Rain Run

I went out around 9 am and ran in the rain. Well, it was more like showers which is actually quite pleasant. I ran over to the college to see if the track was still there and........

IT'S STILL THERE!

Don't think they'll get to the tearing up and laying down until spring.

I took it easy for 45 minutes. I gave half a thought to doing some 100's but decided that speed can wait until next week.

So far, no ill effects from my stomach problems of this past week.

Finally threw in the towel and wore tights or as they are better know....

Under armor....

Stress Test

I woke up feeling pretty good this morning after stress testing my system with a pizza last evening for dinner. I ended up running 30 minutes total between the neighborhood and the club workout. My legs felt good but I decided not to run hard (like 100's or 200's.)

The weather was cold but clear. Another spat of rain is supposed to coming our way Sunday but as long as I feel okay, I'll run.

Bagel for dinner

Felt better last evening. Slept well. Had a bagel for dinner. A banana this morning.
No running yet. If I feel good Saturday I may jog a bit.

We'll see.

First Illness: A trip south

Last evening things started to go south. It's funny, when you are healthy for a good long time, you can't imagine being ill. Now something swooped down and has a grip on my digestive tract. No appetite. Need to stay close to the house. Cancelled my run and just as a precaution, my Sunday workout. I'll take it day to day until I feel right again and I am my normal ravenous.

Could be a mild case of the stomach flu or it to could be a touch of food poisoning. No above normal temperature. But I felt pretty lousy last night.

My rule about illness is don't try to train through it. Your body is sending you a message.

Hopefully back in the saddle next week.

Turn City & 70 minutes

Hard to believe it's winter. 50's and 60's today. Tom, Danny and I ran our normal route at an easy pace.
With my home dump run that added up to 70 minutes.

I asked Danny to work with me on the track at the end. I needed help running the turns. I did a stride on the far turn where the 200 meter sprint would normally start. He picked out my problem right away and pointed it out. Tom saw it too. I was leaning my upper body into the turn while keeping my lower body straight. No wonder I was losing ground and stumbling.

Danny had me just run and pick up the tempo slightly as I entered the turn. Both he and Tom immediately noticed that my whole body was naturally leaning. It felt much better. My other technique cost me at least a second on Sunday's 500.

I was throwing off my center of gravity the old way. 

The lesson here was to stop reading articles on how to run the turns. The plain fact is that I am not running at speeds where I need to adjust.

Running the first turn at Hayward Field, Oregon

Mission Accomplished

This morning was the business end of the training week. I jogged 27 minutes slow slow around the house and over at Foothill College. It was on the cool side but the sun started to peak through and by game time it was warming up. I did some strides. Legs felt strong.

We did a shake down 200 in 38. I felt good.

I asked Dimitri to take me through the 400 in around 79-80 and then we could work the turn and try to hit 1:38-39 for 500.

1:38 would predict a 2:45-800.  Right now that was a bit of a wet dream. 1:39 sounded realistic. A second is lot in the world of mature men of the 800.

We went out and hit the first 200 in 39, floated the next 200 in 40 for a 79 and then we worked the turn to cross the 500 in 1:39.  It was 1:39:13 so close to 1:38. It was tough after the 400 and I lost form a bit on the turn but recovered as we came off the bend. I'll need to work on this!!!!

We walked around. My recovery was surprisingly quick.

We lined up with the idea of running a 37 or 38-200 but we blasted a 36:03 and I called it a day right there. Mission Accomplished!

We jogged 13 minutes and then drove over to Starbucks for coffee and at least in my case, a scone.

Thursday and Friday

Thursday:

Another 70 minutes doing the usual. Tom and Danny was both there. Cool clear skies and cold temps. Kept the pace restrained and felt good afterward.

Friday:

The weather changed overnight with overcast and light rain coming on in. I ran a very easy 40 minutes in the morning. Very quiet streets due to Veterans Day.

