: Ankle socks keep more sand out of my shoes than “peds”. I tried my thin wool Patagonia socks that I use cycling. They worked well. But I was overdressed for the conditions. I need to adapt to the change of seasons.

Afraid of being cold, I immediately had to shed some clothes. I ended up carrying my jacket for nearly the entire run. The seasons are changing. To avoid being cold, I have been layering a lot of clothes to run comfortably, generally in the mornings or evenings when it’s cool, wet and dark. This time, I was running in the middle of a sunny, warm day. The temperature above 20C when I started. I didn’t need my long tights or my jacket. What I did need was a hat to shade my face, sunglasses, some sunscreen and a water bottle.

Before heading out, check your gadgets: I wanted to try running with a GPS to mark my distances. I got about 10 minutes into my run to a place I wanted to mark. When I pulled the GPS out of the pouch, I saw an error code that required a response before it would start logging my trail. So I didn’t capture the whole run.

Plus, I wanted to practice 1:1 run-walk intervals. So before heading out, I reprogrammed my heart rate monitor for one-minute intervals, hoping for an audible reminder of when to switch my pace. Turns out, I set up one-hour intervals. Not quite what I had expected. Instead of fussing with the watch, I simply ran, using the lap button and the second-hand. I felt distracted to check the watch every 15-30 seconds for the 40 minutes I ran. But I got better at estimating my time.

Walk breaks work: I think these will help me build speed, endurance for distance. I was skeptical about a 1:1 run-walk-run ratio. But I tried it anyway. I ran a faster pace than I usually run continuously and used the walk breaks to recover. Above is the graph from the heart rate monitor.

I took advantage of the only elevation gains around to build some strength. Several times, I ran up and down some stairs and the ramp to the beach. Odie thought it was a little silly to keep changing directions, but he stayed with me.

I felt a little concerned when I began to notice some soreness in my knees at about 35 minutes. My knees didn’t bother me the rest of the day, however, and they feel fine when I am walking around or taking the stairs today. To reduce the inflammation, I took a larger (one tbsp.) of ultra-refined fish oil last night and this morning.