June 12th,   Sunday,    3 p.m.

Core and injury protocol is all I can do.

Having vowed to abstain from foot activities for 10 days, I headed to the fitness center for a Core workout.  I spent about an hour on the program developed for me by the CentraState trainer.   Hopefully,  muscles will emerge at some point.

On the injury front , I am taking the anti-inflammatory pill, rolling, stretching a lot , massaging and wearing the boot at night.  It’s been 2 days and I have a sense that things are improving.  So, I hope that I will be beyond this very shortly.

In non-running related news, I am working on remodeling Arlene’s closet and keeping up with the salad Garden.

Stats –

I-Mad  – 1    Good

Weight – 153#  Steady.

A.M.HR – 58BPM    Still up!

Sleep – 7 hours

Workout – 1 hour core  and PF protocol

This day started with a visit to the foot doctor at Rothman Institute.  The results of the MRI is that my foot shows indications of inflammation of the plantar fascia. I believe that is what we mean by plantar fasciitis. There is no fracture and no muscle tear  or  tendon tear . That is good news! The treatment recommended is plenty of stretching and a prescription for an anti-inflammatory pill.  No rehab assignment and no boot.  I purchased a device at the drugstore while I was picking up my prescription that is similar to the nighttime boot I wore 20 years ago while I was still working after being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis.  It is not for walking around. but I plan to wear it when I have settled in for the night on the couch watching TV and while sleeping if it’s not too uncomfortable. The doctor told me that all of the activities I have been doing while not running still impact the area that is injured.  So to my horror I will be doing no activities at all for a few days that involve any foot movement.  I will have to settle  for my new core routine at the CentraState fitness center until my foot is completely pain-free.

Later at home Arlene and I watched the memorial service for Muhammad Ali. I was touched by the stories of how is life impacted so many people. He clearly was a good and kind and principled man.

In the evening  we went to the College of New Jersey to watch a very emotional and inspiring opening ceremony of the New Jersey Summer Special Olympics. One of the fellows who I played poker with each week is a police officer in Howell Township. Matt carried a torch five and a half miles today through Howell Township on the way to Trenton and tonight carried the torch into the stadium as one of the police officers who assisted in lighting the Olympic flame in the center of the football field. I think Ali would have approved.

Stats –

I-Mad – 1.5

A.m HR – 54BPM    That is a bit of a jump that I have attributed to the fact that I have not run in 35 days. Humbug!

Weight – 152#

Sleep – 7 hours

Workout – resting

June 8th,  Wednesday,  10 a.m.

New Jersey Meet of Champions Day

We will be heading to Central Regional High School today for the Meet of Champions.  Arlene will be taking pictures while I enjoy the races.  The most exciting race of the day for me and for many track fans will be the boy’s mile.  It’s really 1600 meters in New Jersey, but it’s going to be a battle between some of the best Runners to come out of New Jersey in a long time. Projections are that at least three of the athletes could break 4:10 for 1600 meters today.  I will be rooting for Brandon Tubby be the first Hillsborough athlete to win the 1600 meters at the outdoor MOC.

Yesterday I met with Howard from CentraState fitness center for my introductory training session. After speaking with me on Saturday about my goals, he put together a program for me based mostly on improving the strength of my core.  I like to the program that he set up for me and enjoyed going through the session. I must remember to go slowly and be careful. His recommendation was to begin this workout twice a week. Today I feel a little sore in a lot of good places. I am pretty excited about the prospect of strengthening my core muscles.

On that same issue I recently watched a video from a trainer who promotes the idea of strengthening core through standing on one foot. He describes the value of standing on one foot to strengthening all the muscles in the center of the body. Thsee simple activities can be done at random times during the day or during TV commercials.  I currently practice  standing on one foot while I brush my teeth in the morning and in the evening for instance.

I cannot think of anything more important to +70 individuals then to remain strong in the middle. The benefits are numerous.

A strong core will improve your performance whatever your game.

 A strong core allows you to stand erect and walk in an upright position.

 A strong core will help to prevent accidents when balance can be lost for various reasons in everyday circumstances.  That fall can knock you off your game for months.

And finally, there is a spring in the step of a person who is confident of his or her ability to control the body when moving through everyday events.  I believe this makes a person look and feel younger.

After my Core workout I found the Zero Runner machine and did a 10-minute introductory session on that apparatus. It takes some getting used to because it is a complex machine.  It will be a major benefit on the days I want  reduced impact  on my legs.  I then went to the pool and did a 15 minute deep water run with a new waist float. That device made it much easier to run and maintain good form in the deep water. I really like the facility at CentraState and will be spending a few days a week there for the next 3 months I hope.

I have a doctor’s meeting on Friday to discuss the results of my MRI.

Stats –

I-Mad – 1

Am HR- 52BPM

WEIGHT – 153#

SLEEP – 8.5 HOURS

WORKOUT –  YESTERDAY  – CORE + ZERO RUNNER  10 MINUTES + POOL  15 MINUTES        today- rest

Sunday, June 5th, 3 p.m.

I LOVE THIS QUOTE!          I want this on my shirt.

