July 24th to August 3rd

“Life is short.  Running makes it seem longer.”.                 Baron Hansen

This 11 day segment saw a variety of training, resting days and one 5K race.  I jogged, swam and rested for 3 days before I went to Hoboken to compete in a 5K race with Robert on Tuesday, 6/27.  The race was poorly organized and mostly forgettable in a time of 28:48. Given the minimal effort I expended the time was a pleasant surprise.  It was a beautiful setting on the Hudson River waterfront, and spending the night with Rob in Hoboken was a lot of fun.  The next 3 days were light work in recovery.   Saturday, July 31 was a solid and needed 5 miles at Turkey Swamp Park.  I began August with a day of stretching and leg drills. On Monday the second I returned to the cinders for a day of quick running, speedy 100s, 200s and 300s.  I don’t know times because I forgot my watch, but it seemed pretty fast. My legs were a bit heavy on Tuesday ran I comfortable 3.5 miles on the roads at FSML in 41:00.  With an open 800 meter race scheduled at the New Jersey International Track Meet on Saturday, I don’t think I will be doing much hard work for the rest of the week.  I don’t know much about this meet or the level of competition, but I have set a goal  to run an 800m in 3:10.

Stats remain positive.

July 17  to 23

Saturday , 7/17.  Today I joined the Jackson Liberty cross country boys team at Manasquan Reservoir for this Saturday practice. It was a treat to be back with the coaches and the boys for the first time in over a year. I managed to run the five miles around the reservoir in 1 hour and 3 minutes through the 89*, humid air.  It was quite taxing on the body!

Sunday, 7/18.  Speed day. 10x 100m in :23 – :25 in between 3.4 miles on the cinders.  Quick!

Monday, 7/19.   Lots of walking on tired legs with Gracie. Stretching and leg loosening drills.

Tuesday, 7/20.  20 minute swim – still recovering

Wednesday, 7/21.   Back on the Cinders  for 4 1/2 miles in 1 hour with frequent speed segments of in excess of 200m all on the shady part of the 800m track.  Started slow, built intensity, finished strong and spent.  Good day.

Thursday, 7/22.   45 minute fast walk on the phone with Rich at Turkey Swamp Park.

Friday, 7/23. Today I went to the Jackson Liberty track in the afternoon hoping to do a decent repeat workout. Once again my legs were heavy when I started out. So, I did an extended warm up with numerous pick-ups.  Still filled with trepidation, I started out to do his ladder Up and Down at 10:00 pace. (200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 800, 600 400, 200)  I thought it might be a little too ambitious, but I figured I would give it a shot. I surprised myself by maintaining an 8:00 pace has I got underway with relative comfort. The long story short is that I was able to maintain an 8:00  pace throughout the entire ladder, up and down. I actually finished final 200m in a comfortable :51, which converts to 3:24 pace for 800m.  With warm-up and cool-down this workout amounted to over 5 miles on the track. This workout surpassed my highest expectations, tested me thoroughly and produced a two-hour nap immediately after I arrived home.   🙂 🙂 🙂Loving the rubber…..

Stats- All are stable in a good range. No leg or foot issues.

Sleep- 8 to 10 hours

Diet- 9/10

Weight- 143/145 lb

Heart rate 54  bpm daily

My Garmin says my Vo2Max is 40. They say that is good. 🙂

July 6 to 16

I miss Frosty!

Just trying to maintain some fitness in this heat wave-

Running on the shaded trails at Turkey Swamp Park-

Swimming every chance I get-

Making use of the reopened exercise room at the community clubhouse– bike, treadmill and elliptical and weights

Stats are ok.

July 5, Monday

2.5 miles in late afternoon coolness @ FSML with 10 SS.  Originally was hoping to make this  a swimming day. But  procrastinated my way past 5:00 PM. So, I had to make the decision to go for a run.  Happy to get 2.5 in 32minutes.

July 4, Sunday

Ran a quick and comfortable, probably PR, 4 miles at Turkey Swamp Park’s shady trails today in 43:00.  Final 3 in 31:39.

All well with stats.

July 1, 2 & 3 – Thursday, Friday & Saturday

Thursday- Good 20 minutes swim and lots of driving.

Friday-  A really good day of work.   30 minute swim, longest yet, in a totally empty pool on a overcast morning.  Later a solid workout on the cinders.  2.5 miles total… 1 mile warm up with frequent pickups.  Than 800m in 4:17 (8:34);  600m in 2:50 (7:36);  400m in 1:47 (7:06): 200m in :45 (6:00) !   800m cool down.   Finished wanting to do more.  But stopped out of an abundance of caution.

