April 13 & 14, Monday & Tuesday

“Rest is component of the program not a suspension of it.”   I just coined that today.

Monday was a scheduled day off leg work because of tired legs and budding injuries.  I tried another playing card workout but only passed half a deck once again. The card workout is pretty simple and kind of fun but harder than I thought it would be. The first one I did I included squats and lunges in the list of activities. That turned out to be an over reach which made me sore for two or three days. This time I did only upper body activities and core no legs. Today’s activities were push-up, crunch, leg overs, wall arms, and one of my anti head dropping exercises. The idea is to do the exercises in a cycle while turning over a card to indicate the number for each exercise. Once again I only got to 26 cards before I had to stop for fear of hurting myself. This is going to be a long term goal to get 52 cards for this set of exercises. I’m counting on this isolation to help me.

Today I did a block of movement that involved biking walking, walking the dog and running. I covered 6.1 miles but it took an hour and a half. Block of time was interrupted a number of times by activities relating to grown children, call from brother Wille, wife and puppy dog.  Throughout the hour and a half my body never got over the feeling of being very used and tired. It might just be that I need another day of rest to get my energy level back and allow for my budding injuries to heal. Rich Refi always reminds me to act as I tell my athletes they should act.  🙂 🙂 🙂

STATS – stable

April 12,  Easter Sunday

“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.”   ~~~Doug Larson.   Don’t know why I chose this quote for today. Has nothing to do with this post. But I really liked it.

The O’Rourke family just finished a wonderful, homemade Easter dinner.  This is just a bonus of the quarantine world we live in now.

I have been getting some serious work done over the last few days. Friday I spent the day running about two and a half miles with Gracie and adding 15 + speed segments along the way. One of the problems is that when I start running quickly Gracie starts running even faster. The result is that she pulls me along at speeds that are not really safe for me. But I think I’m getting faster. LOL.  On Saturday my legs were predictably sore, so I went on the bike for 7 miles.  I added a 1-mile run with Gracie afterwards including a few speed segments. Today I ran 4.5 on heavy legs. The first 3.5 were quite a struggle and quite slow. Then about 40 minutes in I began to pick the pace up.  The final mile was better. Then I took the dog for a one mile recovery walk which was badly needed. Tomorrow will definitely be a non run, non bike day. I am planning to do that playing card workout which I will describe tomorrow after it is done.

Stats-

Weight  =  147lbs. !!!

Diet = 9

Sleep = 9/10 hours average

HR = 54bpm

Legs are  developing some random aches which is why I need a day off tomorrow. I feel quite strong aerobically and you would be going a lot further on my runs if I didn’t see her doing some damage to my legs. I guess that’s just an old man thing that I have to tolerate.

“The law of nature is, do the thing and you shall have the power:

but they who do not the thing have not the power.”

                     Ralph Waldo Emerson

I spent considerable time today looking in my quotations book for a meaningful message for myself.   I think Emerson has captured what I needed.  So, I will “do the thing.”   I will run, and I will write because it makes me happy and it makes me a  person I like better.

Fortunately, I am safe, healthy and injury-free. I am motivated and energized. I have established two competitive goals for when the world has returned to normal.  I will attempt a PR in the 5K at the annual Jason Walton Memorial Run in Hillsboro in August. I will qualify for the National Senior Games at the New Jersey Senior Games in both the 800 and 1,500 meters in September.

What follows is a summary of my training for the last few weeks since I stopped entering posts in this log.  Since that time I have been recording my workouts on a table calendar. In 19 days I have recorded 14 workouts either running or biking or exercising Rob’s puppy, Gracie.  She is fast and she wears me out. I have been running many speed segment during these workouts. In addition to doing surges with Gracie, I have done frequent, quick 120m grass segments on a field that is very forgiving on the legs and feet.     As a result my fitness level has remained relatively stable. Interestingly, my weight has dropped to consistently under 150 lbs even as low as 145 at times.   It is my impression that I am eating smaller portions at all meals these days as a result of a higher awareness of the possibility of food shortages. I don’t find this distressing at all.

I hope everyone who is reading this is safe and well. I am happy to be back!

March 31, Tuesday

I am finding less and less motivation for writing even though I am staying in motion. We have the whole family here in Jackson plus a huge 7 month old sheepadoodle named Gracie who is currently terrorizing the entire house.

March 20, Friday

So, since the last time I have written a post the world has turned completely upside down. I am a 77 year-old guy who has never seen anything close to this in my lifetime.  Everything that used to matter seems to pale in the face of this disaster. I have been working out fairly consistently,  but have not been motivated to write about it. The only goal now seems to be survival. I am not complaining because I am luckier than most. Is just striking to see the world come to a halt in such a short period of time. It’s a stunning  and unwelcome reminder of the fragility of our society and of life…..

 March 9, Monday

Seven  miles on the tattered beach bike, but on the road.  This old hunk of metal scoots along for 8 weeks on 1 tire air fill up each winter, remarkable.

