July 1, 2 & 3 – Thursday, Friday & Saturday

Thursday- Good 20 minutes swim and lots of driving.

Friday-  A really good day of work.   30 minute swim, longest yet, in a totally empty pool on a overcast morning.  Later a solid workout on the cinders.  2.5 miles total… 1 mile warm up with frequent pickups.  Than 800m in 4:17 (8:34);  600m in 2:50 (7:36);  400m in 1:47 (7:06): 200m in :45 (6:00) !   800m cool down.   Finished wanting to do more.  But stopped out of an abundance of caution.

Saturday- Back to the cinders for a short workout. 1  mile warm up with strides, then 4 x 400m in  2:04  – 1:43 – 1:47  – 1:47.          + 15 minute jog.

Feeling PRRRRETTY GOOD !

SOLID STATS

June 26, Saturday

My performance at the Big Bang Mile yesterday left me with a good deal of confidence about my level of fitness.  On a very humid morning with the temperature already in the upper 70’s I made the decision to warm up in the gigantic, air conditioned Bell Labs building. To begin with the rest room facilities inside were far more civilized than the Portapottys at the starting line of the race.  The cavernous center space was about 68* and had a carpet around its almost 400 meter  circumference.  I had promised myself to do an extensive warm up in preparation for this race as I described in my previous post. So, I ran with sweats on around this carpeted surface doing long pickups for 30 minutes.  I should note that this space was essentially empty on a Saturday morning providing a completely clear  warm up opportunity.   I lay on my back with my legs elevated for 10 minutes before I jogged to the starting line about 200 meters from the building.

I approached the race with trepidation because I had no  confidence in my ability to judge pace after over a year without a competitive race. The goal was 7:00 with even 1:45 quarters. I ran a comfortable 1:37 and 1:48 to arrive at the half in a respectable 3:25.  (There were clocks at each quarter mark.) That half mile time gave me confidence that maybe I could break 7 minutes. I tried to push the 3rd quarter.  But I would describe a similar performance by one of my runners as a weak effort.  1:55     I managed to recover and run a 1:45 final quarter to finish at 7:05.  I was left feeling somewhat disappointed, but convinced that I am capable of running much faster.

Stats remain consistent and positive.

June 24, Wednesday

On a delightfully crisp evening at the cinder track I chose a quick workout as my final preparation for Saturday’s one mile race.  The goal was to run a few repeats a goal raceP pace which is  under 7:00. (1:45 per 400m).  A secondary goal for the day was to monitor how long and how intense my warm-up needed to be before I felt comfortably, wide open.  After a mile in motion including  several accelerations, I felt  ready.  The first 400m timed at 1:52, a little too slow and somewhat labored. The next two were quicker (below 1:45) and more comfortable.  I ended the workout with two times 200m out of an abundance of caution.  By that time I did feel completely wide open and ran easily at a pace well under 1:40. So, what did I learn?  It takes an extensive amount of work to get the old body completely warmed up. The question is, “Do I dare doing that much work before going to the starting line for a race?” I don’t know.  Maybe, because it frightens me, I should do it on Saturday. 

June 18, Friday

With two days rest and eight days to my mile race, I decided that something harder was in order. I started out for the cinder track. But I soon realized that it was around 12:00 noon and the sun was high and hot. So, I changed course and headed for the shaded trails of Turkey Swamp Park.  The 12 minute Crank and Cruise workout seemed like a good choice for this day. It’s quick and it’s short. After a one mile warm up with five  progressive pick ups, I started the 12 minute run.  It was just the right intensity and duration for this day. With about five minutes of recovery I added four times 100 meter straight-a-ways.  The entire workout was demanding but not draining. I drove to the pool and swam for 20 minutes more.  I was pleased with the bricks that I added on this day.

Stats- stable

June 15, Tuesday

Began with a very nice 15 minute swim. After a short break I went to  Turkey Swamp Park and ran a comfortable 3.38 miles in 41:55 with some significant speed segments along the way.  A good day….  Tomorrow I will rest and have a tooth pulled.

Stats on target

June 8th through June 14th 

This week was marked by a serious return to our pool at Four Seasons. I managed three productive sessions in the water. It had been more than a year, and it felt terrific. I walked 6 miles around the city of Hoboken with Robert on Thursday. In four sessions throughout this week (on cinders, on dirt trails and on roads) I covered 16 miles at various intensity. The long runs were peppered with a series of  Speed Segments throughout. And today I completed a workout on the Cinders with 6 x 400 meters.  1:48, 1:48, 145, 1:37, 1:54, 2:05.

With 12 days remaining before I try to run a quick mile at the Big Bang Mile in Holmdel, New Jersey I’m feeling pretty good about my training and fitness. I’ve managed to get through a sore knee and not lose too much training time.

Stats-

Weight  = 143 lb

Diet  = 9 / 10

Sleep = 9 / 10 hours daily

Resting heart rate equals 54 beats per minute of course open to the idea

Feet and legs are injury-free, though muscles are sore from good book

So-called “Frozen Shoulder”  (actual diagnosis) remains sore in bed and on rising but does not affect running or swimming.

