December 14, Thursday

Last night I spent an hour at the clubhouse. I rode the bike for 10 minutes. I worked for 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. Then ran for 20 minutes in the pool. Throughout I spent 15 minutes working on my upper body and core. I topped it all off with 15 minutes soaking in the hot whirlpool.

Rich Refi sent me an article last night about Gary Patton, who has been the premier senior, middle-distance runner in the U.S. for the past decade. He recently set a new world indoor ÷70 mile record at the 168th Street Armory of 5:29.  I ran against ( behind!)  Gary at the National Senior Games this past summer in the 1500 m. He is a very nice guy. The article talks about Gary’s training regimen. He only runs every third day. In between he does cross-training and weightlifting. Gary believes that the reason he is successful is that he does not get injured. Most senior athletes spend a good deal of time on the sidelines nursing injuries like me. He does not exceed 15 miles per week. I have found myself evolving into a similar pattern. I have found that I need two days to recover from training runs or workouts. Fortunately, I have access to a decent exercise / weight room and an excellent indoor pool at our clubhouse. I plan to more closely emulate the Gary Patton plan as I go forward with my training. I want to be in a position to dominate the +75 age group  as I reach my 75th birthday this coming February. I am motivated, but want to be smart too?

Something to think about for + 70 Runners

New  world record holder, 71 year old Gary Patton