Another 70

Another easy 70 minutes today with Danny and I holding back on the pace so Tom didn't get away from us too much. Tom isn't a problem. He just tends to push ( a bit) and pushing means less extra energy for when we want to run hard. For me that is generally the weekend. Danny admitted that he was tired last week too. Of course we're not talking about anything ominous. Our usual genteel stroll goes down under a 9 minute pace and we're dead meat.

It was colder this morning but with the time change we had more sunlight and that warmed us up a bit.

Breakfast afterward with Jake and Danny.

Fooled!

Daylight savings time ended and so did the rain. I went out and ran at 8 am (really 9 am) and jogged an easy hour which included a discovery run over to De Anza. I wanted to see if the work on track had begun yet.

IT HADN'T! I was fooled for a moment when I saw a porta potty and a piece of heavy equipment lurking.

Frankly, because I like the old track, I don't care if they ever do it but of course somewhere in the dim future they will tear the place up.

Anyway, it was mildly cold (mid 40's) but windless so the conditions were more than okay.

Miscalculation

The wages of sin caught up with me however subtle they were.

Decided to run a 600 meter time trial at 2:06 on Saturday afternoon because Sunday looked stormy.

Dimitri agreed so we met at the college at 1 pm. I jogged 25 minutes slow with my usual strides thrown in at the end.

We then ran a 200 in 43 after having gone through the first 100 in 20 seconds. We really backed off down the straight.

After a recovery walk we lined up to do the 600. The intent was to do 43-44-39. Simple...

I told D that I wouldn't look at my watch until the end. We took off and the first 200 felt very easy. I noticed that the next 200 felt faster like we were accelerating sharply. I still avoided glancing at my watch. The last 200 felt even faster but I expected that.

As we came towards the line I figured we were running 2:04-05 but when I finally did look down what I saw bowled me over.

2:10!

D was apologizing. We had gone through the first 200 in 47!!! He had misread his watch.

From then on we had gone according to plan running an 83 next 400.

I told him that it was a damn good thing I hadn't seen the 200 meter time because I would have run a 79 to hit 2:06.

We walked around and finally I said to D that we could run a 400 at 80. That would at least make it a decent workout. We blew around the track in 41-39 and hit 80 on the dot.

A ten minute easy jog and coffee at Starbucks.

HRM Test

I decided not to run (or rather play) on Wednesday evening. I was pretty tired from Tuesday's long run so I took the night off.

On Thursday I strapped on the HRM to get an idea of how hard I was running. I did my usual ten minute shakeout run and then met Danny and Tom over at WVC. It was slightly on the cold side. Low 50's old for California. We ran the campus and then headed up Fruitvale. My HRM read in the 120's and 130's. So I knew I was running easy but strangely still faster than my normal slow-slow jog. We then ran Valley Vista which has uphill and downhill and rolls in the middle. During one portion I was running in the high 140's all the way up to 150. But once we hit the downhill section my HR dropped back into the 130's. It stayed there on the flats.

It told me that while I normally I train very slowly that I need to be more mindful when I am training with others (like Tom). It also told me that I need to get used to running a bit faster. NOT FAST, just faster than what I have been doing. No wonder anything under a ten minute mile pace feels like I am pushing the pace.

The run totaled 70 minutes. We did not really take any walk breaks.

77 minutes of fun

I jogged around for 77 minutes this morning. Ten minutes at home (as usual) and the 17 minutes with Tom (he's back!) before Danny showed up. We ran the campus at WVC but also did Valle Vista before ending up back on campus running loops on the track and around the tennis courts. There is no question that Tom runs away from us. Both Danny and I noticed it. He just trains harder. But then back in the day, he was the same. It doesn't seem that hard and as long as I recover, I don't care BUT I have to recover!

This ain't us but you get the general idea.

56 and change

The goal for the workout was to do a 300 at 75 second 400 meter pace. I started by doing a 26 minute warmup including some strides.