Saturday- Back to the cinders for a short workout. 1  mile warm up with strides, then 4 x 400m in  2:04  – 1:43 – 1:47  – 1:47.          + 15 minute jog.

Feeling PRRRRETTY GOOD !

SOLID STATS

June 26, Saturday

My performance at the Big Bang Mile yesterday left me with a good deal of confidence about my level of fitness.  On a very humid morning with the temperature already in the upper 70’s I made the decision to warm up in the gigantic, air conditioned Bell Labs building. To begin with the rest room facilities inside were far more civilized than the Portapottys at the starting line of the race.  The cavernous center space was about 68* and had a carpet around its almost 400 meter  circumference.  I had promised myself to do an extensive warm up in preparation for this race as I described in my previous post. So, I ran with sweats on around this carpeted surface doing long pickups for 30 minutes.  I should note that this space was essentially empty on a Saturday morning providing a completely clear  warm up opportunity.   I lay on my back with my legs elevated for 10 minutes before I jogged to the starting line about 200 meters from the building.

I approached the race with trepidation because I had no  confidence in my ability to judge pace after over a year without a competitive race. The goal was 7:00 with even 1:45 quarters. I ran a comfortable 1:37 and 1:48 to arrive at the half in a respectable 3:25.  (There were clocks at each quarter mark.) That half mile time gave me confidence that maybe I could break 7 minutes. I tried to push the 3rd quarter.  But I would describe a similar performance by one of my runners as a weak effort.  1:55     I managed to recover and run a 1:45 final quarter to finish at 7:05.  I was left feeling somewhat disappointed, but convinced that I am capable of running much faster.

Stats remain consistent and positive.

June 24, Wednesday

On a delightfully crisp evening at the cinder track I chose a quick workout as my final preparation for Saturday’s one mile race.  The goal was to run a few repeats a goal raceP pace which is  under 7:00. (1:45 per 400m).  A secondary goal for the day was to monitor how long and how intense my warm-up needed to be before I felt comfortably, wide open.  After a mile in motion including  several accelerations, I felt  ready.  The first 400m timed at 1:52, a little too slow and somewhat labored. The next two were quicker (below 1:45) and more comfortable.  I ended the workout with two times 200m out of an abundance of caution.  By that time I did feel completely wide open and ran easily at a pace well under 1:40. So, what did I learn?  It takes an extensive amount of work to get the old body completely warmed up. The question is, “Do I dare doing that much work before going to the starting line for a race?” I don’t know.  Maybe, because it frightens me, I should do it on Saturday. 

June 18, Friday

With two days rest and eight days to my mile race, I decided that something harder was in order. I started out for the cinder track. But I soon realized that it was around 12:00 noon and the sun was high and hot. So, I changed course and headed for the shaded trails of Turkey Swamp Park.  The 12 minute Crank and Cruise workout seemed like a good choice for this day. It’s quick and it’s short. After a one mile warm up with five  progressive pick ups, I started the 12 minute run.  It was just the right intensity and duration for this day. With about five minutes of recovery I added four times 100 meter straight-a-ways.  The entire workout was demanding but not draining. I drove to the pool and swam for 20 minutes more.  I was pleased with the bricks that I added on this day.

Stats- stable

June 15, Tuesday

Began with a very nice 15 minute swim. After a short break I went to  Turkey Swamp Park and ran a comfortable 3.38 miles in 41:55 with some significant speed segments along the way.  A good day….  Tomorrow I will rest and have a tooth pulled.

Stats on target

June 8th through June 14th 

This week was marked by a serious return to our pool at Four Seasons. I managed three productive sessions in the water. It had been more than a year, and it felt terrific. I walked 6 miles around the city of Hoboken with Robert on Thursday. In four sessions throughout this week (on cinders, on dirt trails and on roads) I covered 16 miles at various intensity. The long runs were peppered with a series of  Speed Segments throughout. And today I completed a workout on the Cinders with 6 x 400 meters.  1:48, 1:48, 145, 1:37, 1:54, 2:05.

With 12 days remaining before I try to run a quick mile at the Big Bang Mile in Holmdel, New Jersey I’m feeling pretty good about my training and fitness. I’ve managed to get through a sore knee and not lose too much training time.

Stats-

Weight  = 143 lb

Diet  = 9 / 10

Sleep = 9 / 10 hours daily

Resting heart rate equals 54 beats per minute of course open to the idea

Feet and legs are injury-free, though muscles are sore from good book

So-called “Frozen Shoulder”  (actual diagnosis) remains sore in bed and on rising but does not affect running or swimming.