October 29, Saturday

On another stunning Saturday morning I ran a 5K at Tatum Park, number five in the autumn series of six.  I had two goals for today. The first was to use this Saturday race as a hill workout. I vowed to attack every Hill on the very mountainous Tatum Park course. Throughout the race I did manage to do that and my legs held up very well. My finishing time was 31:13.  I was surprised and a bit disappointed when I read that time. I was thinking to myself that I’m getting slower every week and not liking it very much. Now, I did get a covid-19 booster shot on Monday which made me quite fatigued on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I did not do any form of workout until Thursday at the clubhouse.  I went through about one hour in motion on the bike, the elliptical machine and the treadmill all in very moderate effort. On Friday I walked a great deal but that is all. A week like that usually makes my legs light and leads to a positive performance on Saturday. That is why my 31 minute time was so disappointing. But when I looked back at my times at Tatum Park in previous years I realized that I ran a pretty okay time. In 2020 I ran 30:36 and in 2021 I ran 32:27.  So, today’s time was over a minute faster than last year and only 30 seconds off two years ago. Not so bad after all!  One to go!

The second goal of the day was to hustle over to Monroe  Township and watch the sectional races at Thomson Park. I had a keen interest in a number of the races , and everybody that I was rooting for had to successful day .

My grand-nephew, Ryan, competing for Howell Township had a personal best at Thompson Park in the final cross country race of his career.

I was excited to watch boys from Liberty High School, a team I coached  with over the last 5 years, finish 4th in the Group III Central Jersey Championship. That is the best performance by a Liberty team in history. I could not be happier for coaches Todd and Jim  for the great performance they got from the boys this year.

And finally, coach Rich Refi’s Hillsborough girls ran a terrific race to finish second  in the Group IV Central Jersey Sectional Championship to continue their outstanding season.

Plus along the way I was able to spend some quality time with a few of my friends from the cross country world that had not seen in quite a while.

Truly, it was a delightful way to spend an October Saturday.  🙂   🙂

Stats- Everything is as it should be.

October 22, Saturday

On another strikingly beautiful autumn Saturday I completed 5K number four in the six part fall Shore AC cross country series. The Thompson Park course in Lincroft was another that lures you in with a comfortable mile one and then piles on hills in mile two and three.  Checking previous Thompson Park runs, I discovered that I am adding about 30 seconds each year to my total time.  I guess each year takes a toll.  

But there was good stuff too. I completed the first mile in 8:30. I haven’t done that in a while. For the first mile and a half I had that wonderful feeling that I was actually racing. The hills in the middle, both short and long inclines, took the measure of my legs. But in the final 1200m I was able to attack the hills with some intensity. Plus I did maintain my form and had a strong finish in 29:32.  I left Thompson Park with a smile and the realization of how fortunate I am to be able to do this.

Today I spent an hour alone at the clubhouse pool stretching in the hot tub, running, swimming and luxuriating.

Happy with stats!

October 19, Wednesday

This morning started out with a long walk and a few chases with Gracie. The cool morning put pepper in a her step and I could hardly keep up. My legs were much lighter and less tired. Later in the day, and it was an invigorating autumn afternoon, I set out on the Jackson roads to run a familiar 4 mile loop. Mile one was at modest 13 minute warm-up pace. As I progressed, running became smooth and comfortable and the last 3 miles were accomplished in 33:13. The final mile was a quick 10:40 pace. This was the most rewarding and effective distance run I have completed in many weeks. Gracie and I had a fun day.  

October 18

Put another brick in the wall.

Another day with heavy legs. I started out with my high school warm-up of 1000m, then stretch, then run 5×150m straightaways walking back for full recovery. That takes about 30 minutes. When I ran a couple of 400m gentle efforts with walking by that time my legs were beginning to feel a little bit lighter. I concluded the work out with a comfortable mile to bring the daily total to 3 miles 40 minutes. After this relatively low intensity workout my legs feel quite used up. This was true after yesterday’s very moderate 3 mile run as well. It appears that the cumulative affect of three 5K races in three weeks is greater than I anticipated. Regardless, I am determined to complete the six week series come what may. At the very least I should emerge from the adventure more fit than when I entered. Thompson Park on Saturday…..🤾🏿‍♂️

October  17,  Monday

It has been 17 days since my last post and that reality distresses me.  I will not try to analyze the reason right now.  But I am trying to figure out why I pass up so many days posting lately.   I do write a few words on my calendar each day. So, I know pretty much what I’ve been doing over the last 17 days. I guess the general feeling I have is that it’s not that interesting or that important or that meanful.  So, again I return to my original statement of purpose for writing this blog back in 2016.    It is simply a log of my training.  The fact that some of my friends read it and find it interesting makes me occasionally believe that it is some kind of literary piece.  I do try to wax elegant at times.

The 1st 17 days of October have been a bit stressful.  My left ring finger was fractured  on the second when Gracie pulled very hard on the leash as my hand was tangled.  A similar incident occurred about a year ago with the same finger. It was quite painful. Workouts from the 2nd to the 7th were just about non existent.  As a  result I had light legs and  ran and a pretty good race on October 8, at Wolf Hill Park. (28:10)   The week of October 9-15 was a completely different story. I worked  in the pool on Sunday and did some weights.  I did a workout  on the cinders of 4 progressive 800 meter intervals on Monday. I did 30 minutes of fartlek on the cinders  on Tuesday. On Wednesday I had a medical procedure scheduled  for my face, no workout. Thursday was 45 minutes on the machines in the exercise room. Friday I ran around Ocean County Park chasing the Jackson Liberty cross country team who were racing in the Ocean County Championship.  On Saturday I ran Race #3 of the Fall Cross Country Series at Holmdel Park.  My time of 31:03 was a disappointment.  I credit that performance to a week of pretty arduous training following the week of almost no training at all leadiing up to the race.  My legs have been quite sore since the event at Holmdel.  I did push through a tough 1st mile and finished very strong and confident even though the time was not what I hoped.  On Sunday I took a long walk with Arlene.  Today I ran 3 miles on the roads around my neighborhood in 37:55, legs still heavy.

I am  content with the realization that I have completed three of the six 5K races scheduled in the Fall Cross Country Series and my body is holding up without injury.  Forward  with positive training, better races and more consistent blogging .

Stats-

Weight – 144lb

Diet – 9

Sleep – 8/10 hours

HR – 54bpm

Legs and feet are not complaining!

Big Brook Park 5k today was wet, but the rain held off till after the race was over. It was overcast and 58° just about perfect for running. My time was a disappointing 30:14. I am not terribly surprised because the race worked out as I imagined it probably would. My first smile was in 8:25. At that time my legs and breathing were fine. I thought a quick time might be in order when I read that on my watch. Hills in the 2nd mile slowed the pace considerably. Yet I still felt OK entering mile number three with the hope of running a quicker final segment. To my dismay the final mile consisted of an unending series of rolling, hills up and down, some short and some much longer, which dampened my enthusiasm dramatically. I became so frustrated that I actually walked a few strides on one of the hills, something I never do. The final 400m was swift and controlled. I recovered quickly and ran a 1 mile cool down before the pouring rain started.

There are two takeaways from this event. One- I am not prepared to run hills. Two- I still am not yet aerobically conditioned for a 5K. I will try to resolve both those issues over the next five weeks.

I emerged from the event unscathed. But I will most likely have unhappy calves after running my first 5K in spikes.