The Pan-American Masters games begin in Cleveland in 19 days. I have decided to forgo running the 1500m race because of a nagging hamstring issue in my right leg. I’m not sure that I can recover fast enough to run the 800m on Wednesday if I run a 1500m on Sunday. I have not tried a serious workout in about a week for fear of further aggravating my hamstring. Over the previous two weeks I had successfully completed some arduous mid-distance interval workouts. That consisted of upgrading my normal training pace, which I believe, probably irritated my hamstring.

Hotel and flight reservations are in place. The objective remains to arrive in Cleveland ready to run a fast 800m.

Today, Monday, is a beautiful 80° summer day.The heat wave has broken, and I will be out on the cinder track this afternoon to see how well my leg is doing.



Trying to build mitochondria with some  600m repeats tonight.  1 mile warm-up and stretching. On the 800 m cinder track. I ran 600 and walked and jogged 200. The 600s were at eight minute pace. (3:00) The recovery was less than three minutes.

I was cautious because of A complaining right leg hamstring muscle.

The workout was positive, but I will need some time off to be sure my hamstring muscle is cared for. Tomorrow will be swimming, whirlpool, and weight room. It’s just about one month until thePan/ Am Masters games. So I cannot afford a hamstring injury.

Stats are positive-

Tonight on the cinders I ran 4 x 800m with 2/3 minutes rest: 4:55, 4:29, 4:12, 4:18. Bambi’s Daddy checked on me every lap. It felt ok on the third day out from a full mile and a 800m double on Sunday. It was the first time I’ve ever done that double on a single day with only an hour rest. I did not get a split time on the 800m from the relay. but I was surprised by how recovered I felt running it. My calves are still a bit tight from the addition of spikes for the races. I need to incorporate spikes in my training gradually over the next month to prevent that becoming a problem at Pan-Am Masters if I try the same double over 3 days.

The mile time trial is was a modest success. 7/:21 seems ok for my first mile in over a year. It felt like I was running conservatively and hit the half in close to 3:30, but the second half was not strong enough, 3:50. Will need a little bit more middle distance aerobic strength and a little more guts to get under 7:00 in a month. Looking for 3;20 and 3:38/9.

Stats: Weight – 142+ !! Sleep – solid 8/10 nightly. Diet – 9. Legs/feet are injury free. Resting heart rate- 54bpm

Today I revised an old favorite from my coaching days at North Hunterdon.  After a steady week of work I had decided over the weekend to take 2 recovery days to bring some life back into my legs. The workout consists of running 1600m repeats with surges and cruise segments at specified speeds. The segment are 200 meters, 500 meters, 200 meters, 500 meters, 200 meters. For the high school boys the goal was to run the 200m segment in 32 seconds with a 5:08 target 1600m. I decided that at my level I should make the target 10:00. The 800 meter cinder track Is only marked for two 400 meter segments. So I decided to run my segments in time rather than distance. I would surge for 1:00, cruise for 3:30, surge for 1:00,  cruise for 3:30 and surge for 1:00 to, hopefully, complete the 1600m at the 10:00 mark.

My performance surprised me. On the 1st effort I passed the 1600m mark in      8:58.  Feeling a bit of fatigue and out of an abundance of caution I decided to half the segments in the second and try to run at 800m in 5:00.  Trying to be very controlled I still pass the 800m mark in 4:18.  The ease with which I did that emboldened me to try another 1600 m.  Once again being very controlled I still completed 1600m in 8:55.    I was a big hit on the cinders tonight as 3 people stopped to tell me how impressed they were with my running.

Stats are steady and sound with no leg or foot issues.

Two weeks ago, when Robert and Kristen were here for Easter, I mentioned that I was planning to run a race this July in the Pan/American Masters games in Cleveland, Ohio. I explained that the race was exactly 100 days away and that I was creating a 100 day training plan to prepare for the race. They became quite excited and animated. They insisted that I create, in fact they created for me, an Instagram account to publish my daily workouts for the hundred day countdown. So, I learned how to do Instagram stuff and have been posting and telling my story for two weeks. We are now down to day 85. Therefore, I have not been posting here as +70 Runner but have been Instagraming daily as +80 Runner.

Cycle one of the plan involves 20 days of base building. I have concluded that, if I want to achieve my goal to run an 800m close to 3:00, I will have to have a stronger base so I can do more strenuous workouts in the final stage of the hundred day plan. So far that has gone quite well. My legs are definitely tired from the increased workload. I have not taken off a single day. I even ran a comfortable 5K race in 30:19 last Sunday with no pre-race taper.

