July 20th, Wednesday, 10:00 p.m.

Today was a beautiful day for a  40 minute recovery frolic in the pool.  I was surprisingly the only person in our huge outdoor pool facility at 2 o’clock today.  I swam and ran alternately for 40 minutes with minimal effort and maximum range of motion. That was exactly what I needed as my body ached in almost every sector when I awoke this morning.  I returned home pleasantly tired. Then Arlene and I set out to Avon to spend  two pleasant early evening  hours on the beach.  A perfect end to a classic summer day…….

Stats –

I-Mad -0

A.m.HR – 55BPM

Sleep – 10 glorious hours

Weight – 154.5 #     Inexplicably high this morning

Workout – 40 minutes of motion in pool

??  “Time keeps slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.”   Steve Miller Band,   Fly like  an Eagle

July 19th, Tuesday,  Midnight

It is amazing to me how the time truly does slip away.  I just returned home from the first Liberty High School cross-country practice.  I got a call from my friend Rich Refi, and in the course of our conversation he reprimanded me for not posting for the last 3 days.  I said,  That’s impossible,  I’ve never let 3 days pass without posting.”   Well he said, ” I’m looking at your blog right now and you haven’t posted since the 16th and today is the 19th and its already 11:15 at night.”   I couldn’t believe it.  So I went back and checked: he is correct. This would have been the third day in a row that I did not post. Now, I know to the casual reader of this blog missing a day or two is meaningless.  But to me it is important that I am consistent.  And apparently it is to Rich also,  for which I am thankful.  The astonishing thing to me is how quickly it can get away.  When I started writing this blog I stated that it was essentially for me to keep track of my training as a log.  I felt it was very important for  me that I had a record of what I was doing to get back into shape, and that maybe some + 70 Runners would be interested in my progress.  This has turned out to be most consistent, most detailed and in many ways the best log that I have ever kept.  So I don’t want that to slip away.  The experience of this blog, allowing me to reconnect with old friends, former runners and new friends,  is one of the most exciting things I’ve done since my retirement from teaching.   It has kept my training on track and honest while allowing me to share my experiences with anyone willing to read.  I look forward to both each day.  So for the faithful readers here is the catch up.

After my very exciting run on Saturday I decided to take a day off to recover.  That was definitely the hardest run I had done in 2 months.  Since I had done nothing, I felt embarrassed to write anything, I thought it would be boring.  That was Sunday.  On Monday I did a rather banal run on the cinders down at the half mile Horse Track. I ran 3 miles in the course of which I added 8 x pickups of 100 strides. These pickups were not very fast, but they got better as time went on. I think the last three or four were good form and with some quickness.  Again, not very exciting.  I guess I will just have to remember that sometimes I’m writing and posting just for me. This is a case of heading my own sermons to the athletes that I coach . I hope some of them are reading this.   Anyhow, today I spent an hour and 15 minutes in the weight room doing core work and upper body work and stretching. Then tonight at Cross Country practice I ran another 20 minutes. Once again it took a while for my legs to feel loose and comfortable, but I did get in a mile and a half.  So that’s the catch up.  I think I’m getting a  stronger.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who reads and anyone who has a comment. I always enjoy.

Happy summer training!  Don’t let it slip away.

Stats-

I-Mad – 0

a.m.HR – 54BPM

Weight – 152#

Sleep – 9 hours

Workout  today  – 75 minutes core & upper body + 20 minutes run

Previous day – 3 miles with 8 x 100 strides pickups on cinders

Previous day – Rest & stretch & core at home

June 16th, Saturday, Later that night

Got a minute?  Let me tell you about this workout.

So the storm passed and around 7:45.  I set out to do a workout.  Since dusk was fast approaching on this overcast evening, I decided to try the 30 minute workout recommended by Richard Winett of Ageless Athlete of whom I spoke last week. His workout requires 8 minutes warm up, 5 minutes of strenuous effort, 12 minute recovery run and 5 minute cool down. That sounded interesting ,so I thought I’d give it a shot.

I geared up with all my hi-tech foot protective equipment ie;  Asicis Gel Kayano 22, Dynamic Duomax FluidRide trainers ($140), Spenco Polysorb insoles ($30), Plantar Fascia support Compression Socks ($25).  That’s over $200 in foot fortification.  I will admit that I felt cushioned and supported throughout.

Now back to the workout itself.  I ran the first eight minutes at 12:00 pace. Then I ran 5 minutes at about 8:14 pace, pretty quick. Then I began the 12-minute follow up run and continued at about 11:00 pace and started to get excited about how well I felt. So I continued running past the 12 minutes called for in the segment and pushed it until the 5K mark. That turned out to be 29:11 which was very exciting. In the process it got dark, and I was looking at my watch so much that I ran past my turn for home and had to run the longer Loop. So after 30 minutes I walked a little and jogged in the last half-mile for a total of 37 minutes in motion.  A positive effort!

Stats – Steady and sound

July 16th, Saturday, 6:45 p.m.

