To reach me via email

If you wish to reach me: lastchancerunner@gmail.com

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Back to Back Van Aaken

I duplicated much of yesterday's workout by again running around 5 miles very slowly and then going to the track at WVC and running 3 x 500 meters followed by a mile warmdown.

The 500's were 1:53-1:50-148. More mile goal pace than 5K.

It was an experiment to see if I could handle this type of thing. I would prefer having 2-3 days in between this type of workout but Van Aaken had his runners do this in the day. Anyway, nothing even resembling "hard" until Wednesday's 2 mile time trial with Jake.

The slow running is very calming (almost meditative). Jakes was saying at breakfast that he when he feels good he wants to run hard. I laughed saying that when I felt good, I knew that was the time to slow down.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Got Better AS I Ran

I woke up feeling out of it this morning. Not sick. Just sort of in need of large amounts of coffee.
The weather was/is incredible and while slothed around to about 10 AM, I finally went out just to see if i could run. I figured if I didn't feel that peppy that I would turn back and call it a day. The longer I was though, the better I felt (I kept my HR around 130) and by 5 miles I just so happened to be swinging by De Anza College and decided to cut over to the track and run 3 x 500. The first one was 1:58, the second 1:50 and last 1:49. I then jogged a very easy ten minutes back home. The whole thing may have been 7 miles. So a very Van Aaken workout.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Two Mile Time Trial

I drove over to WVC this morning to run with Jake. The weather, which had been mild, reverted to COLD. It had to be in the high 30's but at least there was no wind.

We warmed up 3 miles (talking about how the high school kids Jake coached seem to need little or no warmup). We did some easy strides and then ran a two mile trial. Jake's goal was simply to break 15 minutes. I let him set the pace even though I was theoretically the pacer. Jake gets paced best when he the pacer is in the rear. Anyway, we blew through the first mile in in about 7:24 and then ran the second mile in 7:18 for a 14:42. Except for the last lap and half my HR stayed right around 75% of max. A good sign.

I ran a 2 mile easy warm down around the college afterward for a total of 7 miles.

7 miles total.

In the late afternoon I came back to WVC with the club and ran 4 slow miles. My legs felt good.

11 miles total for the day

Monday, March 26, 2007

Working Into It

As good as I felt Saturday that was how "not good" I felt today. But I went out anyway figuring I could do an hour standing on my head. It took me about a half hour of very slow running to begin to work into it and over time I began to feel decent and extended the run to 80 minutes. I ran 14 laps on the college track in the middle of the session realizing how hard as you age it is to find that seam anymore. Or this is the seam for me. Just being able to run.

There was a fitness class on the track and as I ran clockwise they ran the opposite way. One girl caught my eye (NOT THAT WAY). Young, pretty but fighting the "I am going to gain weight" battle. She was short and wearing an Aniston Team Shirt. I guess Brad Pitt is no longer on that team. She would run and then walk and then run and so on. Most of the others in the class, some thinner, just walked. She chugged along.

I spun by them all running in the outer lanes and giving way. As they ran and walked I noticed that they gradually went from being spread across 4-5 lanes to hugging the inside lane. Cutting the tangent as they wore down. Rain had been forecast for the morning but it held off and I received the benefit of running in the sun. Later in the afternoon a thick rain-like drizzle came in and soaked down the valley.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Playing Around at WVC

I went to WVC this morning (cool..sunny..gloves) and ran around with the club. Did the 3 mile warmup with Bill Dunn and Art Mitchum and hung near the leaders which meant that my legs felt good. Still, after that I ran around campus covering another 3 miles but I kept it very slow. I kidded overtime with Chris (I am always kidding her about something). Don said I went out of my way to "do" her but actually it was not out of my way at all. She was right on my way to the car.

At breakfast Jake said he would prefer to run a two mile time trial on Wednesday at about a 7:30 pace. Based on his fastest (recent) 3 mile time trial this should be very doable.

I felt very good the day after my Van Aaken workout so I am beginning to get some confidence in my ability to modify my workouts enough to keep my legs from getting trashed. Tomorrow I am going up to the DSE run in GG Park but given that I plan on running Monday (rain or shine) I may opt not to run but just watch and have breakfast afterwards with Bob Bean should he show up. I will make the run/no run decision in the morning.

Friday, March 23, 2007

A Late Winter Morning in the Valley

Winter in the valley is tough. It was in the mid 50's this morning with sunny skies. There was a slight breeze but nothing bothersome.

