True Recovery Run in the 'Hood

This morning, I set out at 8:30 for 40-50 minutes of easy running, per the Gazelles schedule. These are the runs that I have often skipped, but Gilbert has finally convinced me of their value in helping the body and legs to recover nicely from the harder efforts in the week. This new weekly routine of harder stuff on Monday and Wednesday and recovery efforts on Tu/Th makes great sense to me so far.

Since it was going to be a true recovery run (using the HR monitor to keep my effort way easy), I decided to experiment with running with the iPod today. I was probably over-gadgeted today, with the HR monitor, the GPS watch, and the iPod, but I don't really care. Even starting later in the morning, the temperature wasn't too bad, although the sun did change things a little. The morning weather has improved lately, but the humidity has remained high. I basically did my usual 4 mile course (approximate), and today the nature preserve behind the 'Hood opened back up to foot traffic, so I included 10 or 15 minutes on the trail back there as well. It was a nice run, and for the most part, I did a good job of keeping my HR within the target range. The music was a nice diversion, so I may continue that experiment on the recovery runs.

Ended up with 5.4 miles of comfortable running, average overall pace 9:29. Some stretching once I got into dry clothes, and it was a good start to the day. Now, I'm off to do some birthday shopping for my daughter.