May 8th, Monday

I am progressive!?

Nicely bundled on this 55* day, I headed out to the cinder track to try another workout. I began with a half mile walk and a half mile jog, and then some stretching.  I have decided to discontinue the use of active stretching drills as part of warm up for a while.  I have come to suspect that the uniqueness of these drills is not accepted kindly by my legs. My goal was to run three progressive miles with a one minute rest between each effort.  The miles were; 11:15,  10:13  and  9:27. I did not attempt any pickups along the way although I was tempted as my body was responding and warming up nicely. However, being only a month away from my race at Nationals, I am proceeding with great deliberation. Fortunately there were no aches in my hamstring or in my left foot during this work out. All-in-all, I consider this a step forward and a very positive workout.

Stats –

I-Mad = 0

I-Mid = 2

a.m.HR = 54BPM

Weight = #151

Sleep= 8 hours

Workout = 3 x miles @ 11:15,  10:13, 9:27. ?

May 6th,  Saturday

Eliud Kipchoge

4.65 miles in 57:04 on Jackson roads on a perfect running day.  ( 63*, cloud cover, wind calm)

No leg issues at that pace; longest run in a few weeks.

I think it is very helpful that I heated both my feet and my hamstring before the run. I also wore a  set of full  leg tights today and  compression socks.  I was determined not to try to push the pace , only to cover distance and time.  My legs warmed up nicely as I moved along and each mile dropped time without effort. I must admit tha Eliud Kipchoge inspired me  with his amazing 2 hour marathon effort yesterday.  He is the composed, efficient, running Monsta  that I aspire to be.

Editorial;

Even though the entire event was staged and NIKE should be ashamed of itself for exploiting these guys to sell shoes, Kipchoge solidified his position as the dominant distance runner of his generation.

Stats –

I-Mad = 0 ?

I-Mid = 1 ?

a.m.HR = 54BPM  ☺

Weight = #150  ?

Sleep = 9 hours ?

Workout = above ?

May 4th,  Thursday

Historic Longstreet Farm

Arlene and I spent a lovely afternoon at Holmdel Park today. We visited The Longstreet Farm for a while and had a nice walk around the lake.  In between I did a workout while Arlene learned more about the history of  The Longstreet Farm and took some pictures.  Having spent many summers on Grandmother’s farm during her younger years,  these scenes and smells bring back fond memories for Arlene.   I am constantly amazed at the complexity of the 18th century farm machinery displayed there.  No childhood farm memories for this guy!

My workout was three 12:30 miles around the XC starting line field.  It is just about a half-mile with the first half going uphill and the second half going downhill. That means I was going uphill for 6 x 400 meters. It was a decent aerobic workout. I had to moderate the pace for fear of re-injuring my tender hamstring muscle. I can still feel a slight tenderness in the area even at that pace.

Stats –

a.m.HR = 54BPM

II-Mad = 0

I- Mid = 2

Weight  = #152

Workout = 10 minutes walk, 3 miles  @ 12:30 pace.. 38:00

May 2nd and 3rd

Looking on the bright side… ? ?

Tuesday – Being careful about my hamstring strain, I spent half  an hour working on upper body in the weight room and 15 minutes in the whirlpool.  Still heating and rolling and taking anti-inflammatory drug.  I don’t think this is serious but it will take a day or two. It looks like I will be spending a lot more time running in the 10:30 to 11:30 per  mile range for a while.  It’s also beginning to look like I will be running 1500 meters on strength alone next month with little opportunity for any speed work.  ?

Wednesday –  jogged a very slow mile this morning around the block with very minimal discomfort in the hamstring muscle. Left foot feels fine. Later in the day while doing laundry I walked and jogged for about 50 minutes. Once again very little discomfort. So things are looking up.?

Stats – Stable

April 30th,  Sunday

Covered 4 miles in 43:00 tonight on the sidewalk of the  neighborhood.   Last mile was at 9: 57.?  Foot feels good.?

1500m race in Birmingham is six weeks today.??

May 1st,  Monday

I headed for the Cinders today with the intention of running 3 miles at 10:00 or better with a short break in between each.  It had only been about 15 hours since I ran last night’s 4 miler.  To warm up I did a set of dynamic exercises, jogged a mile and ran 4 x 50 stride pick-ups.  I started out optimistically on the first mile at what seemed like a 10:00 pace maybe slightly quicker. About 200m into it my right hamstring gave me a jolt that forced me to stop. I was shocked by the entire event and had to suspend the workout. I went home and iced my hamstring and took the first of the anti-inflammatory pills that I got from the doctor at Rothman Clinic. I had been deciding whether to begin taking these anti-inflammatory pills or not : but now that I had two issues to deal with, I decided I guess I have to do it.  I will have to baby my hamstring for a little longer and just work on strength.  It’s becoming apparent that my body needs more recovery time than I have been giveing it lately.

 Maybe I need to concentrate more on becoming a fit runner then on becoming a Monsta!

As Carl Patrini reminded me, “Discretion is the better part of valor.”

STATS –

I-MAD = 0

I-MID  = 1.5

WEIGHT = #152

SLEEP = 8.5 hours

Workout = Aborted miles☹

April 27th, 28th and 29th

Thursday was a day of anticipation about seeing the doctor Friday morning. I forced myself to run a 5k on the boardwalk after some warm-up stretches. (34:00)  This was the first time I actually experienced typical plantar fasciitis symptoms as my discomfort disappeared completely halfway through this run.  I wanted to be experiencing some discomfort in the morning when I was at the doctor’s office. I have to say finishing without pain was really nice.

