February 23rd,  Friday

This morning as the sun rose I ran my first early morning beach run since arriving in St Augustine. I am now sorry that I waited so long to do that. It was a lovely morning with about 64 degrees and calm. The sand was firm and flat. There were many more people enjoying the beach than I expected.

For the first 20 minutes of the run my quadricep muscles were not very responsive .  I think this is a result of  some hard  bicycle work two days ago . I ran south for 2.5 miles when my right calf  began to complain each time I added a 50 stride pick-up. So, I was forced to adjust my stride to keep firm establishing too much toe rise. That worked for a while until eventually the calf muscle loosened up. My original goal was to run 4 miles. So I stopped at the end of the fourth mile. I planned to walk the final mile back to the starting point. But my legs felt more energized than at any time during the run. So I began adding 50 stride pickups with walk /jog in between and did that for the entire last mile. So, I wound up doing more than I had set out to do. The mile times were not very fast, but I think I accomplished my goal to achieve  some very good aerobic work today. Also added was the bonus of about 10 pickups.

STATS –

Workout = 4 miles in 47.10 + 1 mile of pick-ups

I-MID = 2.    I-Mad = 1

Weight = #153

Sleep = 6  hours

a.m.HR = 54BPM

February 20, Tuesday

Today I completed my first triple workout. This morning I swam 42 laps in 25 minutes in the pool, which equals approximately 500m.  After a break I cycled 2 miles to my shaded neighborhood, ( henceforth to be referred to as the S’hood– Shaded ‘hood) ran 2 miles and cycled 2 miles back for a total of 6 miles in 50 minutes. The miles were in 10:20 and 9:20.

Stats-

I-mad = 1.      I-mid = 2/3

Weight =#151.6 After workout

Sleep = 9 hours

a.m.HR =  54bpm

February 18th and 19th, Sunday and Monday

After a day off yesterday and a long walk I had every intention of doing a workout today either on the bike or in the pool. It turned out to be such a nice Florida day that we went to the beach and stayedquite a long time. What frequently occurs when I spend a long time on the beach on a hot sunny day is my body becomes overheated. It’s not that I get a lot of sunburn because I hide hide from the Sun. But my body just absorbs a great deal of heat and stays hot.  So I decided to wait till the sun was setting and head over to the neighborhood for a shaded run. I underestimated the speed of the Setting Sun and up running in the dark after about a mile. This was a little bit spooky,so I made another decision. In the parking lot where I had left the car there were lights. So I decided it might be a good time to add speed into my workout regimen. Therefore I ran 10 times 60 stride pickups. The pace varied from about 9 to as quick as 7 minute pace for the runs. This is probably the fastest I’ve run since I’ve been to St Augustine which is okay. The entire workout only consisted of two miles but with 10 pickups I think my legs got a good needed workout. The Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K is 13 days away now which doesn’t leave time for too many good running workouts under my current plan.

Stats- stable and close to optimal

February 17th, Saturday

10 miles total with bike and 4 x .5 mile intervals, all under 4:30

Today I attempted my first repeat workout of this cycle of training. It was a warm day so I headed down to the neighborhood that has all the shade. The bike ride down and one lap around the neighbourhood equals two and a half miles. Then I did four times half mile repeats with a 1/4 miile walk in between each. I choose to walk in order to limit the number of foot strikes. That is the same reason that I ride a 20 minute bike ride as part of my warm up to eliminate excessive foot strikes. My goal was to run all of my half mile repeats under 10 minute pace. Want to try training under 10 minutes pace for a while. As it turned out I was able to complete each half mile in just under 9 minute pace. The average was 4:28 per  half mile. I felt like I could have run faster but chose not to out of caution. I am becoming convinced that my training is moving along as well or better than expected.

Stats-

I-Mad = 2.     I-Mid = 3/4.  Lots of heat and stretching in the a.m. .

Weight = 152.5

Sleep= 9 hours

February 16th, Friday

Swam for 30 minutes today amounting to the longest consecutive swim so far. The water was wonderful and the temperature was 75 degrees.

Later Arlene and I walked for 40 minutes on the beach in the late afternoon sun. We even found a sandcastle on the way.

Stats-

I-Mad= 1 .  I-Mid= 3

Weight= #154

Sleep- 7 hours

February 15th, Thursday

Today may have marked the transition from Winter to Spring in St Augustine area. The day was bright and sunny after a cloudy morning. The weather forecast for the next two weeks seems to be in the seventies and even 80s going forward. This would be a welcome change from the cold dreary weather that has been apart of how vacation for the last 2 weeks.

Today I took the bike out for a long 10 mile ride. I had intended to intersperse 30 pickups of 20 seconds each along the way.  That would be a full 10 minutes of solid heart pumping. However along the way it became evident that 30 might be a little bit too ambitious. So I wound up doing 20 pickups throughout the one hour and 5 minutes it took me to ride  10 miles. I feel like I got a solid workout.

