Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-17

Running journal, Monday, 2006-04-17
Resting heart rate: 53 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Monday
Date: 2006-04-17
Weather: mostly sunny, mild wind
Temp: 20 C (68 F), 8 km/h wind
Time: 12:32 - 13:30
Terrain: Flat
Comments: The weather is heating up. Today is the first day I felt spring receding and the heat of summer rising. Weather-wise, it was a fantastic day for running. Saturated blue sky peppered with medium-sized white clouds, lush foliage, bright mid-day sunshine illuminating everything. While the American River looks lower than I remember, it has nearly completely flooded the bike trail in one location. Enjoyed wearing my sunglasses today. My new policy is, wear when needed, because I don't enjoy the reduced light on cloudy days. Brought my GPS unit with me, and ran a slow, comfortable pace of about 3.5-4.5mph for most of the run. It felt great. The river water has completely swallowed the sandbar where fishers might wade to in past months. At the mid-point, I run into the parking lot and took the fire access road back to the end of Upper Sunrise Drive. Running temporarily on the Gold Country private asphalt trail, I felt a bit irrationally nervous to see if anyone would challenge me. I passed no one. On the way back, I fell into a rhythm where I was able to clear my mind and only focus on the aural and visual environment around me. When I observed myself doing that, I felt happy, and also I realized how important both sensations are for creating realistic simulated environments, say for virtual reality. The sound of birds chirping, an insect whirring in the grass, a turkey gobble, wind roaring past the ears, construction workers hammering from across the river, an immense body of rushing water, squawking of birds excited by my passing presence, my shoes crunching on the soil or pounding the pavement, the inhalation and exhalation of my breath. Combine that with the visual stimuli of lush foliage, saturated blue sky, a lone hawk floating with wings extended high above, white clouds, other bikers, walkers, the immense body of river water, birds, flowers, and vehicles. Touch also comes into play in a minor way, with salty sweat beading and running from my forehead to my neck, the feel of saturated hair on my skin, my muscles moving in time with one another. Overall, a positive day.
Time: 58 minutes
Goal Time: n/a
Distance: 5.48 km (3.4 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=128405
Total Distance For Year: 405.6 km (239.5 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.8, 17% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: mild stiffness in the knees at the start, but this went away after five minutes. Muscles still felt a bit stiff, but better.
Foods eaten today: Powerbar, banana, mac & cheese, chocolate, Honest Tea First Nation Peppermint tea, cinnamon and raisin bagel