March 29th, Thursday 

 The soft touch of the cinders …….!!

Today I got back on the Cinders for the first time in many months. It was a 55 degree cloudy afternoon, perfect conditions. The track, still moist from the remnants of melting snow, felt pillowy soft on my feet, and throughout the run I had no feet or leg discomfort.

Aside;  the additional fact that I have not had a run on roads for almost a week could be a factor in the good feeling in my legs. I always stress when I haven’t gotten out to run for an extended period of time, and forget that may be the best thing for my legs after training hard for a while.

I ran a very slow 1 mile warm up and did some easy stretches. Then I ran a steady 3 miles finishing the final mile in 9:40. The time passed very quickly today because I was writing in my head my presentation to be made at the Push Your Pace cross country camp that I have committed to this summer. I am a little nervous about this presentation because it’s been awhile since I spoke in front of a crowd. Public speaking has usually come very naturally to me, and the reviews have almost universally been positive in the past. I am anxious to do it again and want to be sure I’m prepared. I wrote a coaching resume and sent the picture to Rich Refi today. So you can find it on the website of the Push Your Pace distance running camp soon if you are interested.

Stats –

All foot indexes at very good level

Sleep 9 hours

Weight 153 lbs

Morning heart rate maintaining at 54 beats per minute

March 25th, Sunday

With the closing scheduled for our Atlantic City condominium on Friday the 30th,  we spent the weekend moving everything out. It’s kind of sad saying goodbye to our escape on the beach after 15 years, but I believe it is the correct decision. So, on Friday and Saturday I did a lot of moving and carrying and stair climbing but no real work-out.  Also, after my 40 minutes in the pool on Thursday night I came home  with the most stuffed sinuses ever.  It was impossible to get any decent sleep for two nights.  After getting some rest last night, I made up my mind that I had to do some work-out today. I planned on doing a run and some cycling in the outdoors this afternoon,  but the weather was so damp and raw that I opted for indoor work.  I really do miss St. Augustine.

Good bye, Saint Augustine

My recent work in the clubhouse has been a collection of activities including running on the treadmill, lifting weights, riding the bike and doing Arizona drills and, finally, running on an elliptical machine. I did all of that tonight for a non-stop hour. It felt good.

An interesting and surprising  event occurred on Friday while I was not posting and was not home or on the Internet for most of the day. My blog site registered 129 views. That is 10 to 15 times more than my normal daily viewing number.  I think someone discovered my site and read 129 of my previous posts, but I’m not sure.

Statistics are steady and positive.

March 22,  Thursday

15 swim,  15 run without impact,  10 swim.

March 20th, Tuesday

SPRING!?

Somehow 3 days managed to slip away without getting any work done. On Saturday we went to Philadelphia to spend the afternoon with Kristen. It was a very nice day but I didn’t get a workout in. Sunday we were invited to a birthday party in Tuckerton. We spent most of the afternoon eating Mexican food. Later that night Arlene had a vertigo attack and we spent 4 hours in the emergency room at CentraState Hospital and  got home at about 2:30 a.m.    Fortunately,  all was declared AOK after  endless tests..  So yesterday I was too tired to do a workout again. Today I managed to get over to the clubhouse before they close it down from the storm. Here is the workout that I did.

Warm up was 10 minutes on the bike with the light arm weights.

Next I did 15 minutes of leg drills including Arizona’s, squats and lunges.

Next I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill finishing at 10 mile per hour pace.

Next I ran for 20 minutes on the elliptical machine finishing with six times 30 second burst maximum effort with 30 seconds rest. My heart rate reached 138 beats per minute along the way.

Then I sat in the sauna for 10 minutes to dry out my sinuses which  haven’t felt right since I got home from Florida.  Then a shower and home to watch the snow accumulate.

Stats –

Everything is stable and positive at this time, thankfully.

March 16th, Friday

Today was another very good day when I felt very strong in the pool. I worked out for a total of 50 minutes. I began with about 5 minutes swim just to get loose because my goal was to do extensive running for 45 minutes today. I began running in the deep end with the noodle under my arms and no impact. During the next 35 minutes I ran adding six times my typical acceleration sequence.  The sequence includes accelerating to 5K pace for 75 strides, then accelerating further at 800m pace for  50 strides, and finally accelerating to maximum speed for 25 to 30 strides.  After each set I wound up pretty winded and with burning quadriceps. After that I ran in the 4 1/2  foot water which provides minimal impact for about 6 minutes with several more acceleration.  I concluded with  220m of swimming freestyle all the way. I was surprised at how much I had left to swim after all that work. I finished with 10 minutes in the hot whirlpool. I was pleasantly exhausted.

