November 27, Friday

2 mile warm up

200m, 400m, 600m untiimed to get fully warmed up and loose.

800m in 4::34

2 x 1000m  in 4:54 & 4:48

800m cool down

5 miles total

The original goal as I headed to the Cinders was to run some 1000s in 5 minutes or better.  I noticed  a very unfamiliar ache in my right knee as I was driving, and it continued to hurt as I started to warm up.  I can’t remember how this started, and I don’t think it has come from running. But it was quite painful, really.  So, I was hesitant and did a really slow, long warm up hoping that it would abate as my body heated up.  It turned out that lateral movements were the most painful and straightforward running was not so bad.  Still being cautious, I decided to choose the ladder rather than go directly to the thousands. By the time I got to the 800m segment, I was feeling very loose and relaxed and ready for some significant intervals.  In the end it seemed like it was enough to get in two of the thousands in under five minutes and call it a day.   Not bad under the circumstances.

Back home for ibuprofen, ice, chocolate milk and Thanksgiving leftovers

STATS are good except for inexplicable knee pain.

November 23rd, Monday

That’s it. On a windy afternoon I ran 5 miles at Turkey Swamp Park in 57 minutes.  It felt a little raggedy in the beginning, but I smoothed out as time passed.  Each mile was a little quicker, with a final mile time of 10:12.  It amounted to some well needed aerobic work.

Stats are stable.,

November 16 to 20,

Kenny Moore referring to coach Bill Bowerman:         ” He tailored our training to the peculiarities of our talents.  When he made me take extra days of rest between workouts, I improved so much it was an epiphany.”

16th- Monday,  two recovery miles at Turkey Swamp Park

17th- Tuesday, Lots of walking on heavy legs.  Still recovering from Sunday’s 10K

18th-  Wednesday,  Off.  The day just got away.  TOO COLD!!

19th- Thursday,    A solid five miles on the cinders with 20 speed segments along the way.           7 x 100 m +   13 x 200m.      SS at 7 to 8 minute per mile pace.  56:40

20th- Friday,   10 x 100m SS on grass with  Gracie.. QUICK STUFF!  40 minutes in motion

STATS- Diet, sleep and weight are steady and sound. No leg or foot issues at this                      time.    🙂  🙂

November 16, Monday

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”

T.S. Elliot

13th, Friday- Just walking

14th, Saturday – lots of running and walking around Thompson Park this morning at the Sectionals cross country Championship meet.  Refi’s Hillsborough girls got 4th in   Group IV, about as expected.  Gracie had a good time in the dog park.

15th, Sunday –  This was a pretty significant 10k run from my house to Turkey Swamp Park, around a 2-mile loop and back. I started out with low expectations, but quickly made the decision to try for a 6 mile run. I have not  been doing a lot of over distance, Ernst Van Aaken, work lately so I figured I needed it.  The run emphasized for me the value of the dirt trails at Turkey Swamp Park. I could clearly feel the difference of the impact on my feet between the roads and dirt trails.  I have concluded that in the future I will drive the two miles to the park, run, 6 miles on the trails, and drive back home. My feet and legs will thank me.

I reminded myself throughout the run that time was not an important factor today, but still couldn’t resist checking the splits afterwards.

Total time – 70 minutes

Final five miles – 54:49 progressively quicker

Fortunately stats are holding steady and sound.

November 12, Thursday

I waited all day for the rain to stop. I believed the Weather Bug prediction that it was going to stop between 4:00 and 5:00 o’clock.  It started out promising, but the rain began shortly into my run and I had to decide whether to cut it short or tough it out. I was feeling pretty good and had some rain repellent clothing on.  So, I decided to go for it the full five miles. It turned into a pretty solid run with each mile becoming progressively quicker ending with a final, fifth mile in 9:20.  I was soaked to the skin but feeling kind of hard-ass when I finished.  Chocolate milk, quick hot shower, hot chicken noodle soup, ice cream for dessert, cold beer, bed!

Life is good!

Steady stats…..

November 12, Thursday

A

Monday- off

Tuesday- 5 miles on the bike

Wednesday – 3+ miles on the track at Jackson Liberty High School in the rain. I added 10 Speed Segments of 120m  along the way, all pretty fast.  Felt good!!

Stats solid.

November 1st to November 8th, Sunday through Sunday.