I decided to do a Van Aaken workout. I jogged 2 miles over to the college very slowly and then ran 12 laps with a 350 meter jog and a 50 meter walk each go around. Then I ran 3 x 500 meters in 2:04-1:58-1:56. I walked for about 200 meters between each rep.I ran the reps with intent (not intensity) keeping the effort smooth and even. I thought as I did this, "Who trains this way?"

The answer: No one I know.

I jogged back to the house (another mile and then some).

7 miles total

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

OK But Not As Good As Last Week

The Morning

I drove over to WVC and did the usual 3 mile run with Jake. First we warmed up 3 miles and then ran the workout. It was not as good as last week. Between Jake's secret hard workouts this weekend and heavy duty work (moving and burning brush on his property) on Tuesday he was tired out. I could tell he wasn't up to it. My HR in the first mile was down around 148-150 which is a 70% effort. Normally we jump up to 75% pretty quickly. He made it 2.5 miles but bonked and had to drop out after the 10th lap. I pushed on adding in a couple of laps at 85% of max and finished in 23:09. We then warmed down around campus for about 1.5 miles.

We ran into Sandy Vaurs who was an old girlfriend of Jakes and a team mate of mine way back in the 1970's. She still looks great at age 66.

I am thinking of making this workout a once every other week AT run. I can give Jake a head start of a lap or two and try to catch him while running 85-90% of max.

12K total

The Late Afternoon

I went back out to WVC for the club workout. Walked down to the track with Chris Blue (former cheerleader back in the day). Warmed up while engaging in a mile's worht of trash talking with others on the club. Then ran 6 x 800 with 8 x 100 in the 19-17 second range). My legs felt surprisingly good incomparison to last week when I was practically hobblling after the morning run.

4 miles total.

Went to dinner with Danny. It's been a long (long) time and it was good for the two of us to get out and just chat.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Musing on Racing

Last night I was surfing the web and looking at all the race results. I still find them interesting to read. I keep thinking how few times I find my name there and when I do how I get this OOMPH when I see my finishing times. I have to go back to 1995 to find a race where I felt I was competitve and still had the drive. To be comptitve these days I would have to be running a high 18 low 19 minute 5K. For me that was at least ten years ago. It is hard to see what sort of "thing" would get me going in that direction again.

I am not heavy but I could lose way more weight and make myself light as a feather. I was not as light as a feather when I ran my best times so it would be different. My best times can at 135-140 lbs. I am about 138-142 these days. Most of the good runners in my age group are leaner. I am built more like Prefontaine. Stocky I guess (for a runner).

I could just go out and run as hard as I could stand it for as long as I could stand it in races. This is the kamakazi approach. You just hang with the guys you want to race wth until you can stay with them and then move up to the next target. This can be very painful. The latter stages of races can be pretty awful looking. You can be with your target and then suddenly lose 20 seconds or more over the last half of race. I ran best when I was in conttrol at 2/3rds of the way through a race and then could run hard in (pain or not). I don't think my body is trained for this. I hate intervals but time trials might get me there or they might exhaust me.

Racing in my 60's is a far cry from 30 years ago. At 32 I was race hardened and could jump into anything from a mile to a marathon and just be ready to go. And all this being said, I doube it will get me down to the low 19's or high 18's.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Reverse Track

I got up early and threw myself out the door for a 75 minute slow run. My HR was generally around 130. I ran over to the track and ran the reverse direction for 12 laps before coming back home. Cool, sunny with some clouds coming in. Heavy fog gripping the hills. All around nice.

The Asian girls were there. The skinny one and the not so skinny one. They ran in the outside lane yapping the whole time. The school was generally quiet. Getting there early helps avoid the crowds and the PE classes. The Asian girls are there forever though.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Another Van Aaken Day

I ran another Van Aaken type of workout Saturday morning while the club ran Valle Vista (3 hilly miles). 8K easy run with my HR in the 130-140 range. Then I went to the track and ran 4 x 400 with a 200 meter walk interval. 96-94-92-90. Short jog afterwards.

It was relatively cool and overcast and my sun glasses kept fogging up.

The next day (Sunday) my legs felt good but I held back from running for now. This was rarity. Not the holding back but having my legs feel decent enough that I could think of running.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Van Aaken for an hour

Given that I was trashed Wednesday eveing I decided to take a very easy run today of about an hour. I used the Ernst Van Aaken method running very slow over to the track and then running 8 laps of 350 meters jogging and 50 meters of walking. I then ran very slowing back home focusing on not picking it up at any time. If Harold Norporth could stand stuff like this this so could I. Norpoth has a withering kick and once during a race hung right behind Prefonatine until a lap to go and then blazed by him. Prefonatine really got pissed. He didn't see it as an honorable way to run.