Home, a quick dinner with chocolate milk, and Arlene and I were off to Red Bank to see the Irish dancers at The Count Basie Theater. A pretty good day for an old guy.

Stats-

I-Mad & I-Mid = 1

Sleep = 7 hours

a.m.HR = 54bpm

Weight = #154

March 14th, Wednesday

Felt strong during a continuous 30 minute swim in the clubhouse pool.  The Jackson pool is double the size of the St. Augustine pool. So it was nice to swim with fewer turns.  The time went by quickly.  I am pretty certain that within the 30 minutes I covered the 500m distance of the planned triathlon, although I did not count the laps.

March 13, Tuesday

Solid 4 on the road and serendipitous memories

After three days of driving from Florida and resting from the long ride, I was out on the road for a run today in a windy 39° in Jackson. It was a remarkably pleasant and enjoyable run. My legs felt good and strong, and my breathing was very steady and comfortable. It wasn’t very fast amounting to 4 miles in 47 minutes. Each mile was faster than the last. I was particularly encouraged by the fact that on each of the hills I was able to attack and push the pace. There are three challenging hills in excess of 250m in the final mile-and-a-half.  My heart rate was at 150BPM when I finished.  After two minutes of walking it was down to 112BPM. I think that’s pretty good recovery.

On another positive note, I came across some results of 5K races I ran in 2011. These results show me that I am running, at age 75, seven minutes faster on average for a 5k then I ran at age 68.  This made me smile, and also made me happy to know that I am more physically fit and healthy than I was 7 years ago. Can I keep getting better? I’m not sure. But I’m going to keep trying.

Stats tomorrow……..

March 8th, Thursday

Fish Camp

Today I rode a final, five, comfortable miles in the late afternoon shade of my favorite spot, The S’hood, on my Panama Jack beach bike.  Then I put it in the car to bring over to our friends Adam and Janine and their two-year old little boy,  Elon, to hold for the next 10 months at their Fish Camp. My face and neck have cooled down considerably  from the effects of  over exposure the sun yesterday. But the shade was very welcome.  It is a serious reminder of the power of the Florida Sun to note that, even after 7 weeks in this state, just one day of failure to  apply sunscreen resulted in an almost dangerous burn.

ASIDE:   What is a Fish Camp you may ask? Well, I had the same question when I learned that our dancing instructors  for the last five years, Adam and Janine, had given up instructing dancing and purchased a Fish Camp on the Matanzas River. Not knowing what to expect, we got directions to the Fish Camp and drove over to see our friends. It turns out that a Fish Camp is a pretty cool place where you rent paddle boats and boards, and canoes and kayaks and docks for party boats, and sell a little beer and bait and tackle and other stuff.  It is located on a picturesque site along the Matanzas River as it floats into St Augustine. It is historic and pristine and idyllic for a young boy growing up. Arlene and I spent a couple of lovely afternoons at the Fish Camp playing with Elon, who is a charming, bright, little fellow.

That $35 bike served me well for the last 2 months on the beach and on the roads around St Augustine. Never had to add air to the tires once! I am happy that our friends and their little Elon will have the use of the bike for the rest of the year.

Stats are holding steady as we get ready to return to New Jersey in two days.

March 7th, Wednesday

Around noon today I spent 40 minutes in the pool running and swimming;  20 minutes run, 20 minutes swim. Then Arlene and I took a long walk around The Old City .  It was a breezy day in the high 60s, but the Florida sun was very strong. We had a very nice lunch at the A1A Ale House, both feeling pretty spent.  As I sit here writing this post  tonight, I am feeling quite heated. I think I may have spent too much time in the sun today.

I say this with no intention of making my friends and family in New Jersey feel bad as they experience a horrible snow bomb. I hope you will forgive me and please stay safe.

Stats = Stable and normal

March 6th, Tuesday

Today I got back to the beach in the late afternoon for a 3 mile jaunt on the beach in 40 minutes.  I inserted about 6 x 50 to 150 stride pick-up.  Finished wanting more but stopped out of caution.

Stats – Stable