JLHS XC: Congratulations to our own Coach O’Rourke, Senior T&F Games 800m Champion!!
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Preserving for posterity! 🙂

June 27 and 28,  Thursday and Friday

Thursday – Spent about 40 minutes in the pool swimming and running.  My legs were surprisingly sore from the slow 5k on Tuesday.  The water was the perfect medium, including a 15 minute hot whirlpool.

Friday – Tonight I spent an hour in motion on the cinders that covered 4.56 miles.  After a one mile jog, I ran and walked alternately for 30 seconds. My plan is to run frequent 1 hour efforts using the MMF (My Modified Fartlek) plan with the goal of steadily increasing the distance covered in the hour.  Tonight was 4.56 miles with heavy, sore legs in 80+ degrees. Is a goal of 6 miles by mid August too optimistic?  That is only 10 minute pace.  I am pretty sure this plan well require some early morning run as the summer heats up

 Stats-

Still weight = #149

Foot Indexes  =  2

Sleep = Forever

June 26, Wednesday

” We may train or peak for a certain race, but running is a lifetime sport.” ~ Alberto Salazar

Well, it’s been a week since I ran the 800m in Albuquerque. I have enjoyed basking in the feeling of accomplishing a goal and even hearing and reading all the congratulations from people who are aware of my victory.  But I have had little incentive to run or to post during that time. I have come to believe that the five-day trip to New Mexico was a complete drain of my energy resources. I’ve been sleeping 10 or 11 hours at night and still feeling pretty tired. So, I made a decision on Sunday to enter a 5K race in Princeton just to force myself to get moving again. Last night I ran the Firecracker 5K in 31:12. I wasn’t trying very hard and the time was not very good, but I think it was what I needed to start my reboot. I did get a medal for winning the over 75 year-old division which consisted of exactly two men.     I have a whole list of rationale as to why the time was so slow:

It was very hot and muggy.

I forgot to bring my watch so I never knew how fast I was going and there were no markers along the course.

I had no incentive to run fast.

I am probably not fully recovered from my trip to Albuquerque.

I haven’t run more than 2 1/2 miles on any single day for 17 days.

They were six Hills on the course including three that were about a half-mile from the Finish.

Sean Dolan from Hopewell HS, and Meet of Champions winner and one of the fastest High School runners in America, won the race in 17:15. I think he is easily capable of running 2 minutes faster than that on a road 5K.

There it is!   My plan is to log lots of miles in the next 2 months in preparation  for a respectable performance at the Jason Walton Memorial 5K in late August.

Have not been monitoring stats.  Must start.

June 19, Wednesday

BANG!!!

So, I wrote this summary of my trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the National Senior Games as I sat in the lobby of my hotel killing time waiting for my midnight flight home to New Jersey.  Here it is.

My National Senior Games Saga

I left home at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 14th, for JFK Airport. After waiting a few hours I left at 8 p.m. for Albuquerque. We arrived at 10:30 p.m. mountain time. I took a cab to the AirBNB by  midnight.  It was a kind of dreary room with no windows, but I did sleep okay that night. On Saturday morning I met two senior swimmer guys who were also staying at the same house. They were nice fellows. The swim venue was quite near the place we were staying. It turned out that the track and field venue was quite far away and that included a $20 Uber ride. I did learn how to use the Uber app, and I headed off  to Convention Center for the bogus sign up scam. They bring everyone into the convention center to sign up and sell slots to hundreds of venders trying to hustle junkie merchandise to the seniors as they arrived. I found a coffee and a Danish but was feeling uncommonly jittery all morning. I took another Uber to the track and field facility to get oriented. I got my number and checked in for my race on Sunday.   By chance my number was 1500.   I had planned to meet a friend of mine from New Jersey who was competing at the games around 5 that afternoon, but it was too hot to stay around for that many hours. So I took another Uber to my AirBnb.  I needed to get a decent meal since it was almost 3 already. The host wife told me there were places to eat on the outskirts of the neighborhood and tried to describe how to get there. Directions were very nebulous, and I set out to quickly get lost and disoriented in a shady neighborhood with big dogs barking  everywhere and no people around. I still remained quite jittery and shaky as I tried walking in the neighborhood. I made a quick decision that this housing situation was not going to work for me. I decided to get a hotel in a better neighborhood and closer to the center of the city.  I made a reservation and informed my host and packed and was gone in half an hour.  I checked in to Hyatt Place by 5 PM. It was a very comfortable room in a good neighborhood. I still had not had lunch but there were plenty of respectable eating places in the malls nearby walking distance from the hotel. The switch was going to cost me $1,200 but I did not care anymore.   I had a decent dinner at a local establishment called the Elephant Tavern. I got into bed very early and slept through the night for 10 hours.   After an unsteady and tenuous breakfast at the hotel, I took an Uber to the track for my race.  Never quite felt everything was normal as I warmed up true, but I pushed on to get ready. I was content that I could not beat the local, Albuquerque runner.  So I set out with the goal of finishing second in this event.  As the race began the Albuquerque runner quickly separated from the pack. I was alone in second place and held on until the final 40 meters when I was passed. I was totally gassed and had no response to being passed at all. My time was 6:40 and I finished third. I felt very depressed and totally drained by this performance. It took me 20 minutes to catch a standard breath and hours to feel as though I had recovered from the race. I definitely needed a reboot.

