Lots of work today; 50 minutes in the weight room for core, upper body and stretching, plus 40 minutes in the pool swimming and running. That’s a lot of moving around for an old guy. I left pleasantly tired.
Stats- stable
An Alman Bros “Blue Sky” evening
At 6 o’clock tonight it was blue skies, puffy clouds and 82 degrees. My workout covered 3.8 miles in 47 minutes. It was warm but very pretty. I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 30 and then walked and jogged the final 12 minutes. I’m starting to feel a little stronger. I have not done anything really fast yet. I averaged about 11 minutes for miles tonight: legs and feet feel fine. The road back is slow and I have to be careful, but things are looking up.
Very, very enjoyable evening watching Olympic trials tonight. Good races, tremendous competition. Robby Andrews in the 1500 meters and Sydney McLaughlin in the 400-meter hurdles were just terrific. They joined a plethora of New Jersey athletes who have qualified to represent the United States at the Rio games.
Stats – stable
July 8th, Friday, 6:00 p.m.
Wisdom tooth extraction today.
No negative effects from yesterday’s run. Resume tomorrow.
With forecasts of a heat index exceeding 100 degrees today, I set the alarm for 6 a.m. and was on the cinders before 7 o’clock. It was already 75 degrees but about one-third of the 800 meter track was still in shade. I was determined to achieve my goal of a 30 minute run today, and accomplished that with 10 minutes warm-up walk and 10 minutes post walk. It is exactly two months since my race on May 7th where I injured my foot. Today I experienced no discomfort in my foot. I am wearing my new compression socks and my new Asics Kayano 22 running shoes. I feel pretty well protected. The shoes are very comfortable and seem to be very supportive. So far I like them. Also rolling, stretching and icing foot…
I anticipated that I would be so tired that I would go back to bed after my early morning run today. As it turns out I am wide awake and having breakfast and writing my blog instead. We will see how the day unfolds.
July 6th, Wednesday, 10:00 p.m.
This was a very steamy Wednesday in the Jackson area. So I headed out to the fitness center at CentraState Hospital to get some indoor work in the big facility. I warmed up, did 20 minutes on the Zero Runner machine and proceeded to do 40 more minutes of upper body and core work throughout the room. The body was pretty beat at the end of over an hour of good work. I was planning to go in the pool for a refreshing swim and a little running perhaps, but I was informed that the pool was closed for yearly maintenance for the rest of this week. At home I did some more core work, and rolled my legs and did some Achilles tendon strengthening drills I have learned. Tomorrow will definitely be a running day on the cinders, either early or late. Must be done! Time for 30 minutes.
I-Mad – 0
a.m.HR- 58 BPM
WEIGHT – 153#
SLEEP – 8.5 HOURS
WORKOUT – 20 MINUTES ON ZERO RUNNER + Lots of core and upper body
Today was devoted to core and upper body work, both at the gym and at home.
Still rolling calves and feet and icing.
Family party yesterday was fun and delicious.
STATS VERY STEADY.
Today I made a last-minute decision, as I headed out for my attempt at a short run, to begin the workout with a bike ride. As I rode I became more motivated and wound up riding for 5 miles in about 27 minutes. After I parked the bike I set out to attempt a test 2-mile run on the concrete walkways around the neighborhood. I was determined to go easy and monitor for any sign of trouble in my plantar fascia. Remarkably, and to my delight, nowhere along the way did I feel any discomfort at all. I finished the 2 miles in 23 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised that I could still run 11 minute miles with almost no aerobic stress. Maybe I did manage to stay in some semblance of fitness over the past 7 weeks without running. All those hours in the water maybe had some beneficial effects. Anyway, I was very happy with today’s workout.
One new procedure that I have been adding to my recovery effort is that I am now rolling my sore foot with a frozen bottle of water. I’m getting a very deep massage as I roll, and it is sometimes quite painful. But the ice and the massage seems to be having a really positive effect on my foot. I will continue and report.
I-Mad – 0
a.m. HR -54BPM
Sleep – 9 hours
Weight – 152# After run- 150
Workout – 5 mile bike @27 minutes + 2 miles @23 minutes
Workout was 40 minutes in the pool on this rainy, stormy afternoon. I decided to try an alternating approach in the pool. I did 10 minutes swim, 10-minute run, 10 minutes swim, 10 minute run. I was surprised how aerobically demanding it was. I don’t think I’ve done 40 minutes in the water for quite a while. I did include six of the 30- 20 – 10 sequence during the run segments of the workout, and I had my heart rate up pretty high. I took the opportunity to give my recovering foot an extra day’s rest. Tomorrow I will be back at the cinders, maybe get to that 30 minute run. We will have to see how it feels.
The stats today were very steady.
“Take it easy. Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.”
I-Mad – 0
a.m.HR – 54BPM
Weight – 152#
Sleep – 9 hours
Workout – 45 minutes on the cinders 10- 20- 15
Today I had a very nice visit from Coach Rich Refi who met me at the CentraState Fitness Center to checkout the facility I’ve been telling him about. Rich and I roamed this cavernous area checking out the wide variety of equipment for about an hour. We talked about training and lifting and various activities that he has done with his girl’s team to build core strength. Rich has a wide range of experience and knowledge with weight training. He was after all “Mr. Rutgers” back in his college days. I learned some good stuff today. Rich left to walk the cross-country course at Holmdel Park. He has had some pretty good accomplishments there also.
My workout today consisted of about 90 minutes in motion. I spent 10 minutes on the Zero Runner before starting my upper body and core workout. That took about an hour in the weight room area. I than did a half hour of swimming and running in the pool. All in all it was a pretty draining work out, but it felt really good. My decision to take a full five-day recovery was a good one at this stage. See recent post for explanation.
While wandering through social media today I stumbled upon a Runner’s World magazine contest. In this contest you can talk about the moment that changed your running life and submit it for the possibility of being chosen as a cover personality on an issue of Runner’s World . So, believing that I had a pretty good story, I entered. If you would like to, you can check it out and vote for me.
Stats –
I-Mad – 0
a.m.HR -54BPM
Weight – 151#
Sleep – 8 hours
Workout – 90 minutes in motion; 60 in fitness room , 30 in water