May 17 and 18th,  Friday and Saturday

Friday-  On a pleasant afternoon we drove to Belmar for the opening of the Seafood Festival.  I intended to do a workout when I got home. But we ate so much seafood that I conked out at 6 p.m.!    Rest day!

Saturday – the conditions seem optimal today for a time trial in an 800m to see the effect of the hard work I’ve been doing recently.  It was after a day off, and the late afternoon weather conditions were perfect for a quick run.  So, I did a good warm up, laced up my spikes and headed to the starting line.  I wanted to see if I could run a comfortably quick 3:30 without exerting maximum effort. The one caveat to this event was a bit of a nagging hamstring that seemed to a occur while I was doing some work around the house this morning. I could feel it throughout the run and as a result backed off somewhat. The run itself was quite comfortable. I ended  running 3:26 which surpassed my expectations. I was never in any aerobic distress. I think this bodes well for my conditioning level right now. The lower hamstring issue was pretty obvious when I finished and I decided not to do any more for the day.  I think the next few days will need to be some aerobic long runs to allow my muscle to return to normal. No more housework until after Albuquerque.

Weak effort on stats.  Man up, O’Rourke……………….

May 14 & 15, Wednesday & Thursday

“Even when I’m running I smile because I know I don’t have to.”

~~~John Bingham,  “Who Needs a Reason”  RUNNERS WORLD

On Thursday Arlene and I went to an elementary track meet at Marlboro High School to watch our nephew Ryan participate. Ryan ran well in the 800m and the 400m. I also noted while watching that the track was in very good shape and quite a forgiving surface.  I happened to have my spikes in the car in anticipation  finding a surface to begin a few workouts in spikes before my race in June.  So, I took the opportunity to lace up and run a few 100m and one 200m SS in spikes. It was a good introduction. Previous to putting on the spikes I did some warm up running and about 12 100m+ SS.   Positive recovery day.

On Friday I ran 4 miles in 58 minutes on the cinders. I put into practice my new favorite theory about aerobic days.  So, after some 15 minutes  of walking and jogging I began running alternating 200m SS followed by 200m of walking or slow jogging.  I believe this accomplishes the triple benefit of:

1-keeping my legs moving quickly  (usually below 8:00  per mile pace)

2-keeping my heart rate elevated for an extended period of time

3- limiting  the total number of running foot strikes that my legs have to absorbe!!!

I was happy to be able to include 12 x 200m Speed Segments along the way.

STATS are in good shape.

May 14th, Tuesday

“Running fast is more fun than running slow.” ~~~Frank Shorter

My goal today was to run 4 x 1200m at 10:00 pace. That would be a comfortable 7:30 per effort.  This is a workout I have wanted to do for a while, but I have been reluctant  because of nagging leg and foot aches.  I started out filled with trepidation . It turned out I was unable to run that slow on the cinders today. This quickly became a progressive workout.  I began after about 15 minutes of movement; walking, jogging and 6 x 30 to 60 stride pickups.  I surprised myself on the first one running 6:45.  The second one, still feeling very comfortable, was 6:34.  By now I was getting a little excited and feeling more confident by the minute.  Number three was a 6:24 still feeling no physical or aerobic distress. I told myself I would try for 6:00 on the final effort if all conditions remained stable.  When I hit the 1000m mark in 5:02, I picked it up and finished the 1200m in 5:58.  I judge this to one of my best workouts to date and a good indication of my fitness level.

Note:  Running 3/4 mile repeats on the track in mid May was one of my favorite workouts for my middle distance runners back when I was coaching at North Hunterdon High School.  It always seemed to get kids excited.  They dreaded the thought of the work out, but always crushed it when they got on the track and left tired and happy .  I kind of had that experience today. It felt pretty good.

May 12, Sunday

On a cold, windy and rainy afternoon I worked for 50 minutes in the pool. It was both swimming and zero gravity running.  Add 15 minutes in the hot whirlpool just to pamper.

Stable stats.

May 11, Saturday

Scheduled as a recovery day, I decided to go for a long, comfortable bike ride with a few hills to raise the heart rate.  About 9 miles in about 50 minutes; no watch today.

May 10, Friday

“Set a goal and a program for yourself, and everything else will follow.  Guaranteed”

   —  Amby Burfoot,  The Principles Of Running

Early evening on the cinders as the temperature hovered in the low 80’s, I set a goal to run 200m efforts at target race pace with double rest.   My very optimistic target race pace is 6:00 for 1600m.  If I can get close to that goal, I am sure that it will be enough to win two titles at the National Senior Games.  So, today’s goal was to reach :45 for 200m.  I did four x 200m in :49,  :47,  :46,  and :45.  This is on cinders, without spikes not approaching 100%.  With a 1-mile warm-up and a 1-mile cool down it was a 3-mile day in total.  Not bad!

Stats-

Weight =  149.2 lb. That is the lowest in 2 years!

Morning indexes are good.

Heart rate is steady.

Diet has been excellent.

Sleep equals 11 hours last night!

Stretching is fair. Body weights on hold.

May 8, Wednesday

On a perfect afternoon for running I headed to the cinders to do a Tempo workout. My goal after completing a good warm up wish to run 2 times 1000 meters in 5 minutes each. I have to admit I was not confident that I would be able to do this workout. I was able to check my watch each 200m to attempt to remain constant at 1 minute if possible. I was able to stay slightly ahead of Pace on each 200m without much difficulty. I completed my two average Booth under 5 minutes to my surprise. The first one was 4:55 and the second was 4:50.  I was very pleased with this workout.:-)

May 7, Tuesday

New +75 training concept.  Protecting the old legs.

Ran 2.6 miles in 31 minutes.  In the last mile I ran 6  x 60 second SS of 150 strides  with 60 seconds quick walk recovery.  This procedure is constant with my recent inclination to believe that quick SS interspersed with quick walking is superior to continual slow running.  This provides for quicker muscle firing and fewer running foot strikes over the elapsed time.  My experience with this procedure has  been that, as my legs remain quick and fresh, my heart rate remains steadily elevated suggesting a positive effect on aerobic conditioning as a bonus.

Stats-

Weight = 150 lbs

Diet = Great diet – 10

Foot indexes are good.

Heart rate = 54 bpm

May 6, Monday

“Training is principally and act of faith.  The athlete must believe in its efficacy: he must believe that through training he will become fitter and stronger.” —- Franz Stampfl

 The last week has been devoid of running because I was recovering from a week and could say a month of hard work.  Also my left knee was hurting on impact.  So it was an act of caution to back off for a while. I did ride and swim and lift a few times. And I did walk a good amount. So, today, as the weather turned spring like, I took the opportunity to get out to the cinder track for some aerobic training.  It felt good.  I was in motion for 65 minutes. I covered 5 miles.  It took about 2 miles in motion for all of my gentle aches in my legs and feet two dissipate. I walked for the first 800 and then began a routine of running 400 and walking 400. It went pretty quickly and my body responded well. I think it turned out to be a profitable use of my time and energy. Hopefully my knee, which was feeling fine by the end of the workout, will feel as good tomorrow.

As I realize that it is only six weeks to Nationals, my preoccupation with avoiding injury intensifies daily.

Stats-

Weight equals 150 lb

Diet is good.

Morning foot indexes very good after a week of no impact.

Heart rate is stable.

Stretching has been consistent , daily body weights random.

April 28, Sunday

5 miles in 55.24 may be a personal best in Jackson.  I am becoming more confident with each one hour run that I complete.  My body is tolerating these runs quite well.

Stats are steady.