Dimitri did his warmup and then we came together to make this happen.

We started off with a 38 second 200. Felt strong.

Next was the 300. Dimitri took me through in 38 and we charged in at 56 and change. That equaled a 75.

We rested and then ran another 200 in the high 36's. Whoa! That actually felt the best of all.

We ran one more 300 but agreed to cruise it. We hit 61 which was uninspired but frankly was fine.

20 minute warm down. Coffee afterwards.

Faster Than Forty (or Sixty)

I ran the neighborhood and then drove to the club workout. It was a shorty. Douglas-Saratoga which is 2.75 miles.  Tom was back from Europe so I ran part of the way with him and the rest of the way with Tim. Nothing too ominous. We did get down below a 9 minute pace (OH NO!). I jogged around the tennis court loop afterward and rounded the whole thing off at 45 minutes keeping in mind that tomorrow I am running on the track.

My article was published on the fasterthanforty website. Rick Miller did a good job of editing what I wrote. It came out nicely.

The Dark Months...

I ran an easy 70 minutes around home and over at WVC. Gloves again and long sleeves ( finally ) because the temperature was in the low 40's. Danny finally abdicated and wore tights. It's only gonna get colder. The DARK MONTHS are coming.

This afternoon I worked the top of the chute at a local XC meet. It is probably the final dribbling end of my high school coaching career. One of the kids asked me, "Where have you been?"

Seeking peace of mind, I thought.

Playing@WVC

I drove over to WVC this afternoon and jogged around the track for a grand total of 20 minutes while the "others" did 6 x 800's.

Danny ripped off a 71 second quarter which was his fastest of the year.

I kept thinking about going for one myself but I never got up the gumption.

The Usual 70 Minutes

The usual 70 minutes of easy jogging this morning with the last 60 with friend Danny. It has gotten decidedly cooler. We both wore gloves this morning.  I have not abdicated to long sleeves and tights yet but I know it is coming. That and the rain...

We went up to see Big Bad Billy later in the morning. My right side has been problematic for weeks now but after the adjustment and a walk-around, I felt much better.

These are the hi-tech gloves I normally wear.

$3.19

One size fits all

	Classic Gardening Gloves

2:48?

Looked at the McMillan Running Calculator. It says that my 1:40, 500m is worth a 2:48, 800 meter. I believe this is correct (and I wasn't even going all out).

This means that I'll need to cut off another 5 seconds, or run 1:35, to be at the 2:40 level.

No problem! Cough...cough

Meta Goal Met

I came...
I saw...
I ran...

I did my usual 10 minutes dump in the local neighborhood. My back and hip felt better than yesterday. That was a good sign. Then I drove over to Foothill College. The track was strewn with benches and debris from Saturday football game. I moved the benches around to help free up the inside two lanes. Then jogging around the track and lower campus. Dimitri showed up and began his warm up. I went on for a time and finally realized that if I didn't stop I would be out there for 30 minutes before doing any hard work. I stopped at around 28 minutes.

The hard work was supposed to be centered around a meta goal of running 1 x 500 meters at 1:40 or goal pace for the half.

I did some quick strides and noticed that while I could still feel my hip, it didn't seem too tight. The sun was out and eventually I just stood over by the fence surrounding the track and relaxed. Dimitri finished his warm up and came over to discuss the workout. We agreed to do a 200 meter at pace (40) and then go run the 500. What we did after that was up to how we felt after the big one.

We took off on the 200 and right away I realized how good I felt. We cruised a 38 with no strain at all.

We then took a complete rest and lined up for the 500. The plan was to go 81-82 and then begin to accelerate on the last 100. The way a runner would accelerate during an 800 meter race. So hard but not all out. We went out at 21 for the first 100 meters and cruised the 200 in 41. The 400 was 81 and Dimitri began pushing. I had dropped back a bit and he wondered if I was still there.

"You Okay?" he asked.

"Yeah,'" I said. "I am right here," as I moved up and closed the gap.