Friday was an extremely interesting day. I had my visit with Dr. Stein at Rothman clinic at 10 a.m.   First they x-rayed my foot and found no signs of trouble.  When I brought up the topic of a cortisone shot I received a dramatic response. Dr. Stein, who is a relatively young woman, told me if she gave me a cortisone shot she would lose her job. She said the Rothman Clinic does not approve and would never administer a cortisone injection to a 74 year old man.  She recommended a month of physical therapy along with a anti-inflammatory prescription, and being fitted for orthotics after my race at Nationals. We discussed the relative merits and heat and ice for this condition. She finds no value in ice whatsoever. She recommends heat and stretching consistently throughout the day. Her specialty is fitting runners for orthotics which I made take her up on it later in the summer.

So I went home, took 2 ibuprofen and ran 4 miles on the boardwalk in 44:10 with no sign of pain in my left foot. I became so excited I ran the last mile and 9:57.  Things are looking up!

Saturday was it an unseasonably hot day in Atlantic City; so Arlene  and I took a long walk on the beach.  (92*)

Stats- Poor job of stat keeping last few days?… Back on track tomorrow…

April 26th,  Wednesday

After a few dynamic stretches and a one mile jog, I ran 5K in 35 minutes.  That was all I wanted to accomplish today.  Wanting to see if my left foot would continue to improve through running, I opted for a little longer run.  The last K was a little sore.  I iced immediately, but tonight the arch is grumbling a bit more.  So, I am glad that I have an appointment with the doc at Rothman Institute on Friday.

Is a cortisone shot in my future?  I have pretty much accepted the idea as it is getting  close to the crisis stage for training for the Nationals.  Six weeks is not much time.  To my surprise people close to me have recommended that I pursue that option. These are  people who are usually very conservative and generally opposed  to medical intervention.  The logic seems to be, ” What are you waiting for?  You have been training for this for over a year. How many more times do you think you going to get back to the Nationals?”   It’s reasoning I have difficulty refuting.  We’ll see what the doctor says on Friday. I am not Galen Rupp, but I would like to run a fast 800m and 1500m  in June.

Why not take a shot?  Ha,Ha!

Ice, stretch and sleep now………

Stats-  Holding steady

April 24th. and 25th

Monday–  Attempted 4 x 400m on cinders today @ under 2:00  (8:00 pace) with 2 minutes recovery.  Ran 1:45, 1:46 , 2:00 & 2:04.  Felt a little twinge in my hamstring on fourth one, so had to slow down the last 50 meters.  With warm-up and cool-down  a total of 2.7 miles. I iced the hamstring  and my sore foot after the run and both seemed pretty well today.  The workout was pretty demanding on both my aerobic and anaerobic system.   It was probably the first time I put myself in serious oxygen debt in a long time.

Tuesday – Today I used as a recovery day after five pretty solid days of work. At the exercise room I did 15 minutes of upper body work on the weights, a  10 minute bike ride and 10 minutes on the elliptical machine.  That was followed by 15 minutes of hot whirlpool to complete a relaxing evening. I hope to be back on this in this tomorrow.

Stats –

I-Mad = 0

I-Mid = 2

a.m.HR = 54BPM

Weight = #152

Sleep = 8 hours

Workout = above

April 23, Sunday

Seven solid miles on the 1 speed today in Jackson. Still stretching, icing & rolling sore foot.

Stats-

I-Mad = 0

I-Mid = 3

a.m.HR = 54BPM

Sleep = 8 hours

Weight = #153

Workout = 7 biking

April 22 & 23, Friday & Saturday

Feeding the monster….?

I had two very good days and work on Friday and Saturday.

Friday at the club I did 85 minutes of some serious work. That included 15 on the weights,  15 on the bike,  20 on the elliptical machine, 15 on the treadmill ( including a 10 minute mile) and 20 running in the pool with 8 x 100 to 200 stride bursts.  Love the complete body drain.

Saturday on the cinders I ran 3 miles which included  9 times 200 meter pickups all around 55 seconds. Remarkably my foot caused me very little discomfort today.  I think it has been responding to my aggressive efforts, icing, rolling and stretching, plus wearing the foot brace while sleeping.  And best of all running does not seem to be aggravating the foot. On another positive note my body seems to be recovering well from days of hard work. I hope that is an indication that my fitness is sound.

Having fun with Monsta concept.  It stems from an event that occurred with a runner a few years ago. His name was Karl Petrini. Karl was a fine young man who worked harder than just about anybody else. He was very loyal to me and believed everything I told him. Well, Karl made some remarkable progress in his senior year eventually braking 4:30 for the mile which, based on a 4:59 PR coming into the season, was a remarkable accomplishment. I became so exciting watching call run down some runners to win the distance medley for our guys at the Somerset County relays that I started yelling to our team on field, “Karl is a Monster!”   Well, with my Jersey City accent that comes out as “MONSTA”.  So the name stuck. Carl wrote to me a lovely letter shortly after he graduated thanking me for believing in him and for giving him a nickname that he still loves. I still have that letter, and it always brings a smile to my face.

Stats-

I-Mad =0

I-Mid = 2

a.m.HR =54BPM

SLEEP =10 HOURS

WEIGHT = #154

WORKOUT = ABOVE