Noon now and resting after 6 miles on the beach. Uploaded workout data from my Garmin to my ancient Apple, drank my chocolate milk and icing and enjoying a cocktail of green tea and pure tart cherry juice. It has become a delightful spring like day.
Wow, what a difference two days can make! Doing the right thing is pretty f****** important. I should have that figured out by now. Rested and prepared properly today and had a wonderful run. With apologies for repeating I have to say the beach was flat and firm, and the cloud covered sky and cool breeze made it just perfect. Today I felt pain free, powerful and most importantly pretty. My athletes often laughed when I told them to run pretty. But I am perfectly serious about the importance of running beautiful. I guess coaches call it running efficiently or with good form but to me it is just pretty. One of the things that made me proudest while I was coaching was that a number of people I respected told me that most of my runners looked similar in their running form,that they were smooth and under control. I call that pretty. I reminded kids frequently of how often they would hear someone say after a race that the winning athlete looked like he was hardly even trying. A very nice gentleman from Scranton Pennsylvania approached me one year at the New Jersey Meet of Champions practically with tears in his eyes to tell me how disappointed he was that Brendan Heffernan was not competing that day. He said he only came to the meet from Scranton to see Brendan run because of how much he enjoyed watching his beautiful running Style. I don’t think I have ever told Brandon that story, and I hope he is reading this because it would be a very nice thing for him to hear.
But I digress as I frequently will because that is how my brain works these days.
Preparing properly allowed me to have a comfortable and productive run for which I am very be grateful. I was able to concentrate on a shorter stride and soft, firm foot strikes. I was also able to put in 10 surges of from 50 to stride. I am more comfortable counting strides of these days been trying to keep track of the duration of the surge because it helps me to synchronize my strides and my breathing. Speaking of breathing, I have become a strong proponent of belly breathing while running distance these days. The concept of belly breathing is relatively new to me but not totally new.. It was introduced to me recently by coach Mike Paul who is a friend,a former assistant coach of my mine and arguably one of the most knowledgeable coaches in the state of New Jersey. Mike suggested that I consider trying to belly breathe during my runs after watching me in a race at Hillsborough about 2 years ago. I have tried it during training and racing and I found it to be quite helpful to me. I will probably speak a lot more about this in the future but there is also an interesting story to go along with that. Way back in the eighties, when I was coaching with the legendary Bob McGivney, I would hear him constantly telling his girls during training and racing to belly breathe. Now Bob was one of the most successful girls cross country coaches in New Jersey history. North Hunterdon girls basically owned the sport throughout the 1980s. Bob and I spoke frequently about coaching training and distance running. I don’t remember ever asking him about the belly breathing thing and I don’t know why. But I can only say that his girls employed the concept and were ridiculously successful. So I guess Mac knew what he was doing. So when Mike Paul brought the concept up I began practicing it and have been belly breathing now for the better part of two maybe three years. It has helped me to improve my training and racing. Thank you Michael Paul.

Enough for now.

Happy Spring! 68* cloudy and calm

Blogging before running this morning because I am doing much more deliberate pre-workout preparation. Answered the alarm at 7 a.m.,took my time, had coffee, heating my calves and achilles and doing some gentle stretching. One more item to add to the list of old retired guy benefits. We have time.
I spent the whole afternoon yesterday wearing my compression sleeves on lower leg around town. That really felt good. (Had to show off my newly acquired technological skills yesterday by taking a picture of my leg with my tablet and finding a way to actually import it to this blog.) Also got some nice comments from total strangers! I have read articles about studies on compression and there is a mixed opinion about the effects and benefits. The true physiological effects have not been proven, but the results show that those who expect performance to be improved have improved performance. There is also a difference of opinion as to whether benefits are more substantial wearing during workout or wearing between workouts as an aid to recovery. I guess the truth remains, as with all preported running enhancements, if you believe it works it probably works for you. I am not convinced either way. I don’t know what that means in terms of the effect on me. I am wearing them today for my workout. Time to start running and stop talking.

Just returned from 30 minute walk on beach. Lower left leg feels much better. Solid breeze is back. Already getting antsy to run tomorrow.

68 degrees,91% humidity and calm in St Augustine this morning. Having zero mph wind is very, very unusual in St.augustine. We arrived February 1st and the wind did not stop for 3 weeks.
I was out of bed at 7 a.m. today but have not run yet. It is now 9:30. Still dealing with sore achilles on left leg. Lots of heat!
Having made a decision to write each day about my training has made me think a lot more about what I’m actually doing. I have a tendency to forget the advise of people close to me at times. Two things happened in the last 24 hours to adjust my perspective on the sore leg I have been whining about. I recalled the advice of my friend, Rich Refi. He always reminds me to, “Do what you tell your athletes to do.” He is a pretty smart guy. So, if I’m such a good coach why don’t I listen to myself. I have told my athletes for years who are having soreness in lower legs calves and achilles tendons to heat the legs before each run. I was in the habit of doing that myself back in New Jersey and had stopped since I came to Florida in February. Maybe I thought the warm weather made that unnecessary. But I definitely got out of the habit. So I will be heating my legs before each run from now on. Secondly, Arlene reminded me this morning of the reason why I had decided to begin rising at 7 a.m. this week. It was because the weather had become 88 – 92 degrees. Running in the afternoon, which is my normal habit, became intolerable. There was no need to force myself out onto the beach at 7 a.m. I also reminded myself that I have no competition schedules for the foreseeable future. So I write today much less stressed and much smarter than yesterday. Thank you Rich, Arlene and Old Coach O.