I finally made it to the salt water pool at CentraState Fitness Center. The water was delightful. I swam laps and ran in the 7-foot deep end for about 30 minutes. The effect on my sinuses appeared to be calming rather than irritating.  Hopefully this will allow me to spend more time in the water staying fit while my foot gets over its injury. This is a very positive development.

Stats –

I-Mad – 1.5

AmHR – 52BPM

Weight – 153#

SLEEP – 8 hours

Workout – 30 minutes in the salt water pool,  swim and run

June 5th, Saturday, 7 p.m.

Arlene and I spent the afternoon having lunch with Rob on the sunny Waterfront in Hoboken just steps from where Marlon Brando won the Academy Award for best actor in 1955. The city was jumping with people everywhere eating in outdoor restaurants. The entire Waterfront has been rebuilt with a people friendly atmosphere in mind. And there are hot bars and restaurants  everywhere you look . I remember being told as a child that Hoboken had more bars in it’s one square mile then any other City. It’s not surprising to me that every kid from 25 to 40 years old wants to live there. It was a very pleasant afternoon and great to see Rob. He is off on a trip to the West Coast for business on Sunday.

My MRI is set for Monday at at 6 o’clock.

I slept for 11 hours last night. This is very surprising to me because I’ve been sleeping only 8 – 9 hours for the last month. I guess that 40-minute run in the pool yesterday took more out of me than I anticipated.  I am very tired today and my legs are sore. This is a good thing though because I do need to keep doing work.  A day off will not be harmful at this stage.

Stats-

I-Mad  – 2

AmHR – missed

Weight – 152#

Sleep  – 11 hours  !!

Workout – rest

June 3rd,  Friday , 9pm

BTW  –  I watched Brandon Tubby of Hillsboro run 4:09 to win the 1600m in the Group IV finals today at Egg Harbor. Brandon ran it like he was out for a stroll in the park and dropped the pacemaker in the last 100 meters easily. Brandon is clearly the best miler in New Jersey right now. Outstanding!

Groups and Meet of Championship races are available streaming on Milesplit these days.  Very convenient!

Watching, floating, waiting and planning…………

Hey guys. I spent a long 40 minutes running in the pool today. I did manage to get in 7 x 30 -20-10 sequence.  It was pretty demanding and felt good.  I have decided not to swim for a while because the chlorine in the pool water is wreaking havoc  on my sinuses.  So I ran 40 minutes in the pool without putting my head in the water once.

Today I had my nurse’s evaluation and trainer’s conference at the CentraState Medical Center fitness center.  I am now officially able to work out at that facility.  One of the things I’m looking forward to in addition to the zero gravity Runner machine is that the pool is salt water with I believe only minor chlorine content.  So I may be able to resume swimming using that pool.

Regarding my sore left foot, I have visited the doctor in Rothman Institute. The  x-ray saw nothing.  She recommended that I have an MRI to check for a stress fracture or plantar fasciitis tears. So that is scheduled for Monday. Then another visit with the doctor to evaluate the outcome of the MRI.  In the meantime I am doing activity other than running waiting to finally resolve this issue.

I learned that the Jason Walton Memorial Run at Hillsborough is on August 28th.  It would be nice if I was in some kind of condition to run a good race at Hillsborough.  My next goal would be the New Jersey Senior Games in September from which I would have to qualify for the national Senior Games next summer.  That would be an 800 and a 1600. The  New Jersey event is a very lightly attended event.  So qualifying is almost automatic.  But you have to show up and run the race to be eligible for Nationals.  That provides a good excuse for a summer road trip to somewhere in Arkansas next summer, 2017.

June 1st Wednesday 7 p.m.

2 bad Met losses in a row.   They cannot hit!

A few things to report about today——–

Just arrived home from the club house after a 40-minute water workout;     20 minutes swimming and 20 minutes running.  Trying to stay strong aerobically as best I can.

Picked up my new Asics Kayano 22 trainers from Pacers Princeton today. Thank you Brian Harris. Can’t wait to run in them when my foot feels better.

Getting ready to visit the Rothman Institute tomorrow for another look at my sore left foot. Hoping for some closure on the actual source of my pain.

My 3 month membership to the CentraState fitness center begins today.  I have an appointment with the nurse and trainer for orientation on Friday.  You may remember that I reported I won that 3 month membership by finishing first in my division at the race May 7th at CentraState Hospital.  I am looking forward to trying out their New Age running machine. They tell me that it is the only one in the state of New Jersey right now.

Stats-

I-Mad – 2.5      Hard to believe that water activities are making my achilles tendon sore.

AmHR- 54BPM

Weight-  150#   Hard to believe I’m losing weight when I haven’t run in almost a month

Sleep- 8 hours

Workout – 40 minutes  in pool,  20 swim, 20 run with  no impact

May 30th, Memorial Day

“Come Monday It’ll be all right”

Memorial Day musings;

The TV today is flush with movies about war heroes. I watch them in horror!  I cannot believe that the human race accepts as normal the ravages of war.  I have only seen and heard these events in movies and on news reports.  I never had to personally experience war.  I’ve no idea how I would have responded to battle.  But watching “Band of Brothers” today broke my heart and filled me with appreciation for all of those guys who put themselves on the front lines. The ones who came home and the ones who never came back. Thank you, guys!  Please be at peace, both living and lost.

