Training has been going quite well, I believe. Today, after 2 days rest, I did quite an extensive workout at our community pool and weight room facility. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, lifted the weights for about 15 minutes and then went in the pool for 30 more minutes of running and swimming. It was a lot of work, but I felt quite Invigorated afterwards rather than worn out. Most of my workouts, basically all of my workouts, have been shorter and more intense rather than long and Gentle. I make every effort to avoid hard surfaces, roads and sidewalks. Distances covered Amount to about 2 1⁄2-3 1⁄2 miles for the most part. A recent development is that I have become much more comfortable working on the elliptical machine. I had essentially disdained that as a viable workout option in the past. This evolution has allowed me to get a lot more work done without impact which I find very rewarding.
So it looks like 7 days of work
and a few days of recovery. Then take a shot at running a respectable 800 meters.

On day nine of the 42 day countdown to my opening 800M race I have completed my plan. I will be operating on a 4 day cycle. The 4 components of the cycle are high intensity Interval training, Hills, Pool work and the Elliptical machine. I have concluded that long continual impact runs are not beneficial to my back. So, my aerobic work will be done in the pool and on the elliptical machine. On the alternate days I will do a hill workout and an Interval workout on the track. I will be including 2 workouts of arm and shoulder weights and 2 workouts of core drills in each cycle.

I have established a goal of 3:36 for my first 800m on July 11. My Interval workouts will be done at that pace.

I consider this an ambitious yet conservative plan. The objective is to be consistent and avoid injury at the same time.

I just learned today that I will be anchoring a 4x800m relay on July 11th. That news is very exciting and more than a bit terrifying. It has motivated me to develop a solid six week program starting tomorrow. I am not able to set a goal time yet because I don’t have any idea of my current fitness level. I am still looking for the ideal time and place to run an 800m trial. I need that to set a six week goal and establish solid training pace.

Running is finally fun again. and having a goal is the icing on the cake.

Ran 5 more hills on Sunday between the rain showers. I did a significant warm-up indoors before going out. Then I ran about a mile before I got to the hill. My legs felt excellent today. This surprised me because the workout was totally on the road which I have essentially avoided since my back injury. So, I ran the hills pretty aggressively. The workout was about 2.2 miles in total. I am very curious to find out how my legs will respond to two  consecutive days of hills.

I was very pleased today to get in a workout that I’ve been longing to do for quite a while. And a cool, rainy afternoon was a perfect time to do it. This was a less than 15 minute workout. I did a 30 minute warm-up in the house that includes stretching and warm-up leg drills. Then I headed out into the rain to a hill that is 50 strides long about 600m from my house.

I ran five very strong bursts up the hill with walks down the hill and then returned home.  I think it was a top-notch aerobic day.

Working on VO2 max and core

Thus far in May my track training sessions have been intervals plus almost daily core work. I need to get back to some more serious weightlifting, but I’m happy with the current progress. My Vo2MAX has returned to 36. I have been able to successfully compete interval workouts of 200, 400, 600 and 800m @ close to or better than 8:00/9:00 per mile pace.

An update on my back injury/recovery:

Thankfully, my back does not hurt at all while I am running. But stiffness and pain does occur after sitting for an hour or so. It is tolerable. but it requires rest and stretching, and then some light movement for a day or so before I can do another workout. In between I do a lot of core work, walk and go to the swimming pool to swim and run impactless. (Is that a word?)

I am feeling very lucky these days that I am back to running with purpose.  I have not sent a goal for a race date yet, but that may be coming soon.🏃🏿‍♂️😊

A respectable 3 1/2 miles at Turkey swamp Park concluding with five hills of about 170 m.

It is very rewarding and exciting to be able to actually use the word training when speaking of my activities these days. I’ve actually done some real workouts, which is quite exhilarating.

On Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th I mainly did some core work and working.

On the 20th Monday I did the longest swim I have done in many months,20 laps plus another 15 minutes running in the pool and a full core workout. That was a good day.

On Tuesday the 21st I recovered in the hot tub stretching and heating.

On Wednesday the 22nd I finally got to the Jackson high school track. The workout was 4×200 at 50–52–53–55 plus6×100m. That was another good workout.

On Thursday and Friday I rested my legs and did a lot of core work.

Friday the 25th at the club I did the following; a double core full workout +30 minutes on a treadmill with 5×3 minute intervals with two minutes rest. It was another good day.

On Sunday the 26th I went back to the cinders to run 3 miles of walk – jog – run with 14 pick ups at under nine minute pace, in 44 minutes. Good work!

Yesterday I rested and walked.

Today I went back to the cinders and covered 2 1/2 miles. That included 4×400 at 2:15– 2:12 – 2:07 and 2:12. Also good work.

As of tonight, I weigh 142 pounds and have not a single leg issue. 😊. So much to be thankful for 😎…

I have been catching up on some long way to Home projects over the last few days. It is surprising to me how much these small projects tire me out in the course of a few hours of lite work. But I did force myself to Turkey Swamp Park on Friday after my DIY job. It was tough getting started, but I did stay in motion for about 55 minutes with 6/7 quick straightaways and hills at the finish. Surprisingly when I returned home and checked my weight, I was at 142 pounds. That’s pretty close to top running weight and down about 8 pounds from my high earlier this year.

 I’ve been getting anxious to get to a 400 m track to run some form of time trial. I currently have zero idea of the level of my conditioning. I would be thrilled to run a four minute 800m at this point.  One problem is that local schools have stopped allowing the community members to use their 400m track. It’s quite annoying. I guess I’ll just have to climb a fence. 🏃🏿‍♂️😊🙏🤞👣🪜👮‍♂️🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏿‍♂️