I spent the next three lonely days trying to prepare for my 800 meter race, to acclimatize, trying to get over a nasty, annoying sinus event. I took some over-the-counter sinus pills, did a lot of hot compresses on my face, ate healthy food, slept well, and did a few pre race activities. Monday morning before breakfast I ran for 15 minutes with a few pickups. On Tuesday I ran in the pool for 15 minutes to get some motion in my legs. I did manage to connect with my friend, Stan, and his lovely girlfriend, Naomi. We went out to dinner on Monday night and that was very enjoyable.  I must say that my confidence was growing each day and I approached the 800m believing that I could run very fast and easy. Arlene and Rob and Kristen and all the family and friends were a great boost to my confidence.  Knowing that they had seen my 1500 meter race on Facebook and we’re going to see my 800 meter race on Wednesday was very exciting to me.  I was determined to put on a good showing no matter how the race turned out.

Wednesday morning I turned to my high school pre-race breakfast of buttered toast and tea with a few pieces of fruit to get me started.  Another Uber and I was at the track ready for my race. I had to search for a new warm-up spot because they closed the area that I had used Sunday. Luckily I found across the track an unused pole vault runway.  I did a series of 40m  pickups along the runway for about 15 minutes, no extended jogging.  Now, the temperature was about 88 degrees and I was the only person in the facility wearing sweatpants.! LOL

Race time….. checked in, spiked up, felt good. Found out there were two heats and I was number one seed in the seated heat. Got to the line very confident with the plan to put the 7 second rule into effect. The 7 second rule is basically the idea that for the first seven seconds of the race you get a free pass to run as quick as you like without having it have  any negative affect your race later on. Gun goes off:  I take early lead by the time I get to the back straightaway and feel no pressure from anyone. I am fellng relaxed and totally in control. I cruised easily until the 600m mark  and began to accelerate around the turn. No one ever challenged me.  I finished strong.  It was exactly how I thought I was going to feel when I ran 800 meters after all the work I had done. I was not breathing heavily nor had any leg heaviness at any time during the race.  I believe that I could have run a much faster time if I was challenged.  I could not have been more proud or happy. I recalled something that my  very cool Uncle Willie  said  to me after I  graduated from  Seton Hall  in 1965.                    He said, ” Robert, (All my Aunts and Uncles always called me Robert) this is something no one can ever take away from you.”

June 12, Wednesday

Today – 3 steady miles with 10 moderate SS in 38:30 preceded by a one mile walk.  Needed an aerobic segment to maintain fitness.   I think it was just enough.

June 11, Tuesday

Taper 4, 5, 6

Sunday was a day off.

Monday was 2.15 miles in 31 minutes  with a few 200m and 100m quicker segments.

Tuesday was just walking.  Doing lots of high altitude simulation breathing each day.

I think Wednesday and Thursday  must include some moderate aerobic work and a few SS.

Everything is on holding pattern right now.

5 days to 1500m race.

