January 23, Thursday

North wind steady at 18-20mph and 63*

Today’s run turned into a much tougher event than expected.  Running south on the beach with the steady north wind pushing me along from behind, I drifted, easily, much further than I realized.  When I turned north onto Route A1A, there were nearly 3 miles of tough,  wind-buffeted roads to go.  I could feel  the effect of 5 miles on my legs from yesterday as I  hammered toward home.  Those final 3 miles took the heaviest toll on my legs that I have felt.  I wondered if I was doing more damage than good at times. Tomorrow will tell I guess.   Legs are sore tonight.

Plus-      I think that I underestimate every year the negative effects  on my body of those two  days of eight hour driving.

Stats-

Weight  = 150lbs

Diet = 7/8  Haven’t gotten motivated to start healthy home cooking yet.  Soon.

a.m.HR = 54bpm

Sleep  = 9 hours average

Foot indexes are good @ 2

Need to do better at stretching and body weights.

January 22, Wednesday

No relevance. Just like this picture of Gracie!

The first few days in Florida have been a weather roller coaster. Day one was Sunday about Iwhich I posted a delightful run in the beautiful 75 degree weather on the beach. Monday and Tuesday were a weather nightmare with howling winds and temperatures in the high 30s. It was basically impossible to get out and run. Today the winds we’re still strong but the temperature edged into the fifties. I was determined to get out. So I drove to my favorite St Augustine running neighborhood which is sheltered from the worst of the gusts. It was very satisfying to complete a full five miles in 1 hour and 3 minutes with a few speed segments interspersed throughout. So my reference to neighborhood transmits a double meaning. The welcome to our new Florida neighborhood has been a bit chilly. But the welcome to my favorite running neighborhood was much warmer. 🙂

Lazy stat  keeping. Better tomorrow.  Nothing apparently negative.

January 19, Sunday

Photo by Arlene

75* and overcast with a warm breeze from the SW

WINTER IN ST. AUGUSTINE. 🙂

Today was our first day on the beach. Arlene and I walked a mile as warm up. Then I ran 4 miles in 46 minutes while Arlene captured the wonders of nature.  This beach never fails to amaze me, inspire me and ease me into a state of peace.  I look forward to 8 weeks of amazing, inspiring and peaceful training.

Stats to follow.  LOL

November 14,  Thursday

January 15,  Wednesday

Sunny and 57*  🙂  🙂   🙂

Covered 6 miles today on a stunning January afternoon, perfect for a running workout.  First mile warm up.  Then 10 X 600m with 200m recovery @ 9:30 pace.  Final 5 miles in 58 minutes.

I had planned to run at 10 minute per mile pace today because I believe that at 10 minutes per mile pace I do not get injured. So, after a 1-mile warm up and some stretching, I decided I would run 600m repeats on the 800m track with a 200m recovery jog and walk. I calculated that 3:45 was 10 minute pace.  So, I figured that if I stayed under 4 minutes per repeat I would be close to my goal.  It quickly became clear that the 10 minute pace was a little slower than my body felt like running today.  I continually hit 3:30 or better comfortably. The pattern was to go off every 6 minutes, almost equal rest.  I think that I remained consistently in a very positive aerobic training zone throughout the five miles. Finished feeling strong and healthy and happy for the strength to complete a solid workout.

Stats are solid and steady.

January 13, Monday

A thought for high school cross country runners…..:-)

“8If you don’t have confidence, you will always find a way not to win.”

On Sunday I managed only 2+ miles of work on the Freehold Boro track with 6 x 100m SS.  It’s a long story not worth repeating.

On Monday I muscled through 4.25 miles on the Jackson roads in 56 minutes.  It was intended to be an easy day. But the 12 + minute miles seemed to wear me out as I went along.   When I got home I weighed the layers of clothes I had on and it came out to 8.4 pounds.  That could be a factor. I cannot wait to get to Saint Augustine this Saturday. Also I weighed 147.4 pounds when I got home.

STATS are holding steady at positive levels.

January 8, Wednesday

“Run every day. Run slow.”  Dr. Ernst Van Aaken

The North Hunterdon cross country team’s tradition of social, morning runs during the 70s, 80s and 90s were our ‘tip of the hat’ to the great Dr. van Aaken.

Today unwound in a rather unique way. I put my running gear on before breakfast with anticipation of getting some work in at some point during the day. I checked the weather to find it was cold and quite windy. Arlene wanted to get out for haircut.  I figured I could do a short run while she was getting cut. But she was not ready to go yet. So I decided to get in a quick run before we left for the haircut. That turned into a 14-minute run of about a mile and a quarter.  When we finally got to the beauty parlor, I squeezed in another run of 1.4 miles.  Both runs were cold and windy but I trudged on. When we arrived home, I figured I had had enough for this Blustery Day.  But my brain said,  “Don’t be a candy ass.  Get out there and do some running.”  So, I rebundled and went out for what turned out to be 2.66 miles around the neighborhood. Remarkably and surprisingly it all turned out to be over 5 miles and over an hour of running.  Not too bad!

It was a true van Aaken day.

Stats steady

January 7, Tuesday

“Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training and some are not.”      George Sheehan

It was quite cold on the cinder track today. So, I kept all my layers on for the entire five miles.  The link below provides all the data recorded on my Garmin.  Once again I started slowly and added a few pick-ups to get a good warm-up.   I had no distance goal today, but hoped I could keep moving for a full 60 minutes.  Legs seemed fresh after a two-day layoff since my 400-meter workout.   I decided to try a few accelerated 800m in the middle of the run. The two 800m times were 4:40 and 4:33.  OK…

Felt used up at around 4 mile mark but pushed on to a final mile in about 11:00.   Tired tonight.

After sweating under multiple layers for 5 miles, my post-workout weight was a new low of 148.0 pounds!

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4411941055

Good stats.

January 4, Saturday

“The more I train,  the more I realize I have more speed in me.”     LEROY BURRELL

It was a remarkably gentle, mid-winter,  training  day on a cinder track that  felt like a soft sponge. ( It had just rained for 24 hours.)  So, running  400m repeats seemed like the only option.   LoL

Here’s how it went. I warmed up for a mile and a half stopping occasionally to stretch. I set out with the goal of running the 400m  at 8 minute pace for as long as my body would hold up. The recovery was equal time, 2 minutes. Remarkably, I stayed under the  2-minute mark and completed 9 x 400m!   I did not experience aerobic or leg muscle distress at any time throughout the workout.  And, as I am writing this post 24 hours later, my legs are only slightly sore.  All good stuff…..

1:53,    1:59,    1:54,    1:45,    2:03,    1:51,    1:57,    2:00,    1:45!

Stats- Steady and positive

January 2, Thursday

” Cross country can be a cure for adolescence.”           Coach John O’Malley

This morning I met my nephew-in-law, Kevin, for a sunny 3.47 miles on the cinder track.  It was a treat to have company.  Although the temperature was colder than yesterday, it was sunny and clear. So, it didn’t seem as raw or bitter as yesterday.  I was still pretty layered up and my legs heavy after yesterday’s 4 1/2 Mile workout. Kevin and I did a few 100-meter speed segments along the way,  but I was definitely ready to stop at  about 40 minutes.