March 4th, Sunday

20 minutes of gentle running and swimming today to sooth tired muscles ……..

My legs and feet have responded well to yesterday’s 5k effort,  only normal morning aches and some stiffness.

My personal analysis of my race indicates that lack of aerobic fitness hampered my performance in the second half of the race.  My legs were able to respond when called upon, but I could not sustain surges.  I am also not psychologically race fit.  I feel like I backed off when things got tough instead of pushing through the distress.  During the course of the race I remember retreating to the default position when things got tough that it was ok to relax and post a fair time rather than push for a better time.  I guess I need more miles, more races and more guts if I really want to run a fast 5k.   But first a healthy triathlon!

Stats are good!

March 3rd,  Saturday

1st place , Men 70+
 That guy to my left looks a lot younger than 70 years old!

Approaching this race with modest expectations, I did a thorough warm up and felt quite relaxed at the start. I ran the first Mile in 8:06 faster than I have run in many months. I ran the Second Mile cautiously in 9 minutes. I think my lack mileage showed up in the final mile though I tried to sustain by doing an ocassional 50 stride pickup and some serious belly breathing.  I finished strong and kept good form in the final one tenth of a mile. A final time of 27:59 exceeded my expectations and, surprisingly, earned me the first place medal in the men’s + 70 division.  I am satisfied with this performance considering the kind of training I have been doing. Fortunately I experienced no leg issues or foot issues during or after the race. Hopefully that will continue tomorrow when I wake up. I think we will be swimming and biking for a day or two to let my legs recover.

I did not take note of any Stats today.

March 1st, Thursday

Resting for the second day with no workout at all except for lazy romp in the pool for 15 minutes. This may be the most spectacular day yet in St Augustine. It’s about 82 degrees and there is a cool breeze blowing through the deck. We just had lunch outside watching the palm trees swaying in the breeze.

Stats are stable.

February 27th, Tuesday

Got out today for one hour of work on the bike and running.  It was a bit blustery as I set out on the bike to the Shood. After a two and a half mile warm-up ride, I set out to run 3 miles in preparation for Saturday’s 5K. I figured this would be my last running workout for the next couple of days. Each mile after the transition got a little faster with the final mile ending in 10:01.  I feel like it’s taking an extra long time to get warmed up these last few weeks. I have to decide how to approach the race on Saturday in terms of warming up. I think I will repeat the Hillsboro girls warm-up that I did last week before my time trial. My plan is to do that a good 30 minutes ahead of the race and just relax on the final 15 minutes as my capillaries dilate and my muscles get totally warm. The next few days will be light work only.

Stats –

I-Mid =3  I-Mad = 2

Weight =#151.6. After workout

Sleep = 8 hours

a.m.HR = 54bpm

Workout=1 hour -6.5miles. 3.5 bike, 3 run

February 26th, Monday

Well, today marks a 75th year on the planet. It was a very enjoyable day. The weather was comfortable: I swam and ran for 40 minutes in the pool (pretty solid workout).  Enjoyed a sumptuous seafood dinner with Arlene: then we spent an hour learning how to dance the Rumba. 

  Who could ask for anything more?

https://youtu.be/n85lS6l7adg

Stats-

Weight -#154

I-Mad = 1.    I-MID = 2/3.  Sore quads

SLEEP  = 9 hours

a.m.HR = 54bpm

Workout = In pool;  run 10,  swim 10, run 10, swim 10 (40 min. nonstop)

February 24th, Saturday

Today marks the first time I actually did a realistic triathlon sequence. My goal was to spend 10 minutes swimming, 10 minutes biking and 10 minutes running for a respectable 30 minutes in motion. As it turned out I did 14 minutes swimming in the pool, 19 minutes riding a bike and 14 minutes running for a total of 47 minutes. It was pretty interesting and didn’t seem too horrible.  My quadriceps are pretty painful this morning. So I think I’ll take a day of Beach walking.

It did, however, make me more aware of the logistics of the event.  The transition from swimming to biking involves drying feet, and socks, and shoes and tying stuff. I will definitely have to be better prepared and more dextrous in this stage to be happy with my performance.

