August 22nd, Monday,  5:00 p.m.

On a shady back road in Jackson

“Manifesting enhanced fluidity”   This is a pretty cool phrase that I dreamed up today while running and trying to work on improving my vocabulary used for describing good running.  It in no way describes how I ran my 5 miler today.  I was going to save it for the title of a future post, but I decided that I would probably forget it if I didn’t write it down today.  In an article that I read when I first started posting by a fellow who had been posting for 10 years, one of the suggestions he made was to aways say what you’re thinking right away, don’t save it, because you will probably never use it.  Anyhow, this phrase came to mind today about three and a half miles into the run.  I had convinced myself that I needed to do a long aerobic run because my recent training has been lacking that particular type of workout.  So I set as a goal to run a 4 mile Loop without any stopping.  That sounds pretty modest by standards of three months ago before I was injured, but I had done little of that kind of work since I restarted training July 1st. The beginning of the run was very uncomfortable, and I struggled with myself throughout to keep from actually stopping. I was just determined to complete the format without stopping even if I had to run    12:00+ miles. So I struggled on. As I turned a corner to start up a long gradual one mile hill just past the 3-mile mark, everything changed. All the aches disappeared, my breathing became more relaxed and steady, and I begin to “manifest enhanced fluidity.” LOL   at that point I decided to make my 4 miler a 5 miler. The enhanced fluidity did not manifest itself for very long.  But I was determined to prove to myself that I was mentally tough enough to survive a struggle laden 5 miles.  So, I finished the 5 feeling the most fatigued and drained as a result of any workout since I started running again.  I hope this was not a Pyrrhic victory.  (You can look that up.)

Stats –

I-Mad – 0

A.m.HR – 50BPM  – Low

Sleep – 8.5 hours

Weight – 150#  after run    Down 6# in 4 days,   Mega veggies!

Workout – 5 exhausting miles  in 59:39

August 22nd,  Monday

Watch Peter Snell in 1964 1500 meter final blow the field away. This reminds me of exactly how Centrowitz did it Saturday night. I read Arthur lydiard’s article every year on how he trained Peter Snell to win in 1964. If you can get to 300 meters without fatigue, the fastest runner in the race be the winner. Matt controlled the race until the final lap, and he was the fastest man out there. Brilliant strategy!

Watch Matt;      An authentic American running  hero!

https://youtu.be/2kg8Pd34g7k

August 20th  and 21st, Saturday  and Sunday

Not quite as clever as SNL’s version…

Saturday with the cross country boys at Clayton Park

I approached Clayton Park’s hilly and root-covered trails with trepidation on a steamy Saturday morning.   I had only managed to get about five and a half hours sleep  Friday night.  My legs were feeling heavy and I had tweaked a little muscle in my lower back.  I think I overdid some core work which left me vulnerable.  After procrastinating for about 20 minutes,  I cautiously entered the trails.  My back would feel a little twinge when I traversed the uneven parts of the trail, and I was forced to basically walk going down the steep sections.  I tried to take advantage of the up-hills and get a little work.  After about 20 minutes of this , I exited the trails and headed for the open,  flat fields.  About this time the boys were returning from their run, and I joined them for their post run 150 meter pickups.  I was able to run comfortably and at full stride with some pick up as I did the 150’s.  Doing this also got my heart rate up to where I was hoping to reach . It turns out I did 52 minutes in motion, which was much better than I expected.  At home I had coffee, a fruit salad, chocolate milk and a ham and egg sandwich on a hard roll. Yummy!  It was a good tired feeling all day.

Stats seemed a little off for the last couple of days. My weight was up to 156# for the first time in a few months.  My heart rate seems lower than normal down around 150 beats per minute.  I wasn’t getting a lot of rest at night.  My body seems to be more achy than usual,  and my motivation to run was uncharacteristically low.  It seems that the extremely hot weather has dimmed my desire to get out and do some serious work.

And so, remembering that I am a f…ing  +70 Runner,

Saturday night I got 11 hours sleep,  and…..

SUNDAY,  I TOOK A DAY OFF!! 

Reset……..!