Norpoth's 5K PR was 13:20.


Norpoth 9 summer weeks in 1962

Week 1
MON – warmup+5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 76sec to 71 sec.
TUE – Travel to Hamburg. 10 kilos easy in Hamburg
WED – 1500m RACE. – 1st in 3:42.8; last 500m in 69.8, last 400 in 54.6
THU – Travel back. Rest day
FRI – warmup + 5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 4X500m/76sec,74sec,73sec,71sec
SAT - warmup+5X2000m/7: :30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 73sec/72sec/71 sec.
SUN - 15 kilos easy run in Wald

Week 2
MON – rest day
TUE – warmup + 15kilos run in Waldniel. 5X3kilos outdoor circuit laps in negative split.
WED – 15kilos easy in Waldniel circuit
THU – 10 kilos easy
FRI – 10kilos easy in Wald.
SAT – warmup + 3X10X200m (first set group average 36.5; second 34.5; third 33.5
fourth 31.7 Rec=200m jog. Last set in 25seconds.
SUN – 20kilos easy in Wald.

Week 3
MON – warmup+5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 76sec to 71 sec.
TUE – Travel to Hamburg. 10 kilos easy in Hamburg
WED – 1500m RACE. – 1st in 3:42.8; last 500m in 69.8, last 400 in 54.6
THU – Travel back. Rest day
FRI – warmup + 5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 4X500m/76sec,74sec,73sec,71sec
SAT - warmup+5X2000m/7: :30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 73sec/72sec/71 sec.
SUN - 15 kilos easy run in Wald.

Week 4
MON – 10 kilos in Wald.
TUE – rest day
WED –rest day
THU – Travel back. Rest day
FRI – warmup + 5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 4X500m/76sec,74sec,73sec,71sec
SAT - warmup+5X2000m/7: :30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 73sec/72sec/71 sec.
SUN - 15 kilos easy run in Wald.

Week 5
MON – rest day
TUE – travel to Malmo. Rest day
WED – 10 kilos easy
THU – 10 kilos easy
FRI – 3 kilos warmup + 20X1min Tempo 1 minute pause + 4 kilos cooldown
SAT – rest day
SUN - 1500m RACE. In Malmo – 1st in 3:42.0

Week 6
MON – Travel back from Malmo. Rest day
TUE –15kilos run in Waldniel, that´s 5X3kilos outdoor tempo as circuit laps in negative split.
WED – 8 kilos esy run in Wald.
THU – 12 kilos easy
FRI – 15 kilos easy run with SHORT PAUSES FOR RECOVER
SAT – rest day

Week 7
SUN – 15kilos run in Waldniel. 5X3kilos outdoor circuit laps in negative split.
MON – 12 kilos easy
TUE – 15kilos run in Waldniel. 5X3kilos outdoor circuit laps in negative split.
WED – 3 kilos warmup + 20X1min Tempo 1 minute pause + 4 kilos cooldown
THU – rest day
FRI – rest day
SAT – 3000m RACE in 8:17.5
SUN – 10 kilos easy in Wald. with SHORT PAUSES FOR RECOVER

Week 8
MON – warmup+5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 76sec to 71 sec.
TUE –10 kilos easy
WED – 3 kilos warmup + 20X1min Tempo 1 minute pause + 4 kilos cooldown
THU – Rest day
FRI – warmup + 10X200m in 36sec REC=200m jog + 4X500m/76sec, 74sec,73sec,71sec
SAT – 15 kilos easy run in Wald.
SUN - 15 kilos easy run in Wald. with SHORT PAUSES FOR RECOVER

Week 9
MON - 3 kilos warmup + 20X1min Tempo 1 minute pause + 4 kilos cooldown
TUE – 15 kilos easy
WED – rest day
THU – warmup + 9kilos negative split that´s an outdoor 3X3kilos circuit
FRI - warmup+5X2000m/7:30 pace Rec=400m jog + 3X500m in 76sec to 71 sec.
SAT – warmup + 4X5X200m in 34sec; 31sec 28 sec: 26 sec REC=200m jog + cooldown
SUN - 15 kilos easy run in Wald. with SHORT PAUSES FOR RECOVER



Norporth – second part

1964 (Begins Sept. 1)

01.09 – 18km easy + 2x1200m/3:25 + 1X500m/1:12
02.09 – 9.6kilos (8laps) in 40min
03.09 – rest day
04.09 – 5000m warmup + 2X2400m outdoor run (2 laps of 1200m)/8:44/8;27 Rec= 5 to 10 minutes.
05.09 – rest day
06.09 – rest day
07.09 – 15kilos (12 laps)
08.09 - 15kilos (12 laps)
09.09 - 15kilos (12 laps)