We crossed the line in 1:40.

Meta goal met.

We walked and cooled down. I told him that I had gotten lazy between the 300 and 400 and that he had gaped me by about 5 yards but that I was closing the gap when he had ask me if I was alright.

We decided to do one more rep. Another 200. I was recovering pretty quickly.

This time we took off and hit the first 100 in 18. It felt effortless. We closed under total control in just a hair over 37.I was actually throttling back down the last 100 or else it would have been a low 36.

We then  jogged down for 20 minutes.

Then to Starbucks for coffee.

50 minutues of jogging

I jogged 50 minutes this morning.

Beautiful clear morning. The club was running 800's on the track. I ran around campus and dipped down onto the track now and then to see how things were going. I also did several 100's just to get an idea of range of motion.  My right hip is slightly stiff. It may impact tomorrow's workout. I am glad that I am going up to see my chiro on Tuesday. Too many things got in the way over the past several weeks. I am overdue.

Danny was headed up to the Sierra's to see Kenny who had a stroke several weeks back.  He seems to be recovering but is not out of the woods. He is fortunate in that he had no paralysis.  It seems to have effected his mind more than anything but even that appears to be rebounding.

Early start

Danny convinced me to haul my ass over to WVC a half hour earlier than normal so we could run, have breakfast and still get over to the baylands to set up the XC course. I backed everything up getting a 7 minute dump run in in semi darkness and arriving at the campus early enough to avoid the usual middle school traffic on Fruitvale.

I sneaked in another 3 minutes of jogging before Moonie showed up. God, I tend to be obsessive. 

Danny and I ran our usual slow 60 minutes in a fall like mist that had settled over the area. I was able to get away with a t-shirt and shorts but I wore my cycling gloves (I don't cycle) to keep the chill off my hands. Legs felt good. No ill effects from last evenings 200's.

After breakfast I had a long phone conversation with Mark Gomes who is one of the best age group 800 meter runners in the US.  Our talk had a big impact on my thoughts about master's training. He has taken the science of cross training to a high art form. He has made X-training, the training.

Running again

Three days off while the family traveled to Seattle and back. I needed to get running again so I went to the club Wednesday evening workout. I warmed up by jogging 10 minutes. The crowd was sparse. Pick, Helen, Danny and I. The workout was 12 x 400. I jogged 8 of the reps staying slow and low. I tested my legs on the backside of two of the 400's by running the last 200 fast. The first one was 41 but the second one was 38.  The last one felt great despite some back and leg problems over the past several weeks.

The early evening was cool with a slight breeze. Good for running hard.

52 minutes of what....

I did my usual warmup around the neighborhood and then drove over to the college to run with the club. They were lining up for a the Triangle run which is 4.76 miles. 30 years ago I held the club record of 25:41. Pretty much a solo effort after the first two miles.

Today was different. The turnout was small. Maybe two dozen runners max. My plan was to run easy. When we started I was in last place with the pack moving quickly away from me. I was quickly facing the obvious. I was running alone. Was going to continue to run alone and if that was so, why run the course? I dropped off at about 1.5 miles and cut back over to the campus, eventually running up the the long hill that led to track. I had almost made it when the finishers came towards me, jogging a campus loop as a warmdown. I joined Big Mac and we ran together to the where my car was parked.

52 minutes total of what...

My easy pace is no longer relevant to running with the club during a workout because to run easy is to run alone. I was running through suburban Saratoga but I could just have easily have been running anywhere.

Lone Runner

70 minutes of not tearing myself down

I ran the usual 70 minutes slog with ten minutes around the neighborhood and 60 minutes over at WVC with Danny.  My legs continue to feel good. I know it's the slow running. It's not tearing me down.

Breakfast with Danny, Jake, Madelyn at Holder's.

