12 Mile Day

I drove up to Los Gatos High to run with Jake. We took off at about 8 am and did an easy 2.5 miles. Then we came back to the track to run a 2-3 miler at Jakes AT HR. The track was crowded with football players doing 40 yard dashes. They had no track awareness so everytime we came by the front straight heading towards the finish line we were challenged with kids walking back and forth across the inside lane. We bailed after one lap because Jake's HR monitor readout was sticking. Then we began again running at an 8 pace for 6 laps before Jake just dropped. After that he decided to run up to the dam and run close to 150 HR up and back of a specific portion of the 3.5 mile distance. That part actually felt really decent. It was a gradual ascent going out but the reverse coming back. We were doing about an 8 minute pace on the way to the high school and my HR was about 140.

I told Jake that his results were not making me want to run 7 days a week at any pace. I am more convinced than ever that the way to go for us old legged runners* is 4-5 days a week running more miles on the days we run rather than adding extra days. Optimal may still be every other day.

* Old legged Runners are those of us who have been running for 35-40 years or more and have accumulated 75,000 and more miles on their legs. Young legged, older runners have still have life in their legs. They don't have the years of pounding.

Later that same afternoon I went out and did another 4 miles with the club at WVC track. I strided 5 x 100 in 20-21 seconds but frankly my legs were tired from 8 miles this morning and a 12 mile total running day.

Thinnest Girl On The Track

I cut back my Monday morning run to about 7 miles keeping my HR below 140 most of the way. Legs felt Ok but not great. I have a nice case of the plods. I ran into "Ohio" and we talked sports for about 15-20 minutes. Good guy. Seems to have a great deal of obscure sports knowledge like me. Stuff that people just don't care much about (except for guys like us). Chinese Girl was charging around the track towards the end of my run. Same dark tights and orange jacket she seems to always wear. She is the thinnest girl on the track but she works at it. But she also wears a great deal of makeup. She was still in her running phase when I headed back home so I missed the jumping rope phase.

4:43

Saturday club workout again. "Ta dah". No Glucosamine for the last two days. I think this may be contributing to my heartburn. I warmed up slowly for close to 3 miles with no problems. I did some striders with Dimitri before launching into a 1200 meters "redemption" time trial. "What do you want," he asked. "4:45 give or take," I responded. I was still wary after Wednesday's 3:50 "and my legs were tired" effort. But today went ok. We went out a bit slow coming through the 400 in 1:39 but then we picked it up to a 97 and did the last lap in 87. That gave me a 4:43. The key was that I was able to accelerate on the last two laps.

We did another 4 laps with 4 x 100 meter strides and then went around campus for a warm down.

Walt was out timing and then later joined us for breakfast. He had bacon, eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast. He can't run for a month (doctor's orders). So he had a heart attack on Wednesday, a stent put in on Thursday and Saturday he is out joking with us at breakfast.

Whoa!

6 miles, Heart Attacks & a 5:30 Mile

The last two days have been real heaters. I went to the track yesterday evening and watched Dimitri run a 5:30 mile. He was very (VERY) unhappy. He had hope that this would be the year of the sub-five minute mile. I can remember how that felt in my competitive days. He was just about to cash in the summer but I told him to wait a a few days and see if he still felt the same. He is struggling with the fact that his mile training has gone down the toilet. I believe he killed off his legs with numerous "secret" hard workouts instead of allowing the speed to just come to him. He doesn't see it because his running log is not on paper but in his mind and the mind plays funny tricks on us all.

Danny was there too. He told me that Wally had had his second heart attack Wednesday after a hard set of 400's. The doctors put another stent in (his 6th) and my guess is that he'll be banned from running. The fact I am writing about it in this manner says that he'll be ok for now. Just another clogged artery. His genetics are trying to take him down. He keeps surviving regardless of his DNA.

I went out this morning and ran 6 miles. It was already warm. I ran the RR tracks out to Sunnyvale-Saratoga and back. I kept my HR in the 140-150 range. My legs felt ok but not great. There is no magic there. A 9 minute pace is beginning to become normal. It is no longer an aberration.

Back With Jake

Back with Jake this morning at Los Gatos High School. We met in the parking lot at 7:30 AM and it was already getting hot. Ran up the trail to just below the dam. Jake said it was between 3.5 and 3.75 miles round trip. Ended up bumping into McKayla Plank who is a top collegiate runner and an old friend of ours. We also saw Christine Kennedy who is a top class 50 plus woman runner who has the goal of running 2:50 at Chicago in the fall. Her 10K's say 2:58-3:00 hours but she gets stronger as she goes longer.

By the time we got back to the track I sort of knew that this wasn't my day despite the very easy pace. I tried a 1600 meter trial but gave up at 3 laps. Just didn't feel that energetic. It wasn't any leg soreness. I was just body tired from two nights of sub-par sleep. Jake and I ran back up the trail again as a warm down (from what?) and 2 laps around the track for another 3+ miles. Altogether I ran around 8 miles.

Jake felt better about his running. He is keeping his HR down on almost all of his runs even though I still think he runs too much. If I ran 7 days a week, I would keep my HR low and run about an hour a day just like I did in ancient times. Back then I could run about 9 miles in an hour without an great strain. It might be 6-7 miles in that same hour at age 62 but the load would be much the same. Anyway, something to think about.

We went to breakfast with the club. I decided to sit next to Madelyn and Danny and had a great time. I own half the issue here so I decided to swim in the belly of the beast. Hopefully this is the beginning of an upturn with Madelyn.

Railroad Track Route

I ran early today. I was on the road by around 8 am. I did the RR Track route going all the way out to Saratoga and back. It took about 80 minutes. My HR was in the 140-144 range most of the way.

The weather is going to get tough this week. Expect highs in the 90's by Wednesday.
I plan to keep my running to the early mornings.

Bad Day At WVC

The original idea for this morning was for me to go to the track and run either 1200 meters or a mile trial effort. I was warming up and realized that I was having one of those acid-reflux days and it wasn't good. I ate potato chips late yesterday afternoon and it seemed to have kicked off a bad reaction. I paid for it today. I did not take Zantac and Prilosec before chowing down and while that has been OK some evenings it did not work last night. I ended up playing it smart and running about 6 miles at a slow jog.

I am just going to have take this condition (burp) much more seriously and watch it. Funny thing is, once again, Saturday seems to be my regular bad day. I may have to get up earlier or bag running until later in the morning (not my first choice).

Jake was back in town and is running with the HRM and keeping his runs slow. He knows he is in a recovery stage and seems very focused on getting himself back to a point where he feels good running. We're going to run Wednesday but play what we do by ear.

I did Actually Run

I actually did run today even though it seemed trivial. I went out around 10:30 this morning. I ran as slow as I could stand it for about 38 minutes. The track at the local junior (aka community) college was closed. Graduation day. The stand was set up and everything. So I added a figure eight around my normal campus loop. This was strictly a recovery run. Plenty of sweat but slow and plodding. A calorie burning run at best. The club mile on the track is tomorrow (Saturday). I may do it but I am not highly motivated.

