September 29th, Saturday

“Do what frightens you.”

On the first truly crisp morning of this season I set out to practice at Manasquan Reservoir. The team of Liberty runners was light. We had three coaches. So, with not much to do, I decided, I hope not recklessly, to run completely around the  5 mile reservoir trail. There was a bright sun shining, but 85% of the trail is shaded. So the temperature was pretty much perfect. I honestly started with a great deal of trepidation. It has been months since I last ran 5 miles without stopping. Well I managed to get around.  After running a 14 minute mile, I averaged 11 minutes for the next 4 miles finishing about a minute-and-a-half under the hour mark.  It was not an easy run, telling me that I am in need of a great deal more base. But it is major marker on the road to top fitness.  The good news is that my quadricep and plantar fasciitis issues were very minimal on this 5 mile run and not present at all for the last 4 miles.

Stats-

Weight after run was #151.4 another good marker!

Diet= 8

Heart rate stable at 54 beats per minute

Sleep = 10 hours last night.  Only 5 hours on Thursday night because I was up at 5:20am to  buy breakfast for the Liberty runners on Friday morning. Long day!

Indexes = No change…

September 26th,  Wednesday

On a very summery autumn afternoon (87*), I ran 3 miles on the steamy Jackson Liberty track.  I did a gentle surge on each straight away from lap two through lap ten, 20 pick-ups.  It was quite exhausting under a relentless sun in a bright blue sky.  Happily, my foot and quadricep were not a problem during the workout. Positive progress…..!

Stats-

Sleep = 8 hours

Diet =  8/9

Weight  = 152.2lbs after workout 🙂

a.m. HR = 54bpm

Indexes –  I-Mpfd = 5/6.    I-Matd = 1

Workout = 3 miles with 20 x 80m pickups

September 23rd, Sunday

Loving those friendly cinders

On a 70*, cloudy, misty, dark, early autumn afternoon I headed to that favorite cinder track to attempt a real run.  It was glorious!  I went through my pre-run routine on a blanket covered picnic table under a covered patio. What followed was the most positive run in many months.  It was three pain-free miles.  I had vowed to avoid adding any accelerations and just try to complete 3 miles at a comfortable pace.  Feeling safe and painless, I was tempted but resisted.  I was also tempted to add a 4th mile, but settled for my goal of three. ( averaged  12:08 per mile)  As I write this post on Monday morning, my feet and legs feel fine.  I am confident that I will soon be back on course to a legitimate training schedule.

Stats – generally positive and stable

Morning heart rate equals 54 beats per minute.

Weight equals 154 lb.

Diet is very good.

Early morning foot pain from plantar fasciitis still an issue, but is quickly resolved by stretching.

Sleep has been consistently in the 8 to 9 hour range.

September 21, Friday

One hour of work in the exercise room on weights, bike and elliptical machine tonight. I was very tired and sore today at xc practice.  When I got home, I decided that, even though my foot was hurting and my legs were sore, I could still do a  workout on weights and the machines. I’m very glad that I did.

Stats –

Sleep = 8 hours

Weight = #155

Diet =  8

I- Mfd = 6/7   –3/4 at practice

HR normal

September 20th, Thursday

Tuesday, yesterday, was a day of rest for the body, a lot of driving!

Today I stayed in motion for over 40 minutes while my Killer Bees ran a work-out on the track.  I did a good hip activation series with our injured #4 runner  before  my workout.  My legs felt good and my feet were ok, not perfect. After the boys left I ran another 2000m with 8 pick-ups.  It seemed like a good day’s work.

Stats –

Sleep  =  11 hours   —  Needed it, only 5 hours on Tuesday night .  Early 6:30 rise to give a short motivational speech to the Hillsborough girls  cross country team.

Diet = 7/8

Weight = #145

amHR = 54bpm

Feet = 4/5 in am. – 2/3 running

September 18, Tuesday

I have been less than enthusiastic lately about posting because my workouts have been less than interesting. Yesterday I did quite a bit of work on the track at Liberty High School during cross-country practice. I did a long warm up because my legs felt very unresponsive and heavy. I did leg drills; I jogged a little and stretched a little; did more leg drills; did my new hip release exercises and a little more jogging and stretching.  Gradually my feet stopped hurting and my legs lightened up. So I ran some (5) pickups of 100m and ultimately a few (3) 200 m. It turned into a pretty good workout as my body seemed fluid and open.  But I left feeling that I was going to pay  a big price tomorrow. That was all on Monday afternoon. I was unusually tired when I returned home and, uncharacteristically, fell asleep on the couch. Eventually I got into bed and had about a 10-hour sleep.

Today, Tuesday, was a surprisingly positive day. I had done a lot of work last night after the workout on my legs.  I heated and I iced and I stretched and I rolled my feet.  So today my legs felt lively.  I spent a lot of time at home in the afternoondoing the warm-up that I did yesterday with even more of each activity. I had an early dinner of a terrific Chef’s salad containing about 7 vegetables and some Virginia ham. It was delicious and refreshing. Then I went to the clubhouse for one full hour of non-stop activity. ( 20 minutes in the weight room, 20 minutes swimming and 20 minutes water running, plus 15 minutes in the hot whirlpool)  I returned  home pleasantly exhausted and happy to be back on a  training routine.

So I turned to The Beatles to express that things are looking up. Enjoy!  ABOVE:-)

Stats –

Morning heart rate equals 54 beats per minute.  Steady

Weight equals 153 pounds after workout. Good

Sleep equals 10 hours- Very solid

Diet was at 9 out of 10- Exceptional!

Left foot continues to be painful upon rising, but quickly calms down after a few minutes of walking and stretching.

Achilles tendon discomfort on both feet equals 0.!!

September 15, Saturday

This morning at Thomson Park I ran about  2.5 miles.  I actually ran 1 mile plus on the grass without stopping for the first time in s while.  It felt pretty good.

Stats are stable.

September 14th, Friday

Today I ran at a pretty good pace a few miles chasing the Liberty boys at the class races at OCP.   Plus I ran about t 100m pick-up.    Nothing special, just getting back into motion.

Stats- Steady    Foot = about a 4 on the discomfort scale,  but not while running.

September 13th, Wednesday

Recovering slowly from my races at the New Jersey games, I rode my bike 4 miles today and stopped at the exercise room for 30 minutes of upper body and core work. The sore right quadricep is healing slowly and I’m not going to push it. All my stats are steady and I am enjoying this opportunity to rest and recover with no impending races.

September 8th, Saturday

Passing 400m before I ran down those two guys.

Finishing first in 800m.   3:18

Today’s efforts at the New Jersey Senior Games proved to be better than I anticipated. In the 800 meters I finished first out of the field of 11 runners to win in 3: 18. That was much faster than my projected seed time of 3:40. I am very surprised and gratified that I am able to run that time with such limited running training. I was pretty sure that my aerobics condition was okay but had grave doubts about my legs. But in the 800m I found both aerobic and muscle reserves when I called on them. This is very encouraging and makes me very excited about the possibilities for the Nationals in July.

The 1500 meter race was a completely different story. I guess I have to say that my between races preparation was not very good. But in the race I did not feel strong and my quadricept issues returned so that I just managed to finish in 7:54. Fortunately only two runners showed up for the 75 to 79 year old category. So I finished second and qualified for this event as well. I could clearly feel my lack of conditioning in the second race and I’m glad I did not have to beat anybody. But all in all it was a really good day. The weather was perfect for distance running at about 68 degrees and cloudy. The meet went pretty much on time. So, I move forward with 9 months to train for the Nationals with time to relax and reboot and get all my aches and pains taking care of while I get strong and fast. I am very excited!