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.
A little nervous as per usual on the day before a race even though it’s a race I am not putting any pressure on myself to perform to any expectations. Just hoping to get to the Finish Line with no lag issues. Also hoping to fall asleep quite quickly even though I’m not feeling very sleepy.
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.
This evening I spent 40 minutes in motion, walking and jogging, while I watched the Liberty cross country boys run 10 x 400 meters uphill at Pine Park in Lakewood. Legs heavy! Need to rest for 5k on Sunday.
“Manifesting enhanced fluidity” This is a pretty cool phrase that I dreamed up today while running and trying to work on improving my vocabulary used for describing good running. It in no way describes how I ran my 5 miler today. I was going to save it for the title of a future post, but I decided that I would probably forget it if I didn’t write it down today. In an article that I read when I first started posting by a fellow who had been posting for 10 years, one of the suggestions he made was to aways say what you’re thinking right away, don’t save it, because you will probably never use it. Anyhow, this phrase came to mind today about three and a half miles into the run. I had convinced myself that I needed to do a long aerobic run because my recent training has been lacking that particular type of workout. So I set as a goal to run a 4 mile Loop without any stopping. That sounds pretty modest by standards of three months ago before I was injured, but I had done little of that kind of work since I restarted training July 1st. The beginning of the run was very uncomfortable, and I struggled with myself throughout to keep from actually stopping. I was just determined to complete the format without stopping even if I had to run 12:00+ miles. So I struggled on. As I turned a corner to start up a long gradual one mile hill just past the 3-mile mark, everything changed. All the aches disappeared, my breathing became more relaxed and steady, and I begin to “manifest enhanced fluidity.” LOL at that point I decided to make my 4 miler a 5 miler. The enhanced fluidity did not manifest itself for very long. But I was determined to prove to myself that I was mentally tough enough to survive a struggle laden 5 miles. So, I finished the 5 feeling the most fatigued and drained as a result of any workout since I started running again. I hope this was not a Pyrrhic victory. (You can look that up.)
Stats –
I-Mad – 0
A.m.HR – 50BPM – Low
Sleep – 8.5 hours
Weight – 150# after run Down 6# in 4 days, Mega veggies!
Watch Peter Snell in 1964 1500 meter final blow the field away. This reminds me of exactly how Centrowitz did it Saturday night. I read Arthur lydiard’s article every year on how he trained Peter Snell to win in 1964. If you can get to 300 meters without fatigue, the fastest runner in the race be the winner. Matt controlled the race until the final lap, and he was the fastest man out there. Brilliant strategy!
Saturday with the cross country boys at Clayton Park
I approached Clayton Park’s hilly and root-covered trails with trepidation on a steamy Saturday morning. I had only managed to get about five and a half hours sleep Friday night. My legs were feeling heavy and I had tweaked a little muscle in my lower back. I think I overdid some core work which left me vulnerable. After procrastinating for about 20 minutes, I cautiously entered the trails. My back would feel a little twinge when I traversed the uneven parts of the trail, and I was forced to basically walk going down the steep sections. I tried to take advantage of the up-hills and get a little work. After about 20 minutes of this , I exited the trails and headed for the open, flat fields. About this time the boys were returning from their run, and I joined them for their post run 150 meter pickups. I was able to run comfortably and at full stride with some pick up as I did the 150’s. Doing this also got my heart rate up to where I was hoping to reach . It turns out I did 52 minutes in motion, which was much better than I expected. At home I had coffee, a fruit salad, chocolate milk and a ham and egg sandwich on a hard roll. Yummy! It was a good tired feeling all day.
Stats seemed a little off for the last couple of days. My weight was up to 156# for the first time in a few months. My heart rate seems lower than normal down around 150 beats per minute. I wasn’t getting a lot of rest at night. My body seems to be more achy than usual, and my motivation to run was uncharacteristically low. It seems that the extremely hot weather has dimmed my desire to get out and do some serious work.
Snuck in 30 minutes running and swimming in the pool between obligations today. Felt lucky to get it done. The legs are a little sore but genuinely I feel good.
Looking for some speed work today, I headed out to a grassy straightaway in the neighborhood. I ran 10 X 100 meter pickups with about 1 minute rest. It was pretty hot, but the air was breathable. The total run, out and back, was 40 minutes. Positive day with legs feeling strong.