Even though the temperature was in the low 90s yesterday, found a very shaded area along the Wooded Trail at Turkey Swamp Park. After a 1-milIe warm up I ran 20 * 150 yards at  pretty sustained pace.  (One of the better workouts I’ve done in the past week)

A slight ache in my left knee at the beginning of each workout has put a damper on my desire to run anything that is demanding. So, I do more walking than anything else because walking doesn’t cause pain. I’m not happy with the inconsistency, but even more concerned about losing time through severe injury. So. I muddle alone trying not to lose too much Fitness.

Stats are consistent.

May 29, Saturday

On a cold, windy and wet Saturday it seemed necessary to get out and do some running.  The theme of last week was recovery.  Tired body, heavy legs and minor joint pains made thoughts of running uninspired and somewhat foreboding.  The result was only two very deliberate 30 minute runs in a week.   I decided to layer up against the weather and see what would happen when I got out there. All systems held up well and improved as I went along. So, I extended the run to 5 miles which took exactly sixty minutes.  Positive and reassuring outcome………

Now I need a new plan to prepare for The Big Bang Mile race on June 26th.  Or maybe just have some fun running for the next month and enjoy the race.  🙂  🙂

May 25, Tuesday

The 800m training plan is now on hold for three reasons. (in chronological order)

– After 10 days of steady work the body told me that I was doing too much,  My legs were not recovering well, and I was becoming breathless on any attempt to achieve a pace faster than a 12:00 jog. So I took a few recovery jog days.

-During those mild recovery days my left knee was feeling a slight soreness causing a quick stop out of an abundance of caution.

-And finally,  learned yesterday that the 4 x 800m relay is not going to happen for at least two months.  So, the urgency has evaporated.

I think the 10 days of work while on the plan did improve my fitness. But I will have to moderate the plan when I begin again as the race becomes nearer. After these days of recovery I may try an all out 800m on a local track to see where I stand.

” Training is different from just plain running. It’s the difference between tossing the football around every other day and trying out for the team.”                                             My friend, the legendary Mark Bloom, The Runner’s Bible

May 11 – 16

I decided to create a more structured training plan to prepare for running a fast 800m on June 12th, if in fact the race does occur.  Running 3:22 last week with a very controlled effort has increased my confidence and motivation to run even faster.  Most of my training over these past years has been quite random based almost wholly on my daily assessment of how I felt. The plan consists of a little less straight distance running and a little more 800m focused stuff.   It consists of a 6 day cycle that includes some of my favorite workouts. That allows for five cycles to end on June 9th, three days before the scheduled race.  This post logs the results of the first cycle.

May 11, Tuesday –  This was the long day of the cycle. I completed 4.5 miles in two 30 minute runs, one on the road and one on the TSP trails.

May 12, Wednesday – This was tempo day.  The goal was to run as many 400m @ 8:40  pace as possible. (2:10)   After running a 1:59 and a 2:04 with minimal effort I concluded that this pace was not very effective. The next two were 600m both in 3:16.  I concluded with a 400m in 2:05 and a final 800m in 4:05.  (3200m in all)   It felt like a very positive workout on the cinders.

May 13, Thursday –  Today was a scheduled recovery day. So I did a lot of walking and a lot of stretching. It felt pretty good to take a non-running day because it was scheduled and not because I was being a weenie.

May 14,  Friday – Today called for a My Modifed Fartlek.  (JOG 30, RUN 30, WALK 30)  Got in 20 x 30 second SS in 3 miles on the cinders

May 15,  Saturday –  At Turkey Swamp Park I did a workout called Crank and Cruise that I found on the internet.  I have tried it once before.  It is a pretty good day’s work on a day when you want to limit foot strikes.  It’s a structured 12 minute run plus four times 100-meter strides.  The structure of the 12-minute run is as follows; 30 seconds @ mile goal pace (below 7:00) followed by three and a half minutes @ 5K pace (below 9:00)- repeat 3 times without stopping.  It is intense, and it raises the heart rate. That covered 1.29 miles in 12 minutes which averages out to  9:19 pace.   Slightly slower than goal, but not bad.  The Crank was on target, but the Cruise did not hold pace. Will have to get it next cycle.

May 16, Sunday-  A speed day. This final day of first cycle I wanted to run some fast 100m straightaways. I ran a comfortable 2.5 mile warm up, put on my spikes and busted 8 straits on the grass @ between 20 and 22 seconds per 100m. Cycle #1 complete in satisfactory fashion.    Tomorrow begins cycle 2 with a recovery day.

Stats are solid.

Sleep = 8 to 10 hours daily

Weight between 143 and 145lb

Resting heart rate staying in low 50s

Diet is excellent sin bounties of vegies and fruit.  Limiting red meats.

No issues with feet or legs.  🙂