Stats-

I-Mad= 2     I-Mid= 4. Effects of fast mile

Seep= 7 hours

Weight= #154:-) ft

February 13th, Tuesday

I always surprise myself by how nervous I become when it is time trial day.  But, I must say that I had not put myself on the clock for a fitness check for many months.  The fact is I have not attempted to run a mile under 10  minutes since last June.  So, I approached today’s test with trepidation . Yes, my body has been telling me that I have been working hard; swimming, biking and kinda slow running.  But, since I arrived in St. Augustine, I have not logged a mile faster than 10:50.  The modest  goal was, therefore, to run a mile under 10 minutes.

After biking the one mile course to my favorite running neighborhood, I decided to  try a modified (74 yr old) version of a  warm-up procedure that  Rich Refi has been using with the Hillsborough girls distance team.  It includes a gradually accelerating 10 minute run followed by a series of timed pick-ups with full recovery.  I did 4 x 20 second and 4 x 10 second strides gradually increasing the speed. I liked the way it felt.  The weather was perfect at 62°, no wind and heavy overcast.

I began to run with limited expectations and checked my watch consistently throughout the run. To my surprise during the first minute my watch read 7:15. This was both encouraging and frightening. Was I about to crash and burn during the next five minutes trying complete this mile?!  At around .25 my watch was still reading under 8:00 pace and I was feeling no aerobic or muscular distress. I began to relax and enjoy the run a little and reached the halfway point in 8:06.  I became emboldened and decided to try to pick up the next 400m and reached the .75 mark with my watch now reading under 8:00 pace.  I began to realize I could run under 8:00  if I held it together through the final quarter.  I focused on relaxed form, elbows back and belly breathing and finished, breezing, in 7:57.9.😊

I truly surprised myself. Maybe there is a chance I can run a decent time at the Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K on March 3rd. Getting pretty excited!

I jogged a little and rode three more miles on bike getting back home.

On the way I stopped in a local cafe called Little Maggie’s for a late breakfast of two eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, wheat toast and good coffee.

A good day…indeed!

Stats – Who cares?

February

I had very smooth and pleasant and relaxed workout today on the bike and in the pool: 5.5 miles on the bike in 30:00 and 20:00 non-stop swimming. It was a classic, February, St. Augustine Beach afternoon; sunny, breezy  and high 60 ‘s.  Also picked up a little color from the sun along the way.  Also working on the tan……..!

Stats are stable.

February 11th, Sunday morning

Thoughts while enjoying coffee and homemade oatmeal cookies on a sunny deck with a gentle breeze………

Saturday was a total recovery day.  Arlene and I spent a pleasant afternoon listening to music on The Conch pier. We did manage a 30 minute walk along the inlet while waiting for the music to start. We then enjoyed a tasty dinner at Mango Mango,one of our favorite local eateries.

So, after a 10-hour sleep the discomfort in my right leg seems about 90% better. I guess that coming up shortly to that 75 year-old marker I have to reconfirm with myself that recovery is an integral part of the program, not a suspension of the program.

Stay smart, +70Runner guy.

Stats –

I-Mad and I-Mid = 2

a.m.HR =54BPM

Weight = #153

Sleep =10 hours

February 9th, Friday

“Put another nickel in the bank.”

Another MacGivneyism (RIP )

Today’s training session was scheduled to be a run. It began on a negative note. As I walkedtoward the beach to begin my run, I felt a significant discomfort in the area of my shin on my right leg. I was at a loss to figure out the cause since I had not run for two days. My first thought was shin splints, but it doesn’t seem as if I have been running enough miles to cause shin splints. The sharp pain occurred with each impact. So, I decided to do a longer non-impact warm-up  in the hopes that the discomfort would decrease as I drew more blood to the area. But that plan was only marginally successful. Still determined to accomplish something on the day, I entered the beach, found the softer sand and began to trudge along very slowly still experiencing quite a bit of discomfort.  Eventually I discovered that the tracks created by the cars that ride the beach were invitingly soft and flat. Running in these tracks I experienced less discomfort as the time went by. Ultimately I managed to stay in motion for 59 minutes including warm-up. All of it was slow with mile times around 12 minutes. I stopped running at the one hour mark not because of any aerobic discomfort but for fear of causing further damage to my leg. I actually finished the run with a few 50 stride pickups. I then walked the 16 blocks home.  The messages from my body told me that despite the slow pace of the workout I had worked very hard. I suppose running in loose sand takes quite a bit of toll. I guess I can say is that I salvaged something out of a potentially disastrous day. I now have two days to rest my legs and hope that the unexplained pain will find a way to resolve itself.   The last two nights I have slept like a log which indicates to me that I have been putting some demanding work on my body.

Stats –  No change