Happy Labor Day

What an incredibly beautiful day.  It is sunny with temperatures in the 70s. 

I went out for a run at 10am and got in 5 miles in 54:45.  My miles were 11:15, 10:45, 10:24, 11:04, and 11:19.  My 5K was 33:20.  My max speed each mile ranged from 6.9 to 8.7 miles per hour but my average speed each mile ranged from 5.3 to 5.8 mph.

Lately, I've been training with the run/walk/run method published by Jeff Galloway.  Today my run/walk ratio was 3:1, but did a 4:1 ratio once or twice.  That means I ran 3 or 4 minutes and then walked 1 minute and repeated the pattern throughout the 5 miles.  I could have skipped a walk break and kicked up my speed to get a faster 5K time, but at about 2.5 miles I decided to push myself to 5 miles and I didn't want to expel my energy too early.

Today, I ran donning my custom lymphedema glove, but I made an additional customization.  I cuffed the too-tight wrist band and then put two pieces of rolled up paper/card board in the cuff.  Thus, I made a less-tight section at the top of my wrist.  The result was fabulous.  After the run, I had only a little swelling in the top part of my index finger.  My hand was smaller than it has been in days.  I'd rate my swelling as a 1 out of 10 right now, about 2 hours after my run.  I took off the glove after about 10 minutes of slow walking and stretching as cool down.  The glove will probably stay off all day unless we decide to spend extended time outside riding bikes or cleaning out the garage.

If I hadn't loosened the wrist band, I know my hand would have been very swollen after the run.  Although the temperature was nice outside, I got pretty warm running in the sun.  We live in a suburb that's fairly new and has only immature trees, so most of my running is in full sun.  For about 2 miles, I did laps in an older subdivision with little more shade relief. 

When I was training for the half marathon, I drove 20-30 minutes to Bexley for my long runs on Sundays.  They have great shade there, wonderful houses to dream about, a park with nice bathrooms and a water fountain, and some of the official half marathon route is on my favorite Bexley street, Parkview Avenue.  I also have friends who live in Bexley who would replenish my water and let me park in front of their house.  I highly recommend having a long run location that feels like an oasis or treat, even if you have to drive some distance to get there. 

Speaking of treats, Valerie made brunch for the family after I returned from my run.  And it was her own idea, too!  We had scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon.  I also put together a bowl of steamed spinach and black beans which Ken and I added to our scrambled eggs along with salsa.

Val has homework to do today, but she's decided to sit outside and do it.  I think that's a great idea.  Part of her assignment is writing and reflecting on her first day of Jr. High, and I can't think of a better way to do that than to sit outside on a beautiful, almost autumn day.  Jason rode his bike over to his buddy's house and they are playing outside in the court area, I'm sure.  We'll see they boys later when they decide to have some inside time.

Update: After dinner, we took a family bike ride following the same route I ran this morning.  It was much easier and quicker to ride the 5 miles than run it.  My hand swelled after this activity despite my altered glove.  Perhaps the rolled paper was too smooshed to do it's job this time.