Danny says he is going to run 6:20 give or take. He ran 6:37 for 1600 meters a month ago and he is improving. He may do it. Jim is headed to the Masters Meet to try and break 40 minutes for 10K. The race is at 7 AM (ugh). Jim just ran an 8K last weekend that says he is close. It will be smart pacing that gets him under. if he goes out too fast, it will be another 40 plus race.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

A rest day. I went in at 5 pm and met with the CEO of one of my long term clients and pitched my approach to leadership development and change. I told him that I wished he were coming to me rather me coming to him. It may be too late to retrieve the situation. It happens. Whenever I don't listen to my very experienced "gut" I find myself in these types of situations. My gut said two things in the past 7-8 months.

1. 2006 should have been my last year doing work with that client. I do better when I leave. I know when that time is. I stayed. My mistake. It's a gentle mistake but a mistake none the less.

2. Our consulting approach was not succeeding with the CEO. We had stopped "listening" and were just "doing". What we knew got in the way of what we needed to learn. My warnings that this was happening were ignored and I felt myself getting pushed off into a corner by my own colleagues. No one was evil here.

I feel a bit like Ney walking across the last bridge as the last man out of Russia after Napoleon's invasion had failed. I am facing the enemy and I moving backward rather calmly.

I am ready to move on if we don't get the leadership work. If we do, I will go in full force.

Afterwards, needing tons of fresh air, I decided to go to the all comers meet and watch the boys run. Dimitri hit a 5:31. He wasn't happy but for a first mile I didn't think it was too bad. Dennis, after running 3 x 1600 meters hard last night at WVC, came back and ran a 4:57 mile. The guy has talent. Afterewards we all went to dinner.

Bird of Prey

Morning Run:

I went out early for me (around eight AM) and ran 45 minutes at an easy pace. It was relatively cool but it seems like it may end up being a warm day. I ran out to the college, did 4 laps and ran back. The campus has shifted to summer-mode. Few students around and a girls soccer camp getting kick started.

I felt a bit carbo deprived. Yesterday seemed like it was mostly mocha's and frappuchino's with some fruit and health bars thrown in the mix. I did have chicken last night with a yam, bread and veggies. Well balanced by normal standards.

Afternoon Run:

Back to WVC as usual for a Wednesday late afternoon run. I ran another 5 miles. Danny and I kept each other company during the 3 x 1600 meter part of the run. We ran in the 8:30-45 minute range. Dennis was circling Stacy like a bird of prey before and after the run. I wonder if she knows what is happening? The weather was warm but not hot. No complaints there.

Long Run

Brian Low and I hooked up at 9 AM for a long run. I ran about 5-6 minutes beforehand and then we proceeded to run up the railroad tracks to the baseball fields beyond Cox and near the RR overpass at Saratoga. We came back by a slightly different route running 81 minutes together. I think my total run was closer to 90 minutes but I am not sure. We stopped once to hit the rest rooms and I forgot to restart my watch. My best guess is that I missed about 2-3 minutes.

It was slightly warm but we both felt good and we flowed along through the whole run.

A Day Off

A day off. I am eating badly having already downed a large frappuchino, part of a pastry, and several pieces of sour dough white bread. I did have a banana and a yogurt health bar in the morning after a big cup of coffee. Tomorrow I am going to meet Brian and we'll run long. Maybe 8-10 miles. I asked him via email to keep it easy. My legs feel fine but I am having some plantar issues with my right foot. This seemed to just show up. I am adviling and taping my way through it.

I may run some of the two milers at the all comers meets on Thursday evenings. Heat will be the main modifier. If is hot I will just not do it. I will have to adjust my schedule so that I don't end up running too many days in a row. Maybe shift to Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday-Sunday. I am not sure I want to do this. Somehow running them alone of with a pacer makes me stronger. Doing it in front of crowd makes it is a performance.

In any case, I am really beginning to think about pushing my trial times down. The key is not to kill myself off and make them too race-like.

4:39

I drove over to the Saturday morning workout.

Warmed up with the dog meat group for 2 miles and then through in another half mile with some striders. Dimitri, true to his word, paced me through a 1200. I asked for a 4:45-4:48 and got a 4:39 for no extra charge. 97-3:13-4:39. Felt very strong even though the last lap was 86. Could have run the 3rd lap 4-5 seconds slower and kicked a 4th if need be.

We then jogged around the campus.

I was satisfied seeing that I had not run a time trial for 3.5 weeks. I am back in the saddle (so to speak).

Sex On The Track

A quiet Friday. I jogged over the the college, ran around the track and jogged back. 5 miles.

Chinese girl was skipping rope when I showed up but transitioning to situps. As she progressed through these she began to make deep breathing sounds like she was having sex.

I wonder if I am the only one who notices.

An Agreement Over Veggie Burgers

I hit the roads relatively early this morning (for me). 4 miles untimed and with no HRM. How brave I am! I ran over the the college, dicked around for 3 laps and came back home. I still felt Monday's effort so I kept my pace at the "no discomfort" threshold. Summer school must have started because there were students walking around. Asian Woman was on the track in her usual workout outfit. Calf length tights and orange warm-up. She was just transitioning from running to skipping rope when I showed up. I could hear the soft hum of the whirling rope each time I ran by.

Tim sent me an email that Shasta had been put down. She was a 16-17 year old cat. I took care of her when Tim was traveling. I'll miss her whining mew outside our house when she wanted to go inside to eat. Oh well, Olso (the other cat) still lives. Still time to be a cat-sitter.

I went back out to WVC in the late afternoon and ran another slow and easy 5 miles. I did not run that time trial I had promised myself I would do. No one was running near the pace I was looking for and frankly I knew that I would not go it alone. I have become a real time trial wimp. Danny was there without his "guardian". It was nice. Like old times. Old times that won't really ever come again. But nice anyway.

At dinner (veggie brugers)I talked to Dimitri. He is running a 1200 meter trial Saturday and I offered to help him over the last 300-400 meters if he would pace me through part or all of a 4:45 1200 afterwards. We agreed to take lots of rest between efforts so he could recover and so could I.

So unless things break down we're on for Saturday. After the trial I will decide about whether I will run the club mile the following weekend.

We Are Training

Bill Dunn made a very important comment the other day (when I missed Saturday's breakfast).

He said that we older runners are training when we take a day off. It is a good thing to remember. I ran hard yesterday or at least the workout felt very difficult at the end. I had run 3 days in a row which was a a mistake. I had not eaten very much in the way of carbo's the day before so I was fueled optimally. Now the workout was only a stake in the ground. A place to measure myself somewhere around 4-6 weeks from now. It takes 6 weeks minimally for the body to adjust to new levels of training. It's not so much that I am doing anything different though. I am not building miles and I am not running less. I am just running as I always do. I just can't make the mistake of running 3 days in a row again and have the 3rd day include some sort of test run. I also am running too hard on Wednesday evenings. When I don't run some subset of the workout hard, I tend to chunk down the pace. It feels very doable while I am in process but I pay the price later on. I need to stop doing this too.

So if I want to see the fast side of myself again I need to tweak some habits and I think after that my running will be a better experience.

As Jake always says (but doesn't do), I have to take care of business.

HADD

3rd day in a row. A big NO NO but I did it anyway.

I ran this HADD test workout at the De Anza track. I took a two mile easy jog before and then I ran the following:

Heart rate: Distance: Time

140: 1600: 9:21
150: 1600: 8:51
160: 1600: 8:05
170: 1600: 7:30
180: 1600: 6:50

I took a 90 second walk between each. Hadd recommends that the reps be 2400 meters but I knew that that was just too much for me right now.

