March 30th, Friday

Good bye, friend…..

After a 6+ mile bike ride yesterday following a day off, I got on the beach at midday with fresh running legs.  I ran slowly, enjoying the beauty of the natural environment and the newly-arrived, Bikini clad, spring break  co-eds, for 30 minutes north into a steady 12/15 mile per hour wind.  It was very Ernst VanAaken.  Then I turned south invigorated by the friendly tail wind.  I ran 12-speed segments of 30 seconds per segment on the way back with one minute jog recovery, picking up the pace with each segment.  I ran to extended speed segments in the final 6 minutes, one of 60 seconds and one of 3 minutes. The total time was 58 minutes. I was very happy to get in a solid workout before we began our journey home for two days on the road.

Stats are good with weight remaining at 151 lbs. Eating well, sleeping well, no injuries

Elvis Costello once said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”  In the same way, running—- the total, exalted, painful, glorious, miserable, purifying, filthy, rhythmic, dream, transcendent, achy experience— for the most part defies rendition in words.

GARTH BATTISTA

But I keep trying.  LOL

March 23rd, 24th and 25th

Saturday –  Quick!   Got out late today as the sun set to cover 2 miles.  Walked and jogged before and after a 10:10 mile.

Sunday –  Quick!  Out at dusk again to run on the streets of St. Augustine.  Ran 10 minutes to local hill. Ran up the hill 5 times (55 strides up, walk down).   Ran back 10 minutes.

Monday –   Long!   I left for the beach at 9:30 a.m. today on my bike. I road for 10 minutes. Then I started running south under a bright sun, blue skies and a gentle west wind. The beach was flat and the sand was firm and it felt like I could run forever. After about 10 minutes of jogging, I began running one minute speed segments at between 7:30 and 8 minutes pace with a 1 minute jog. I continued that procedure going south for 25 minutes. (11x SS)   After the 11th  speed segment I began to feel a twinge in my right hamstring muscle. I stopped running out of fear of a muscle pull. At no time was I in any aerobic distress. I chose to walk back north to the starting point rather than continue running for about 20 more minutes ending with about a half mile jog, all out of  an abundance of caution.  The event was 77 minutes in motion covering 7.2 miles.  When I returned home and weighed myself it read 149.4 lb.! That is the first time under 150 lb. since I ran at the senior games in Alabama in 2017.  That accomplishes one of the goals I set for this visit to St Augustine this winter. That was to return home under 150 lb.

Stats –

Weight  = 149.4 lbs.

Diet = 10

Heart rate = 54 bpm

Morning foot pain indexes are stable

Stretching and body weights are Fair each day

March 21st, Thursday

On another windy day along the beach, I ran an out and back 5K in 32:00.  There was a 15 minute warm-up on the bike first.  Each Km was faster than the last even as I faced the wind in the final 2.5 Km. The comfort level at that pace was a pleasant surprise.  10 minute bike ride home.

March 17, Sunday

60 minutes on bike, 8 miles

March 18th, Monday

1 hour +  , 15 on bike ,  44 minutes of various running, walking with frequent SS.  Today I changed my Garmin to register metric distances and time by each kilometer.  It seems easier after all these years.. So, I know that if I can run 5:00 pace each 1K, I can run a 5K in 25:00 which has always been my goal.

March 19, Tuesday

A very blustery, chilly day.  Seemed like a nor’Easter all day.  No workout at all.

March 20th, Wednesday (SPRING!)

Road and ran for over an hour this still very windy afternoon.  5 SS + 2X 1K @ 4:48 and 4:54. I like my new metric timing system.  10 days left in St. Augustine.  Still thinking about racing another 5K on Saturday.

All stats remain steady and positive.

