February 4, Rainy Sunday
Our 1st week at the beach has been very positive for training. The temperature has been consistently in the 60s and the beach, as usual, is very comfortable and safe. The result has been 7 consecutive days of +40 minute runs with 1 biking session in the middle. I continue to add speed segments along each run, becoming more confident everyday. Today is the 1st rainy day we’ve seen so far in Florida and a good time for a recovery break.
January 30, Monday
Well, it’s been way too long since I posted and logged . So, here goes from Florida.
We just arrived Saturday evening. I did a shake out run on Saturday night after 2 days of driving.
Yesterday I ran 4 miles on the beach kind of moderately but with a series of speed segments thrown in along the way. It was 61*. The endless beach was firm and flat. The sky was a cloudless deep blue. The sun and the surf and the seagulls screamed, “Beach.” The wind out of the north was perfect, and I got that old “St. Augustine Training” vibe back again.
Today I rode the bike for 30 minutes.
I am registered for two races in a near future. The 1st is an 800m indoor meet on 2/11 in Gainesville, Florida. I believe it is called the USA track and field south east regional masters championship. (long name). I am anxious to test what kind of 800 meter fitness I have right now. The second is the annual Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K run in which I have competed for the last 10 years. That race is on 2/18, and I will run it basically as a hard workout day with no real goal. It is an attractive community event.
Fortunately, my body has held up during the posting hiatus, and all measures of fitness have been positive and steady. Looking forward to a productive 6 weeks in St. Augustine.
My first indoor mile in over 60 years went reasonably well. On Monday at Monmouth University I ran 7:46. Since the modest goal was to finish healthy, we are calling it a success.
December 1 – 16
1- 2 easy miles around the neighborhood
2- 3 miles on the track with multiple speed segments
3- Rest
4- 30 minutes in the pool running and swimming + weights
5- Green 4 miles +3 hills
6- Rest
7- Rest
8- 4 miles on cinders with multiple speed segments
9- 25 minutes at Turkey Swamp Park with seven speed segments
10- Rest
11- Rest
12- Race mile in 7:47
13- Rest
14- 3 miles on treadmill in weight room in 35 minutes plus weights and bike on warm up
15- 3 miles in 38 minutes at Turkey Swamp Park with 11 speed segments
16- rest, tired, legs, and body
Stats are steady and legs and feet are without issues
😊
I have had to come to accept the fact that two days of work leaves the 80 year old legs in need of 48 hours recovery to get back on track. I will have to work on upper body strength on those recovery days. It will make me a better quarter miler!🔥
Tuesday, November 28
“Man is never more human than when he plays”. Friedrich von Schiller
My version of speedplay is modified to include segments of running, jogging And walking. I manage to log more miles with fewer heavy foot strikes and plenty of speed segments. These demanding yet playful workouts have been performed on the cinder track, the rubber track at Jackson Liberty high school and on the trails and in Turkey Swamp Park. I have managed to maintain fitness during the month of November logging 14 out of 28 days so far. Also, by alternating running days, I have manage to allow my Achilles tendon issue to resolve itself and enjoy the training.
Stats have been consistently positive! Still under 145lb even after Thanksgiving weekend!
Stats:
Today, in the final 5K race of the season sponsored by the Shore AC, I ran a very comfortable 35:00 on the picturesque course at Huber Woods Park. It was a perfect Saturday morning for a cross country run. My main purpose for running was to test my Achilles tendon. It turns out that all is well at this time. That will be my last 5K on the trails of Monmouth county this year. The next effort will be the 8K at the Philadelphia marathon with Kristen on November 18. I will need to log a few more miles over the next two weeks in preparation for that one.
Sleep- 9/10 hours daily. Frequently even more 🛏️
Diet- Eating healthy and moderately 🍎🫑🫛🧅🥦
Weight- 144lb 🍺
Resting heart rate stays at 54 BPM ❤️🤓
No issues with legs or feet 🤾🏿♂️
Monday, October 23rd
On a perfect autumn, sunny, 64° afternoon I headed to the Cinder track with the intention of running for Progressive miles. I used the first mile as a warm up in 12:20 and began to strip down my sweatshirts. My Sunday joggers remained on for the entire workout. My right Achilles tendon had my attention for the four miles but seemed to survive the total effort. This was the longest workout in 2 weeks. So,I was a bit nervous. Tomorrow will definitely be a pool day.
