November 14,  Thursday

January 15,  Wednesday

Sunny and 57*  🙂  🙂   🙂

Covered 6 miles today on a stunning January afternoon, perfect for a running workout.  First mile warm up.  Then 10 X 600m with 200m recovery @ 9:30 pace.  Final 5 miles in 58 minutes.

I had planned to run at 10 minute per mile pace today because I believe that at 10 minutes per mile pace I do not get injured. So, after a 1-mile warm up and some stretching, I decided I would run 600m repeats on the 800m track with a 200m recovery jog and walk. I calculated that 3:45 was 10 minute pace.  So, I figured that if I stayed under 4 minutes per repeat I would be close to my goal.  It quickly became clear that the 10 minute pace was a little slower than my body felt like running today.  I continually hit 3:30 or better comfortably. The pattern was to go off every 6 minutes, almost equal rest.  I think that I remained consistently in a very positive aerobic training zone throughout the five miles. Finished feeling strong and healthy and happy for the strength to complete a solid workout.

Stats are solid and steady.

January 13, Monday

A thought for high school cross country runners…..:-)

“8If you don’t have confidence, you will always find a way not to win.”

On Sunday I managed only 2+ miles of work on the Freehold Boro track with 6 x 100m SS.  It’s a long story not worth repeating.

On Monday I muscled through 4.25 miles on the Jackson roads in 56 minutes.  It was intended to be an easy day. But the 12 + minute miles seemed to wear me out as I went along.   When I got home I weighed the layers of clothes I had on and it came out to 8.4 pounds.  That could be a factor. I cannot wait to get to Saint Augustine this Saturday. Also I weighed 147.4 pounds when I got home.

STATS are holding steady at positive levels.

January 8, Wednesday

“Run every day. Run slow.”  Dr. Ernst Van Aaken

The North Hunterdon cross country team’s tradition of social, morning runs during the 70s, 80s and 90s were our ‘tip of the hat’ to the great Dr. van Aaken.

Today unwound in a rather unique way. I put my running gear on before breakfast with anticipation of getting some work in at some point during the day. I checked the weather to find it was cold and quite windy. Arlene wanted to get out for haircut.  I figured I could do a short run while she was getting cut. But she was not ready to go yet. So I decided to get in a quick run before we left for the haircut. That turned into a 14-minute run of about a mile and a quarter.  When we finally got to the beauty parlor, I squeezed in another run of 1.4 miles.  Both runs were cold and windy but I trudged on. When we arrived home, I figured I had had enough for this Blustery Day.  But my brain said,  “Don’t be a candy ass.  Get out there and do some running.”  So, I rebundled and went out for what turned out to be 2.66 miles around the neighborhood. Remarkably and surprisingly it all turned out to be over 5 miles and over an hour of running.  Not too bad!

It was a true van Aaken day.

Stats steady

January 7, Tuesday

“Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training and some are not.”      George Sheehan

It was quite cold on the cinder track today. So, I kept all my layers on for the entire five miles.  The link below provides all the data recorded on my Garmin.  Once again I started slowly and added a few pick-ups to get a good warm-up.   I had no distance goal today, but hoped I could keep moving for a full 60 minutes.  Legs seemed fresh after a two-day layoff since my 400-meter workout.   I decided to try a few accelerated 800m in the middle of the run. The two 800m times were 4:40 and 4:33.  OK…

Felt used up at around 4 mile mark but pushed on to a final mile in about 11:00.   Tired tonight.

After sweating under multiple layers for 5 miles, my post-workout weight was a new low of 148.0 pounds!

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4411941055

Good stats.

January 4, Saturday

“The more I train,  the more I realize I have more speed in me.”     LEROY BURRELL

It was a remarkably gentle, mid-winter,  training  day on a cinder track that  felt like a soft sponge. ( It had just rained for 24 hours.)  So, running  400m repeats seemed like the only option.   LoL

Here’s how it went. I warmed up for a mile and a half stopping occasionally to stretch. I set out with the goal of running the 400m  at 8 minute pace for as long as my body would hold up. The recovery was equal time, 2 minutes. Remarkably, I stayed under the  2-minute mark and completed 9 x 400m!   I did not experience aerobic or leg muscle distress at any time throughout the workout.  And, as I am writing this post 24 hours later, my legs are only slightly sore.  All good stuff…..

1:53,    1:59,    1:54,    1:45,    2:03,    1:51,    1:57,    2:00,    1:45!

Stats- Steady and positive

January 2, Thursday

” Cross country can be a cure for adolescence.”           Coach John O’Malley

This morning I met my nephew-in-law, Kevin, for a sunny 3.47 miles on the cinder track.  It was a treat to have company.  Although the temperature was colder than yesterday, it was sunny and clear. So, it didn’t seem as raw or bitter as yesterday.  I was still pretty layered up and my legs heavy after yesterday’s 4 1/2 Mile workout. Kevin and I did a few 100-meter speed segments along the way,  but I was definitely ready to stop at  about 40 minutes.

January 1st, Wednesday

Even though I was bundled up pretty well today, the first mile seemed very cold. (My mind is already in St. Augustine.)  Eventually I  was loose and watm and begin running some pickups. I was very happy to have accomplished 4 miles in about 48 minutes with 12 speed segments along the way. The segments were alternating 100 and 200 meters, mostly under 8 minutes per mile pace.  I actually felt quite  exhilarated in  the end and only stopped out of an abundance of caution. Not a bad day….

December 28 & 30, Saturday & Monday

Unpleasant weather contributing to reduced motivation.  The last two workouts were at the clubhouse.  Saturday I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes of upper body weights.  Today, Monday, I did 50 minutes in the pool running and swimming .  That was a good amount of aerobic and anaerobic work with no impact.

December 28, Saturday

25 on elliptical machine and 15 upper body weights and off to the annual O’Rourke Christmas party at Maureen’s house.