The idea is that I am supposed to do this every 6 weeks to see if the times comes down.

Warmed down by running a mile back to my house. 8 miles total

It was getting warm and I could feel the heat. I was not rested like getting ready for a race as HADD recommends. I had a big protein day yesterday and did not really fuel up on carbs. Regardless, I felt OK until the last 1600. That was tough. The job back to my house was tough.

DSE Run & Don Again

Ran a 1 mile poop run at home and then drove up to GG park warmed up another mile and ran a 5K DSE Race very easily in 27 flat. Warmed down another mile. 6 mile total.

The race was held up near the Conservatory at the east end of Kennedy Drive. Bob met me there wth Don (my retired dentist) and his daughter Loyce out from Colorado. It was great to see Don who is really battling Alzheimer. He recognized me and I was grateful for it. I gave him the big bear hug and he was glad ot it. He evn ran the race (with Loyce shepherding him). He obvioulsy has not given up the fight. The sense of humor and the wry smile was still there.

I ran easily surrounded by slow folks who talked amongst each other as we ran. I knew none of them unlike years ago when I knew all of them (except all of them were different runners. Not these people). The wheel had turned another spoke. Twenty-seven years ago I would have been up front leading or fighting for one of the top 5 spots. Now, I was just trying to fill in some miles, burn some calories and go have breakfast afterwards at the Beach Boy. At least the breakfast part hadn't changed.

If Don, Bob and Loyce hadn't been there, I would not have known anyone. There is comfort in that. Don't ask me why. It was ok.

Blew Off Breakfast

I drove over to the club Saturday morning workout. I did the 3 mile plus warm up with little or no Saturday Morning Syndrome. Tom and I ran towards the front which is almost unheard of. I then took a long tour (1.8 miles) around the outside of the campus and finally ended up running 12 laps on the track with Tom.

After the run I stood around talking to Art and Bill and basically had such a good time that I blew off breakfast. That was a first. I never miss breakfast but frankly today it didn't bother me. What in the hell was that about? I think I am feeling disenfranchised and disengaged from the normal group I hang with which means that I being partially paranoid. Dimitri hangs with Ray and talks running strategy and Danny and I can only talk in passing because his partner has the "hates" for me. First she was in the banshee stage where she would openly attack. Now she has moved to the glazed eyes, vacant smile approach. Practicing for Alzheimer I guess.

How strange this has all gotten.

As I drove home I realized (again) that I need to get back in the saddle and start my trial runs again. I was at 13:25 for 3200 meters and 6:18 for 1600 meters. It's been about 2.5 weeks since I did anything so I have lost momentum and I may have to drop back a bit and come on again.

8 mile total (or so I believe)

Later that same day: HEATER!

It was close to 100 degrees at the track late this afternoon and that about wrecked any workout plans I had so I hung back and ran 5 miles including 6 x 800 at about an 8 minute pace. This was really the first very warm day of the summer. I am sure it won't be the last. I was smart and hydrated before the run so even though the heat slowed me down (and scorched my will power) I was still able to run the workout withour totally going down the toilet.

10 mile day

OHIO

I went out just after 8 AM and it was already warming up. I ran my 5 mile course and around De Anza College. Bumped into "Ohio" and we talked about sports (like we always do) for about 10 minutes. Ohio State lost two national championships in the last 6 months. Football and basketball. Now the Cav's are on the verge of being swept in the NBA championship. Then we started to chat about the great Browns and Indian Teams of the 50's. Of course I love doing this but finally I had to move on and finish my run. Another five minutes and I would have walked home and made some coffee.

I did finish my run. Track was semi-deserted. I expect that some sort of summer exercise class will begin staking out their territory pretty soon or...

OR....as Mike warned me....

The school will close off the track and resurface it.

As predicted it was will be a warm one at the track tonight. Not sure exactly what I will end up doing.

Al

My friend Al died in Charleston on May 25th but I just found out today. Marla called me and left me the sad message.

Al worked his whole life to finally get the type of place he loved. Out in the country with no fences and buried in the deep old south surrounded by remnants of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. He finally got there but cancer found him too and snuffed out his life. It isn't unfair. It is the way of things. Death comes when death is ready. It rarely comes when you are ready.

Al and I were staying in touch by email but he went silent in mid May. Now I know why. He died alone. His sister was one day from going out from the West Coast to see him.

He died alone. Maybe that is the unfair part. Someone should have been there who cared about him.

Al: Generous to a fault.

75 minutes

I was out on the roads shortly after 8 AM this morning. No coffee beforehand to further test the Saturday Syndrome. I ran about 75 minutes keeping my HR in the high 130's and low 140's. No problems except slightly tired legs. The best part was that there was not even a hint of heartburn. So next Saturday I will skip the coffee (damn!) and see what happens.I will take a Prilosec and Zantac before I go over to the college. It may be overkill but I do not want another repeat of last Saturday. I am hopeful.

It is supposed to heat up over the next few days. Could be interesting on Wednesday. I may shift my harder running to the morning.

Coffee-less Test Run

I made coffee this morning but decided not to drink it. I poured it out in the sink.I then went out for a two mile run. The goal or test was to see if the Saturday Morning Syndrome struck me down. I went easy for about 3/4ths of a mile and then picked it up slightly. My legs felt surprisingly good for having a hard 6 on Friday and almost 8 miles yesterday.

No problems.

Next Saturday I will pass on the coffee but take my heartburn cocktail anyway and see what happens.

35 mile week

Saturday Morning Syndrome

I went over to WVC to run with the club this morning. I planned to run the warm up, the 2.75 club course and a warm down. Maybe 7.5-8 miles total. It was a struggle but I completed my workout. It was two days since I taken my last Prilosec and I was stopped 3 times by heart-burn. Once again it was the Saturday morning syndrome and I just can't quite a get nail driven into the center of the problem.

Why only Saturdays? I literally have almost no symptoms on any other running day. In fact I hardly ever have symptoms at any other time during the day.

My suspicion is that coffee followed by a run within less than an hour is is the culprit. During the week I have much more time between drinking coffee and the actually beginning of a run. Tom recommended that if I was having symptoms then my drug was being effective. He recommended that I add Zantac to my morning cocktail. Prilosec, Zantac and then go run. He 's been down this road. I stopped by the drug store and purchased some tablets. We'll see how it works.

Next Saturday my plan is to take the cocktail with water first thing in the morning and skip the coffee until after the run. If this doesn't work then it's back to the doctor for some advice. Maybe a stress test too just to make sure it's not something else.

God, this is getting to be like medical center.

Clipping Along

I met up with Brian Low and we headed out to Stevens Creek Reservoir. He told me that from his house it was 5.4 miles round trip so it was probably closer to 6 miles for me because my house is about a third of mile further down the road. The course climbs in steady stages up to the reservoir and Brian set a pretty fast pace on the way out. I was running 70-75% of max right off. I literally never do that when I run alone. I was admittedly gulping air. Brian was running along like he was shot from a cannon.