March 16,  Saturday

“Mind is everything:  muscle— pieces of rubber.  All that I am, I am because of my mind.”                                                                   –  Paavo Nurmi

“You could never get to talk to Nurmi.  You could talk to the president of Finland, but not to Nurmi. He was a god.”                  –  Arthur Lydiard

Amid a dreary, chilly,  cloudy, windy afternoon I managed to run a tough 4 miles on the roads and sand.  I added some (12) SS along the way and a strong 800m finish.  My goal today was to get out on the beach at about 6:30 a.m. because the weather forecast indicated that would be the best time of the day with the least wind and the mildest temperature.  However, when the alarm went off at 6:15 this morning I woke up feeling pretty beat up. My legs, my shoulders and neck were sore from work I did yesterday.  So, I turned over and slept till 10:00. I didn’t want to do too much today as Don is joining me tomorrow for another run, and I’d like to be able to stay with him for a while.  Still a productive day.

Good stats.

March 15th, Friday

“I have heard a million people say that running is the most boring activity that they can possibly imagine. Since I am sure I am not any smarter or wittier than these people, I can only guess they never learned to listen as they run.  If they did, they would surely be entertained and informed by their own thoughts.”

—Amby Burfoot,  The Runners Guide to the Mesning of Life

So, this morning I entertained and informed myself for about 70 minutes while I ran and biked as the sun came up.   🙂    I rode my bike to the beach and on the beach for about 15 minutes before I begin running. The actual run consisted of 4.14 miles during which I ran 80 stride SS of 30 seconds about 20 times with a 1-minute walk in between each SS.  The pace of the SS began at about 9:00 and dropped to 7:00 average for most of the remaining segments.   That 4 miles took about 51 minutes.  I then rode my bike home which takes about 7 minutes.     I have become quite fond of morning workouts on the beach.

Stats are stable and positive.

,,

March 12th and 13th

Tuesday –  5.77 miles biking on the windy roads in 46.00

Wednesday –   Today I met with my friend Don who is visiting in Florida for a golf tournament.   Don a an accomplished  tri-athelete who has completed a number of Ironman competitions. He was kind enough to run at my Pace on the beach for 4 miles with me. We had an enjoyable conversation and the time went by quickly. It was a treat  to have a friend along because all of my runs have been alone. We ran 4 miles with 5 x 30 second SS along the way in 46 minutes.  We plan to meet up again on Sunday morning.

Stats –

Weight = Steady at #152

Sleep =  Steady at 7/9 hours

HR = Midday 50bpm

Diet = 9

I-Matd  =  0

I-Mpfd = 3/4. While running = 0

stretching and body weights are good

March 11th, Monday

“I was born to run. I love to run. It seems that the faster I go, the easier it becomes.”   Mary Decker Slaney

Today was possibly the warmest day so far in St. Augustine.  Fortunately, some heavy clouds moved in to filter the sun by 4p.m..  I covered 3 miles on the beach consisting of 20 SS with walking in between.  I ran for 30 seconds covering about 80 strides, each followed by 60 seconds of quick walking.  My heart rate stayed in the 130 to 140 range throughout.  It took 38 minutes  and felt very good.  The SS pace was between 6:45 and 7:15.   I am becoming enamored of the idea of doing workouts that consist of walking  quickly and running fast with no jogging .   I am sure that I will continue to run some workouts at a longer, steady pace: but I’m finding it hard to imagine doing that without adding at least some SS.

Stats are holding steady in positive ranges.

March 10th, Sunday

Old, junky, rusty, burnt orange, but functional Huffy.               Found it in an abandoned warehouse.  Haven’t added air in 7 weeks. LOL

On the beach this morning as the Sun rose under the new Eastern  Daylight Time.  That meant an extra hour of sleep in the morning to get on the beach just as the sun rose. I rude my trusty Huffy for 40 minutes, ran for 20 minutes with a few SS and rode home for 10 minutes. (70 in motion)

Steady stats.

March 8th, Friday

“Walking and running makes us part of the living cosmic unity, and that is not something restricted to the young.”           Roger Robinson                              Legendary  masters runner

Today I walked on the beach for 1 hour with Arlene in the beautiful midday sunshine cooled by a brisk southern breeze.

Later, in the cool of the evening, I ran 45 minutes injecting some quick SS along the way.

Stats are good, especially weight of  150.5 lbs !