10.09 – travel to Cologne. rest day
11.09 – 5000m run in Cologne – 13:58 win over the Polish runner Boguszewich
12.09 – travel back
13.09 – 50min easy run
14.09 - 50min easy run
15.09 - 50min easy run
16.09 – rest day
17.09 - 50min easy run
18.09 - 50min easy run
19.09 – rest day
20.09 - 50min easy run
21.09 – rest day
22.09 - 50min easy run
23.09 - 50min easy run«
24.09 - 50min easy run
25.09 – 7200m easy run (6 laps in 30min) + 2X500m/75sec Rec=5minutes pause
26.09 – rest day
27.09 – warmup + 1500m tempo run in 3:52
28.09 – rest day
29.09 – 18 kilos easy run
30.09 15kilos=That´s 12 circuit laps in crescendum (negative split) from easy run to tempo pace in 55:48 total duration (1st - slower lap in 4:55; last – faster one in 3:58)

01.10 – 45min run
02.10 – Travel to Toquio
03.10 – X
04.10 – 45min as 1min fast-1min slow
05.10 – 20 kilos easy run with short rest recover periods
06.10 – 20 kilos easy run with short rest recover periods
07.10 – 4 kilos easy +6000m with runners Lutz Philipp and Leizrich
08.10 – 6kilos medium run + 1000m track 5000m pace tempo + 5X80-100meters strides + 4000m cooldown
09.10 – 16kilos =8kilos easy and last 8kilos in negative split
10.10 – In Toquio stadium – warmup + 5X2000m/7:06/7:20/7:00/6:23/6:05 – with 62 sec last lap set. Rec=400m walking + 2000m cooldown
11.10 – 4X2000m warmup up with 400m walk + 10X400m/63.5 Rec=400m walk+2000m cooldown
12.10 – 2000m easy run + 3X1000m/2:41 – 2:41 – 2:39 Rec=several minutes
13:10 - 40m easy run
14.10 – short easy run
15.10 - 5kilos easy
16.10 – warmup + 5000m (heat ?) in 14:11
17.10 – very easy run
18.10 – 5000m Toquio – warmup +Silver medal

1964 TOQUIO 5000m final
1 Bob Schul, USA 13,48,8
2 Harald Norpoth FRG 13,49,6
3 Bill Dellinger USA 13,49,8
4 Michel Jazy FRA 13,49,8
5 Kipchoge Keino KEN 13,50,4
6 Bill Baillie NZL 13,51,0
7 Nikolay Dutov URS 13,53,8
8 Thor Helland NOR 13,57,0

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Jake's Time Trial

I headed over to WVC early to run another time trial with Jake. He promised he would rest this time around. He ran 6 miles Monday and another six on Tuesday. So he was good to his word. We warmed up with our usual 3 miler and met on the track. Once we got going I decided not to fret and just ignored the elapsed time but glanced now and then at my HR. Jake seemed relaxed and strong and my HR seemed to settle in around 155-160 and just stayed there. At 8 laps I finally glanced at my watch and saw that we were around 15:40. I half expected Jake to pick it up but he stayed on pace for another two laps. With 800 meters to go I could feel him pick it up. My HR went up to 165 on the 11th lap and then leveled out at 170 for the last lap.

We crossed the line in 23:07 so we had run the last mile in 7:27.

We warmed down around campus and then went and had coffee at Burger King (Jake's place of choice).

I came back that evening and ran an easy 3 miles with my club but this may have been a mistake. As good as I felt in the morning, that was how badly I felt in the afternoon. My legs were sore and I felt beat up afterwards. So maybe these pacing runs I do with Jake a great deal tougher on me than I figured.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Climbing back out of the barrel

My first run since last Wednesday. I did an easy 4 miles but everything seemed OK. I am supposed to go run another one of those 3 mile time trials with Jake tomorrow. I can only hope he didn't sneak in some God awful workout and scuttle his effort again.

Dwight, he of the 100 mile training weeks, ran in the low 32 at the 50 plus 8K. He won his age group but his time was slow given the amount of work he does. He'll probably tell me that he was training through the race but then when you run 100 mpw you have to train through everything including brick walls.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

A Cold in a Minor Key

I have been dealing with a minor cold for the past few days. I have chirstened it a cold but it may well have been an allergy "attack". The only reason for that is that I kept running into folks who had the same problem.

Anyway, I didn't feel that badly except for an overactive nose that alternately kept plugging up and then running like a spigot. I think I am over the worst of it but I always take these things as a warning. So no running until I feel decent.

