<p>I’ll mosey up on my own schedule and hopefully pass them on the trail when they are on the way down. I’m trying to do a lot of these longer drive, more northern hikes now while the days are long.</p>
<p>Last week, I missed one of the big scenic overlooks. Walked right past the spur trail and couldn’t bring myself to turn around and backtrack UP the mountain to get back to it.</p>
<p>Looks liike there’s also a little log bridge crossing, so hopefully, I stay dry and don’t end up swimming with the beavers…</p>
<p>I’ve been sweating like a pig on these hikes. We’ve had enough rain lately that it’s humid as heck in the woods and the uphill climbs on these hikes is a real workout for an ol’ (formerly) fat guy like me! </p>
<p>Tomorrow is only forecast for a high of 76 degrees in Lincoln, NH, so I hope it feels cooler.</p>
<p>I haven’t done it yet, but if I were taking family out for their first NH hike, I’d probably do that West Rattlesnake mountain trail overlooking Squam Lake. Awesome views, some steep bits, but short. 2 miles round trip. 450 feet of elevation gain.</p>
<p>It would be no problem for you, but some of these hikes I’ve been doing would be more than I would ask family to do until they’d been out a few times. There was French Canadian family with two young boys on the trail last week and I’m not sure they would be down of the mountain yet.</p>
<p>If distance isn’t a problem, that 6.5 mile flat hike I did to Franconia Falls on the Kancamagus was fantastic. I’ll definitely be doing that one again. The destination was just such a nice place to hang out for an hour. I’d do the swim again, too. Very refreshing. That one’s also good because it has a huge parking lot with indoor restrooms right at the trail head, etc.</p>
<p>MOWC, a colleague who has done coaching for runners agrees with your approach. He suggests I should slow down to a speed that I am “comfortable” and try to go longer distance. He says the speed for 5K will come once I could run 10 miles “comfortably”. </p>
<p>He suggests I do 5 3 ~ 5 mile run plus one 10 mile run before one day of rest. I said I could not possibly run 10 miles. “then walk while you are not comfortable and run when you can”, was his answer. </p>
<p>So I did 5K run both Fri and Sat. Now, I could barely walk. During the run, I was o.k. Now, so many places are sore and painful while moving. Hopefully they will go away and I could do another 5K Monday. Not way I am running/walking a 10 mile this year.</p>
<p>Sore is okay. Painful may or may not be okay - depends on whether or not you sustained an injury. The soreness should go away after one to three days. If it doesn’t then it could be an injury. If it is an injury, then some rest may be in order.</p>
<p>In general, I do not like to run if I’m very sore or if something is painful. You risk modifying your running to compensate for the soreness/pain which can cause soreness and injuries elsewhere. I know the soreness that you’re talking about (probably everyone has run into this) and two hours of singles will do this to me too. If it’s particularly painful, then I may take an Advil just to make it easier to get through the day. The Advil will help with any potential inflammation.</p>
<p>Dad II- I think 10 miles in training is very unnecessary at this early point in your running. I woukd stick with the 3-5 milers at a comfortable pace. We call it “building a base”. If you have a real nice day and are feeling great, try a 6 mike long run at an even easier pace. I woukd not go over 6 miles for the near future. It is just asking for injury.</p>
<p>MOWC, what is this about running “comfortably”? You said that I should be able to carry a conversation while running. I can’t do that even at 10 minutes/mile. I would rather walk than run; and rather sit than walk if “comfortable” is the goal. </p>
<p>My colleague seriously asked me to go back to fast pace walking only when I told him that. </p>
<p>I don’t understand the concept. I was under the impresssion that I should push myself to run as fast and as long as I could. To be comfortable, I would just sit on sofa and drink beer.</p>
<p>I’m considering trying a meal plan program. My boss started it last week. They deliver your meals twice a week and all you have to do is heat them up. But they aren’t frozen meals…</p>
<p>You will build up your base and your speed will increase by running at an “aerobic” level as opposed to anaerobic (out of breath). It is still running and it is still distance! You will find that you can go farther and faster if you allow your aerobic capacity to improve through slower running. You don’t have to be able to recite a speech at this pace, but short sentences should be easy to do. Yes, initially it is going to be more like 12-13 minute miles, and there is nothing wrong with walking breaks while you build up your aerobic capacity.</p>
<p>I run by heart rate- I know I am pushing too hard if my heart rate is out of the zone it should be in for the particular run. In a race, obviously, it will be approaching max by the end. For training, I want it in a zone of 136-149 for my age and my max HR of 187. You have to know your max and your resting HR for this, and the formulas are not accurate.</p>
<p>I had a very fun workout today. Did a practice run on the race route with a very athletic person for whom running is just one of her many skills. The time went by quickly! :)</p>
<p>Thank goodness the heat wave is OVER, and I can finally go for a run without dying after a couple of steps.</p>
<p>DadII, MOfWC makes great points - when you build up your base, you will be able to run at a faster pace and chat semi-comfortably, but it will take time to get to that point. This is one of the situations where the tortoise wins in the end. Good luck to you, and keep up the great work.</p>
Today was one of the most comfortable in a while. Mid-70s, moderate humidity. Played 2.5 hours of doubles on clay. We split sets and then lost in a short tie-breaker. A pretty solid workout.
Just did weights machines and free weights yesterday.
Work is going to be quite busy this week so I will sneak out for workouts when I can. I don’t think that I can do the 2-hour tennis lunch thing.