Up at the lake, I finally caught my breath and felt comfortable. On the way back I felt stronger and helped set the pace. It was the exact reverse of going up so the course was mostly downhill. By the time I dropped Brian off I was "clipping" along at a decent effort.

Double Day

I was very slow getting out this morning. It was one of those "do I really want to run" types of days. I pushed myself out the door anyway and slogged down the road. After about 100 yards I realized that I actually felt ok and so I went ahead and ran an easy 45 minutes. There was a nasty head-wind coming back that gusted now and then. It blew me to a stop about a half mile out. All in all (though), not a bad run.

Went back out this evening to the track. I warmed up for 2 miles and ran the club workout of 12 x 400 running every 3rd one in around 89-90 seconds and jogging all the others. So, it was 4 x 400 in 89-90. The fast pace felt fairly comfortable. I figured I would map it into my mind for the last lap or two of those time trials I am doing.

This evening's workout was interesting. We had a higher than normal turnout of women of all ages, shapes and sizes including Danielle who brought along her friend from her days at UC Santa Cruz who looks like she could be her sister. They were roughly the same height and both are carrying a few extra pounds. They could also grind out 400's in under 90 seconds (or faster) so I was left in the dust as usual. Russ showed back up wearing double knee braces (come to think about it, I had my Protech on this evening too). He looked very fragile and gimpy until we began to run fast and then he reeled off a series of low to mid 90 second 400's.

I ran my slow 400's with Chris who used to be cheerleader back in the day. I asked several months ago if she had been a cheerleader in high school and she looked at me strangely (not weirdly) and then smiled and said yes and how did I know.

The fact is I know my cheerleaders past and present.

10 mile day

Dinner with Ray and Dimtiri at the Diner.

Feeling Very Lazy

Went out the front door around 8:45 AM and ran 90 minutes with most of it along the railroad tracks. It took me a while to get into this run. I was generally feeling lazy and not very inspired but the longer I was out the more I got into it. I am keeping my pace down but my legs are not responding (or perhaps I just have the plods). I haven't decided what I am going to do Wednesday. Either I will continue to run time trials or I will go to the track and run a few fast reps to get my legs used to going at a quicker tempo. The goal of fast reps is simply to enable faster time trials. One of the traps I fall into is doing too many of these for too long. My next major goal for the 1600 is sub 6:10 so I have to be able to run 3:05-3:10 for several 800's and not be at max. So maybe the next 3-4 weeks looks like this.

Week One: 4 x 400 in 90

Week Two: 2 x 800 in 3:05-3:10

Week Three: 1 x 1200 in 4:45

Week Four: 1 x 1600 in 6:15

Mission Accomplished..Barely

The Saturday club workout was the short six course. I did not want to go that far so I ran the 3 mile warm up with Dimitri and Ray and then set out on my own for another 5 miles. Mission accomplished. I ran 8 miles total instead of 9. Sort of like saying I don't want to run a marathon so I will stop at 25.2 miles.

It was one of those low HR days where as I ran I got stronger and had to push to get my HR up into the 130's. I had my typical Saturday INDIGESTION and I still can't figure out why that happens mostly on Saturdays and not other days. It's a work in progress.

Slow Run

It was the day after "the day after". I ran 4 uninspired miles in the morning. No HRM or stop watch. I just ran slow.

I briefly considered running another 4 when I got home from an afternoon of consulting but decided that a big piece of a Hershey's chocolate almond bar was more inviting.

13:25

Showed up to run with Jake at WVC. Jake still beat up. I was tired too but feeling better. We warmed up for 3 miles and I ran 3200 meters in 13:25 which is my fastest yet on this program. The splits were negative. I ran 6:46-6:39. I was able to complete the workout but did not feel strong. Jake ran 6 laps and dropped out again. I wish I could help him but he has run himself into the ground again (DEEP...DEEP...into the ground) which is something I have done now and then in the past.

We warmed down around campus after the trial. We skipped the 100's and as a result I did not bury myself.

Jake is heading off to Texas for four weeks so I am on my own. He left me some wise words.

"Don't change anything."

In the evening I came back to the track and ran another 3 miles. My legs were a bit stiff from the morning workout but they loosened up. I was thinking that this would be a good time to add in those lost 100's but then thought better of it.

10 mile day

The Railroad Track World

I ran early. The railroad track world seemed deserted. I did my 9 miler keeping the pace easy throughout the whole run. I felt the pull of the college track but decided to get myself 45 minutes out and away from the house so that it would take close to that time to get back.

Very nice morning. Slight breeze going on. Not hot at all. The mild weather is great but it can't last. It has to get HOT eventually.

I was glad I took Sunday off. While I would not go so far as to say I felt like Mr. Wonderful, I did feel stronger as the run went along. I now know (as I did before) that I needed to get away from doing 4 days in a row. The problem of raising my mileage is still there. What I know in spades, is that it has to be done in 4 days. I need the other days off. So, I either extend my runs or double. I am not so sure I want to do either. I just want my time trials to get faster over time. So whatever it takes to do that.

If I had been a pitcher

This is what I could best call a day that I should not have run one lick.
However I ended up doing around 5 miles of piddling running. There are just some days that are best forgotten. If I had been a pitcher I would have been bombed in the first inning.

S-L-O-W

75 minutes of pure s-l-o-w as I could go running starting at just past 8 AM. I drifted over to the college via the long way (Jollyman Park) alternately running on all of my favorite surfaces. Concrete, Trail and track. Samurai Runner and I introduced ourselves. He told me he runs 5 miles a day (on the track). Geisha-Woman (except I think she is Chinese) does not make eye contact with anyone she does not know. I will give it to her though. She runs, skips rope and then grunts through a series of belly busters and push-ups. Her grunting sounds like the last part of sex so at least I know what she sounds like when she is on the verge of having an orgasm. It's a nice additional touch.

2400 meters in 9:55

Photo of a Arnold Palmer Drink


It was Jake and Rich at WVC day. My plan was to run 2400 meters (6 laps if you are counting) at slightly ahead of date pace for two miles. We warmed up for 3 plus miles and then I took off and ran 9:55 which was slightly ahead of my goal. I realized that I was tired going into the run but I kept nailing 100 second laps and then ran the last 800 in 3:15. We then ran 6 x 100 with a 300 meter jog. We warmed down by running around campus. Age graded my 2400 meters was a 7:50.

Jake is still recovering from his cold. He did well on the 100's but only did 4 of the 6 laps. I told he he was still over-training and that his body wasn't recovering.

We settled things by going out for coffee.

Next week the plan is to run two miles (3200 meters actually) at date pace. Then Jake is gone for the month of June so I will be on my own.

In the evening I went out and ran another 3 miles with the club. It was around 85 degrees but I was well hydrated after drinking 3 Arnold Palmer's (Ice tea mixed with Lemonade) during lunch and felt decent. I ran with Russ and talked about the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of Midway. Typical Russ-Rich history talk. Stacy called for Dr. Rich and asked me about a butt-pull. Luckily, I am covered by liability insurance. Turns out she ran some aggressive hills. Something she was not used to doing. She paid a small price. I told her to go sit on an ice pack twice a day for 15 minutes and to stay off the hills for a while.

I think I ran about 11 miles total.

It Didn't Work

I slept in and then lounged around the house drinking coffee and surfing the web. I finally went out about 9:30 AM and ran 75 minutes. Actually this was one of my old 80 minute courses and I added some distance to it because I have been covering ground a bit faster these last several weeks.