Stable stats.

February 23rd,  Friday

This morning as the sun rose I ran my first early morning beach run since arriving in St Augustine. I am now sorry that I waited so long to do that. It was a lovely morning with about 64 degrees and calm. The sand was firm and flat. There were many more people enjoying the beach than I expected.

For the first 20 minutes of the run my quadricep muscles were not very responsive .  I think this is a result of  some hard  bicycle work two days ago . I ran south for 2.5 miles when my right calf  began to complain each time I added a 50 stride pick-up. So, I was forced to adjust my stride to keep firm establishing too much toe rise. That worked for a while until eventually the calf muscle loosened up. My original goal was to run 4 miles. So I stopped at the end of the fourth mile. I planned to walk the final mile back to the starting point. But my legs felt more energized than at any time during the run. So I began adding 50 stride pickups with walk /jog in between and did that for the entire last mile. So, I wound up doing more than I had set out to do. The mile times were not very fast, but I think I accomplished my goal to achieve  some very good aerobic work today. Also added was the bonus of about 10 pickups.

STATS –

Workout = 4 miles in 47.10 + 1 mile of pick-ups

I-MID = 2.    I-Mad = 1

Weight = #153

Sleep = 6  hours

a.m.HR = 54BPM

February 20, Tuesday

Today I completed my first triple workout. This morning I swam 42 laps in 25 minutes in the pool, which equals approximately 500m.  After a break I cycled 2 miles to my shaded neighborhood, ( henceforth to be referred to as the S’hood– Shaded ‘hood) ran 2 miles and cycled 2 miles back for a total of 6 miles in 50 minutes. The miles were in 10:20 and 9:20.

Stats-

I-mad = 1.      I-mid = 2/3

Weight =#151.6 After workout

Sleep = 9 hours

a.m.HR =  54bpm

February 18th and 19th, Sunday and Monday

After a day off yesterday and a long walk I had every intention of doing a workout today either on the bike or in the pool. It turned out to be such a nice Florida day that we went to the beach and stayedquite a long time. What frequently occurs when I spend a long time on the beach on a hot sunny day is my body becomes overheated. It’s not that I get a lot of sunburn because I hide hide from the Sun. But my body just absorbs a great deal of heat and stays hot.  So I decided to wait till the sun was setting and head over to the neighborhood for a shaded run. I underestimated the speed of the Setting Sun and up running in the dark after about a mile. This was a little bit spooky,so I made another decision. In the parking lot where I had left the car there were lights. So I decided it might be a good time to add speed into my workout regimen. Therefore I ran 10 times 60 stride pickups. The pace varied from about 9 to as quick as 7 minute pace for the runs. This is probably the fastest I’ve run since I’ve been to St Augustine which is okay. The entire workout only consisted of two miles but with 10 pickups I think my legs got a good needed workout. The Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K is 13 days away now which doesn’t leave time for too many good running workouts under my current plan.

Stats- stable and close to optimal

February 17th, Saturday

10 miles total with bike and 4 x .5 mile intervals, all under 4:30

Today I attempted my first repeat workout of this cycle of training. It was a warm day so I headed down to the neighborhood that has all the shade. The bike ride down and one lap around the neighbourhood equals two and a half miles. Then I did four times half mile repeats with a 1/4 miile walk in between each. I choose to walk in order to limit the number of foot strikes. That is the same reason that I ride a 20 minute bike ride as part of my warm up to eliminate excessive foot strikes. My goal was to run all of my half mile repeats under 10 minute pace. Want to try training under 10 minutes pace for a while. As it turned out I was able to complete each half mile in just under 9 minute pace. The average was 4:28 per  half mile. I felt like I could have run faster but chose not to out of caution. I am becoming convinced that my training is moving along as well or better than expected.

Stats-

I-Mad = 2.     I-Mid = 3/4.  Lots of heat and stretching in the a.m. .

Weight = 152.5

Sleep= 9 hours