May 28, Thursday

“There are as many ways to be successful as a distance runner as their are athletes. You have to develop a training schedule of your own.”  Craig Virgin

I have been going to the cnder track almost exclusively for the last few workouts.  I have become less and less confident of the advantages of running on macadam roads these days.  In fact I am becoming less and less confident of slow-running of any kind. For instant my most recent two mile warm-ups consist mainly of running comfortable strides of increasing length while walking in between.

On Tuesday I did a series of  5 x 800m repeats. 4:29, 4:23, 4:13, 4:11, 4:23

I stopped out of caution even though I still felt pretty good. After short rest I ran a final 400 meter run in 1:53.  Covered 4.5 miles

It took a while to work into feeling comfortable at this pace for 800 meters. But after a while the repeats seemed very easy.

Wednesday I rested once again out of an abundance of caution.

Thursday was a cloudy, hot and humid afternoon when I set out to the cinder track once again. I was hoping to run some very comfortable 1200m repeats.  It took over two miles of warm up before I felt I was ready to begin an actual workout. I managed 4  x 1200m progressively.                                       7:18,   6:56,   6:38,   6:38

I was in motion for a total of 1 hour and 13 minutes covering 5.2 miles. When I returned home from this workout I weighed 141 lb.  That could easily be my lowest weight in 50 years. I have not been trying to lose weight. I continue to eat hardy and healthy meals, drink beer, crunch cookies and frequently splurge on ice cream after dinner. I sleep 9 to 10 hours each night. My stats remain constant and positive and I have managed to avoid leg and foot injuries for a number of months now.  By all these indications I should be becoming a stronger Runner. I hope that will prove to be the case when I get a chance to enter a competition some day in the future.  In the meantime I am having fun running. 🙂

MAY 25,  Monday

Sunday –  9.5 on the bike

Monday- went to the cinder track on a splendid May running day with low expectations because of yesterday’s 9.5 mile bike ride.  Everybody respects social distancing on the wide 880yd track My legs surprised me with a bit of energy.  It turned into a 5mile day on the cinders with 8 x 400m repeats at below 8:00 per mile pace in the middle.  I did take equal time walking recovery between repeats with an extra long recovery after #5.  It was challenging and draining but not overly difficult. Upon checking my Garmin data this evening , I was pleased to see some pretty quick stats making the eight 400m repeats recorded.  Plus the 5th mile cool down displayed some below 9:00 segments.  An encouraging day…

STATS are steady and solid.

May 22, Friday

Lots of thoughts are running through my mind today as I sit waiting for the weather to clear for a chance to attempt a workout session. As a result this will most likely be a stream-of- conscience post.

Five days ago I decided to you try a time trial to see if I have made any progress in my training lately. I have had this fantasy goal for a while now that maybe I can run a 6:00 mile if I did the right training for about a year. I have never run anything close to that in the last seven years that I have returned to training. My fastest 1500m  effort was 6:13 three years ago. I figure that to be about a 6:40 mile. I have run  2:57 at 800m which indicates that I have the speed to run 6:00, but I have not demonstrated the aerobic capacity to do that.  So, the plan on Sunday was to run something at 6:00 per mile pace.  I did run 2 x 400m to 6:00 per mile pace and felt quite pleased.  But it is now Thursday and I don’t believe my legs are fully recovered. I have kept moving during the intervening days but have not been able to run comfortably. My legs are heavy and sore each day. So I have been asking myself if running at 6:00 per mile at this time is really a good idea.  My evaluation after running the two 400m was that I am lacking middle-distance repetition workouts to develop the aerobic strength I need. I will be adding from now on a session per  week of repetitions ranging from 600-1200m.  Probably the next time I will compete in a track middle-distance event will be in September if they hold the New Jersey Senior Games in Woodbridge. That gives me 13 weeks to prepare . I would consider it a major accomplishment if in September I could run the 1500m under 6:00. That would convert to a mile under 6:30.  The National 1500m race was won in 6:01 buy a fellow from New Mexico last June. I finished third in 6:40, which I believe was somewhat affected by the altitude.  The next National Senior Games will be held in 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  My friend, perennial national  champion, Gary Patton, will be in the 76 to 80 year old category by that time.  It would be fun to challenge him at that time if he comes to Fort Lauderdale. I hold little hope of beating a man who has the national record for the 1-mile at 5:01, but it would be fun to make him work a little for it.

Well, I have opted for beer and barbecue instead of a workout today. I will have to settle for a 30-minute walk with the dog.

I am still trying to understand why it is harder to post every day during a quarantine, when I have more time on my hands than ever, than it was to post daily before the quarantine.

That is all for now.

I like this quote from the incomparable Emil Zatopek.

“Track and field is not like ice skating. It is not necessary to smile and make a wonderful impression on the judges.”

May 12, Tuesday – Rest and walk after a hard, speed day.

May 13, Wednesday  – 5 Progressive miles on the Jackson roads in 56 minutes. 12:30, 11:55, 1138, 10:24, 10:16. Felt strong today.

May  14, Thursday  – 10 miles on the bike  About 5 with my friend, George, very pleasant! 1 hour

May 15, Friday – Today was another pretty good day.  I ran 20 speed segments quite fast on the grass with my new, Kayano 26 running shoes. Each segment is 135 meters. The fastest runs were close to 6 minutes per mile pace. With a warm-up and cool-down the day covered 3 miles in about 50 minutes.