Testing...testing

Went out to the track at WVC and ran for 15 minutes while members of the club did 3 x 1600. I threw in two 100 meter strides to test my hammie. It held up fine. No tightness before or after. The good news is that we are headed out of town Sunday so I won't be doing any fast reps this weekend. Be back late Tuesday and I might do a fast 400 on Wednesday. It depends on my busy social obligations :-) Otherwise it will be a week from Sunday before I blaze the track again. Plan: 1 x 500 at 1:40!

75 minutes in a steady drizzle

Ran 75 minutes this morning in a steady drizzle. A tropical cell was passing over the Bay Area and it was muggy. Could not stop sweating at breakfast. Hot oatmeal and coffee set off the water works. Danny had the same problem.

But then it is only October and the colder weather won't arrive (really arrive) until the day after Halloween.

My tight hamstring felt much better. I have been using all my master's secrets to make the soreness go away.

Art by Maria Janosko

Whoa!

Ran like the wind today. An aged wind but fast for me. Ran my dump course for ten minutes and then drove over to Foothill College. The track was almost deserted except for Dimitri doing his warmup and a few walkers.

Did another 15 minutes of warmup including some strides. The workout was 5 x 200 at 400 pace. Dimitri led me through the first one at 40. It felt very easy. We then ran 4 x 200 in a high 37 average (walking back for recovery). All felt very controlled. The last was 37.06! Jogged down for 15 minutes. Coffee afterward. Slight soreness in lower right hamstring. Not painful. Just need to be careful.

Socializing

I socialized today by running 10 minutes around my neighborhood and then driving over to WVC and jogging the track and tennis court loop while the club ran a relay. The total was 47 minutes.

Danielle was there. She is recovering from some health problems but even with very little running I could not stay with her when she was running  a fast rep.

The weather has totally cleared up. It was in the mid 50's and sunny.



 Breakfast with the club afterward.

The first whiff of winter

I wasn't given the luxury of sleeping in again as a news helicopter was whumping over the area before 6 am. I staggered out of bed and made coffee. I ran 10 minutes around the area. It rained very lightly towards the end. Then I drove over to the college to hook up with Danny. We got the first whiff of winter today. It rained this morning while we ran our usual 60 minutes at WVC. Nothing too bad. Really more of a steady drizzle. Breakfast afterward.

Rushing around

My wife, Sue was heading to Seattle in the late morning, so I had to run, have breakfast, drive back home and take her to the airport. Got in 70 minutes of running, a quick bowl of Oatmeal and transported Sue to the San Jose Airport before heading back home to grab a quick shower. Rain came through Monday evening but had cleared up by the time of the run so we didn't get wet. Danny begged us to run slow (NO PROBLEM!) because he had wrenched his back. Tom joined us but after this he'll be gone on a cruise in the Mediterranean for about three weeks.

2 x 400

When I began this whole thing back in May, one of my milestones was to be able to run 2 x 400 in 80 seconds. Nothing thundering by any means but age graded it's like running 60 seconds back in the day. Wednesday told me I was ready for sure. Heat aside I was ready on Wednesday! I did a slow 20 minute warmup, did my usual strides and told Dimitri, my faithful friend and pacer, that I was ready. We did a shakeout 200 in 40 and it felt easy. Maybe too easy. We rested and then did the first 400. We had decided to go off pace so I wasn't surprised to see 21-41 on the front half. But then we accelerated hitting the 300 in 60 and coming to the end in just under 80. More rest and then... The second 400 was a tick faster hitting the 200 in 40 but the acceleration was sharper. We notched a clean 78! We then did a slow 20 minute jog...jog to finish off. Next stop, somewhere down the line, will be 2 x 400 in 75.

My goal is to be able to run fast and have my competition not be able to do anything about it and not want to try.

45 minutes

Ran an easy 45 minutes this morning with the usual dump run in the neighborhood and the rest over at WVC so I could kibbutz with the club. There was a slight wind blowing that I haven't seen since last spring (at least not in the morning). Rain coming so I am told.  That could change the complexion of things in the Bay Area next week. Rain or shine, the Last Runner will run.

