December 28, Saturday

25 on elliptical machine and 15 upper body weights and off to the annual O’Rourke Christmas party at Maureen’s house.

December 27, Friday

A pretty uneventful 4 miles on the cinder track today in 47 minutes.  Legs started out heavy and tight but felt better after two miles with a few pick ups in the middle.  Final mile in 10:06.  Respectable….

Stats-

Weight is still at 150 pounds.

Sleep is good at 9+ hours.

No foot issues.

Diet is 8/9, not bad  for the holidays so far.

 Need to get to weigt room tomorrow.

December 25, Wednesday

Eat your heart out, Dave Wottle.

Two runs today totaling 5.5 miles.

It was a lovely Christmas morning with Kristen, Robert,  Kalyn and Gracie the pup after a jolly and delicious Festival of the Fishes with the Willie O’Rourkes on Christmas Eve.  We enjoyed a leisurely brunch  followed by an exciting Christmas present opening session. The kids went way overboard  on The ‘Rents this year.  The picture above shows me exhibiting my new running gear, Ciele  hat and UnderArmour running pants and  JackRabbit socks.

I went out late in the day with my new gear to run on the cinder track. Got in 3 solid miles before it got too dark. I returned home pretty content with the work only to find that Kristen was getting ready to go out for a run of her own. I decided to join her and we put in another 2.6 miles in about half an hour around the Four Seasons neighborhood. It was a very pleasant run with Kristen, something we have not had the opportunity to do in quite a while; an unexpected Christmas present!

No changes in stats.

December 23, Monday,

On a mild Monday afternoon under 50° sunshine, I took the opportunity to get to the cinder track early. The session turned into an interesting workout.  First, a .6 mile  warm up and stretch.  Then I received a call from Rich Refi that came in on my Bluetooth earpiece.  We chatted about running and the Giants as I ran a comfortable 2.8 miles. Then the phone died.  Next I stripped down and ran some fast stuff  with my fully dilated muscles.

–  1 x 200m @ 1:06

 – then 5 X 400m @ 4:07,  3:57,  3:50,  3:55,  &  3:48. ( Final 4 at under 8:00 pace!)  + 800m jog

Total of 5.76 miles in 82 minutes.

Happy with solid and consistent  stats.

December 21, Saturday

Thought provoking quote from Minna Thomas Antrim a pretty wise lady from the 19th century.

“Three failures denote uncommon strength. A weakling has not enough grit to fail thrice.”

Take heed intrepid runners.

On a cold late afternoon on the shortest day of the year I ran 3 plus miles on the cinders. It was hard getting started because the air was bitter  and I had to return to my car for additional bundling.  So, mile one was over 15 minutes.  As I heated up I shed some of my layers and began running speed segments, 2 per lap.  Accomplished 10 speed segments averaging between 8 and 9 minutes per mile for each segment. Continued past my 3-mile goal for a few strides thinking of extending the workout until I noticed that the back straightaway was pitch-black, stopped at 3.38 in 40.39.  Adequate…..

Good stats

December 16, Monday

Today was an easy 4.25  miles in the cold (34*) @ FSML roads. I stayed totally bundled throughout the 53:38 run.  It was more than I expected, 9.25 miles in 2 days.  On the wise advise of my friend, Rich Refi, tomorrow will be a non-impact day in the weight room and the pool.

STEADY STATS

December  15,  Sunday

Strong work day after 2 recovery days.  Chill 45*, windy afternoon on the cinder track. After a 13:50 warm-up mile, I ran 4 miles in 43:38 with 28 SS of 1 minute with a 30 second walk.  57:28 is fastest 5 miles in recent memory.  Pretty used up at end and HR was 150BPM.  Chocolate milk, chilli and veggie salad to regenerate  and build mitochondria!!!

Good stats with weight at 149lb after run and Diet at 10.

December 12, Thursday

MOONSTRUCK!

