January 14, Saturday

Lots of drills and running for 40 minutes in the pool today.  Then 20 minute hot whirlpool.   Happy to get in work with no impact on legs.

January 13,  Friday

It was pretty shocking how the temperature was dropping every minute this afternoon as I begin my run. I misjudged the weather conditions. So, underdressed, this was my first actual cold winter workout. But the cinder track was  perfect today .  It was soft  and absorbent like a  modern day rubberized track . It took almost 30 minutes with jogging, one leg drills and stretching to feel warm. The final half-hour was really solid work, and I left the track feeling that I had gained something.

4.38 miles on the cinders with various pickups, 1 hour total with stops for one foot drills and stretching.

Miles.  1- 14:00. 2- 11:48  3- 10:42.  4-11:38. +4:27

I ran a 200m pick-up at 8:00 pace each lap in miles 2-3 & 4.

Icing and rolling after.

Stats –

I-Mad = 0

a.m.HR = 55BPM

Weight = #155

Sleep 7 hours

Workout = above

January 11, Wednesday

” GONE IN 60 SECONDS”

On this unseasonably warm afternoon I decided to test he cinder track.  The melted show posed a threat of mushy cinders, but I figured it might be better than slushy roads.  The track had some soft spots and wet spots.  So I devised a brilliant plan to mark off a 200m segment of dry track to run some 8:00 pace repeats.   That would be 60 seconds per 200m.   It was a shot, and I wasn’t sure if it was even possible.  I found two permanent fixtures that were 200m apart and began fully dressed.  Layers were discarded as the workout progressed.  To my surprise I was able to complete 8 x 200m all under 60 seconds rather comfortably. The temptation to extend to 10x was present, but I stopped at 8x out of caution.  The whole event (location, weather conditions and workout) was quite exhilarating !  I can’t imagine a more positive January workout  at this stage of my training.  For logging purposes the interval times are listed, noting 60 second recovery between each 200m. ( 53, 59, 54, 58, 53, 53, 46, 56 )  Total time with warm-up and drills and cool down was 56 minutes and 3 miles. Ending HR was 144 BPM.  No leg or foot aches.

Stats are stable.

January 9th,  Monday

Free Floating ………

I procrastinated for most of today for two reasons. First, it was very cold and I was pretty much chicken to go out. Second, I really was not looking forward to running on the treadmill in the gym again today. However, as I w,as preparing to leave a flash struck me. Even though I’m not allowed  to swim because of my cataract operation, I can run in the water because I don’t have to put my head in water to run. This amazing insight reinvigorated me, and I headed to the clubhouse with enthusiasm. I had not done any water running for more than a month I suppose. So I managed to run for 25 minutes with   6 x the 30-20-10 surge sequence spaced throughout.  I think it was a very good aerobic workout and a very good anaerobic effort. All that accomplished with no foot strikes. Amazing!          Better weather for the next few days.

Stats-

I-Mad = 1

a.m. HR = 56BPM

Sleep =9 hours

Weight = #155

Workout = 25 minute water run with six 30-20-10 surge⚓

January 8th,  Sunday

Took the day off on Saturday to recover from Friday’s cinder pickups and watch the snow.

Today I spent 30 minutes in the gym.  10 on bike, 20 on tredmill. Last mile @ 10:00. Then 10 minutes in the whirlpool before watching the Giants get their ass kicked by Aaron Rodgers. I think he will win the Superbowl this year.

January 6th, Friday

Back to running pickups …..

There’s something women like about a pickup man!

On this chilly, January afternoon I headed to the cinder track with the goal of running four safe miles. Well padded, I started slowly, stopped for some warm up leg drills, a few lunges and stretches.  I inserted  70 to 100 stride pickups on each straightaway of the half-mile track, 11 in all over the 4 miles.  My legs feel better on each lap and I was experiencing no aerobic difficulty. I stopped only out of an abundance of caution even though I felt that I could have gone much further. So far the cold weather has not presented any difficulty. I am happy to be feeling comfortable running pickups again because I think that is one of the keys  to achieving maximum fitness.  I am glad I got this workout in before tomorrow’s predicted snowfall. Now iceing, rolling and drinking chocolate milk.

Stats –

I-Mad =1

Sleep = 7 hours

Weight = #154

a.m.HR = 54BPM

Workout = 4 miles, 11 pickups,  60 minutes ?

January 5th, Thursday

I set out expecting to walk about 20 minutes to recover today, even left my watch home.  But, since my legs felt so fresh, I started to jog a little.  I ended up running for a half hour at a pretty solid pace, improving as I went along.  Pleased to be able to do a little more than expected on this cold day.          (2.5 miles)

Stats –

I-Mad = 0

a.m.HR = 55BPM

Weight = #154

Sleep = 10 hours

Workout = Steady, relaxed 30 minutes recovery

January 1,2, 3
The last 3 days were New Year’s Day on which we had the annual O’Rourke family Christmas party, and two very bitter cold rainy days. I managed to get in one session at the clubhouse. I decided to try the 20 minute bike workout suggested by Dr. Mirkin because time was short. This consists of five-minute warmup and 5 minute cooldown with 10 minutes in the middle of 20 second full effort bursts every minute. It does get the heart rate up and fatigue the legs for a considerable time afterwards. I followed up with a very refreshing 15 minutes in the hot whirlpool. That was on the 2nd.  1/3 was off.

Poor statting these days……

January 4th,  Wednesday

During my run today I decided to give myself a little time trial.  Since the last five or so months have been marked by inconsistent training segments, I have been wondering what is my current level of fitness.  So, when my legs felt good today at the beginning of my run,  I decided I would turn it into a one mile time trial.  I had warmed up and done leg drills indoors and had layered plenty for the Run. After a mile jog, I ran six stright-aways as I gradually delayered.  I set out with a goal of breaking 10:00 for the mile.  Early on my watch was reading closer to 8:00, which kind of shocked me.  I don’t believe I have  run anything close to that in months.  So I settled down and  held a  steady pace  for the next  minutes.  It was quite windy throughout.   I would judge my perceived effort to be 75 /80%.   The final time for the mile was 9:08!   I was pleasantly surprised.  The total workout covered  4.33 miles and took 1 hour.  The forecasts suggest that this will be the last of the very nice winter training days for a while as temperatures will be dropping into the twenties for the foreseeable future.  I am glad to have gotten this indicator today.

Stats –

I-Mad =1

Sleep = 8 hours

a.m.HR = 55BPM

Weight  = #154

WORKOUT = 4.33 miles  in 1 hour with 1 MILE trial @  9:08

December 31, Saturday

End of year 4 on a crisp  New Year’s Eve

Felt surprisingly good today.  Ran 4 Progressive miles today feeling no ill effects anywhere.  I spent about a half an hour warming up indoors today.   I have become able to do a series of drills standing on one leg.   I layered up about four deep before I left because I really don’t like to be cold. After I returned I weighed my wardrobe  and it came up in excess of 8 pounds (lol).  Still started out very slowly. I inserted 5 50 stride pickups each time I came to a slight incline. Afterwards I iced and rolled my feet.

Mile splits;

13:44,    12:01,     11:19,    11;08.     =    48:12

Stats are steady.

HJ