Not That Far North (But It Feels that Way) - 3 Miles in Hot Gym on Cold Day

3.0 miles run
0.50 miles walk warm down

total: 3.50 miles
course: treadmill at resort in Lake Geneva

Do you remember Bob & Doug McKenzie's Take Off? That's about two guys in Canada. This isn't that far north. Just Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It feels north. It was 2 degrees yesterday when I arrived for a church retreat.

Ran three miles. Not as slow as usual. Started at 9:30s, but spiked it the last mile some. My pulse was fine, never getting above 160, and dropped quickly after I stopped. A sign of moving toward fitness. I ran on a sour stomach, and am happy all was of no consequence.

As pulses go, I was pleased to step on the machine at 60 bpm. A prescription I had been taking has weird side effects, one of which wigged how my heart feels. It raced, or felt like it was racing. Sapped my energy -- particularly as it hit my ability to sleep. Off of that nasty stuff now, trying something different, but I was glad to see my resting pulse rate, after walking, was somewhat low.

Treading in Water Streaming Down My Face

5.0 miles (43:12 - 8:38/mile)
0.4 miles walked

total: 5.4 miles

course: Wardman Marriot, Washington DC

After a long hot day checking out the Lincoln Memorial and other sites along the Mall, it came to time to run. The previous two days were filled with driving, with 10 hours on Thursday and two hours on Friday. My legs took a break since an eight miler on Tuesday, but walking the Mall wasn't exactly sitting by a pool either.

The treadmill had a TV attached to it. I don't how people can run and focus on what's showing, let alone read the captions. Not me. I can listen to music, or nothing at all, but not TV. So I turned that off, cranked the iPod up, and ran in an unair conditioned gym. Although the treadmill also had two tiny fans, neither pointed my way, and were essentially ineffectual. Water weight was lost in a big way.

The run was fine. Not much to describe except that I realize my pace is skewed by the fact that is a treadmill, not a real Earth surface.

The treadmill managed to help me get my legs turning over faster which I hope will be helpful Thursday night at my weekly butt kicking at the Wheaton College track. It will be my first interval workout in months, so confidence is not exactly overwhelming me. This post is post-dated, meaning that it will list as August 29, but I am actually writing it Thursday morning, September 3. That workout is staring me in the face, starting with a 5:30 pm warmup. We'll see how long I survive, if Jim shortens it, or if I manage to do OK the entire way.