“You never know what can happen during a jog around the block or on a 5-mile run.”                Florence Griffith Joyner

Bundled up on a chilly evening as light faded and the full moon took its place in the sky, I headed out for a recovery type run.  The legs was still heavy and sore from Tuesday’s demanding workout. Once again as time and  the miles passed my body reacted positively and I was able to sustain and pick up the pace. In the end what I anticipated to be about a 30 minute run turned into a 61:18 run and covered a full five miles. That is the fastest 5 mile I’ve run this fall.  Positive!

Stats-

Sleep =  8/9 hours steady

Diet = 10

a.m. HB = 54 bpm

HB at end of run =  138 bpm

Weight  = 150lb

Foot indexes = 1/2

December 10, Tuesday

The ciders  were a little squishy today, but easy on the legs.

First the stats,  then the stream of consciousness details

Stats-

Warm up –  leg drills, stretch under cover +  800m jog & 6 x 60m SS in light rain

Mile one – 7:57    no rain, 58*

Mile two  – w full recovery,   10:22

Mile three – w 5:00 recovery, 10:40. (raining)

Mile four – w 3:00 recovery,  9:31

Mile five –  Immediately into jog cool down

Stream of consciousness details-

This might take awhile. I kind of wrote this while I was running and now trying to remember it. I like to do this for myself so I can look back a few months or a year from now and understand what I was thinking  while doing this kind of work.

I had put a little pressure on myself after punking out on Saturday’s 5K to run a hard time trial today. I had already done a taper giving myself some time to recover my legs. I was a little surprised at how nervous I was about to whole event. After all I was the only one on the track this afternoon . I had committed to try to run 25 minutes which I didn’t really think was doable. But the plan was to shoot for an 8 minute 1st mile and, if all was in order, to continue to a 16 minute second mile even if I never got through the final 5K.  A good warm-up as noted above. Approached the starting line with excitement and trepidation. Off-

First thing I noted was at the 400 meter mark I was running at 7:20 per mile pace. Yikes!  I panicked a little but tried to retain composure and push on at a more reasonable pace. At 800 meters I was still running 7:50 pace and feeling stressed. At 1200m I was at 8:01 per mile pace and fully aware that I was not going to complete 5000m at this level.  So, I made a mid-trial decision to try to lock in that solid under 8 minute mile and call it a day. I pushed the pace for the last 400m and finished at 7:57.  I was disappointed, but took solace in the fact that I had just run the fastest mile in the last six months. I was pretty breathless as I headed over to get dressed. It was at that point I realized that it was a beautiful day, it had stopped raining, I had only run one mile and I had plenty of time to do a real workout. Plus I was committed to complete at least a 5k on the day.

The remainder of the day’s work  was done at a leisurely and comfortable pace. Each time I applied my new  “Aerobic and Leg Monitor System”, results came up ‘Without Distress.’            I was actually feeling more efficient as time went on. Finally in my forth mile, once again feeling very relaxed, I hit the 400m mark under 2:30. I remember saying to myself that, if I held that pace, I could actually break 10 minutes. I stayed very focused, gradually increased the pace and finished the mile Breezing in 9:31.  Then continued on for a mile jog pretty proud of my total workout, if not necessarily the trial result.  🙂

Daily stats remain positive.

December 8th, Sunday

“All International athletes wake up in the morning feeling tired and go to bed feeling very tired.”   Brendan Foster

The sun was setting as I ventured out along the neighborhood streets for what I anticipated to be a short run.   The temperature was in the upper thirties and falling, but I was bundled up pretty well. Because the last week has been a bit of a taper for my cancelled 5K on Saturday, my legs were lite today.  My body warmed up as I ran progressive miles starting at about 12 minutes and completing the last half mile at 9:51 pace.   The total time for the.  4.53 miles was 54:16.  I rate it as a good run.

Stats-

Weight = 149.5lb after run

Diet = 9

Sleep = 8+ daily

a.m.HR = 54 BPM

Foot indexes are @ 1/2 !!