May 16, Saturday  –   Today was an easy day on sore legs. Only two miles with a few weak attempts to pick up the pace that didn’t last very long.

May 17, Sunday –  Today I was determined to try a time trial on the cinders. The original intent was to go for an 800m trial, but I kind of punked out and settled for a 400m.  The goal was to run at 6 minute pace which means I would have to run 1:30 for 400m. I did an extensive one mile warm-up consisting of six increasingly longer strides. I approached this first 400m with trepidation but was able to hold a decent pace and finish in 1:31. I thought maybe being more warmed up I could do a second one faster. After a 400m walk and stretching my calf muscles, I ran a 1:29.  I am satisfied with those efforts but definitely can feel the need to do some mid-distance repetition workouts.  4 miles in total

Stats-  all are holding steady in positive range

May 8, 9, 10, 11

The days in quarantine seem to melt together. Each time I look at my blog I am surprised at how many days have passed.  We are so lucky that Rob and Kristen and Gracie are here with us. We know that we are safe if we stay smart and practice sound judgment.  This unexpected family time is pure serendipity: I’m sure we will not experience the like of it again in this lifetime.  I like the like of it while still hoping  for the time that the kids can resume their normal lives.  Not too terrible temporary new normal daze……

Meanwhile I train.

May 8, Friday – Rest day

May 9, Saturday  – 50 minute Card workout,  bad weather.

May 10, Sunday – 3.25 miles with 15 x SS  @ 8:00, 7:00, 6:00 Fast Stuff

LOVING THE CINDERS

May 11, Monday –   On this strange weather day of rain storms and hail storms there was a brief, warm, sunny 2-hour break at mid-afternoon that was perfect for running a workout.  It was 63 degrees and breezy on the cinder track when I headed out to run a 5 mile effort.  I thought my legs would be heavy or sore after the quick look I did yesterday. That was not the case. I determined that a full five mile aerobic workout would be the perfect follow-up of a speedy day. My legs felt good from the start. I gradually decided to add some speed segments to the 5 mile run. I began with a strategy I have used in the past and found successful. I began running pickups starting with 50 strides and adding 10  strides each time until I reached 100. Feeling really warm and strong, I began running 200 stride pickups from that point on completing two each lap.  I continued to feel stronger and faster as each lap went by. I never stopped to walk one time nor felt the need. I wound up with 14 times the 200 stride efforts to complete the 10 laps in 50 minutes.  Although this was a demanding workout, it was very satisfying and encouraging.  I can’t remember the last time, or anytime in fact, that I completed the full five miles under 50 minutes.  Feeling strong and fast is a lot of fun!

STATS-

Weight = 143lb

Sleep = 9 hours

Diet = 10

HR = normal

Feet indexes and leg muscles are sound . No issues!

Thursday,  May 7th

Well, on Saturday morning I learned to my surprise  that my virtual 5K race was going to be held on Sunday. I thought it was May 13th not May 3rd. That led me to decide to take a rest day on Saturday.

The virtual 5K turned out to be a lot of fun. Kristen and Rob became very involved in my effort. Kristen had to teach me how to set up Zoom so that I could be in touch with the race online.  She also took pictures and posted them on Facebook and Instagram after the event.  I had decided,  after considering all of the routes that I run around Jackson, the easiest way to do this event was going to be to run 7 laps around my home block  which is about a half a mile. Rob agreed to be my pacer, he said for 2 miles, but it turned out that he ran the whole 5K with me.  I guess I was a little pumped up for this event because we started out at about 6:30 pace.   We settled down and ran the three miles in the following times, 8:07 – 8:57 – 9:32.   The final time 28:17 was better than I expected but not as good as I hoped.   I think I could have run somewhat faster if I had time to recover from what was probably the hardest workout I have done in a month and I didn’t run an unusually quick 6:30 placement first half mile.   All in all, I did enjoy the experience. When the results were posted it turns out that we ran the 10th best time out of 68 people who posted their performance and I was the oldest person in the race.

Monday rested during a pretty bad weather day.

Tuesday I ran 6 miles for the first time in quite a while on pretty heavy legs. It took me 72 minutes to do it with some stops for stretching.  It became more of a personal challenge as the run evolved.  I kept upping the goal as the run progressed.  Mile 5 was the hardest on the up hill section.  After that the 6 mile goal was unavoidable.

Wednesday was another rest day.

Today I went to the cinder track the first time in weeks.  I covered 4 miles of random run, jog, pick-up, walk, stretch  for 58 minutes.  It took a long time for the aches in my legs to abate. The heaviness in my thighs ever subsided.   I felt lucky to get a day of running before  the predicted  turn in weather . With two days of winter storms on the way, I will have to rely on a few indoor workouts over the weekend.

STATS are steady.

May 1st, Friday

Today, after two days of rest, my legs were as light as air. I started out with the idea of running a full five miles, a good distance day.  But as I ran the first mile, my legs felt so strong that I decided to make it a quicker day. As I approached my favorite grassy running area, I was pleased to note that the grass had finally been cut. I began running 120mto 130m pickups with increasing intensity as I went along. After a full warm up I was averaging between 7:00 and 7:30 minutes per mile for each speed segment. Final two segments I doubled up to 240m at a more moderate pace. In all it came to 20 segments.  The trip home was completed at a solid 10 minute pace. This workout rates as demanding and satisfying.

STATS –

Weight = 145lb

Diet = 9

Sleep = 10 hours

HR –  56 BPM

Legs and feet = 9/10