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February 6, 2008

My Running Track Record, So Far

As I mentioned yesterday, I've taken up jogging in an attempt to offset the stress of school and to drain away some excess energy. I'm running on an indoor track that is 1/8 of a mile long. I warm up with four laps of walking and follow my running routine with ample stretching. Although there is no definitive proof that stretching helps reduce injury and questionable evidence that it helps reduce soreness, it simply does feels great.

I've only been jogging every other day for just over a week, but I'm impressed with the improvement in my stamina. I tried to run for fitness at the indoor track in Salt Lake City, but after three months of trying, I gave it up because it was just too hard. I did notice some progress then in that I could run longer, but it never felt good to run. The elevation there was between 4500 - 5000 feet above sea level, and there is nothing more humbling than being relatively fit at sea level and then doing a workout up in the mountains. My husband and I went for a hike to view wild flowers in the mountains and were huffing and puffing our way up a hill when a woman in her 70s with a 4 year-old in tow, passed us along the way.

So, on to my track record:
I've been building my exercise routine by alternating running (r) with walking (w).
Day 1: 4w, alternated 1r, 1w for a total distance of 2-1/2 miles. I stretched immediately afterward and stretched again the next day. Rested a second day.
Day 2: 4w, 2r, alternated 1w, 1r for a total distance of 3 miles. Stretch. Rest one day.
Day 3: 4w, 3r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 1r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 1r, 1w, 1r, 2w for a total distance of 3-1/2 miles. Stretch. Rest one day.
Day 4: 4w, 4r, 1w, 3r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 1r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 1r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 1r, 2w with a total of 5 miles. Stretch. Stretch again the next day.
Day 5: 4w, 2r, 1w, 5r, 1w, 3r, 1w, 2r, 1w, 1r, 2w for a total of 4 miles. Stretch.
Day 6: 4w, 4r, 2w, 4r, 2w, 4r, 2w, 4r, 2w with a total of 3-1/2 miles. Stretch.

As you can imagine, it's becoming a bit of a challenge to keep track of my laps, so my early Valentine's gift from my husband couldn't come at better time. I guess it doesn't matter what pattern I run as long as I see gains in continuous running distance and/or length of my workout. Both are indicators of increased stamina and that is my goal, for now.

Today I used my Nike + iPod, and now I have to figure out how to plug my stats into the computer so others can compare their runs with mine. My iPod said I went more than 3-1/2 miles because it factored in my walk to the gym from the Health Sciences Building. I didn't run as far today because I felt like I had a charley horse in my hip from Day 5's run. Stretching and running again today have helped work it out.

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Posted by linda at February 6, 2008 12:39 PM