It didn't work.

I added distance and still came in at 75 minutes. My HR ran between 140-148 most of the way.

Bay to Breakers was yesterday. My time for the 7.63 miles I ran in 1981 converted to 12K or 7.456 miles would have put me in the top 50 again. In 1981 I finished 88th place and just ahead of the first woman.

40 mile Week.

I got up early and ran an easy 4 miles to take my weekly total to 40 miles. I then showered and tried to drive up to Santa Rosa to see my mother but the Bay to Breakers traffic was so bad that I ended up in the parking lot also know as 19th avenue. I would have taken an alternative route but I was too far gone and running out of time. Also many of the side streets were cut off due to the race. Finally I had to give up and head back home. Called my mother and she understood. We had a nice long phone conversation while I was sitting in auto alley. This is the second time this has happened to me. The last time was Memorial Day several years back.

Which reminds me. Next week is Memorial Day so don't deja vu again.

The picture at the top is what 19th Avenue used to look like in 1937. Note that the street is torn up because the city was widening the road. My take is that they didn't widen it enough.

Dogmeat

I ran with the club this morning at WVC. I did the warmup and then some, the workout (stayed in the back with the dogmeat runners) and then ran around the college. All in all maybe 8.5 to 9 miles total.

Jim Howe told me that he has been reading my blog now and then.

6:18!

he said pointing his finger at me.

I was straight up with him. If I can drop the time of that trial closer to 6 minutes maybe I will try a race or a club run. Then there is the 2 miler. Got to get that down too. I have to see it.

Jake was at breakfast. He is pretty beat up between the very high mileage and the cold he is battling. I would have taken a 5-7 days off but Jake has run right through it. I would rather run too but my body won't tolerate it and recovery is slow. If I take the time off I come back faster.

Neighborhood Run

75 minutes of easy running this morning. I did trip on a small low retaining wall rounding a corner into a driveway and went down but I had on my trusty cycling gloves and came away unscathed. I bounced right back up, checked for damage and outside of a bruised thumb I was fine so I just came on running. I had planned to run over at the college but the whole track and soccer field area was swarming with kids wearing Kiwanis shirts and it was quickly obvious to me that I needed to get away from there (It was crowded). My run basically ended up being a tour of the local neighborhoods.

6:18

Key workout. Wednesday morning with Jake. He showed up with a bad cold. We warmed up for our usual 3 miler but I could tell that he was dragging. He ran almost 3 hours Monday including time on the eliptical trainer. His body broke. Not the BIG broke. Just a small warning. A cold.

I offered to forget the mile time trial and just go run 100's but he declined. He wanted to have a go at it.

I had run 6:27 last time out and wanted to improve on that effort. I told Jake to start out ahead of me and I would try and catch him. The local PE class was doing 6 laps on the track so I knew would have to run around them. Jake lumbered around the first two turns and I took off thinking that while this didn't have to be painful that I would still need to go out faster than 3:30 like I did last week. I came through in 98-3:16, then threw in a 96. Jake had dropped out and was hanging around the finish waiting to go run the last lap with me. I saw 4:52 which had been my target. Jake caught right up on my shoulder. It helped to have him there. I kept picking it up and as I came off the turn I just went into a fast strider all the way in and saw 6:18 flat as I crossed the line. Age grade that and it's a sub 5 minute effort. I ended up running a good part of the last two laps hugging lane two as I passed the PE class. Briefly, in my age graded glory, I was the fastest man on the track.

Jake and I walked and then we did our 8 x 100 with a 300 meter jog. Jake stopped at 6. I think he was just out of gas. Then we jogged around campus, changed and went out for coffee.

In the evening I went back out for a social 6 x 800 at a very easy pace. Dinner with the Pick, Dimitri and Ray afterward.

Another 4th day-in-a-row run.

Another 4th day-in-a-row run.

I took off at 8:30 AM and ran just under 80 minutes. No HRM. Just clock timed.
I made sure the pace just drifted along at a very slow tempo. Ran into Ohio and we chatted about the Cleveland Browns. He's been a fan since their first year which was 1946. Samaruai runner and fat cell phone gal were on the track along with a few others I didn't know. I just kept to myself except for stopping to talk with Ohio.

Legs felt OK.

39:24

This is a good example of a book that could really mess up my running. It's not that I don't agree with its philosophy which is to run fewer days but harder and cross train, it's just that it doesn't work for me. It was simple. I looked at the workouts that I would have had to run when I was at my peak 25-30 years ago and I realized that those very workouts would have destroyed me.

Bottom line. Good book but not for me.

Today: Sunday: Weather: Sunny, cool and very little wind.

I went out and ran my 5 miler pushing my HR up to 70% as quickly as I could. It was much easier getting my HR in the zone today than yesterday. Still, I ran 39:24 which is faster than the 40:27 that I ran back in February.


http://lastrunnerstanding.blogspot.com/2007/02/short-5-4027.html

It was Sunday and no Samurai runner on the track today. Just walkers, kids and 3 Tae Kwon Do students doing their martial fist jabs by the track just in back of the bathrooms.

A Strange Run

Yesterday: Saturday: A strange run.

I warmed up with my club for 3 miles staying at the back of the pack. Then I put on my HRM and ran another 3 miles perplexed that it was diffuckt t drive my HR "up" into the usual zone. I was not leg tired or exhausted. My HR just stayed low. Finally I tacked a 1000 meters on the end of my run at 70% and did it at a 7:13 pace. My HR didn't even hit 70% until the last 200 meters.

What is the heck is going on? Either I am in the shape of my 60 plus or my max HR dropped 15-20 points over the last few weeks.....;-)

I thought that perhaps the HRM was malfunctioning but I checked my HR manually 3 or 4 times during the run and got the same relative reading.

There is nothing in my workouts to indicate that suddenly I have a big breakthrough. The 7:13 pace for the 1000 meters wasn't exhausting but it wasn't that easy either. I had to push!

As I said. A strange run.

Time Trial

I showed up at WVC and ran a 3 mile warm up with Jake. We then went down to the track and ran a time trial mile. Jake's goal was sub 7 minutes. My goal was faster than the last time (6:44). I did feel lazy though and decided to run with Jake for the first two laps and then pick it up. So it was 1:44-3:30 and then I drove a 90 second lap followed by an 87 second lap. 6:27! Jake ran 6:50.

We followed this with 8 x 100 meters with a 300 jog averaging in the 18's for most of them. I nailed a 16 on the last one and Jake ran a low 17.

We then jogged around campus. Maybe 8 miles total.

The 5 miler That Wasn't

It was already becoming warm as I hit the road at a little past 8:30 AM. I kept my HR down under 140 most of the way but on the way back picked it up a bit glancing at the watch and thinking, "Wow! I haven't run a 5 miler this quick in years."

SENIOR MOMENT!

SENIOR MOMENT!

It took another half minute to realize that I was running a 4 miler, not a 5 miler.

So much for the fastest in years training run.

