A Mix of Weather and Training

I had three days off from work for Christmas, and decided to take advantage of this to train during the day for a change. I also experimented with different combinations of running and walking, and kept track of the times to see how I would do with each combination.

On the 24th, I did one of my stand-by local 4 milers. I go through my neighborhood into the next one over, and through that neighborhood. Then I go along a short path through some woods, out across a road, and then 0.4 miles along a dirt trail through a park. I come out behind a school, and go past the baseball field and tennis courts, coming out by a track. I do a lap around the track, then go past basketball courts, and down a short path back to the nearby neighborhood, returning home the way I came. It comes out to 4.06 miles. The weather on Wednesday was mild (low 50’s) and cloudy, so I wore shorts and two layers on top. I ran 5 minutes and walked 5 minutes, repeating this cycle for the whole time. It took me 49 minutes, or about 12.1 minutes per mile. So since my walking pace is just under 14 minutes a mile, my running pace would have been about 10 minutes to the mile.

On Christmas, it was sunny and mid 60’s, so I did the workout in shorts and a tee shirt, which seems incredible for this time of year. This time I walked it entirely, both to rest my legs a bit and to see what the time difference would be to do the exact same route. It took 56 minutes, which would come out just a shade under 14 minutes a mile. While going around the track, I wanted to see if the pedometer registered 0.25 miles – it did – and it took me 3 minutes and 20 seconds to walk around the track, which translates to a 13.33 minute mile. So clearly at other times, I was walking a little slower.

Yesterday, I decided to do the eight miles by myself that I was scheduled to do today with the team, as I was heading out of town today. So I did laps in Deep Run Park, which has a nice nearly 2 mile trail through the woods, with a good bit of elevation gain and loss at times. By adding a couple of spurs, I can make the laps come out to 2 miles, so I did 4 laps. It was much cooler – mid-40’s – and a steady rain at times. I wore long pants, two layers on top, and a vest, and alternated between feeling too cool and too warm. I didn’t have a lot of manual dexterity at the end of the workout, as my hands were cold. I would run for 5 minutes and walk for 10, and I completed the 8 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes, which comes out to 12.9 minutes per mile. I was soaked and chilled at the end.

The running seems to bother my back, and I have been applying ice when I can since then. I also get winded running after about 4 or 5 minutes, especially during the uphills. When I run with the team, I must be running slower because I can run 15 or 20 minutes and not get winded. But it was good to do the workouts under controlled conditions. I have learned that if I walk all the way with no running, I will come out to about a 14 minute mile. If I run 1/3 and walk 2/3, I am at about 13 minutes a mile, and if I walk 50% and run 50%, then I am at about a 12 minute mile. This is all good information to have when planning my race.