Yesterday was a really unusual day. I drove over to Santa Cruz and had lunch with a friend of mine from High School and college, Nick Bilardello. I had not seen Nick for 40 years. We were very close friends back in the mid 1960's but then he joined the Peace Corp and I moved to the South Bay and by the time he got back in town, we had lost touch.

It was good to catch up and see each other again. We had both aged but he was still the Nick I knew. A great guy.

We met in a place called 99 Bottles in downtown Santa Cruz. Nick had a plaque on the wall with many others. You earned the plaque if you had tried all the beers (all 99 of them). I could have started my own quest but driving over the hill while slightly wasted wouldn't work out to well so I decided to rethink my strategy on how I get a plaque. There are always great challenges in life. Ha ha!

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Faucet Nose

My nose started running life a faucet last night which either means bad allergies or a cold. The funny thing is my colds (the few I get) are always preceded by a sore throat. None in this case. Nada. Just the nose running.

Claritin seems to be helping. I did banish myself to the den for sleeping so my snorting doesn't keep my wife awake. I may take a few extra days off depending on how this thing goes.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Exhausted Jake

It was AT day for Jake and once agin I showed up to run 3 miles on the track in the role of designated pacer. We warmed up 3 miles and then lined up for the workout. The deal was the I would lead the first mile. I was already wonering if Jake would be able to handle any pace. He told me during the warmup that he had run 17 miles on Monday and ten miles on Sunday and somewhere around 6 miles with intervals on Saturday.

I had a sneaking feeling that I would run some of this alone.

I took us out slower than last week and Jake later told me he felt like he was jogging. (That is a good thing). Two laps later his legs started to go and on the 8th lap he told he was going to drop for a 400 and then step back in. I kept the effort fairly smooth. My HRM was reading between 75 and 77% but it did spike up to 80% several times but always dropped back.

Jake did drop the 9th lap but then stepped back in as I began my 10th but he was gasping right away unlike last week where he seemed renewed. No renewal this time. He was paying a big price for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He hung in through.

I must have been off my game slightly because I ran slower at a higher HR. Not big but still there. It was warmer than last week and that can effect things or I may have been feeling my long run this past Monday.

The good news was that there was one of fitness classes on the track and the instructor had her class move over and give us the inside lane and we never asked (after DeAnza I may never ask again). We thanked her afterwards. I figure it was Jake. He is the reason they were so nice. It couldn't have been evil Rich.

Never!!!!

Monday, March 05, 2007

A Strange Run

I got out on the roads just before 9 AM this morning. It was a fine day as in very little wind and good sunshine. I was actually running in shorts and T-shirt. That part of the run worked very well. There were several parts that didn't. First, I felt sluggish as if I had been on an all night bender. My legs weren't stiff or sore. I just had trouble getting uncorked. Secondly, I chose to run up the railroad tracks. There is a great wide, flat dirt trail to one side of the track which, unless it has been raining, is very runable. The problem is that the crews have been doing track maintenance and the trail was badly torn up and rutted in many places so that I had to tip toe through more than a few rock strewn sections slowing me way down. It wasn't fun. Challenging but not fun. I got through it though without turning an ankle but finally abandoned the trail for the road and made my way in that way running just over 90 minutes. I got out of my funk about halfway through the run and was able to push the pace a bit. I still kept my HR under 150 and spent most of the run in the low 140's.

It was a generally a slog run. I think that unless the crews go back and grade the trail, it will be a tough place to run until the thousands of walkers and runners pound the dirt back down.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Saturday

I woke up at 6:15 AM and realized I was not going back to sleep. I had been thinking (stupid me) that if I slept in I would just go over to the club workout late. As it was, I was there at 7:30 AM just in time to run last during the 3 mile warmup Tom Rostege was right with me.

"We're dog meat. Right". He agreed. Tim: He who had once run under 53 minutes for 10 miles as a master and I who had twice ran under 26 minutes for 5 miles. The group pulled away from us gradually and we both made no attempt to close the gap. At our age it is not about staying up. It is just showing up. Tim still run about 60 miles a week but most of it is at a 10 minute mile pace.

I ended up running another 45 minutes afterwards most of it with Dimitri as we continued our unending conversation about what is the right training to break 5 minutes for a mile at age 50. When we get going the other runners find some other place to hang out. I can't say as I blame them.

I am not sure of my total. Maybe 8 to 8.5 miles.

60 minutes

60 minutes of easy running in the early AM on Friday. Legs felt good.
I thought about going out for a second, shorter run in the afternoon but ended up watching a movie on TV instead. I lack the will to double right now. On the other hand, I really am not that motivated.