Ocmulgee National Park

AKA Indian Mounds.
Distance: Walked/ran 5 miles.
Including 1000+ feet of 30:30 walk then run.


Post resting blood pressure: 121/78 pulse 76

I started the day by walking Sweetie for thirty minutes. She is trying to challenge me with some alpha behavior. I need to take a more stern tact with her. She is a wonderful dog, part bulldog and part american bulldog and a big dash of hound dog.

Note: The sun was shining and the temperature was warm. I got an extra 100 feet sprint when I realized a snake was in my pathway. It was solid gray medium sized. I don't know what kind of snake it was. It was all coiled up enjoying the sun. The walk/run today was more difficult than the earlier walk/runs this week. I don't know if it is because I need a break or if it is because there are so many hills at the park. Either way I feel that I got a very good workout.

Today is my last day of training for this week. I work tomorrow and Sunday I hope to spend time with my family.

I stopped by the grocery store and bought some fresh ginger and some fresh garlic. I plan to add a little flavor to my apple and cheese salad. I also plan to open a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. I will celebrate a good week of training with a couple of glasses of wine.

MSC - Trail

Today I went to Macon State College to walk and run on the trail and around the track.


Distance: On the trail I walked/ran approximately 1000ft; I walked 5 miles.

On the track I did 3 Laps (track length between 700-800 feet):
lap 1. Walked and incorporated a couple of sprints.
lap 2. Ran 30 sec, Walked 30 sec, set my stop watch timer to keep up.
lap 3. Walked to cool down for the day.

Final resting blood pressure readings (taken an hour apart): 138/77 pulse 71; 117/62 pulse 73
After I run my face is really red. My face may be blistered and I have a couple of fever blisters on my mouth.
No exceptional aches or pains either while I ran/walked or after. My side did not hurt last night. I've taken a couple of extra advil.

The weather was very nice. There were a few clouds, but it was a warm sunny day. It was the first time I had been to the college since the tornado hit there May of 2008, there are a lot of stumps where trees used to be. The devestation last year was unbelievable. Storm Damage pictures.

I went by the book store to check out the atheletic clothing and see what might be on sale. I found a pair of light weight cotton hot pink shorts 40% off, so I bought them. I will try to go out to the college on a regular basis because it is a safe, fun place to walk and run. I enjoyed walking around Knee Deep lake and watching the ducks waddle on the pathways and swim around in the water.

When I left the college I went to Goodwill. I found four books and I only paid $6.00 for all four. I can't wait to read them. The books I purchased are: WALKING MEDICINE; Yanker and Burton, WALKING AND RUNNING the complete guide; The runners book of TRAINING SECRETS; Ken Sparks, PhD; THE COMPLETE BOOK OF RUNNING FOR WOMEN; Claire Kowalchik. I'm looking forward to reading these books to learn all I can about proper running technique.

So tomorrow it'll be Indian mounds.

Determining Your Arch Type—Wet Foot Test
Do the Wet Foot Test to help you determine your arch type. Just follow the steps below—it couldn’t be easier.


Wet the bottom of your foot
Step onto concrete, a paper towel or any surface that will show an imprint of your foot
Match imprint to one of the arch types below to determine your degree of pronation.

Note: Another way to determine arch type is to look at the outsoles of your old running shoes, although this method is less reliable than the Wet Foot Test. If the sole is worn equally on both sides, you most likely have a normal arch. If you have a flat arch, the sole will show excessive wear on the inside. A high arch usually produces a sole with noticeable wear on the outside.

Quick Tip: You cannot determine arch type by looking at the wear pattern on the heel alone, although this is a common misconception.


It is important to buy the right kinds of shoes. Zappos Sizing Guide

Today's Run/Walk - Around My Neighborhood

I split the training session into three parts:
Part I
Ran 1000ft; Walk/Run 3445ft - time: 50 minutes
Part II
Ran 1000ft; Walk/Run 3569ft - time: 30 minutes
BP 144/89 Pulse 88
Part III
Ran 1000ft; Walk/Run 3500ft - time: 30 minutes
BP 141/86 Pulse 101
note: Because my BP seem to remain slightly elevated through the afternoon I took a beta blocker antihypertensive/diuretic.
Total Run Distance=
0.5 miles
Total Walk/Run Distance=
5 miles

Todays temperature when I began was 36 degrees and was in the upper fourties by the end of todays training. The sun was shining and there was no wind.

During part three I combined a couple of the hundred feet runs into two hundred feet at one time. At this time I feel that it is a real effort to run two hundred feet. It has become easier to run the one hundred feet.

Goals:

Immediate goal: run for one continuous mile. Continue the three part run/walk regimen for a couple of weeks. As I get more comfortable with running I will begin to increase the total number of feet I run each day up from 3000ft per day and begin to run two hundred feet and three hundred feet per running segment.
I combined rough terain with asphalt running.

Long term Goal: Participate in the Komen race for the cure in 2009. The 2008 Susan G. Komen race for the Cure.

Updated from weekend: I worked Saturday. Sunday I shopped and walked at a slow pace from 10AM until 3PM, approximately 5 hours. While shopping I found a pair of men's Asic GT-2120 size 8.5 half price; so I bought them to wear during training. Earlier I had bought two pairs of running shoes. A pair of Asic GEL-strike womens running shoes size 10 and a pair of women's Avia running shoes size 10. I'll try the different shoes and which ever works best I'll continue to buy in the future. The mens shoes fit perfectly. I have already lost 7 pounds and I am sure that I will continue to lose weight so I am waiting to buy "running" cloths.

Tomorrow's plan is to make a trip to Indian Mounds in the morning for part of my walk/run. Going to different places makes training less monotonous. Too, barking dogs bother me even if they are behind fences.

Indian Mounds

Steps: 10,000
Time: 1 hr and 30 minutes
I warmed up by walking the dog first thing this morning. I gave her some exercise and got a start on my steps towards 10,000. I went shopping on my way home I stopped at Indian Mounds to finish my walk.
It was a good walk. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing lightly. The temperatures were nice, cool but not cold. During my walk I tried to stick to the ground instead of walking on the sidewalk or the asphalt. I read that walking on a very hard surface would make the walk or run unpleasant.
Tomorrow I won't walk because I work Saturday. Last weekend my back gave me so much trouble if I needed to work two days I would not have been able to do so.
Presently I am doing the 10,000 pedameter steps program.

Three weeks earlier......

I began the exercise program January 20, 2009. I started out walking 10-20 minutes a day and running 100 feet rotating between a 30 second jog and a 30 second walk.

My back started going into spasms so I backed up and will walk for a while before working towards my goal of becoming a runner. I will walk a minimum of 45 minutes and try to reach the goal of 10,000 steps a day or 5 miles.

Distance: Today I walked 5000 feet.
Yesterday I walked 10,000 feet.
HR: 106