Swam for 30 minutes today amounting to the longest consecutive swim so far. The water was wonderful and the temperature was 75 degrees.
Later Arlene and I walked for 40 minutes on the beach in the late afternoon sun. We even found a sandcastle on the way.
Stats-
I-Mad= 1 . I-Mid= 3
Weight= #154
Sleep- 7 hours
Today may have marked the transition from Winter to Spring in St Augustine area. The day was bright and sunny after a cloudy morning. The weather forecast for the next two weeks seems to be in the seventies and even 80s going forward. This would be a welcome change from the cold dreary weather that has been apart of how vacation for the last 2 weeks.
Today I took the bike out for a long 10 mile ride. I had intended to intersperse 30 pickups of 20 seconds each along the way. That would be a full 10 minutes of solid heart pumping. However along the way it became evident that 30 might be a little bit too ambitious. So I wound up doing 20 pickups throughout the one hour and 5 minutes it took me to ride 10 miles. I feel like I got a solid workout.
I-Mad= 2 I-Mid= 4. Effects of fast mile
Seep= 7 hours
Weight= #154:-) ft
I always surprise myself by how nervous I become when it is time trial day. But, I must say that I had not put myself on the clock for a fitness check for many months. The fact is I have not attempted to run a mile under 10 minutes since last June. So, I approached today’s test with trepidation . Yes, my body has been telling me that I have been working hard; swimming, biking and kinda slow running. But, since I arrived in St. Augustine, I have not logged a mile faster than 10:50. The modest goal was, therefore, to run a mile under 10 minutes.
After biking the one mile course to my favorite running neighborhood, I decided to try a modified (74 yr old) version of a warm-up procedure that Rich Refi has been using with the Hillsborough girls distance team. It includes a gradually accelerating 10 minute run followed by a series of timed pick-ups with full recovery. I did 4 x 20 second and 4 x 10 second strides gradually increasing the speed. I liked the way it felt. The weather was perfect at 62°, no wind and heavy overcast.
I began to run with limited expectations and checked my watch consistently throughout the run. To my surprise during the first minute my watch read 7:15. This was both encouraging and frightening. Was I about to crash and burn during the next five minutes trying complete this mile?! At around .25 my watch was still reading under 8:00 pace and I was feeling no aerobic or muscular distress. I began to relax and enjoy the run a little and reached the halfway point in 8:06. I became emboldened and decided to try to pick up the next 400m and reached the .75 mark with my watch now reading under 8:00 pace. I began to realize I could run under 8:00 if I held it together through the final quarter. I focused on relaxed form, elbows back and belly breathing and finished, breezing, in 7:57.9.😊
I truly surprised myself. Maybe there is a chance I can run a decent time at the Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K on March 3rd. Getting pretty excited!
I jogged a little and rode three more miles on bike getting back home.
On the way I stopped in a local cafe called Little Maggie’s for a late breakfast of two eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, wheat toast and good coffee.
A good day…indeed!
Stats – Who cares?
February
I had very smooth and pleasant and relaxed workout today on the bike and in the pool: 5.5 miles on the bike in 30:00 and 20:00 non-stop swimming. It was a classic, February, St. Augustine Beach afternoon; sunny, breezy and high 60 ‘s. Also picked up a little color from the sun along the way. Also working on the tan……..!
Thoughts while enjoying coffee and homemade oatmeal cookies on a sunny deck with a gentle breeze………
Saturday was a total recovery day. Arlene and I spent a pleasant afternoon listening to music on The Conch pier. We did manage a 30 minute walk along the inlet while waiting for the music to start. We then enjoyed a tasty dinner at Mango Mango,one of our favorite local eateries.
So, after a 10-hour sleep the discomfort in my right leg seems about 90% better. I guess that coming up shortly to that 75 year-old marker I have to reconfirm with myself that recovery is an integral part of the program, not a suspension of the program.
Stay smart, +70Runner guy.
I-Mad and I-Mid = 2
a.m.HR =54BPM
Weight = #153
Sleep =10 hours
Today’s training session was scheduled to be a run. It began on a negative note. As I walkedtoward the beach to begin my run, I felt a significant discomfort in the area of my shin on my right leg. I was at a loss to figure out the cause since I had not run for two days. My first thought was shin splints, but it doesn’t seem as if I have been running enough miles to cause shin splints. The sharp pain occurred with each impact. So, I decided to do a longer non-impact warm-up in the hopes that the discomfort would decrease as I drew more blood to the area. But that plan was only marginally successful. Still determined to accomplish something on the day, I entered the beach, found the softer sand and began to trudge along very slowly still experiencing quite a bit of discomfort. Eventually I discovered that the tracks created by the cars that ride the beach were invitingly soft and flat. Running in these tracks I experienced less discomfort as the time went by. Ultimately I managed to stay in motion for 59 minutes including warm-up. All of it was slow with mile times around 12 minutes. I stopped running at the one hour mark not because of any aerobic discomfort but for fear of causing further damage to my leg. I actually finished the run with a few 50 stride pickups. I then walked the 16 blocks home. The messages from my body told me that despite the slow pace of the workout I had worked very hard. I suppose running in loose sand takes quite a bit of toll. I guess I can say is that I salvaged something out of a potentially disastrous day. I now have two days to rest my legs and hope that the unexplained pain will find a way to resolve itself. The last two nights I have slept like a log which indicates to me that I have been putting some demanding work on my body.
40 minutes on the bike plus 15 minutes of upper body weights
Steady stats.
After driving our four-wheeler on the beach and setting up our new beach umbrella tent device today, we enjoyed the first 70 degree weather we have experienced on this trip to St Augustine. My body is feeling a bit warm/cold as I write this at 10pm. I hope I did not get too much sun earlier today.
Afterwards, as the sun was setting, I swam my 42 laps in the pool, which I have determined equals just about 500m. It took me almost half an hour to do that.
I-Mad = 0. I-Mid = 2
a.m.HR = 54BPM
Weight = #152.6 😊
Sleep = 7 hours, hot and restless🤐
Workout = 500m swim, 30 minutes
A cool, 57*, sunny day… Biked 25 minutes out o favorite neighborhood, ran 3 miles at 12:30, 11:30 and 10:30, biked home again for 25 minutes. A pretty draining workout! I feel like my running times are slower than I had previously been able to do and not sure why. But I can usually increase speed as time goes on as seen in today’s 3 mile run. At the outset after the 25 minutes on the bike, it was pretty uncomfortable trying to get into a running rhythm. I will have to get used to this transition if I am going to complete a successful triathlon. I am tempted to do a one mile time trial in the near future. However, I am still a little nervous about picking up speed because of the effect it seems to have of making my feet sore. It is indeed a pleasure to wake up in the morning and not feel pain.
I-Mad and I-Mid = 1
a.m.HR =54BPM
Weight = #154
Sleep = 8 hours
Sunday- On a very rainy day I ran under the cover of the walkway for 35 minutes with a good number of pretty serious surges, albeit short ones.
Monday- 30 minutes in motion in the pool; 10 run, 20 swim