dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:17:09, with an average HR of about 145.  I was super surprised by the high HR as my legs felt great, and I was running faster than normal yet felt like I was running really easy.  I was convinced that the HR monitor was giving me bad readings, but when I double checked things manually I found out that the HR monitor was giving me correct readings.

So... I am thinking that the gas leak was likely not the problem, unless there is still something wrong.  There were times on the run today where my HR was in the high 140's or low 150's, yet I was only running 7:45-7:50 pace.  Sometimes I just feel like I am always broken.  As soon as my leg and back started getting better (which is not completely the case, although they are getting close) my HR starts to rise despite no evidence of overdoing things on the training end.

I ran 11 miles this morning in 1:26:06, with an average HR of 147.  Again, my legs felt fine, but my heart was beating way faster than normal.  With an average pace per mile of about 7:50 I would expect my average HR to be between 132-135 bpm depending on the day.  Back when I was in better shape I would have expected to see 127-129 bpm.

Later on in the morning I was teaching my aquatic fitness class, and I had the opportunity to sit down for a bit as the students were exercising (normally I am on my feet the entire class, so this was out of the ordinary).  I took the time to measure my HR three different times while sitting down, getting HR measurements of 70, 80, and 71 when measured for a full minute.  When measuring my HR while sitting at my desk working I recorded a 74.  Normally when I am sitting in class my HR is below 60 (I know, I am weird to measure my HR when I am supposed to be paying attention to my professors).  Not sure what to make of this, but for the sake of keeping a record I am posting it.

Here are a few randomn pictures as well:

Kimia took this picture of the trail that I run on most every day while she was out running.

Anita has been practicing writing her name.  The N needs some work, but otherwise she seems to be doing well.  I also like how she kept switching up the colors.

I ran approximately 11 miles this morning in 1:23:12, with an average HR of 147.  I ran about 5 miles during the run with Tyler, and ran the rest on my own.  I was late getting out the door this morning, so I ran sub 6:30 pace to the meeting point with Tyler.  I think that because I had just barely started the run my HR was more reluctant to rise, so I only had a 152 HR average on the way to the meeting point, whereas running 7:40 pace later on in the run had my HR in the high 140's

In the evening I was walking home from school (normally I bike) and after about a half mile I decided to run the rest of the way, so I ended up running another mile home.

I ran 11 miles this morning in 1:26:33, with an average HR of 133 (I essentially ran the sime time and route as I did on Tuesday, as the only major difference was a slower first mile today around 8:25 vs. about 8:00-8:04).  I was rather surprised to see my HR back to normal (more or less) this morning.  The only thing I can think of that was different today is that there was more moisture in the air than normal, and there was a little bit of fog here and there.  It makes me wonder if the pericarditis from before came back again, causing the slightly elevated HR, and somehow the extra moisture in the air caused the trend to reverse itself (If you couldn't already tell, I am just thinking out loud here, as I really have no understanding of the underlying processes behind what causes fluid to build up around the heart).  My HR did rise steadily throughout the later portions of the run, as I averaged 130 bpm for the first 4 miles, about 134 for the next few miles, then 136-137 for most of the rest of the run.

Here are a few pictures of my little people that I want to share:

Shayon sleeping, he actually slept through the night without wetting his pants!

Kamran sitting and doing nothing.  That's what babies are good at.

Anita all ready to go swimming.  It was 9 degrees that morning, and when she put on the swimsuit it was still only about 20 degrees outside.

I ran 11 miles this morning in 1:26:29 with an average HR of 138.  First run in the snow this year.

I ran 15 miles today in 1:48:57, with an average HR of 149.  The snow from yesterday had mostly melted off of the sidewalks, despite the temperature never reaching higher than the mid 20's yesterday, so I didn't have to worry too much about slipping on the ice.  Temps were in the single digits this morning, so I ran during the warmest part of the day, leaving on my run when it was about 20 degrees outside and finishing the run to temps of about 15 degrees.