The final three miles were 10:08, 9:50 and 9:33. I am very satisfied with that progression.
STATS are stable and positive.
So, I left Florida after my 5K nationals race with a slightly inflamed Achilles tendon. I am very confident that wearing my track spikes for that 5K run is what brought on the Achilles problem. Having experienced Achilles tendon issues that lasted almost a year in past, I decided to be ultra conservative about this situation. So for the next two weeks I stayed off impact running and spent time in the pool and the weight room. I had forgotten that how much I actually enjoyed swimming and pool running. In fact over the last 2 weeks I did not miss a day of training, and I think I have maintained much of my fitness. The good news that during a 3 Mile Run on the cinders yesterday I had no discomfort in my Achilles tendon. !!
My only goals going forward are to remain healthy and fit and maybe run a decent 5K before winter arrives. Plus find a quality cross-country, non-spike, racing shoe somewhere along the way…..
All stats holding steady and positive. 🙂
Sunday, October 8th
Back in New Jersey after a whirlwind trip to Boca Raton to run in the USA Track and Field national cross country championships on Saturday. I left Friday morning, ran Saturday morning and returned by Saturday night late. I emerged from the race in pretty good shape after running an acceptable but less than outstanding 31 minute 5K. It was, however, good enough to help our 70+ team from the Shore Athletic Club finish second in the overall Team Championship. I learned that there are some serious Masters 5K runners at these meets. I actually finished 4th out of eight 80 year old guys. On the positive side the time was a minute and a half faster than my 5K last Saturday. It was a picturesque, grass covered course and the temperature was about 90° at the gun. My lack of aerobic fitness was apparent as my mile times went from 9 minutes to 10 minutes to 11 minutes along the course of the race. My recovery was much more difficult and much longer then usual, I would guess as a result of the heat. It was an interesting experience and a lot of fun to be part of a team. But the toll that the travel takes on my body makes me believe I will be running races closer to home for the foreseeable future. But it is also nice to have a USA TF Masters National Championship medal!
STATS are steady and positive. I am feeling a little soreness in my achilles tendon right foot today probably as a result of wearing spikes for 5K for the first time. I will have to watch that carefully.
Saturday, October 30
Today I ran the first of the six 5k autumn series sponsored by Shore AC. It was rainy and the course was a mud slog most of the way at Big Brook Park.
My time of 32:34 was quite slow and the hills took a toll on my legs. Fortunately, I had reduced expectations for this event because I was using it as a training run in preparation for next Saturday’s race in the masters, national championship. I was disappointed in how poorly I performed on the hills and I will have to work on it over the next few weeks. The nagging ache in my right Quadricep was also a factor on the hills. All I can do next week is be fully recovered and run the best I can as part of the Shore AC team. Plus hope that the Boca Raton course is flat. LOL
The good news is that my legs felt fine on a short run today which means that the 5K did not have as big a toll as I had expected on my legs. I am thinking of a few tempo 1000s on Monday and a longer run on Tuesday to set up this weeks training. Three recovery days has worked in the past to help me have my best performance.
Statistics are steady and my legs are fine except for that little quadricep issue. In training, it usually goes away after about 20 minutes into a workout. I did finish the last thousand without any pain but that seems like a long time to wait. Maybe I need a better warm-up plan for Saturday.
9/11 through 9/20
“Whatever the pace, run softly, run tall.” Joe Henderson, Running 101
During the ten days following my 800 meter run at the New Jersey senior games I have completed eight workouts. I surprised myself that day by running 5 seconds faster than I had run in Pittsburgh.
I started the cycle with 15 x 200 meters at 8 minute pace, and I completed the cycle with 8 x 400 meters at 8:30-9 minute pace, both workouts on the cinder track. In between I ran some solid miles on the cinder track, at Turkey Swamp Park and one workout at Holmdel Park. I include speed segments of about 30 seconds throughout my distance runs almost every time out. I plan to shoot for one more workout of progressive miles in the next few days before I back off a little bit to run my 1st 5K on September 30. My last workout of progressive miles was on September 3, about five days before by successful 800 meters in the New Jersey games.
I am competing on an age group team with the Shore AC in the USATF 5K Masters National Championships in Boca Raton on October 7. It will be my 1st race with a team in about 60 years. So, I am both excited and nervous. The September 30th 5K will be a tune up for that race.
Stats are holding steady at positive levels and there are no leg or foot issues.😊
Bah, Humbug
