March 29th Tuesday 6 p.m           Today was a hot, cloudy and humid day.  Ran five and a half miles on the beach.

Today’s weight -151 after running

I- MED 3.5 this morning   No change

Morning heart rate 56 BPM   –  okay

Set as a goal today to run some pickups in the middle of my run. It has been a while since I did any speed work.   So I heated,  put on my compression sleeves and set out to the beach.   Warm-up consisted of 23 minutes of walk and mostly light jog with sweats on.  The beach was very nice today with a pretty solid wind out of the Northeast.   After warm-up I stripped and headed South with the wind at my back planning to display some speed pickups with the wind helping me out.   Went South for 2 miles doing pickups, 75 strides with 40 at 5K pace , 20 at mile pace +  15 at Sprint space. This was a workout I had read about and tried with the Jackson Liberty cross country boys this fall. They seem to like it and it seemed to have a positive effect on their performance.  I like it!  Turned around at 2 miles and headed back into the wind.  I tried to do pickups at 8 minute pace going back. With my brain blogging ,  I managed to run more pickups than I expected at faster pace than I had hoped.   During the run I had some Achilles discomfort and had to focus on proper foot strike throughout.  But at the 2-mile mark I entered that dangerous zone  I spoke about in the last post.  This I am calling the Perceived Invulnerable Zone or PIZ.   In this Zone the runner feels as though nothing can stop him.  There is no pain and therefore,  the runner concludes there is no danger.   However, it has become my belief  that this is the most dangerous time for injuries to occur.  So, I recommend that the plus70runner  be particularly  aware and careful in the PIZ.

I managed to complete 14 pickups today with paces ranging from 6 minutes  to 8 minutes per mile . That is the most surges I have ever done.  I finished the run at 120 BPM heart rate.  That is not very high as I have finished runs much higher than that in the past.  I consider that an indication of improving aerobic strength.   One note that I failed to mention in  the previous blog concerning that 7 mile run.   In an effort to alleviate the discomfort in my achilles I loosened my shoelaces considerably during that run.   I tend to lace them up pretty tight.   But on Sunday I ran with my shoes a little bit loose.  I was happy with the effect on my achilles tendon,  but I don’t know if it is related.  Today I did the same thing with very loose laces and once again had minimal Achilles discomfort.   I don’t know if this is cause effect or simply  coincidence,  but I’m going to continue this practice and try to monitor the results.  After workout today I just had my chocolate milk, ice  and my cocktail ,  and we are getting ready to go to swing dancing tonight.  I consider this to be a very positive and successful workout,  but I have a feeling that I am going to be experiencing delayed onset muscle pain by Thursday.  DOMS  is the abbreviation for that condition, especially prevalent in older folks,  that muscle soreness occurs 48 to 72 hours after exercise rather than in the first 24 hours.   By Thursday morning we will  be on the road .  I expect that on Thursday and Friday I will get  very little running done because we will be driving home to Jackson, New Jersey.   I hope I can get into the pool in New Durham where we plan to spend Thursday night. Either way I will probably wind up with two days off the roads and give my tired legs a good rest.   I will try to complete some positive miles tomorrow, Wednesday,  as we pack to head on the road.

I’m very happy with the outcome of this two-month stay in St. Augustine this winter.  I got started on this blog and I believe that my running and training has stepped up a level as a result.