Sitting and waiting for the weather to clear for early evening run. The WeatherBug was giving bad news of lightning and thunderstorms. Hope to get out by 8 of the clock. I might post after I return if I do get out on a run. The plan today is to run a nice 3 to 4 mile effort and test my new insoles.

July 15, Friday,  10:p.m.

? “Hot! Hot! Hot!” ??

92* in Jackson today !      The air-conditioned clubhouse was the place for a solid workout today.  Spent 60 minutes in weight room on core and upper-body strength today.  Then ran and swam in pool for 30 minutes.  It was draining on the body, but I was reinvigorated by 20 minutes in the outdoor hot tub.  Our community really has a fabulous recreation facility.  The indoor pool is closed for two weeks of annual maintenance. So the outdoor pool is now open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.. I am less inclined to make the 18 minute ride to Freehold when I can walk 200 yards to our own facility. I will return to the CentraState facility though because I do like the salt water pool,  and they have some really cool machines in their exercise room including the Zero Runner.

I received my Spenco insoles in the mail today that have been recommended by Brother John. They fit nicely into my Kayano 22 trainers, and I will test them out on my run tomorrow.

XC practice at Liberty High School begins next Tuesday. I’m starting to get excited.

That’s all for now.   Happy summer running!

Stats –

I-Mad – 0

A.m.HR – 55BPM

Weight – 152#

Sleep – 7 hours

Workout – 90 minutes  in motion   –   60 of core & upper + 30 in pool

July 14th, Thursday

??” You know it hurts so bad.”           NO! NO! NO!

http://www.ageless-athletes.com/archives.php

Ageless Athletes – Master Trainer

Richard Winett , Virginia Tech

The URL above connects to a very interesting site that talks about the current science of resistance training and interval training, especially training for seniors. One can read for free a whole series of articles that report the latest science in this area.  (He also has publications for sale.)  Have not read all of them yet but I am intrigued and impressed with what I’ve read so far. The key development in my mind is the concept that seniors can continue to improve  strength through low intensity resistance training.  That kind of training eliminates  painful recovery days and dramatically reduces the potential for injury.  I am reminded of a recent statistic that I read in “Runners World” stating that nine out of ten runners over 60 report losing some training time in the last 12 months because of injury.  Your humble blogger is among the nine.

 Remaining injury-free is truly the name of the game.

I must give due credit to Dr. Gabe Mirkin for publishing an article by Richard Winett on his weekly e-zine. That article put me in touch with the site I am speaking of today.

Happy and healthy reading,  fellow +70RUNNER’ s.

July 12th, Wednesday,  Midnight

“I got that old time feeling.”

A cool, breezy evening on the boardwalk in Avon was the setting for tonight’s very positive run for me and some striking photos from Arlene.

While the local lifeguard crews were having their annual contest on the beach, I sent out on a  four mile run. The wind was out of the south at 12 to 15 miles very steady.  I set as a goal today to run 1 mile under 10 minutes just to see if that was still in my fitness arsenal.  I headed south first into the wind. It was steady but not cold, rather enjoyable actually.  Mile one was walking and jogging: mile two was a steady 12 minute pace.  On mile three I cheated to get the time I was seeking.  I turned and headed back north with the wind in my sails.  I was pleasantly surprised that I finished the mile in a very comfortable 8:59.  In truth the watch read 8:59.88.  So I guess we need to round that up to 9.00 flat.  I will take that.  Mile four was another steady, relaxed recovery.  This was the first effort that actually felt like training in two months.  No leg or foot issues.

Cheeseburgers and some cold Sierra Nevada’s at Paul’s Pub in Belmar during karaoke night followed.

Stats –

I-Mad –  0   Very nice!

a.m HR – 54BPM

Weight – 152#

Sleep – 8 hours

Workout – 4 miles on boardwalk with  Mile  #3 at 9 minutes

July 11th, Monday, 2:00 p.m.

Lots of work today; 50 minutes in the weight room for core, upper  body and stretching,  plus 40 minutes in the pool swimming and running. That’s a lot of moving around for an old guy.  I left pleasantly tired.

Stats- stable

Sunday, July 10th, 10:00 p.m.

An Alman Bros “Blue Sky” evening

At 6 o’clock tonight it was blue skies, puffy clouds and 82 degrees.  My workout covered 3.8 miles in 47 minutes.  It was warm but very pretty.  I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 30 and then walked and jogged the final 12 minutes. I’m starting to feel a little stronger.  I have not done anything really fast yet.  I averaged about 11 minutes for miles tonight: legs and feet feel fine. The road back is slow and I have to be careful, but things are looking up.

Very, very enjoyable  evening watching Olympic trials tonight. Good races, tremendous competition. Robby Andrews in the 1500 meters and Sydney McLaughlin in the 400-meter hurdles were just terrific. They joined a plethora of New Jersey athletes who have qualified to represent the United States at the Rio games.

Stats – stable