November 25th, Sunday

Today was a strikingly beautiful November afternoon to do a workout on the cinders. I did a 20-minute warm-up including walking, stretching, jogging and drills with Arlene. Then I did seven more laps covering three and a half miles that included 4 intervals. I did three 400m in under 2:00 pace and ended with an 800m in 4:18.  I ran  400 meters between each of the repeats.  The workout portion of the day covered 44 minutes. I felt strong throughout  and had no foot or leg issues. Good day.!

Stats are good.

November 23rd, Friday

On a cold Friday afternoon I bundled up and headed out to the cinders with hopes of running a solid 3 miles.  Once again I started modestly with a 13:03 mile. During the next two miles I ran 8 pick-ups of increasing length  from 50 strides to100 strides.   I made the decision to run a fourth mile and completed it in about 10 minutes with no pick-ups.  Another positive day….   Ending HR was low 120 BPM.

4 Miles-  45:58

1-13:02.   2- 11:45.   3- 10:43.    4- 10:17

Stats-

Weight = #155

Sleep = 7 hours

Diet = 9

a.m.HR = 54BPM

Foot indexes are getting better.

November 21st, Wednesday

1

After a day of recovering from my hot 200m workout on Monday, I ran 30 minutes at quick pace on the treadmill and swam for 15 minutes.   It felt good.  A 15 minute hot whirlpool led to total relaxation.  To top off the night, Rob prepared an epiqurian delight of local sea bass for dinner.  Arlene and I had watched as the seafood guy cut the fillets out of a fresh fish at Klein’s Seafood Market this afternoon in  Belmar.  A hard to beat pre-Thanksgiving evening!!

Good stats.

November 19th, Monday

Today I got out of the house by 2:30.  It was a perfect 54* day, cloudy and calm.  A great day for an actual workout. I heated my calves for 20 minutes and put on the compression socks.

I was pretty excited this morning after reading an article about the workout regimen of Fred Wilt who was a multiple American National Champion and Olympic distance competitor. He continued to break records well into his fifties.  You can look him up.  He is a very interesting guy.  His default workout was repeat, flat-out 200’s with a jog till recovered.  The article said he did 5 to 7 miles  of it a week at age fifty and ran 9:40 for 2 miles. I am not exactly sure what that meant, but the idea of running fast 200’s appealed to me greatly.

So, when I got to the track I began to jog immediately without any drills. I ran a 12:30 warm up mile with no irritation in my calf muscles. I then ran six x 200m in under 60 seconds with a 200m recovery under 2 minutes.  My legs felt better with each repeat.  I felt like I could have done six more but stopped only out of caution. Now, 200s in the mid 50’s are not flat-out, but it’s a start and I really enjoyed the workout.  I finished with a brisk 1200m cool down for a total of 3.5+ miles on the day.  An invigorating session on the cinders!

Stats-

Sleep= 8 hours

Weight= #155

a.m.HR= 54BPM

DIET= 9

Foot Indexes are improving with TLC.

November 18th, Sunday

🙂

Saturday was a full day of college football watching on the couch at home with Rob.      Today, after watching the Giants win their second game in a row, I left at 4 o’clock for the Cinders . The sky was heavily overcast and the darkness was falling rapidly. Jackson Mills road was closed for repairs so I had to enter the track through Thigh Park, and that is the back way through about 300 of wooden trail. I ran a mile and a half on the Cinders and out of fear of getting lost or injured on the wooded trail in the dark, returned to the parking lot in the back . After a few pickups in the parking lot in the dark, I jumped in the car and headed home having logged only 2.2 mi in about 24 minutes. Not very impressive. I have to start getting out earlier in the day if I hope to get serious work done.  I heated my calf for 20 minutes and wore a compression sock today. My calf muscle was not as troublesome as the last few days.

Stats are stable.

November 16th, Friday

This was a similar workout to last Sunday on the cinders. I did manage to get in 4 miles, which is 8 laps on the half-mile track. It still takes a while to get started with certain leg issues. Today was a continuation of right calf pain. The calf muscle feels like it’s going to cramp with each stride for about the first mile. I stopped about each 400 to do a 30 second to one minute stretch, I guess that helps. By the second mile the calf muscle is still a little achy but doesn’t threaten to cramp any longer, so I continue.  There were no pickups this time, but each mile got a little faster.  I continue to improve my belly breathing  technique.  It is quite relaxing and helps me to maintain an efficient running form.  That and trying to remember to keep my stride short are keys to avoiding injuries.

Workout= 4 miles in 48:29 .  Very consistent!

Steady stats.

November 13th and 14th,  Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday  –  Spent the day assisting Rob with his hernia operation.  Hours of driving to Manhattan and waiting.

Wednesday – Had eye procedure in Red Bank today.

Must get back to a training schedule tomorrow.

November 12th, Monday

25 minutes in the pool swimming and running + 15 minute whirlpool …..Lots of walking…..

Positive recovery day from yesterday’s 4 miles with surges….

November 11th, Sunday

On a cold afternoon at the half mile,cinder track,  bundled in multiple layers, I set out to try for a three mile comfortable run hoping my tender feet and nagging calf would hold up.  My calf was aching in the early laps but everything else seemed okay. After lap two I decided to try pickups on the straightaways of 60 t0 75 strides each hoping for a total of eight.  With occasional stretching breaks the calf issues began to disappear. The pace and the pickups quickened, and I shed layers each lap, and I wound up running the 3rd mile in about 9:40.  I opted for an additional half mile cool down, but ended up running a full mile with 4 more pickups to make a total of 12.  PAfter 4 miles in 49 minutes I felt very loose and comfortable and thought for a moment about continuing, but I stopped out of caution. It was a better workout than I had anticipated.

Total workout = 4 miles in 49:32 with 12 serious pickups of 60 to 75 strides

Stats –

Sleep = 8 hours

a.m.HR = 54 BPM

Diet = Thanksgiving dinner. Delicious but very heavy.

Weight = #156

Indexes are all stable. Not great but manageable.

November 8th , 9th and 10th

Thursday the 8th: Tired with sore feet, so rest.

Friday the 9th:  Early Thanksgiving dinner with Rob and Chris. No workout.

Saturday the 10th: 20 minute jog and 45 minutes of work at clubhouse.

Stat break……..