April 2nd,   Saturday    

5 p.m.  — Ice and chocolate milk  as I wtite

Covered 4.5 miles today at Horse Track.

A.M. HR  at 58. A little elevated, probably because of the stress of my 2 day journey.

Weight    154#

I-Mad  today   4 +               A word about the  I-Mad index. Yesterday I rated my morning discomfort at about 2 or 3.  Today it was clearly higher in the range of 4 +.   One would expect that after two days of not running the index might continue to go lower.   I did.   However,  this morning there was significantly more discomfort than yesterday.   So I had to think this through.   My conclusion is based on that my  sleep last night was over 10 hours.  That extended period of non use of the tendon may well have given it the opportunity to tighten more.  The result,  more discomfort in the morning.  Last, lower rating was after a short night’s rest  at the hotel with a number of disturbances.   Another thing to keep track of as I try to monitor my achilles issues.
Today’s blog title refers to a new phrase I have created to help me understand my own training a little better.  The phrase is Comfortably Quality Miles.   This refers to miles that can be run feeling relativelly comfortable but sustaining some  quality.   Other Training Systems may have a different name for the same type of running,  but  this will be my own  name .  At my current Fitness level, which is 26:37 for 5K,  I conclude my CQM pace to be between 9:30 and 10:15 per mile.  I will add CQM to my index of training terms for my blog.

Heat and compression sleeves —

So today I set out with low expectations and very little anticipation for my daily run.  I could not help thinking about my Happy Days on the beach, but I had to face the reality that we are back in Jersey.  It took quite a while to get things rolling today.  My lower legs we’re aching quite a bit, both calves and tendons.   Arlene and I arrived at the Horse Hrack and began walking.

Let me explain about the Horse Track before we go on.  This is a track that locals say was actually used for horse races a few decades ago.  The township has preserved it for use as part of their Recreation Area.   It is surrounded by soccer fields now,  both outside and within.  The horse track  has quickly become my favorite training site in Jackson.  This site has many virtues .  The track is composed of cinders over dirt which makes it very forgiving for running .  It also reminds me of high school because this is the kind of track we ran on back in the fifties and sixties.  It is an accurately measured half mile which makes it excellent for doing middle-distance repeats.  It is 23 feet wide, so never crowded.  It is safe from auto traffic. There is ample parking and a public restroom,  very well maintained.            Hard to beat..!

Back to the workout–  We walked the first lab together,  then I begin to jog.   It took three more laps fully dressed before I felt comfortable enough to strip off my sweats and begin a  serious run.  I quickly decided that 2 miles was going to be enough, and that’s when I stumbled upon the phrase Comfortably Quality Miles.   I decided if I could get in two additional CQM it would be a decent day.  I became more comfortable as I ran and the pace improved. The first mile was 10:04: the second mile was 9:27.  I never did enter that PIZ (Preceived Invulnerable Zone) today.   I was feeling pretty vulnerable all the way.   But I was happy that I got those two quality miles and that the final mile was pretty solid.  Jogged another half mile and called it a day.

Total distance – 4.5 miles,  2 quality;  total moving time- 1 hour 2 minutes

That exceeded expectations for today.   So I am quite satisfied.

Happy Training

PS-  Kind reader may have noticed that  I learned how to embolden words today.