I remained busy during this recovery week running in excess of 20 miles at various locations. I fit in an 800m time trial on the cinder track on Saturday the 7th. I finished 800m in 3:22 feeling pretty strong. It would have been nice to run under 3:20 but it wasn’t in the cards.   After full recovery I ran a 400 meter in 1:33. On the following day I ran 5 miles on the Cinders in 55 minutes with a final mile in 9:03.

Steady stats.

November 2nd, MondayA beautiful morning for a  cross country race at Holmdel Park

The sixth 5k run was a return to Holmdel Park on Saturday, October 31st.  My finish time was a respectable 28:49.   That is a 24-second improvement from the same course five Saturdays ago.  I was hoping for a more significant Improvement then that after 5 weeks.  When I consider that the main goals for signing up for this six-week series were to focus my training and insure one hard training run each week, I accomplished both.  Running  six, hilly, trail courses in six weeks was a demanding, humbling, illuminating and gratifying experience.

My next focus will be to find a flat, road 5K sometime around Thanksgiving to see if I have in fact improved my fitness for road racing.  I would also like to get to a local track and run a trial 800m or 1500m.

Stats remain stable and good.

October 25, Sunday

#4 5k on October 17th at Big Brook park was another hilly course.  I managed a 28:23, fastest time yet.  Still weak on the hills, quadriceps burn and stride is reduced to mere inches as I struggle to crest the incline.  Recovery occurs quickly enough and stride returns to normal until the next hill.  Mile splits were 8:09, 9:57, 10:03.  Maybe I’m going out too fast. The early mile was basically flat

#5 5k returned to Tatum Park on October 24th.  I ran a 1I:29, 57 seconds faster than last time, admittedly on an altered course that could be judged as slightly easier.  The positive takeaway from this one was that on the Hills I did not experience what I described in the foregoing paragraph. I crested the hills rather easily with no burning and in semi normal stride.   I did start out much more under control, maybe that was a factor.  I also did a much less intense warm up than I did in all the previous races. I approached the race with no intention of trying to run very fast, only to make it a good Saturday morning workout.  I also experienced some pretty severe pain in my left calf muscle for the first mile. At one point I wondered if I was actually going to finish the race. Somewhere along the way the pain subsided and I managed to finish, but my calf muscle was very sore after the race and still is 24 hours later.  I plan to have a very light recovery week and run a killer 5K at Holmdel Park on Saturday to conclude this six-week series with a bang. The goal from the beginning has been to refocus my training which had lost its sharpness during the pandemic months.  I am convinced that I have become more fit, but it has also taken a toll on my body.  That was also evidenced by my lack of enthusiasm for posting my workouts over this period.  Failing to post about my daily workouts was rare during the past 5 years of this +70Runner experience.  Most nights I could hardly wait to describe the fun, the joy, the weather, the topography, my times and splits and distances in great detail, not to mention bragging about my race performances whenever possible.  I feel that I am beginning to reignite that “Schoolboy Heart” attitude.   With regards to Jimmy Buffet:

October 16th,  Friday

– Today was going to be a light day anyway. But since it is raining and cold,  it makes it an even better day to just rest.

– Turkey Swamp Park is quickly becoming my favorite workout venue. I ran my last two workouts there on Wednesday and Thursday. The 2-mile dirt trail that I have been running is level, obstacle free, tightly packed dirt and very gentle on the feet and legs.  Usually I passed no one along the entire 2-mile tract.

– On Wednesday I got out late. So, I decided to run a quick work out on the only significant hill on the trail.  Starting on the flat and running slightly over the crest of the hill it is 75 strides, about 75m.  I ran up the hill quite fast, jogged down and repeated with no rest 10 times.  The  legs was surprisingly light and quick after yesterday’s workout. (Elegant 8’s)

– On Thursday I  planned to run four comfortable miles on a chilly afternoon. The first two mile loop was run with sweats on and rather moderately.  Second loop I stripped down and decided to run a tempo with the goal of maintaining 10 minute pace throughout.  I accomplished that goal with relative ease. So, the outcome was 2 miles Van Aaken pace and 2 miles at Tempo pace.  That was a little more effort than I had anticipated for the day, but it’s all good.

–  I was awoken by cramps in both my calf muscles in the early hours of this morning. I am going to attribute that to improving the quality of my training for the last 3 weeks.

Stats-

Weight is stable mid 140’s

Sleep is good, 10 hours last night

Diet is healthy   (Stopped worrying about ice cream and beer.)

Legs and feet are feeling healthy. No soreness on waking up in the morning.