Anyway on the mundane side, the woman in the picture is Paris Hilton's mother Kathy. She was 22 when she had Paris in 1981. So now she crawling towards 50

Someone wrote:

Ever wondered where Paris Hilton got her strong moral fiber? I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I suspect it may have come from her mother. The folks at ohnotheydidn't have some images of Kathy Hilton shaking her breasts in a see through shirt with her daughter Nicky Hilton in the background. Paris is nowhere to be seen, but I can only assume she's standing somewhere off camera, helping out the homeless and not being filmed having sex.

Why do not rich people hate rich people? There have always been folks like this around. Some of them have even ruled great empires. Cleopatra loved to party.
I wouldn't stow Paris Hilton away in some dank jail cell where she would be hidden away from public view. I would have her clean garbage every weekend on the side of freeways like the rest of us. Give her the reflective vest and let her go at it. We need her as badly as she needs us. She needs us to pay attention to her and we seem to have a sickening need to pay her that very attention she so craves.

Down Week

This next seven days will be the infamous "Down Week" Where I run about half my goal miles. I plan to do this every 3rd or 4th week as I climb up the mileage ladder. It is pure Galloway from his original 1984 book on running. Eventually, if I can handle it my weeks will look like this.

45
40
45
20

Early summer weather has arrived. It is supposed to be in the high 80's or low 90's today.

38 Mile Week

I ran 8 miles today. No HRM. I decided to run one of my known 8 milers and forget measuring heart rate. I did run on the clock beginning at 9:02 AM and finishing at 10:16 AM. I stopped for traffic several times and to piss so it probably took under 74 minutes running time. Faster than the 80 minutes it was taking me several weeks back. The key point was that I didn't push.

This was a 38 mile week. I did this in 5 days which is very similar to what I use to do in 5 days years ago. I would hit 38-40 miles on Friday and add in another 20-25 miles during the weekend. Right now I have no aspirations to replicate that sort of thing. This is all another experiement on whether at age 62 I can handle higher mileage.

So far the secret seems to be:

. Run most of it very slow.

. Run most of it alone.

. Make sure you run only one only hard day a week.

. Make sure that one day is not too hard.

. Take days off.

IN-DI-GES-TION

I went over to WVC, warmed up for 3 miles with the club and then ran 5 miles by my lonesome for 8 total.

I had that IN-DI-GES-TION feeling again. So it's either the coffee or the banana I had before I ran. Or maybe it is the niacin I have been taking. Something different is kicking this off. I was able to run through it and it quickly went away. So now I experiment and stop taking things. First the banana, then the niacin and if that doesn't work and finally (gasp) the coffee.

Jake showed up at breakfast. He said he ran hard the day after our Wednesday run and is now paying the price for it. I actually felt very good today. I kept pushing my HR up because it was easily staying in the 130's. I was down in the low 8's as I grazed the edeges of 140-142 BPM's. My legs felt good so regardless of my stomach problems and a continuing stiff neck (but seemingly getting better) my running legs feel pretty good.

Sweet and Sour Pork

70 minute minute mid morning, easy-easy run in a light drizzle. I kept my HR in the 130-140 range except for the last mile where I pushed up to 145.

Now for the rest of the story....




For years whenever I had chinese food I always ordered sweet and sour pork. Not the hot stuff. Just the run nohe mill manadarin style sweet and sour pork. About a year ago I went to a Chinese Restaurant and had my favorite dish. Starting about a day later I had a nice case of indigestion that went on for several days until I finally took some Prilosec got it under control.

End of problem.

Well..No.

Six months later I went out to the same restaurant again and had their sweet and sour pork. A day later I had a nice case of acid reflux (heartburn) and this time I had a devil of time getting it under control. Finally between my chiropractor (who had a nifty adjustment that seemed to relax the situation almost immediately) and Prilosec I got it under control again. I also went to a doctor who specializes in stuff like this and he did an endoscopy (God, this is starting to sound like Medical Center) I found out that while my problem was not anything to worry about, taking Prilosec on a daily basis might help avoid these attacks. So since then I have been taking one of those red tablets (almost advil-like in color) every morning.

The problem goes away. I seem to be able to eat whatever I want.

A week ago Thursday, I go out to my local Chinese eatery (a different restaurant) and I order Sweet and Sour Pork. YEAH MAN! Friday comes and goes. I run 5 miles. No problems. No heartburn. No heartburn all day. I am good to go.

Saturday I am out running and in the first half mile I get this feeling like I swallowed an apple, whole. I had to stop and walk until the feeling passed. I feel it again Sunday and to a lessor extent on Monday. All week I had mild (very mild) heartburn.

Lesson for the week: My days of eating sweet and sour pork may be over.

I will be sorry to see it go.

Eating My Own Poison

By the way, I am eating a bit of my own poison. I haven't raced (really) in twelve years. So I am running weekly time trials at various distance and working them down. I started off pacing Jake through 2 and 3 mile weekly trails that were tough for him but easy for me. Finally I thought that maybe I should find out what this felt like so I began going harder running at about 90-95% effort (perceived not Heart Rate). So they are tempo-hard but not painful.

I was not too surprised that the transition from running 9-10 minute mile paced training runs for months to these would be difficult. Pacing Jake, we ran 2 miles (at our fastest) in 14:42 which felt very easy for me. So last week I ran a 6:44 mile. Typical reverse splits going out in a seven minute pace for the first 400 and then gradually bringing each lap down until I had run the 6:44. No sprint though. Just a strong effort. Very similar to the time trials we used to do years and years ago. Strong but feeling that we could have gone a bit.

Jake said that he thought I could run under 14 but the 6:44 mile equates to a 14:22 so I figured if I could run a similar effort for two miles I would run around that. I decide not to worry about the clock this week and just run. I came through the first mile in just over 7 minutes and felt very decent. I pushed a bit on the second mile and ended up running 13:51. Nothing to write home about but perceptually harder than what I had been doing.

Now if I go back to the mile again in the next week or two, that equates to a 6:29. I don't know if I am up to that but I will find out. In any case I believe I will get there eventually. If not in a week or two then in a month or two. The idea is to simply work it and keep trying to push the times down over the next weeks and months. No big agenda. No races planned. Just a "harder" workout. Progression.

I am just trying to get used to perceptually going fast again over an extended distance.

the 13:51 age graded to a 10:54 at age 30. At age 30 I ran my two mile time trials in the 10:08-10:16 range so if I could get down to the equivalent times, that would be nice.

3 mile warm-up, 2 mile trial, 2 mile warm-down for 7 miles total

80 minutes. Is it a long run or just another 8 miler?

Ran from the house this morning: 80 minutes. Is it a long run or just another 8 miler? Only my GPS knows.

I kept my HR in the 135-142 range. It was quietly warm but pleasant and I jogged along most of the run. So now the HRM seems to be acting normally or I am feeling the effects of 4 straight days of running (Wow! What a monster I am!)

37 Miles

8 + 10 + 7 + 7 + 5 = 37

Thirty seven miles for the past week! Who would have ever thunk it. It is my highest in some time. I finished off the week running 5 easy miles today. My HR stayed low throughout the run. Mostly in the high 120's and low 130's. I had no residual leg soreness.

My goal is to get into the 35-40 mpw range and stay there with a now and then down week to recover. I may go higher later on but right now just stabilizing in this range on 5 days a week training is a small but significant accomplishment.

The secret, so far, seems to be my willingness to run slow (very slow) on my easy days. That and not working too hard at consulting. I am just more relaxed.