Legs feeling good for tomorrows workout.

And the next day

I ran ten around the house (minutes not miles) and felt good. No apparent after effects from last night's workout. Drove over to WVJS and cruised another 60 minutes with Tom and Danny (well, Danny showed up late). We included Valley Vista in the venue. My legs felt great which tells me I had better be damn careful or something will happen and I'll go to horse poop.

Danny and Rich play on the track

Danny and I joined the Wednesday night group. It was the first time for me in a year or more. We were going to do some speed play. For us that was  couple of semi-quick 400's sucking off the younger faster runners who were running 800's. Maybe a ten minute warmup with some striders. Then ran behind Becki and did an 84. As usual the first one was a bit tough as I asked my body to run fast in 90 degree heat. Danny ran an 81. I held back from really working it and cruised.

The second one was smoother still as I hung with Pick while Danny charged ahead. He ran a 75 and I ran a 79. Once again, hard but under control.

As we cooled down while walking around the track, I told Danny I was sure there was another sub 80 in me right then. I felt that good.

"Not tonight," he said and of course he was right.

Another 70 minutes

Another 70 minutes. Tom, Danny & myself (with 10 minutes already under my belt). We ran Saratoga-Douglas as part of our one hour workout. Jeff from our club caught up with us. He had to do a hard stop to keep from running right over us because our pace was so diddly poo. But that's what makes it work for us old guys. Tom got us on his GPS (Gee, I wish I had never heard this) and we only covered 5.3 miles so we were running very slowly indeed. The happy news is that I can go slower. I am sure of it. Of course we walked for 4 one minutes stretches during the run and that probably contributed to slow being slower.

2:07:66

Warmed up with 25 minutes of slow running both around the house and over at Foothill Track. Then did some strides. The usual. 30-50-80. Had my race shoes on. Legs felt light and fluffy.

Dimitri and I agreed that the workout should be 1 x 200 shakeout in 40-45 followed by a 600 with the first 400 at 90 and the last 200 at 40 or under. The primary goal was 2:10. Faster would be good as long as we weren't at race effort.

The 200 turned out to be 42 which felt very controlled and easy.

We then rested a bit and then lined up. I said that I wouldn't look at my stop watch so I just stayed behind Dimitri and ran a relaxed but steady effort. When we came through the 400 he said something about us on being right on pace but by that time we were both accelerating rather sharply. As we came though the 500 I said to Dimitri that I was coming up on his shoulder and we crossed pretty much together.

I looked down at my watch and it read 2:07:66.

Dimitri had 2:08 but my watch wins!

We had run sub 38 for the last 200.  I asked Dimitri if we should do some more. Maybe a 300. He said that he was up for it but thought that I would had already accomplished my goal and that shutting things down would be best. I took his advice but not because I was tired because I wasn't. It was just plain being careful.

Jogged easy for 15 minutes. We were going so slow that a walker passed us. Joggers lapped us. The burden of the older runner.

Maybe 45 minutes altogether. 

Bushwhacked!

My Saturday club workout got bushwhacked by a mid morning delivery of our new dryer. I got my run in anyway but had to forget breakfast with my buddies. I did get in a very easy 45 minutes which was fine given that I'll end up running 5 days this week. I ran the last 5 minutes with my racing shoes on. I couldn't tolerate them last weekend but after Bill adjusted my talus (OW!) the problem seems to have gone away.

So tomorrow back to the track and this 800 meter business.

70 looping minutes

Danny dropped me an emailed message last night that he couldn't make the Thursday workout but I went over to WVC anyway. Lucky I did because there was Tom back from Wisconsin and raring to go. We ran Valle Vista and then did tennis court and track loops for an hour. I already had 10 minutes in the bag from home so it was another 70 minute run.

