October 25, Sunday

#4 5k on October 17th at Big Brook park was another hilly course.  I managed a 28:23, fastest time yet.  Still weak on the hills, quadriceps burn and stride is reduced to mere inches as I struggle to crest the incline.  Recovery occurs quickly enough and stride returns to normal until the next hill.  Mile splits were 8:09, 9:57, 10:03.  Maybe I’m going out too fast. The early mile was basically flat

#5 5k returned to Tatum Park on October 24th.  I ran a 1I:29, 57 seconds faster than last time, admittedly on an altered course that could be judged as slightly easier.  The positive takeaway from this one was that on the Hills I did not experience what I described in the foregoing paragraph. I crested the hills rather easily with no burning and in semi normal stride.   I did start out much more under control, maybe that was a factor.  I also did a much less intense warm up than I did in all the previous races. I approached the race with no intention of trying to run very fast, only to make it a good Saturday morning workout.  I also experienced some pretty severe pain in my left calf muscle for the first mile. At one point I wondered if I was actually going to finish the race. Somewhere along the way the pain subsided and I managed to finish, but my calf muscle was very sore after the race and still is 24 hours later.  I plan to have a very light recovery week and run a killer 5K at Holmdel Park on Saturday to conclude this six-week series with a bang. The goal from the beginning has been to refocus my training which had lost its sharpness during the pandemic months.  I am convinced that I have become more fit, but it has also taken a toll on my body.  That was also evidenced by my lack of enthusiasm for posting my workouts over this period.  Failing to post about my daily workouts was rare during the past 5 years of this +70Runner experience.  Most nights I could hardly wait to describe the fun, the joy, the weather, the topography, my times and splits and distances in great detail, not to mention bragging about my race performances whenever possible.  I feel that I am beginning to reignite that “Schoolboy Heart” attitude.   With regards to Jimmy Buffet:

October 16th,  Friday

– Today was going to be a light day anyway. But since it is raining and cold,  it makes it an even better day to just rest.

– Turkey Swamp Park is quickly becoming my favorite workout venue. I ran my last two workouts there on Wednesday and Thursday. The 2-mile dirt trail that I have been running is level, obstacle free, tightly packed dirt and very gentle on the feet and legs.  Usually I passed no one along the entire 2-mile tract.

– On Wednesday I got out late. So, I decided to run a quick work out on the only significant hill on the trail.  Starting on the flat and running slightly over the crest of the hill it is 75 strides, about 75m.  I ran up the hill quite fast, jogged down and repeated with no rest 10 times.  The  legs was surprisingly light and quick after yesterday’s workout. (Elegant 8’s)

– On Thursday I  planned to run four comfortable miles on a chilly afternoon. The first two mile loop was run with sweats on and rather moderately.  Second loop I stripped down and decided to run a tempo with the goal of maintaining 10 minute pace throughout.  I accomplished that goal with relative ease. So, the outcome was 2 miles Van Aaken pace and 2 miles at Tempo pace.  That was a little more effort than I had anticipated for the day, but it’s all good.

–  I was awoken by cramps in both my calf muscles in the early hours of this morning. I am going to attribute that to improving the quality of my training for the last 3 weeks.

Stats-

Weight is stable mid 140’s

Sleep is good, 10 hours last night

Diet is healthy   (Stopped worrying about ice cream and beer.)

Legs and feet are feeling healthy. No soreness on waking up in the morning.

October 13,   Tuesday

A little update:  On Saturday I ran another 5K in the 6-week series at Thompson Park in Holmdel.     18:11 for 5K, not bad.  I am still using these Saturday 5K races as my one hard workout per week. This one left me a little tired and a little sore. So, I did a lot of walking on Sunday and Monday but no running. Today, Tuesday, I went to the cinder track and did some of what Rich Refi and I christened as elegant 8’s at Hillsborough. The 5 x 800m repeats went  Progressive from 5 minutes down to 4 minutes with 2 minutes walking recovery.  1 mile warm up and half mile cool down made for a 4 mile day.

Stats-  Diet, weight and sleep  are good.

Beginning to get some aches in lower legs, tight calves, heel and foot nicks that take a few  minutes of walking  and jogging to disappear.   I think this is a result of the unstable terrain on which I have been Racing for the last three Saturdays. Hopefully my feet will be gaining strength from these race events.

The friendly cinders always feel good.

October 4th through 8th, Sunday through Thursday

” What fun is it? Why all that hard, exhausting work? Where does it get you? Where’s the good of it?   It is one of the strange ironies of this strange life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest.”

Brutus Hamilton, coach of the 1948 US Olympic track and field team

After Saturday’s race I did two and a half miles on the Cinders on Sunday with 3 x 200m speed segments of :53, :51 and :48.

On Monday I rested

On Tuesday I ran four Progressive miles in 46:15.   12:15, 11:15, 11:30 and 11:00

On Wednesday I ran 3 miles in 39 minutes with 10 speed segments.

On Thursday I ran 6.2 miles in 67 minutes. That is a significant improvement from my last 10K of ten days ago(76 minutes). Most notably was the fact that the last two miles were very quick in 9:46 and 9:11.  I am very satisfied with the progress of my training at this time.

Stats- are stable and positive

October 3, Saturday

It was cold this morning, but it has turned into a spectacular autumn afternoon. The house smells great because we are in the middle of making Arlene’s classic, chicken soup broth. And Gracie is back!

Race #2 of the six week, 5K series was this morning was at Tatum Park in Middletown.  The week started out with some good work on Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday  I was very tired, so I took the day off.  For 2 days I had some stomach issues and got very little sleep during the night. I did manage to get out Thursday afternoon for a pretty good workout on the road. It was 5 miles with warm up and cool down. In the middle I ran 3 miles Tempo work in following manner. Began with 4 x 800 meters with the goal of staying under 10 minute pace. I accomplished that with Progressive times getting close to 9 minute pace. Then I ran a 1600 m in 9:02.  This was done on the road behind my development which is straight and flat and very light on traffic. I took Friday off to visit the stomach doctor. He convinced me I had little to worry about. On Saturday I ran the 5K at Tatum Park in 29:23. I had never run this course before and was surprised at how hilly it was. I’m guessing there were at least 40 hills on the way that ranged from 50 to 500m. It was like running a roller coaster the whole time. I gave up trying to run fast halfway through the race and just hoped to survive without getting injured.   The time was faster than I thought. But my watch only measured the course at 4900m.  It is clear that none of my training has prepared me for hills. I get passed or dropped on every hill.  It turned out to be a good training run; plus my stomach is feeling much better today. I am planning on going for a second short run this afternoon just to keep my mileage growing.

Stats were a little raggedy this week because of poor sleep and modified diet.  Legs feel good.  Weight remains steady in the middle 140’s lb.