Overdressed

Saturday, April 19, 2014:

The temperature was 52, but the wind whistled by at 20 mph, gusting higher, and the sun hid behind clouds, so I (over)compensated and put on two shirts, a wind jacket, and long pants. My "running Gear vs Temperature" chart clearly indicated just one long-sleeved shirt, but it doesn't account for sun or wind, so I added layers.  Too many.  I had the jacket open most of the time, and my legs didn't need the pants either.  Shorts and one less shirt would have been better.

Still concerned about the possible injury to my left hamstrings, I started with a 1 to 2 run/walk ratio, running 60 paces (about 20 seconds) and walking 120.  I took the "keyhole" route, starting at the Nordic Center and north to the 3-way stop, then around the big loop but not including the Klondike extension, for 3.79 miles in 42:47, and an average pace of 11:18.  No problem with the hamstrings!

Actually, though, I'm sure that I lost count more than a few times, absorbed in thought, and I felt strong, so I probably ran longer than I meant to and walked shorter.  Therefore, that pretty-good sub-5-hour pace may not represent a true 1 to 2 run/walk.

The only remaining snow on
any of the park's paved trails.

Friday, April 18:

A sign in the window of the park office says that bikes and horses are not allowed on the grass trails, so I assume that they are still pretty soft (& muddy).  The paved trails are fully open now, though, so I ran there once again.

Concerned about the left hamstrings, I started off with a run/walk ratio of 1 to 2, actually 60 paces to 120.  This went well until about halfway on the 5.9-mile route, and then I could just begin to feel the hamstrings.  So I switched to all walking, as fast as I could go, and that went just fine.  No more complaints from the hamstrings, just a little muttering by the right knee with PFS, nothing unusual.

4.88 miles in 1:00:26, average pace 12:23.