New HRM

Another seven miles today. I did the 3 mile warmup with the club but had severe indigestion going up the hill. Probably was the energy drink I quaffed on my way over to the workout. I walked for about a half minute, almost immediately felt better and caught up with the back of the pack. After the warmup I put on my new HRM and clicked it on. Either something was weird or I am super rested because my HR was very low and stayed low througout the next 4 miles. I circled back to my car mid run and changed the display watch to my old one (it was the chest band that had gone bad) and ran on another 2miles but the result was the same.

Even though the workout was held early it was already warm out and I could feel the heat. Summer is coming. My least favorite time of the year (but I don't hate it...It's all relative).

No Jake or Dimitri today at breakfast. We still had a lively group. Danny was there and we put on our usual show.

Warming Up

Things are warming up. I went out at about 9 am without the HRM I just received in the mail and ran my 7 mile course (untimed). I kept the pace very easy throughout.

Dwight is at it again. He has a new energizer bunny to help me out. He tries and I know he means well. This time it is Mark Force's self help, health book. He tells me that he has rebounded big time and is running 100 mpw. He can easily persuade his body to do what his mind believes. That is how it is supposed to work, isn't it? All it tells me is that the energy was there all along or that he just needed some down time (for him..70 mpw) until he felt better again.

Anyway, the book is $29.95 and I may buy it but the last book that persuaded me to change was Galloway's Book On Running (1984). I need to do some more research and then make a decision. My house is littered with Dwight's good intentions. About $300.00 worth.

Danger Will Robinson!!!

I ran 7.5 miles this morning with Jake. 3 mile warmup, one mile at 6:44 (felt good) followed by 8 laps of 300 jog, 100 sprint averaging 17's and 18's. We then ran around campus for another mile and a half.

In the evening I went and ran another mile to warmup and then ran 6 x 100 with Ray and Dimitri (well..not with them..behind them) averaging 16's. I felt a slight pull (not painful..just tight) in my right buttock (OK, the right side of my ass). I then jogged an easy 5 laps around the track. Maybe 2.5 mile total with 10 miles for the day.

What have I learned? I can't run 100's in the morning and come back in the evening and run more of them.

So from now on it's either morning or evening for 100's. Not both. The question is if I take it easy how long will it take for this to heal?

A Bit of Kindness

I was not going to run in Santa Barbara on Sunday. It would have made 5 days on the road this week and it just wasn't a great idea.

Really, that was the plan. I only brought my very light (BRIGHT RED) racing shoes and but there were a pair of shorts and a long sleeve pullover in my suitcase. I put them on just to see how they looked. I lookled at myself in the full legth mirror in the hotel room. The reflection was of an aging male version of Dorothy in Oz wearing the ruby red slippers. The weather outside promised rain but it was nowhere near that and the wind was mild so I decided just to go out for a walk-jog.

That didn't last long. I crossed the street in front of out hotel and headed down the walking path along the Ocean running at pace that was just on this side of any leg discomfort. I headed east (The beach runs East to West or vice-versa). The street people were out in force (they always are). I kept running at a very easy effort until I passed the beach volley ball area (girls and women in bikini's) and kept going around a lake towards a nature preserve. Eventually, everytime I take this route, I run into the same sign.

"Thank you for your kindness"

It leads onto to some short marsh land trails and it was there, having to go really bad (REALLY BAD) that I left some kindness off in the bushes. I don't believe that is what they had in mind but based on the toilet paper remnants, I was not the only one who had been kind recently.

On my way back a young, slender girl runner whipped by me, stopped off at one of the restrooms, came back out and passed me again (OH, HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN!). Then she stopped for drink at a water fountain and passed me a second time. At that moment of extreme humilation I suddenly saw Kelly, who was from my running club coming the other way so we stopped a chatted. She was visiting an aunt. My wife and I were on a hit and run mini vacation. We were both almost at end of our respective runs so no company there for either of us. So we just talked for about 5-10 minutes and then I jogged back to the hotel.

I was out for more than 50 minutes with no HRM which actually was sort of nice. I had a stop watch on but only so I would have a rough idea of when to turn back.

62*

I drove over to the club workout and did a slow 3 mile warmup (the pack pulled away from me rather quickly during the first mile). My legs were stiff from those 100's (I am paying the price at last). The club went to the track to run 600's while I went around campus over and over again to put in another 5 miles for 8 total on the day. My HRM gave out mid run. I knew something was wrong when it was giving a readout of 187 during a very slow jog portion of the run. Now and then it would flicker back on the actual HR but then it would go crazy again.

I had to rush through breakfast so I could take our 11.5 year old Golden (Amber) to the kennel. We're headed out of town for a short two days. Our destination is Santa Barbara.

Turned 62* today.

* I always start using whatever age I am going to be on April 21st as early as January 1st of that same year. That way I have almost 4 months to get used to it.

Easy..Easy

I ran an easy 45 minutes this morning between rain events. I had my HRM on but for some reason I did not swtich it on until about mid run, saw my HR was in the 130's and then switched it off again. I still feel those fast 100's from Wednesday but it is more like certain muscles were recruited for that effort and I could feel their soreness but that in no way effected the use of slow twitch fibres for today's easy run. In other words, legs felt fine.

And Later That Evening

I went back to the track and did a mile warm up then joined Ray and Dimitri for 8 x 100 meters (easy walk back for recovery). They are so far ahead of me doing 13's and 14's while I have, on occasion, been struggling to go under 17. But it was a good early evening. I did the first one in 18 followed by 2 in 16 and then another 4 in the 15's. I let off on the last one and ran a 16. This was as fast I was at the end of the summer last year so the pure speed is still there.

So yes I was shocked but nothing pulled and I seem to have survived it.

I ran another mile as a warm down.

Dinner (the BIG salad with dressing on the side) and then home.

SPLAT...CRASH

I told Jake that I was going to pace us to run under 15 minutes for the two mile time trial. After a 3 mile warm-up (during which Jake tripped and went splat) in the cool morning air we went down to the track and once again did the run. Jake sounded bad after about 3 laps and I knew he wasn't going to make it. I just kept going covering the first mile in 7:36 and the second mile in 7:12 (my HR was up in the 80-85% range). I never felt uncomfortable but like Jake, who dropped out, I seem to have fallen off the cliff again. More than likely it was the Van Aaken 500 meter runs. I am just not strong enough to handle those. I was not dragging after today's run though so I warmed down around campus as the wind kicked up. Jake and I agreed to do 100's for the next several weeks and run slowly otherwise. Jake feels he needs more miles and I would like to run more miles but I know that unless I do that every other day I crater.

My plan is not to abandon the 2 mile trial but to do it only twice a month (at most) and try to work it down gradually over time.

John Clary drove down and joined Jake and I for breakfast. It was like old times.

Runnable

I ran about 8 miles this morning. It was warmer than it has been in days and I wore shorts and a t-shirt. I ran the RR Tracks and found that the workers had releveled large sections making them runnable again. Kept my HR in the 140-150 range. I also kept my eyes on the turf not wanting to fall again but I never came close. Uneventuful run.

