September 8th, Saturday

Passing 400m before I ran down those two guys.

Finishing first in 800m.   3:18

Today’s efforts at the New Jersey Senior Games proved to be better than I anticipated. In the 800 meters I finished first out of the field of 11 runners to win in 3: 18. That was much faster than my projected seed time of 3:40. I am very surprised and gratified that I am able to run that time with such limited running training. I was pretty sure that my aerobics condition was okay but had grave doubts about my legs. But in the 800m I found both aerobic and muscle reserves when I called on them. This is very encouraging and makes me very excited about the possibilities for the Nationals in July.

The 1500 meter race was a completely different story. I guess I have to say that my between races preparation was not very good. But in the race I did not feel strong and my quadricept issues returned so that I just managed to finish in 7:54. Fortunately only two runners showed up for the 75 to 79 year old category. So I finished second and qualified for this event as well. I could clearly feel my lack of conditioning in the second race and I’m glad I did not have to beat anybody. But all in all it was a really good day. The weather was perfect for distance running at about 68 degrees and cloudy. The meet went pretty much on time. So, I move forward with 9 months to train for the Nationals with time to relax and reboot and get all my aches and pains taking care of while I get strong and fast. I am very excited!

September 3rd, Labor Day

Saying “Good bye” to another summer,  I drove to Manasquan this morning to pick up Rob’s surf board. It is a sad day in the shore rental world as they pile their garbage outside the house and suck down a few final beers before hitting the Parkway traffic for the slow, sad, final ride home of 2018.  Work, school and winter await.  But the NFL gets underway in three days and life is good again.

When the shade covered the turn on the cinders, I ran a few 150m strides. I was pleased to see that my relaxed pace was consistently near 9:00.  It leads me to believe that I might be capable of running at 8:00 pace on Saturday.  That would not be too embarrassing and probably qualify.

Good stats…

September 2nd, Sunday

Another evening solo session at the pool ended up being 30 minutes of work (20 mins. swim – 10 mins. run). Legs feeling better.

Steady stats-

September 1st, Saturday

Arlene at the Pavilion on a beautiful night.

This morning I ran a more comfortable, albeit slow, 30 minutes at Manasquan Reservoir.  After being scolded by Rich Refi for poor warm-up approach, I preceded the run with some targeted hip and leg exercises plus 6 x 100m straight-aways at gradually increasing effort.  That probably helped! 🙂  Rich constantly tells me, “Do what you teach your kids to do!”  Why can’t I remember that?

I have to remind myself that I am competing in the NJ Senior games on next Saturday for fun to avoid becoming too anxious about my current foot and leg issues.  The fact is simply that I have not run fast for at least five months.  I have remained fit and healthy by cross training, but that has not kept my legs in a condition for running fast.  The truth is I don’t enjoy the New Jersey Games half as much as I have enjoyed my experience in the National Games. So, I really do want to qualify because it provides me a goal to focus my training and a good reason to plan a road trip.

This perfect, late summer evening Arlene and I had a romantic dinner at the scenic Avon Pavillion overlooking the beach.  We walked and danced to soft, live music on the boardwalk afterward.  Arlene nicely described it as a “sweet” evening.  It was!

This lucky guy could not hope for a better day.

Stats-

Sleep = 8 hours

Diet = 8

Weight = #154

a.m.HR = 54bpm

I-Mpfd = 6/7 for first 2 minutes

I-Mad = 0

Heel pain was minimal while running.  Still doing aggressive golf ball rolling.

August 31st, Friday
Just ran very slowly for 30 minutes, 2.1 miles. Not easy, sore right quad. More tomorrow.

August 30th, Thursday

That’s it. 30 on tredmill and 15 on weights.

Stats are stable.

August 27th, Monday

“Do what you fear!”

3.75 miles in motion with some intervals

Trying to beat the heat today I arose early and headed to the Jackson high school track. I did a one-hour workout on the track that included a long, tedious and honestly  painful warm up. I was determined to run a full mile first because I had not yet done that since starting to run again in  the last week and a half. It was quite difficult I have to admit. But things got better after about 20 minutes of jogging and stretching.  I then did 4 x 200m and 1 x 400m at between 7 and 8 minute pace . I walked 100m in 2 minutes between each. I still feel aerobically fit, but my legs are not race ready yet.  I take hope in the fact that this was the best or nearest thing to an actual running workout that I have done in months. And my heel never hurt for the entire time!!  I have no idea of what I might be capable of running at the New Jersey games in two weeks. It will be a total surprise.

Stats-

Sleep  = 6 hours

Weight  = #154

a.m. HR – 54bpm

Indexes = Good

Diet = 9

August 25th, Saturday

An all-time favorite!

Nothing like blasting  the Beatles on a stunningly brisk morning driving with all the windows down……….!

My legs and heel felt surprisingly good this morning after what I consider to be a pretty strenuous workout yesterday and a long walk afterwards. I did sleep with the brace on my left foot last night. I suppose that did help also.  So I got in more work than I expected this morning at the cross country practice at Clayton Park. I rode for half an hour on the very hilly roads outside the park. I then ran 6 x  120m straightaways with the boys on the grass. The running was comfortable and without leg or foot aches. Promising!

Stats-

Sleep = 5 hours  + a long nap!

Weight = #156

Diet  = 8

HR = 54 BPM

l-Mad = 1

I-MPFD = 2/3 after stretching.      I-MPFD is index of morning plantar fasciitis discomfort.

August 24th, Friday

New favorite quote!

I returned to the cinders for the first time in  2 months. It was slow going at the start.            But, after a grudging mile in the heat of a cloudless sky, I was able to run some pretty quick 100 pickups in the shady area of the track. I completed 10 pickups concentrating on good form and short strides. Fortunately my heel was not bothering me even though I was experiencing some discomfort in my right, upper leg and butt.  Following dinner and a long walk on the boardwalk this evening my heel is quite sore.  Glad to get actual running done with only two weeks to NJ games.

Stats –

Sleep = 8 hours

Diet – 8/9

a.m.HR = 56 BPM

Weight – #154.5. BETTER!

I-Mad = 2

a.m. PF = 7  for first steps. 2 for rest of day

August 22, Wednesday

On Tuesday night I got in some jogging and a few 100 strights at Ocean County Park during cross country practice.  Tonight I covered 6.6 miles of bike riding and running for a total of 1 hour.  I stopped about 3 miles into my ride to run 7 x 120m strides on the grass.  It takes a few to feel fully loose, but eventually I get to that happy running place! LOL.   It is apparent the I am not in fit running condition, but I am running almost daily with minimal discomfort.

STATS ARE GOOD