Another update to training

So, Monday and Tuesday, I was doing 6 one minute intervals, but still having some problems. I was still tired and a bit headache-y throughout the day.

The, wcg asked what pace I was using. I hadn't thought about it until then, but I was stepping pretty lively - 85 paces (counting just one foot's cycle) per minute.

Bill suggested a pace of about 75-80 was probably better than 85 at the moment. 90 is the pace Marines will use in boot camp - 85 is probably a bit much for a 45 year old man who's significantly overweight.

I decided to try it. The first day, I was able to do 7 one minute intervals, and I felt a bit better than I had doing 6.

The next day - the next day, due to a miscalculation, I did *9*. (See, at 20 minutes, I decided I could do one more interval, for a total of - 20 minutes, divided by 2.5 - that's 8, right? Yes - 8 *already done*. One more was 9!)

I cut back to 8 as a precaution, and it's been fine on Saturday and Sunday. (I increased the time to about 65/70 seconds per interval - still no problems.)

There's been an interesting side effect as well.

Slowing down my pace was *hard*. I couldn't "just" run slower. So, I thought about it, and decided I could lift my feet higher and that would give me a bit more control over my pace. Well, lifting my feet higher engages my hip a bit more. And, so, my left hip has been a bit achy, and I'm feeling a bit of pain down my sciatic. But since I'm still feeling stiff in that area, and I've been feeling like my stride isn't quite right yet, I think this is a good thing (except for, you know, *ow*). Yes, it hurts, but it's a kind of pain you know if you exercise. It doesn't feel quite as bad - it feels like a muscle strengthening, like a problem slowly resolving.

And while I'm still a bit tired due to exercise, today I made two lentil dishes, baked a loaf of bread, did some yard work, and went to the grocery store and the hardware store. So, tiredness isn't wearing me down right now.