March 10,  Tuesday

On a warm with overcast 70 degree day on the beach I ran 5 Progressive miles Non-Stop. I feel like it was one of my better long runs in a while.   Mile breakdown was 11:14,  11:33,  10:57,  10:09,  9:28.     53:23 total

This is a quick summary of the cryptic notes from my training calander for eight post-race days.

Sunday  3/1 –  Walking

Monday  3/2 – Leg swings and walking

Tuesday   3/3 – lazy day, 30 minute bike

Wednesday   3/4 – good beach run! 5 miles covered width 6 x 1 minute SS in Middle 59:40

Side story – Today was definitely a weather anomaly. First it was extremely warm reaching 88 degrees by early afternoon which allowed me to have my good workout today. Then at about 5pm with the temperature still in the eighties, Arlene and I returned to the beach for a very pleasant walk enjoying the warm southern breeze. The sand was soft between our toes, the sun was setting colorfully in the west and the beach was ours.    We were so touched by this lovely experience that we both remarked how important it is to savor it all  as these special moments occur.  We had walked about three-quarters of a mile holding hands and feeling thankful. THEN IT HAPPENED.  The moment was shattered. A bitter cold front descended on the beach.  Within seconds the wind exploded and the temperature dropped 15° literally. We were startled and had to turn around to walk back 3/4 of a mile into a 20 mile-an-hour wind that was brutally cold. We trudged on with Arlene huddling behind me to shield her from the brutal wind. We finally made it to our car and laughed as we shivered and thought of our mutual admonitions to “cherish the moment.”

It was truly the most extreme weather change that either of us had ever experienced within a few seconds. So folks, remember to cherish those moments. LOL

Thursday   3/5 –  Rest

Friday  3/6 -2 miles on beach at 10 to11 mpm.  1.6 on boards with frequent SS. Good!  50:00

Saturday  3/7 Rest

Sunday  3/8 –  2 miles on beach, Plus 6 x 200m and 3 x 400m on boards @ 8:00

March weather in Northern Florida has not warmed up as normally expected. It has been mostly overcast quite chilly and windy as hell almost every day. By chillyof course I mean in the mid-fifties not exactly frozen, but it was 70 degrees in Hoboken today!  So, I’m getting tough by running into the teeth of wind, but we are not getting a very good tan.  I have only run one day with my shirt off in 7 weeks. Humbug.

Stats are holding steady amidst my post-race doldrums and the uncooperative weather.

February 29, Saturday, Race Day

Well, I was the oldest guy in the race of 420 runners. I finished 67th overall. I was second in the 70 + division which had an amazing number of 14 runners  all of whom were younger than me.  The winner was a repeat from last year, a 71 year old guy from Michigan who ran 24:22. That’s pretty good. But my time of 26:48 was a personal-best 5K and made me very happy. I finished the race with no body aches or complaints.  Below are some thoughts on the race.

I felt well rested and ready after a very light week. As I warmed up I still worried about my decision to hit mile two as hard as possible.  I joked with Arlene about “going in the Black Box.”  I was relaxed as the race began and was running at a relaxed 8:30 pace maybe for too long. Eventually I picked up the pace and finished mile one feeling pretty comfortable at 8:09. I summoned the courage to push mile 2 for an 8:13 outcome. The math was good, 16:22 for 2 miles. It seemed like I had a chance to break 26 minutes if I could sustain a solid pace through mile number three.  I wasn’t in distress, and I thought the pace was holding up.   But it had slipped to 9:13. I can’t say I actually went in a Black Box, but I also don’t think I punked out. During the final 600m I felt like I was just about hanging on. When I crossed the finish line and the clock was still reading under 27 minutes, I was delighted!!  I was breathless and a little unsteady past Finish Line but I recovered quickly. Thankfully, throughout the race and afterward my body showed no signs of injury.  I hope I can say the same tomorrow. All in all this positive step forward makes me believe that that elusive 25-minute mark may be attainable for this old guy. Keep working.

February 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 –  Sunday  thru Friday

Sunday – Rest

Monday -3 miles in 31:30 + 2 X 1:00 @ 7:15 and 6:15. on beach

Tuesday -Resting

Wednesday – 30 minutes of work at YMCA exercise room

Thursday – Walking  only

Friday –  Easy jog

It seems like I have done a good amount of solid work and added a positive tune up 5k in preparation Saturday’s race.  I hope a very light week will set my muscles up for a successful performance.

February 22,  Saturday

The weather turned angry in St Augustine for the last 3 days. Temperatures dropped into the low 40s and the wind was howling nonstop for 72 hours. I was lucky to get in a comfortable 30 minute recovery run on Thursday. Yesterday was just too windy to attempt any form of outdoor workout. Today was warmer. So I braved the gusting winds to run 5 miles around the neighborhood with about 14 SS added in 61:43.   The result exceeded the expectations I had when I started. So I was happy with the day.

STABLE STATS