Continue reading Come Monday →

May 29th, Sunday, 6:45 p.m.   Waiting for the Mets….

Working at the sectionals

Well, for the last 3 days I have not been posting because I have been very busy.  Unfortunately this busyness does not include running workouts that I can report.  However, it has been interesting and my foot I believe is getting better all of which is good.  I spent two days at Hillsborough, New Jersey working at the Central Jersey Sectional Championship meet.  Both Friday afternoon and Saturday all day were very, very hot.  I’m amazed at the performance of the athletes,  the efficiency of the entire working crew and the dedication of the coaches.   My job was to try and make things a little easier for coach Rich Refi who was the meet director.  I checked in all the officials, helped the ticket takers justify the finances and fill out the meet report for the NJSIAA.  This gives me a good deal of time to observe the circus like the atmosphere of the track event. The timing crew and the officiating crew and the Hillsboro maintenance crew did a fantastic job of keeping this event moving and looking good. Thousands of athletes, male and female, competed in 18 different events over the two days. Rich tells me that there were no complaints or negative comments submitted after the meet was completed. That is totally amazing!

I am always gratified by this opportunity to reconnect with so many of the great friends I have made in the world of coaching.  I am always thankful that Rich gives me a job that takes me back into the mix where all the exciting track things are happening in New Jersey.

On the track side, which I am most interested in, the highlight of the weekend had to be the boys group IV 1600 meter run. It was touted as a matchup between the two best milers in New Jersey right now.  It is very unusual for the two best milers to meet in the first round of the state tournament,  but that was how it worked out  this year. It was a matchup between Brandon Tubby of Hillsborough and Tim  Bason  of West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Tim had a slightly faster time recorded this season than Brandon. The event lived up to its pre-race billing as Tubby and Bason  entersd the last 300 meters stride for stride.  Brandon passedTim, then Tim passed Brandon on the turn. Than, with 70 metres to go, Brandon unleashed a kick that buried Bason and won by 10 meters in an amazing time of 4:10.64 !

It was very exciting  to watch, especially if you are a Hillsborough fan.  But I think any track fan would have been impressed.

The late Saturday afternoon 2 Mile runs in the 98 degree Heat were quite excruciating for the athletes and for the fans watching.  A number of athletes were overcome by the Heat and had to be treated by the trainers. This set in motion the long-standing debate about how to handle the two-mile events in the late May weather at the sectional needs throughout the state. There will be much discussion once again and maybe the order of events will be changed so that these events can be held !under less grueling conditions.

Back to work out..

Today I had a very nice workout in the pool at the clubhouse. I spent over an hour in the pool with 1/2 hour of non-stop swimming and one half hour of non-stop running in the deep end.  I decided to add a little diversity to my pool running this afternoon.  I did the 30 -20- 10 workout I have earlier described.  I’ve never done it in the pool before but it worked out pretty well.  It is a workout that involves running for 30 seconds at 5K Pace, 20 seconds at Mile pace and 10 seconds Max Speed.  This is followed by two minutes interval of recovery running period. Today I did that x 5 in the pool.  Since I did not have a watch in the water I had to count strides as I remember from doing the work out previously.  I remembered that in 30 seconds at 5K Pace I ran about 55 strides,  in 20 seconds at 1 mile Pace I ran about 35 strides and in 10 seconds at Max Speed I ran between 20and 2 strides. So that’s how I did it today. I felt quite extended by the workout.  It was probably the best water workout I’ve done so far.

Stats

a.m.HR – 54BPM

  I-Mad – 2

Weight – 153#

SLEEP-   10 hours

Workout – 1 hour  in pool – 30 swim, 30 run ₩ 5 ×  30- 20 -10

May 29th,  Sunday,  7 p.m.

Stick that Landing!

It has been a few days since I posted. So today there will be two posts, one of my workout and one of the miracle that occurred in my kitchen .  This may not be what you expect from a plus70runner, blog but it cannot go unreported.

If you look carefully at the two pictures posted below you will see a Bud Light sitting on the bar that separates my kitchen from my dining room. You will also see the cord to my phone charger sitting next to me bottle of Bud Light. In the second picture you will see the Bud Light resting up-right in place on the rug. You will also see the charger cord hanging off of the bar.  Now here is the miracle that happened.  I stupedly pulled on the charger cord which undercut the Bud Light and drove it off the bar. The bottle flipped in the air and stuck the landing on the rug.  Yes, it stuck the landing on the rug and nothing spilled!!!!  I am in total awe of this event. I don’t see how it could possibly happen, but it did.  Someone smarter than me, a physicist or something, will have to do the math that determines if this is actually possible.  I don’t know.  I only know what happened.  Pictures don’t lie.

The pictures are post-event, but they represent the actual occurrence .         No Lie.         No one would make this up.  It’s too rediculus!