August 23,  24, 26, 27, 29

Arthur Lydiard –  Osaka, Japan    April, 1990

Summary of lecture:

“Distance Runners hate sprinting because they think they look like fools, but if you want to be fast, you’ve got to sprint.  ….  So every week, fifty-two weeks a year runners should be doing something about their speed, conditioning for it, working on technique, and generally working on their speed.”

Sunday the 23rd-  55 minutes of MMF  over 3.78 miles in 1:08

Monday the 24th- 5 miles on cinders in 1:03.  Progressive!   Final 4 in 47:23

Wednesday the 27th- Fast speed segments of 120 yards x 10 on grass at FSML. Coverage 3plus miles.  Legs felt very good.

Thursday the 28th-  1 hour on the shady grass at the senior center with 10 good speed segments.

Saturday the 29th-  3.5 miles at the cinders. Final four hundred in  2:00. Legs feeling a little heavy after 12 workouts in 15 days.

Stats are holding steady in positive ranges.

August 20, Thursday

Thirty minutes at Turkey Swamp Park with five speed segments

Got out late. So I decided to run at Turkey Swamp Park because it’s closer to home. It was a little lonely and scary on the  forested paths as the sun began to set. But it forced to be to run a little quicker to get through, and I added 5 speed segments at the end.  No Garmen, so don’t know distance.

August 21, Friday

An 80* night at the cinder track……

After a 20 minute warm up I decided to try to run some 800-meter repeats at better than 10 minute pace. I felt better as the workout progressed,and so it turned into a progressive workout.  I completed  five with 2 minutes walking between each. The progressive times were 4:55, 4:51, 4:40, 4:24 and 4:16.  I felt like I could have done one or two more rather comfortably, but I stopped out of an abundance of caution for my recently sore muscles.

51 minutes in motion covering 4.08 miles

Troublesome muscles were much less apparent tonight.

COMMENDABLE STATS ALL AROUND!

August 19th, Wednesday

How would you describe the worst run you’ve ever had?  Precious!    HAL HIGDON

As the day wore on yesterday, I debated with myself about giving my legs a day off after five runs in a row. It was almost dark when the idea of continuing my running streak overcame back-off instincts. I may have been motivated by thoughts of some of my best runners from our 1983 championship team who bragged of running streaks that stretched into the hundreds of days. I decided to try for a local 30 minute run. The streets were empty as darkness enveloped the neighborhood.  My legs began to respond after about 15 minutes in motion. Seemingly captivated by the silent isolation, I floated  through four miles in 49:00+.  I was proud of the decision and the effort. 6 days

STATS  generally in very good shape.

August 17 & 18,  Monday  & Tuesday

Monday – 4 Progressive miles

1 – slow warm up with sweats on and stretching 15 minutes

2 – 10:13

3 – 9:45

4 – 9:38

Still being careful of right hamstring and left quadricep muscles. Not doing  any speed segments.

Tuesday– 4 comfortable miles in 52 minutes with no stops. Still being careful of whining right hamstring and left quadricep. Still no speed segments.

5 days in a row running. Also staying current on posts.  🙂    🙂

Stats stable with special attention for sore muscles.  Heating and rolling….

August 15,  Sunday

It felt a little like autumn this afternoon running in the fine mist, brushed by a brisk breeze at about 68* giving rise to thoughts of cross country days past.

Saturday’s muscle issues did not become a factor as I ran the first 2 miles covered in sweatpants for the first time in maybe 3 months. On Saturday evening I spent a considerable amount of time rolling all of my leg muscles enthusiastically. I think that was very beneficial. I was happy to get some work in for the third day in a row. It was a very steady 3.2 miles with a full set of leg drills in the middle.

It is a pleasant Monday morning as I write this on my shaded patio.

Stats are steady

August 14 & 15,  Friday & Saturday

I noticed yesterday that first 15 days of August on my calendar show only four serious work days. I need to get back to a more consistent approach. Friday and Saturday got me started in the right direction.

On Friday I found a very shady area over by the cinder track to run some good MMF on a sunny afternoon. The weather was more cool than it had been for many weeks. I ran a total of 13 speed segments in a 3.11 mile total effort. I added lots of drills and stretching along the way for what I consider a complete workout.

On Saturday I went to Manasquan Reservoir and covered and entire 5 Mile Loop in 1:05.  I used the term covered because I had to stop a few times to stretch and walk  on the uphill segments because of some cramping muscles.  But I was happy to get back to the five mile range. I have been shying away from the pure distance runs lately in favor of repeat workouts on the cinder track.

Today is a rainy Sunday morning that feels a little bit like autumn. Hamstring muscles, quadricep muscles and calf muscles are feeling uncharacteristically sore and tight. I will have to see what kind of work I can get accomplished this afternoon when the rain subsides

Stats –

Weight is 144 lb.

Diet is very solid. 9 or 10

Feet indexes are also very good.  1

Leg muscles have been a little touchy since I ran a time trial two weeks ago.  3 or 4

Getting at least 9 hours of sleep most nights.

AUGUST 1st to 9th

August 1st to August 8th I only had two days of serious work because of calf muscle soreness and quadricep soreness. One was a 30-minute swim on Monday the 3rd. The other was a very slow 5 miles in 70 minutes while my calf muscle was still aching a little on Friday the 7th. The other days I did a lot of walking with Arlene and the dog and some drills but not much else. I have come to the conclusion that running a 3:22 800m time trial had more detrimental impact on my legs than I ever anticipated. But I will press on.

August 9th, Sunday- 4.92 miles  in 50:15. with 17 SS of 120m+   This was a really hot day. I decided to go out in the hottest part for some reason. When I got to the cinder track I realized it was a little too much sun for this old guy. I scoped out a long section of shade on the far side of the soccer fields and headed in that direction for a warm-up run. The grass on this area was extremely soft and cushiony on my legs, so I decided to run some 120m pickups with 30 seconds rest. Over the course of the next 45 minutes Iran 17 pickups many of which were quite fast. I was very happy that none of the latest leg issues that I have been experiencing for the past 10 days were apparent. I had heated the sore muscle in my upper thigh for almost half an hour before I left home. I think that had a major influence on the lack of pain in that area. As Rich Refi always tells me, “Follow your own advice. Do what you tell your kids to do.”  I think I will be spending a lot more time heat and running on that soft grass during future workouts.