June 8, Saturday

“If you under-|train, you may not finish, but if you over-train, you may not start.”                    ~~~ Stan Jensen.    run100s.com

Thursday and Friday were two days of rest.  Today I covered 3.43 miles at  Turkey Swamp Park in 50 minutes.   It was twice around  a  shady  one and three quarter mile loop.  I ran the second Loop in the 30 second on, 30 second off pattern that included 16 x 30 second speed segments.  The quickest segments were at about 9 minute pace. I think it was a very good tapering workout that also helped to maintain aerobic conditioning.  I read that it resembles an Arthur Lydiad  recommended taper workout.  Sunday will be another rest day.

Static stats.

June 4, 5, 6 & 7.     Tuesday thru Friday

Hot day on the cinders

Since Monday’s track workout was a physically draining one , I used Tuesday as a recovery day and simply rode my bike for about 20 minutes.

Wednesday I thought it would be a good day to run some thousands on the cinders. It didn’t seem like it was going to be a successful day when I began because my legs were heavy during warm-up. But I decided to pursue the thousands anyhow. As it turned out the thousands were not a bad workout. Each one got a little more comfortable although the time, remarkably, remained 5:07 exactly for each one.  I finished up with a 1.5 mile jog to finish off with a 5-mile day.  In the end I was completely drained and thought for a moment I might be in danger of suffering heat stroke. Here’s the story.  When I left home the thermometer in my car read 64 degrees. I was convinced this would be a terrific day to run a good, strong workout. I did as mentioned above without taking much note of the increased heat as time went by. When I sat in my car after the workout wondering if I had overdone it, the temperature read 88 degrees! That heightened my fear, but fortunately I was able to take some liquids, turn on the air-conditioning, roll down the windows and get cooled off on the way home. I remained fatigued for quite a while, drank my chocolate milk and ultimately I took a nap for about an hour and a half.  When I awoke my legs were shaking and threatening to cramp up. I kept hydrating and went for a short walk.

I began thinking that being 10 days away from my 1500 meter race and feeling like I had kind of reached a limit of my endurance for training, maybe it was time for me to begin backing off to be  totally recovered and strong by race time. When I spoke to Rich Refi that evening, the first thing he said to me after hearing my story was, “I think it’s time for you to begin to taper.”  Great minds!!

So, on Thursday I went to the pool and did some deep water running for about 10 minutes and then sat in the whirlpool for 20 minutes. It is now Friday morning and I am planning a similar kind of day. Maybe ride the bike for a half an hour or go back to the pool.

I am somewhat at a loss on how to approach the next 7 days. I will be leaving on Friday morning for the long flight to Albuquerque and then have Saturday to prepare for my race on Sunday.   My plan is to do some research on the subject of the taper today.   During my days has a high school coach I came to believe that the taper was not a very positive approach to the big race for 17 year old high school runners. We basically continued to train through the championship season. It became a kind of cornerstone of our program for which we became somewhat renowned: that is always getting stronger through the championship season rather than fading.  I don’t know if any of this applies to a 76 year old runner. But, I guess this entire +70 running experience has been a learning exercise.  Still more to learn………

Stats-

Weight = #147.4 after run on Wednesday!  Kind of crazy.

Other stats are normal and steady.

June 3, Monday

Today I ran on the track at Jackson Liberty High School. I covet 20 laps or 5 miles. First Mile with complete jogging 12 minutes. Miles to three four and five included following ;

5 x 200m with 200m jog

10 x 300m with 100m quick walk

It was a punishing workout, but yet it felt like I could have gone on. I stopped out of caution.

June 1, Saturday

Too tired to look up a quote. LOL.

     But I do remember Frank Shorter, when asked what one thing would he change about his training throughout his career, saying , “I would do my easy days easier.”

My legs did mot feel sore this morning, which was a bit surprising because I covered  10 miles on the previous two days.   So, when I got to the cinder track this evening, I thought it might be a good day to run some quality 660’s.  I quickly realized that my legs were not going to cooperate as I warmed up.  I continued to do a few more progressive accelerations. I chose to try the 660’s eventually.  I set a modest goal of 3 minutes per effort.  I ran progressive times; 3:10,  3:00,  2.51.  Was hoping for 4, but felt quite exhausted after 3. So,I quit.  I felt like I didn’t do enough. So, I measured off and planned to run a few x 100m.  Did one in 23.5 and got scared and quit again.  Strange day!  Maybe better than nothing…..

Steady stats.