Tom runs a slightly faster pace than I usually do (aka jog)  but I felt strong though the whole run. The long hill up Fruitvale to Valley Vista felt pretty much effortless. A good sign. I made some comment about how I would like to race the club 3 miler that follows the same course. I mentioned something about running it in the 21's. Back in 1982 I scorched it in 15:54 with a 4:50 last mile. The plain fact is that I would have to run 20:16 to equal what I did back then. That's based on age grading.

Anyway, we went to breakfast afterward with Tom and Jake.

Clean and Jerk

Did my usual ten minute dump run around the neighborhood and then ran another 62 minutes over at WVC, most of it with Danny. My legs felt much better than yesterday which shows that my recovery systems are engaged. That means I ran slow enough on both days to allow myself to recover.

72 minutes altogether. 


After the run Danny and I drove up to see Big Bad Billy and he did the usual adjustment plus did a quick clean and jerk on my right foot because we both thought that the talus bone was out again.  As I sit on the couch writing this, it feels much better. Hopefully it's gone because it has been dogging me for the past several weeks.

So for at least now, game on.

This diagram shows where the talus bone is. That big bone is the hell and ball or as it is better known, the rear of the foot.

Dumpster Legs

With Sunday off because of a long drive up to see my mother, I decided to run an easy 45-50 minutes today. I ended up running 50 minutes with much of it super slow. My legs were in the dumpster from Saturday. Not so bad that I considered cancelling the run. I actually began to feel better as I ran and the last 10 minutes was the best.

The weather is heading towards heaterville again so running before 9 am felt good. It was still relatively cool. The De Anza Track remains unchanged. It's surface is pretty torn up but the walker was there and we chatted about the Niners playing not to lose (they lost anyway).

5 x 200

Ran an easy 15 minutes this morning around the house and over at the club workout. The goal was to shake out the cobwebs. In the early afternoon I drove up to Foothill to meet Dimitri (aka "D"). Part of the track were out of bounds because the maintenance guys were getting ready for an early evening football game. There was enough room on the front side to do 200's though and that was all we needed.

I warmed up for another 22 minutes and did my usual progressive some strides. D and I conferred and I asked that we run a shake out 200 in around 40. D led and we ran what felt like an easy pace but we nailed the 40 on the dot. Walked back for recovery.

Next two 200's were in 38 and I felts s-T-r-O-n-G!

The next 200 was 37 and change. It felt a might quicker but I just focused on staying close to my pacer.

On the last one we came though the 100 in 17 and  kept the effort going through the turn. I was slightly shocked when I saw 36:8.

We jogged a slow 8 minutes and called it a day.

So....40-38-38-37-36

Tuesday and Thursday

 Tuesday

Ran my usual 70 minutes this morning at WVC. Danny joined me for the last 60. Good run. Overcast with the sun coming out towards the end. Danny's birthday yesterday.

Jake joined us for breakfast. We had a lively discussion. New receptionist. Very punk but she pulled it off nicely. Big earrings! Big ear lobes!

She didn't seem worried about me because I am not in her age group ;-)

Thursday

Ran another easy 70 minutes over at WVC. Admit to feeling sluggish. Probably because I ate like s##t yesterday. I finally got some pasta down around 8 pm but Wednesday's lunch was a white mocha coffee and a cookie. Yummy but crummy. I have days like this. No excuses.

Bingo!

Today was back to Foothill with Dimitri.

I warmed up for a very slow and easy 25 minutes. Then I did my usual progression of strides to get ready.

30m (walk back) 50m (walk back) 80m (walk back).

The workout was 1 x 500 in 1:45 followed by 2 x 300 in around 60.

I led us out in the 500 and came through the 100 in 22 (too slow) and the 200 in 44-45 (way too slow) so I was left with the choice of either continuing off pace or stepping in the gas. I chose the latter and ran the last 400 in 80 seconds to finish in the target time of 1:45.

We rested a bit and then ran a 300 hitting the 200 in 40 and the 300 in 59.

