Please Stop the Insanity

I've gotten a couple of comments regarding running. I have to warn you where this may all go. Yesterday I got home from work and it was 85 degrees and about 95% humidity. While my children went swimming I jogged across the street to the track and after running a mile at an easy pace I proceeded to run a 12x200 interval workout starting at a 7:00 min/mile pace and ending at a 5:52 min/mile pace. My german shepherd dog completed the workout with me, but my golden retriever had the good sense to sit out the last couple of intervals and watch. The sick thing is that it felt good. Some elemental part of me enjoys this despite the sweat and my heart pounding at close to maximum heart rate after the last interval. What's next? Dominatrices? Piercings? Tatoos?

Before you get too inspired, you might want to reconsider.

Seriously, if you decide to start or resume running please take it easy. The evolution from non-runner to semi-runner has taken me several years. The guideline is that you shouldn't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% each week and you should reduce your mileage every 4th or 5th week to give your body a rest. If you do that then you'll avoid injuries and enjoy yourself much more. Also, if you can afford it get a heart rate monitor and don't let your heart rate get too high. This is especially critical when you are starting out to make sure you don't overdo it. When I was starting I kept my heart rate below 150. If it got higher than that I walked until it dropped back down to 130. That's a perfect range for a middle-aged person to improve their conditioning and lose weight.