Spent an hour in motion today. The first half was a walk with Arlene, and the second half was a slow 2.5 mile run. No soreness, but running with trepidation is no fun.
Feeling lost for words and musical inspiration these days.
Stats –
I-Mad – 2?
Weight – 155# ?
Sleep – 10 hours ☺
a.m.HR – 54 BPM
September 3 & 4, Labor Day weekend
On the down low
Five days from my 1500 meter race I’m still obsessing over legs that seem to be too tired, too often, too easy. Yesterday, which was Saturday, I took off completely because of nagging Achilles tendon pain. Today,this beautiful fall afternoon, I spent at Holmdel Park circling the half-mile field by the starting line while Arlene searched for photo opportunities. I was in motion for 40 minutes, but I really wouldn’t call it running. I walked two laps and ran very slow for 3 laps barely getting to a full stride at any point. So, I will continue on this very weak, very conflicted and probably very ineffective training series. I keep telling myself that after this Saturday I will be getting on a smart and consistent program for the next 9 months.
Stats – Steady
September 2nd, Friday, 11:00 p.m.
“Red Skies at Night, Sailor’s Delight”
After a pleasant afternoon along the Delaware River and a stop for drinks and appetizers at the Washington Crossing Inn, Arlene and I returned home as the sun was painting the western sky line a bright scarlet. We shared a short walk and then I continued onto a 30 minute comfortable run as night fell over the neighborhood. Starting to hear unwanted noise from Achilles tendon that will have to be monitored carefully.
Stats –
I-Mad – 1 or 2
a.m.HR – 54BPM
Sleep – 6 hrs
Weight – 155#
Workout.- As above, 30 minutes easy
Try to stay with the plan, please!
Today I did a little work on the track at Jackson Liberty High School during the cross-country practice. After a short warm-up and some drills I began to do a few pickups starting at about a hundred metres and eventually getting up to 200 meters. I did this for about two and a quarter miles and was feeling pretty wide open and strong. I decided to cut this short after I began to feel some pain in my left foot particularly in the Achilles tendon area. It has been such a long time since I’ve had any discomfort in that area I was acting out of an abundance of caution. I had actually disregarded my promise to myself that I would not try any extraordinary workouts before I got to run the 1500 meters next Sunday at the New Jersey Senior games. So I went home and ate and got ready to play cards as the card game was scheduled for my house this week. I’m writing this actually on Friday morning the 2nd of September. Fortunately my left foot did not demonstrate serious soreness or pain this morning. So I may have dodged that bullet. Maybe I can be disciplined enough to stick to some slow aerobic miles for the next 7 days and get past this self-imposed deadline on my training schedule.
Stats are stable.
https://youtu.be/YowipdsuBdw
Ran about 3 miles at Lake CARASALJO tonight during practice with the Liberty boys cross-country team. (You will have to look up the history of Lakewood, New Jersey to get the full story on Lake CARASALJO.) Keeping a low training profile for the next 9 days approaching the New Jersey Senior Games. My legs are still a little heavy and tight from Sunday’s 5K performance. Need to get to the Cinders tomorrow for some more serious work.
https://youtu.be/XivELBdxVRM
After a good night’s sleep of 10 hours and a lazy morning I headed for the clubhouse to get in a comfortable recovery. I didn’t have much in mind, only to break a sweat. Things worked out better than expected. I began with 20 minutes in the weight room doing upper body and core work. I felt very comfortable: so I got on the treadmill for what I anticipated would be a 10 or 15 minute walk. I felt so good walking that I pumped the speed and started to jog. Turned out to be a 30 minute episode which was very nice. I had now broken a serious sweat. I then headed to the pool which was totally beautiful. The water was very comfortable and the pool was empty: so I swam nonstop for 20 minutes in luxury. I finished with 15 minutes in the hot whirlpool to pamper my legs. Just an extraordinarily pleasant 70 minutes! I am a thankful and a lucky guy.
Stats –
I-Mad – 1
a.m.HR – 55 BPM
SLEEP – 10 HOURS ?
Weight – 153#
Workout – 90 minutes of happy recovery – lift, jog, swim
I ran a very controlled 5K today in 29 minutes today. I finished with no lag issues. So, all of my pre-race goals were accomplished. I was questioning my aerobic strength throughout the run and the 3rd mile was particularly difficult. So, what did I learn? I learned that my legs are pretty strong, and I’m pretty sure I could have run lot faster. I could surged at will but continually chickened out because of difficulty breathing. I need a lot of work to achieve the level of aerobic strength that I attend in the early spring when I ran 15:46 for 5 K. I have known all along that weight lifting and swimming were not going to do that trick. I’ve been reluctant to attempt longer runs for fear that my legs would break down. I can also use the extremely hot and humid weather has another excuse. But that must change has the cooler weather arrives. There remains one goal 2 weeks from today. That is to qualify for the National Senior Games. After that I can begin a serious training program without fear of losing out because of injury. The finals are in June of 2017. I can train with the Liberty boys in the fall in st. Augustine during the winter and in Atlantic City and Jackson in the spring. I will select some 5K races 2 monitor Fitness levels. My goal is to break 6 minutes for 1500 meters Nationals. I can hardly wait.
Visiting Hillsboro this morning everyone was very warm and welcoming. Linda and Ernie Walton are always most gracious and grateful when we meet. Linda and I I actually shared a moment of tears as we both thought about Robby Andrew’s performance at the Olympic trials and in Rio, and what might have been with Jason. Catching up with former runners their parents and Coach friends it was all so delightful. The event, the people, and the Run, plus breakfast with Coach Rich Refi made for a very enjoyable morning.
Kind of in a conundrum right now. Not sure what’s going on with my body. I have been having lots of aches throughout my shoulders and back. My calves are feeling a little sketchy. And my quadriceps are just totally sore. They are sore to movement, sore to the touch, and especially tender on the outside along the side of my leg. This is something I’ve never experienced. So, I have these two races coming up in the next couple of weeks. One is on Sunday at Hillsborough. That is a 5k which is just out of respect for Jason and his family, but I would like to have a reasonable performance. The second is two weeks later at which I would like to qualify for the senior Nationals. And why do I want to qualify for the senior Nationals? To my mind it gives me a goal to train for in the next 9 months and a reason to take a road trip to Alabama in June. So I have to get through this 5K on Sunday and then be sure I am fit and uninjured to run the New Jersey Senior Games in two weeks. In this quest, and out of an abundance of caution, I have decided to simply rest for 3 days prior to Sunday’s 5K. I am not very happy with the idea of taking 3 days off, but the unusual soreness and my quadriceps has led me to this decision. I have been heating and massaging quadriceps for the last 2 days and the soreness is decreasing but still present. I have tomorrow to continue to deal I guess. Then we will see what happens on Sunday and make plans going forward.
Stats –
I-Mad – 0 ?
A.m.HR – 54BPM ☺
Sleep – 7.5 hours?
Weight – 153# ?
Workout – 00000000000000 for 2 days!!!!!!!?