More rest and then off again hitting the 200 in 39 and the 300 in 58.

Generally I felt stronger as we progressed which was a very different look and feel when compared to last week. It was also good to have Dimitri back and running with me.

Jogged down for an easy ten minutes and called it a day. 

Drifting for 60 minutes

The plan was to run 45-50 minutes this morning at a glacial pace. The second part was accomplished but the first part ended up being 60 minutes because I ran (excuse the pun) into my buddy Charles at De Anza Track (still there) and we ran big loops. We caught up on work gossip.

There was an small mob of geese combing the infield grass for eats. The weather was on the warm side but it didn't bother me. Not a cloud in the sky. No wind.

Finally at 45 minutes I told him that I needed to walk so that I didn't heap too much extra time on my run.  I knew it was a 13- 15 minute trip back home.

I got home at 60 minutes of running and my legs felt great because I was really drifting out there and on the verge of walking at any given moment.

Repeat of Tuesday

Thursday was a repeat of Tuesday except it was just Danny and I all the way round. Another easy 70 minutes. We had planned to run several fast 400's but we both agreed that spending all afternoon at the XC meet on Wednesday in 90 degree heat had pretty well sapped us. I decided to be safe and put it on the line at my Sunday workout.

4 for breakfast

Tom, who retired last week, joined Danny and I today for our run except Danny was late (he let me know ahead of time) so Tom and I ran for 24 minutes. Danny huffed after us and caught up with us. We ran the requisite hour and I did my usual ten ahead of time. So 70 minutes of the big easy today. Tom has a faster training pace than we normally run  but I settled right in and felt very good. Legs seems recovered from Sunday.

Jake joined us for breakfast so it was four of us gabbing like the old days.

Cat fight and track work

Big cat fight outside my window at about 5:30 this morning. I never could get back to sleep.




Finally, I got up and made some coffee.

I went out for my jog-around at just after 8 am and ran the neighborhood and then over to the track at De Anza (Yes, it's still there).  I really didn't have a firm idea of what the workout would be. My total warmup was 25 minutes. I did two 100's. The first was in 19 which said I wasn't spiffy. But the next one was in the 17's so I decided to do some longer stuff.

I ran 2 x 200 both in the 38's. That was good but I was feeling tired rather than energized.

I then ran a 300 and blew down a crisp 58. Afterward I thought about doing another 300 but I could tell I was on low energy. I waited until I felt decent and then ran another 38 second 200.

Something told me me to stop then. I was just running on empty but stupidly I ran one more 200 and fell off to 40. Then I fully got the message. I jogged back home for another 15 minutes.

So all in all:

2 x 100 = 200 19-17
2 x 200 = 400 38-38
1 x 300 = 300 58
2 x 200 = 400 38-40

1300 meters of goal pace

Back to classic lacing

I halfway thought about doing reps this morning but decided to hold off. My right ankle has been bothering me for several weeks and I think I finally figured out what the problem is. I wrote a post sometime back about changing my method of lacing my shoes. The new way may not be offering me the support I need. Not absolutely sure but I switched back today to the classic lacing pattern and ran 60 slow minutes. I also taped my ankle to give it extra support.  I was happy to see that the pain had disappeared (I think). No problems. So tomorrow I'll do some sort of progressive workout to test things out.

Dave Garcia was in town so I ran with him and Danny while the club slugged it out on the short six course. Toughest course we have. 5.74 miles with some runnable but challenging hills. One friend recommended that we run it slow and easy. I told him there is no slow and easy on short six.

Short Six

Jake joined us at breakfast so all we were missing was John and the dynamic quartet would have been back in business.

Another 70 minutes

Another 70 minutes (actually 71 and change) of easy running. 60 of it was done with Danny at WVC. We stayed on the upper campus to avoid the traffic. Much quieter and serene (as Danny says).

We agreed that next week we'll insert some quick 400's on our one of our runs. It'll pay off next summer.