Anyone who chooses can keep up with my countdown training on Instagram under my new tag name. +80 Runner

Stats –

-leg muscles and feet are somewhat shaky and sore every morning, but there are no injuries

-weight is a steady 144 pounds

– resting heart rate remains constant in the low 50s

- diet is healthy except for beer and ice cream, but I run to maintain some vices

Made a decision yesterday to plan to run the pan-am Masters games in July in Cleveland. It’s 100 days away so it seems like a cool idea to put together a 100 day plan to see if I can run a fast 800 m in July. I was able to run 3:15 at Ocean breeze two weeks ago. That time would have won the USATF national championships 80 year old category by 38 seconds. So, I think I am one of the better 800 runners in the country right now. I believe that I have accomplished that with rather moderate training for mid distances. The plan is to up the level of my middle distance training in the next 100 days with the goal of running a fast 800m, maybe close to three minutes, at the outdoor masters Pan-American meet in July. It seems like a fun thing to try.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I spent 45 minutes in the exercise room at our clubhouse. (ER) Today, Thursday, I ran a steady 45 minutes on the Cinder track at the senior center. (SS) Tuesday was a total washout.

During the previous 10 days, over Easter, I did a surprising Amount of work comprising over 10 miles and included some middle distance intervals and speed segments. I ran an 8:45 mile during one workout and have done a good number of 200s on the track.

The next few months should be interesting if I survive.

My stats have been holding up well. At one point during that 10 day stretch I did have an elevated basic heart rate. That led me to take two days off to make sure I was not overtraining. Everything else is holding up.

Easter Sunday with the family. Spectacular Ukrainian Easter feast!

Too much food and drink, but it is a day that was tagged as a recovery day.

After two pretty serious workouts on Friday and Saturday I noticed that  my resting heart rate was higher than normal, a signal that I needed to slow down for additional recovery.

Friday was  a one hour ago workout on the track with 6 x 200m strong  in between 2 x 20 minutes easy.

Saturday was  a 8:45 mile and a 5:00 800m between two easy runs on the cinders.

Committed to upping my training level to run fast 800m  without injury.  I can be a major play in the National Masters world if I can do it.  The 3:14 800m  that I ran at Ocean Breeze last week would have won the USATF MASTERS Nationals by 38 seconds.

February catch up

2/5 thru 3/1

Saint Augustine, as expected, provided ideal conditions for winter training.  During the previous 25 days I have had 15 days of serious training  with 10 days of resting and walking.  I competed successfully in an 800 meter run finishing in a respectable 3:21.  I also ran the Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K in 30:03.  OK but somewhat disappointing.

I am feeling strong during workouts and experiencing no leg or foot issues. My workouts consist of 3-5 miles, mostly on the beach,  including frequent speed segments of from 30 seconds to two minutes.  Lately I’ve been adding hills.  Today I did the most purely speed workout probably ever.  What was 10 x 100 meters at a 6:00 per mile pace on a friendly boardwalk.   I was pretty surprised by those numbers when I checked my watch. That included 1.5 miles out and 1.5 miles back.

We head home in one week from today. So, I am seeking one more competition to test my fitness level.

Stats are sound!

Well, I turned 81 last week and a few thoughts have been rolling around in my head .

The 1st is that I feel great. So far growing old has not kicked my ass the way I thought it might. That’s good.

Second, 81 sounds a lot older than 80 it  seems to me.   Age 80 is kind of a milestone, “Hay, I’m 80!”, but 81 just sounds like an old guy. I’ll just have to get used to it.

The 3rd, I’ve gotten into the habit of doing age calculations as it might have occurred in my mind as an 18 year-old senior in high school. I never actually knew anyone who was 81 years old when I was a senior high school.  But if I did, I would have come to the realization that this person was born in 1880.  Rutherford B. Hayes was president in 1880.  Who?  It could just as easy have been George Washington or Julius Caesar . There is just no perspective for such a thing to an 18 year-old. So, I have pledged to try to remember that when I encounter young people. Just thoughts…….

Hoping to post more often in the future

ood walk that I found.

February 4,  Rainy Sunday

Our 1st week at the beach has been very positive for training. The temperature has been consistently in the 60s and the beach, as usual, is very comfortable and safe. The result has been 7 consecutive days of +40 minute runs  with 1 biking session in the middle.  I continue to add speed segments along each run, becoming more confident everyday.  Today is the 1st rainy day we’ve seen so far in Florida and a good time for a recovery break.

January 30, Monday

Well,  it’s been way too long since I posted and logged .  So, here goes from Florida.

We just arrived Saturday evening. I did a shake out run on Saturday night after 2 days of driving.

Yesterday I ran 4 miles on the beach kind of moderately but with a series of speed segments thrown in along the way.  It was 61*.  The endless beach was firm and flat.  The sky was a cloudless deep blue. The sun and the surf and the seagulls screamed, “Beach.” The wind out of the north was perfect, and I got that old “St.  Augustine Training”  vibe back again.

Today I rode the bike for 30 minutes.

I am registered for two races in a near future. The 1st is an 800m indoor meet on 2/11 in Gainesville, Florida.  I believe it is called the USA track and field south east  regional masters championship.  (long name). I am anxious to test what kind of 800 meter fitness I have right now.  The second is the annual Saint Augustine Lighthouse 5K run in which I have competed for the last 10 years.  That race is on 2/18,  and I will run it basically as a hard workout day with no real goal.  It is an attractive community event.

Fortunately, my body has held up during  the posting hiatus, and all measures of fitness have been positive and steady.  Looking forward to a productive 6 weeks in St. Augustine.