On the East Coast thousands were running the Boston Marathon in rain and wind. John Clary's son Ryan ran 5 hours and change. Deena Kastor, America's top woman marathoner wanted to send a message that she had arrived. Well, she arrived 5th woman but then the marathon is a tough mistress and you never know what you are going to get on a specific day.

A Kenyan won the men's and a Russian won the woman's race. American men were non evident but who said they had to be.

Jake, John, Rich, Dave

When we all trained together Jake and John would run in front and Dave and I would run behind them. Generally the noise (chat) came from John, Jake and I with David remaining silent except for a well placed incisive comment now and then.

It is amazing that we trained and raced together for ten long years. The only real interruption was John's moving to Phoenix for 4 years but he would still come up to the Bay Area on business trips or we would travel down there and so we kept the string alive.

At the beginning Jake was the fastest but John came on to become the quickest and literally dominated 1976-1979. Jake remained in second place and I was usually in third with Dave bringing up the rear. That all changed in the late 1970's when Dave suddenly seemed to speed up and began running times much faster than we had seen him do before. Of course it was the fact that he simply was training more and harder and the combination of miles and quality workouts began to take effect.

By the time John returned from Phoenix I had moved up so that I was usually competing with all 3 runners. The gap closed. John got a bit slower, I got a bit faster and in 1983-85 we were all the closest we had been in ability and race times. After that Dave really dominated as John and Jake began to slow. My last good year was 1985 and then I began to fall off too.

Fast forward to 2007. John no longer runs (his knee), Jake is slow but still runs hard, Dave is still running but is dealing with chronic health problems and now I am finally the fastest.

And who cares. As far as racing is concerned, we all had our day but it is over (O-V-E-R). I really retired from competition in 1995 and since then, when I race, I run tempo, not all out. That flame is extinguished. I still enjoy getting out there running with the ghosts of the 4 of us. But it isn't the same as those years. The best running years. That is where the gold was and is. In our minds in that tightly held past.

Friday..Saturday

Friday:

Ran an easy 4 miles. I let it go at that even though I thought about going out again in the afternoon. Enough of this leg bashing.

Enough!


Saturday:

Went over to the club workout. The sky was the color of lead. Expected the rain to come in so the question was could we get in our workout before the skies opened up. Ran the 3-mile plus warm-up, followed by Douglas (2.75 miles) and then a turn around campus. Maybe 7.5 to 8 miles total keeping my HR in the 140’s most of the way. Nothing very fast but my legs felt good so that counts for something. Dave Garcia was in town so Jake, Dave and I sat next to each other at breakfast and bored Dimitri with stories of the good old days when we were fast. Blah...Blah…Blah!

That evening the 4 amigos, John, Dave, Jake and I got together with our wives at the Blue Pheasant. Great evening. Here were 4 runners that trained almost every day together for ten years and ended up being locally ranked runners in NorCal. Obviously none of us are now what we were running-wise but we're all still around and in the game. We all broke 33 minutes for 10K. 3 of us broke 54 minutes for 10 miles (I was the one who didn't). We all ran in the 4:30's or faster for the mile and all broke ten minutes for two miles with John running 9:27 while Jake and I ran in the low 9:40's. We all broke 26 minutes for 5 miles more than once. At least 3 of us won one or more competitve races outright. That was very hard to do back during the running boom.

We certainly were not world class or even national class but we were all local class guys who put running at the center of our lives for well over a decade.

Blind Man's Bluff

It was drizzling this morning when I ran my car over to WVC to run with Jake. We warmed up about 3 miles and then ran a two mile trial. Jake didn't feel good (again). He had run 3 days back to back to back covering 90 minutes each day. I suggested he NOT look at the time but just run to effort. We were way off the pace of two weeks ago coming through the mile at 7:46. We ended up running 15:32 or about 50 seconds slower than last time.

As we warmed down, Jake said he would fire his coach.

I think as long as Jake continues to thump his legs and body this sort of thing will happen. He really seems to have no control. Well, he does but he, like many of us, chooses not to exercise that control. It's sort of like blind man's bluff or maybe Russian Roulette.

I told him that next week we were going to run under 15 minutes so "Figure out what you'll have to do get ready for that level of effort", I suggested.

Of course who am I to cast stones after a week's worth of mouth sores from my own "secret training".

In the late afternoon I came back to WVC and ran an easy 4 + miles hanging out with the club. Went to dinner with Dimitri.
Close to an 11 mile day moslty to burn calories.

80 minutes

I ran a more agressive 80 minutes this morning keeping my HR in the 140-150 range. I felt OK throughout. Mouth sores almost gone (but not gone yet). It was sunny but windy, t-shirt conditions so I got blown around when I headed east (or is it north?).

Banzai was on the track tearing around clockwise in lane number one. Asian woman was there too. The plump one who hangs with the skinny one (who has not been out in a week or so). School is back in after Easter break so "studentia's" were everywhere. Soon the exercise classes will be on the track blocking lanes but that will be fun. I get to practice "threading" between groups of walkers and runners, moving forward, totally "track" unaware.

Still Standing

I still have a mouth sore or two so I must still be worn out (or something like that). Originally I was thinking about running 10K followed by 3 x 500 meters but decided to keep things slow but I still covered about 8 miles keeping my HR at around 140. Not a stellar week of running but I am "still standing".

Recovery from anything hard continues to be an issue and I am sure will become more a challenge as the years go by. This isn't going away.

Falling: A new type of cross training

I went out for an easy 50 minute jog this morning. About ahalf mile out I was running on the trail next to the RR Tracks and I stumbled and went down hard.The RR folks have been replacing track and rock so that there was loose rock everywhere. Luckily I had on my cycling gloves. As a result I took the major part of the impact on my hands and the soft part of the gloves. I rolled over , stopped my watch (key) and dusted myself off. I did a quick inventory and found that no cuts or other injuries were apparent so I just continued my run.

Pushing to the Edge

I went over early to WVC to run with Jake. As we warmed up I felt slightly worn out. Not sleeping that well. Not sure what is causing it. I have had a mouth sore or two and that may be because of less sleep or (OR) what is symptomatic of what is causing me not to sleep as well. But Jake said "My legs feel like S--T!" and I said back rather quickly "Well, let's do something else." So we ran 5 miles easy and went to the track to do 3 x 500 meters (Van Aaken). I let Jake get a lead on me on each one and I tried to catch him. This resulted in me running 1:48-1:46-1:44. My best yet as an old guy. We then ran around campus for an easy warmdown. Maybe 7.5-8 miles total. By that time I had pretty much decided NOT to run the evening workout. I was not bashed but I was tired and those mouth sores were warning me not to push too hard.

Undaunted 80 minutes

It was the last roundup this morning. Dropped my car off for maintenace. BIG maintenance. Two of the rear outside tail lights had gone out. The driver's side window didn't always go up. Noticeable vibrations in the steering wheel when braking at higher speeds. Needed an oil change. Turned out the timing belt and water pump were beginning to go. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ kah ching!

$2,000 later.

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Still, undaunted I went out and ran an easy 80 minutes with 4 miles of 350 meter jog and 50 meter walk thrown in right in the middle. I kept it easy and my legs never felt tired.

I shared the track with Asian Girls and Traditional Indian Couple. I ran clockwise. Everyone else ran counter. No one smiles or talked to anyone. It was a silent day at De Anza.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!!!!

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

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.