My plan for sore achilles tendon problems is the following. This is what I did yesterday and my leg feels much better. Rest and take one ibuprofen every 4 hours. Heat your lower legs before each run and ice after each one. I have done it simply by dangling my feet on the edge of the cold pool. But 15 to 20 minutes with an ice pack will do the job. It is not necessary to freeze the muscle or the tendon. I also plan to start again to use my lower leg compression sleeves. That is another thing that I stopped doing since I came to Florida. Not sure why, maybe just because they are a little hard to put on and I got lazy.

So, sitting on this lovely deck, temperature about 75 degrees now, watching the ocean and the beach on a Saturday morning as still as church during Consecration (That is the best simile I could think of.) I am totally stress-free and relaxed.

I will continue the treatment for one more day and try a gentle walk this afternoon.
We are heading into Old Town in a while to a Fair of some sort with good food and beer I am told. Sounds like a nice afternoon.

THANK YOU to all my friends and relatives who commented and liked my post on Facebook. I hope some of you are reading this and you enjoy it. I am definitely having fun. Please leave any comments with your thoughts or suggestions.

?Friday, March 18 64* and cloudy light wind 4mph

Good morning
As I sit watching Morning Joe with coffee and a heating pad on my Achilles, I try to digest the fact that I was unable to complete any kind of workout this morning. I did rise and get on to the beach by 7:30 a.m. with the realization that this may have just been a day to walk for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I was ready to accept that. However I never got started because the nagging pain in my left Achilles area constantly made me aware of my foot strikes. I could never get comfortable. Finally decided to abandon the effort altogether and return home for some heat and and a plan for the next few days. One consideration is to swim in the community pool here at Sea place. I guess I haven’t yet mentioned that we are living in St. Augustine Florida in a condominium for February and March. It is a lovely place just a few feet off the beach that I have frequently mentioned. The pool has been too cold to swim in up until now. I think it has warmed up enough but I will have to check today. Back home in Jackson New Jersey I frequently take a rest day from running and use the clubhouse pool. For a time in the first few years that I was training I would bike one or two days a week. But about a year-and-a-half ago I had a bike accident that tore up my knee seriously. I have been back on the bike since but not with the same confidence. So running workouts have become the norm. I think it would be very beneficial for my body if I could get back in the habit of biking more frequently. I have to admit my race times have dropped dramatically in the last year-and-a-half. I don’t know if that solely is a product of doing more road run workouts. I guess I have to become more clear to myself about my goals. There is a real chance I know that setting goals too high might lead me to injuring myself training for those goals. The running that I have been doing, the training that I have been doing the past 4 years, have made me much healthier and more confident about my health. That alone should be enough without any need for competition. But competitions are really fun. Then again I have told many people that the only reason I run is so I can drink beer. Another very good reason to be conservative and simply enjoy the opportunity to move. Maybe as I continue to express these ideas it will all become clear to me. So, even if I am the only one who reads this,it still might be a positive enterprise.

Foot is feeling better after heat. I will probably try one more time today to walk either on the beach or around the neighborhood. I will keep you posted.

Good morning. 78 degrees sunny and almost no wind a beautiful morning . The beach was flat and firm and the tide was way way out . I have just returned from my third early morning run on the beach in 3 days. Chocolate, ice, and coffee. I think my body is getting adjusted to this early morning run plan. Today felt better than yesterday. I covered a total of 6 miles in the following manner. First mile was 10 minutes of walking 10 minutes of slow jogging with sweats on. Next 5 miles was a slow run with 8 – 10 200 meter pickups. Total run time was 1 hour and 7 minutes. Pace has been slower over the last week probably because of nagging fear over my achilles tendon left foot. I have been trying a few new ideas that have read about to lessen the strain on the tendons. Two articles suggest that short strides and softer foot strike help to prevent injuries. So I am working on those two things as I run these days. For some reason I have the impression that I am overcompensating with my left foot because of the nagging discomfort. I get the impression I am landing on the outside of my left foot instead of square or flat on the ground and I’m constantly trying to make level foot strikes. My right quadricep seems to fatigue faster than my left when I do pick ups. Not a serious problem but definitely noticeable each time I run. Again today I exceeded what I expected of the workout. I’m hoping that that indicates I have reached a new level and that 5-mile run is becoming more typical rather than the three to Four Mile Run that had been my normal workout. I have covered 19 miles in the last three morning runs. That is surely the heaviest three-day total of my running career to date. I am wondering if it is time for a day off or if I should continue to keep the pressure on and see how much my body will handle. Today I was amazed at how determined I became to reach the five-mile mark. That elusive random mark which really has no special meaning but is psychologically very very satisfying. I guess how I feel tomorrow when I wake again at 7 a.m. and will determine how I respond. I will keep you posted.

Arlene and I played trivia last night at o’shaughnessy’s. We did not finish last. Most of the other teams are groups of four or five or six folks which I think gives them an advantage in trivia. We are trying to decide how to spend this st. Patrick’s Day. The last few years we have spend some time at the Oasis which is right down the road. They have a pretty big celebration each year on st. Patrick’s Day.