Gentle Rich

Another rehab the calf day. Dimitri, Tom and Don joined me in a Gentle Rich run. 60 minutes of very easy jogging and walking. I could feel a twitch now and then heading up some slight hills so I primarily stuck to the track.

Used the tennis ball on the calf after I got home.

Looking forward to deep tissue massage day on Monday.

Being careful

I rolled the left calf Thursday and Friday. On Saturday I ran-walked for 50 minutes with forty of it on the track running the straights and walking the curves. The calf held up okay. I plan to do more of this on Sunday.

No question I'll need to roll both calf muscles going forward. It's a wake up call. I no longer have a good side.

Aw, come on!

60 minutes this morning running with Danny (Tom walked). My left calf tightened up. Yes! The good leg. I used the roller on the calf when I got home. Then I walked three miles to lunch and back with Bob Anderson and Pete Stein. No problems. When I got home I took a tennis ball and worked the calf  some more. Found the (((hot))) spot and rocked the calf over the ball until it numbed up. I've got a deep tissue massage appointment on tap for Monday. Until then it's run-walk.

The weekend

Saturday: ran 35 minutes easy while club did their workout.

Sunday: 60 minutes of running. Long 30 minute warmup followed by 4 x 400 reps (600 meters recovery jog). 1:40-1:40-1:35-1:34. Ten minute cool down.

Fastest yet for this workout.

Cool conditions both days. Very little sun or wind.

60 minutes in spring

The weather warmed up a bit. It was like early spring. Danny and I ran 60 minutes easy. Tom was in the hospital having an ablation procedure. Hopefully that eliminates the afib and he can become a lion again in our workouts.

There was blood

Danny, Tom and I ran for an hour this morning. It would have been same old, same old, but Tom took a bloody nosedive (literally) into the asphalt in the parking lot. Danny luckily had a first aid kit with all the fixing's. Tom ended up heading home. Danny send I went to breakfast after finishing off the workout.

Unmotivatingly Cold

Another cold morning. Unmotivatingly cold. Dimitri and I jogged around for a half hour and then began running 100 on, 100 off for the next 40 minutes on the WVC track. We didn't time the strides for the most part. We just kept doing them. Once I warmed up, they felt okay. I did time the very last one. We didn't push but it was just under 23 seconds.

Staying on the flats helped my achilles which has been troubling me since using the slant board. No issues today.

Ray Showed Up

Another freezing morning. I rolled out of bed, drank coffee to warm up and drove over to WVC. Trotted around for 40 minutes. No wind. Clear, calm, frozen. Ray Russell showed up. I dressed to the nines to stay comfortable.

We had a good breakfast group after the workout.

Hot Coffee

32 degrees. Frozen outside sans snow, wind or rain. Just quiet, breathless and frozen.

Ran with Danny over at WVC. Seeking the sunlight whenever possible.

Ski cap
Gloves
Nylon sweat pants
Running shorts
Double layer on top.

I was okay as long as I kept moving.

Danny and I talked about coffee. Hot coffee. Then when we finished we put on dry stuff and went and had breakfast. Held hot coffee cups in our hands. Had eggs, toast and potatoes.

We stayed until the restaurant started to crowd up.

Running before the wind

We beat the wind this morning running for an hour in cool but sunny conditions. The wind kicked up just as we were finishing. It's the West Coast version of an Arctic blast. Winter in Silicon Valley.

Playing it safe

Another cool and sunny morning. It was in the low 40's so we (D and I) took our time warming up.
We ran sub tempo reps on the track. Believe me, it was nothing glorious. 8 x 400 at sub eight pace with a 200 meter walk-jog for recovery. Running 1:56-1:58 reps felt easy and smart. My right calf was tight but didn't bother me during the workout. I just wanted to play it safe.

Seven miles when all was totaled.

Cooling down in cool weather.

The weather cooled down and then some. It was in the 30's at the college this morning as I ran 38 minutes and change. Even though I didn't do the workout, I jogged around until Dino and George showed up and warmed down around campus with them.

Later on in the afternoon, I walked a half hour with Lucy.

Xmas day

Ran for 65 minutes this morning. Sunny, but cool and breezy. Not many people out. I had Cupertino pretty much to myself.

The day before the day before Xmas

One hour easy run with Tom and Danny at WVC. Spring-like conditions. Hard to believe its winter.

The Weekend

40 minutes easy on Saturday.

Sunday: ran a 26 minute warmup followed by reps.
1x400-500-600-600-400-400 ( each done on the .66 loop )...1:42-2:15-2:37-2:34-1:38-1:36
Walk-jog recovery between reps.

Ran with Dimitri.

Another feel good run

Tom, Danny I ran another easy 60 minutes at WVC. Once again, my legs felt good. The weather was cool and partially overcast.

Feel good run

Drove over to WVC and ran an easy 60 minutes with the boys. My legs felt good but the pace was slow.

Breakfast with Tom afterwards.

100-100

I walked with Lucy this morning for a half hour and then drove over to WVC for an hour run. Dimitri and I warmed up for 22 minutes and then ran 30 minutes of 100 stride (25 second avg) 100 jog. 10 minute warm down.

It was cool and partially overcast.

The Rains Came

A whopper of a full deluge type storm passed through on Thursday. I opted for breakfast with my buddies. It dried out Friday so I walked an hour. Saturday was a 30 minute run and a 30 minute dog walk.

Reps

I finally got back to running some reps. I was going to wait until Thursday but then found out the weather forecast called for rain and wind so I moved it forward. Tom walked (afib) and Danny I ran for about an hour throwing in 4 x 400 in 1:46-41-40-36. The last two were the easiest.

The weather was moderate. No wind. Thursday is supposed to be a combo wind tunnel and soaker.

Golden Gate Park run

I ran a slow shakedown run from the house this morning then drove up to the city with Shel and ran for 50 minutes in Golden Gate Park. Maybe 60 minutes total for the day. We measured off a downhill mile for our respective 70 year old attempts at sub 7 minutes next year. At 60 we both did sub 6.

Run and dog walk

Low key 30 minute morning run followed later on by a dog walk. So maybe four miles total.
Breakfast after the run was one of the best even though the restaurant was really crowded and noisy. Food and service was good as always. No complaints.

Thank you for your service!

Ran 60 minutes with Danny and Tom. Mid run a woman walking her dog smiles and says "Thank you  for your service."

Huh?

I don't get the fact that I'm sporting my USS Carl Vinson cap that another Danny gave me. I never served in the military. I guess with the aviator sunglasses and hat I look like a vet. I tell her that I was 4-F. She looks at me queerly. I am dead to her. She quickly moves on.

Danny said I should have done my John Wayne impersonation. I agree. What a missed opportunity.

5 am !

It rained again today. In fact the rain woke me up at a few ticks past 5 am in the morning. I tried to go back to sleep, but in the end I got up and made coffee.

Met Tom and later Danny over at WVC. SLOW-SLOW sixty minutes. Walks every four minutes. I didn't get soaked like Sunday and could have done without the nylon sweats.  

Saturday-Sunday

Saturday: 30 minute easy run followed by 30 minute dog walk.

Sunday: The rain hit Dimitri and I hard this morning. 70 minutes of hilly running with the latter half in a steady rain. I was drenched at the end. Had to change in the back seat of my Honda. Put all my wet stuff in a garbage bag, then went for coffee and a scone.

Tuesday - Thursday

Ran 60 minutes on Tuesday with Tom and Danny. We went up to see Big Bad Billy ( our chiro ) afterwards and then had breakfast.

On Thursday (today) I ran alone from home. Covered 85 minutes of mostly running. It's Thanksgiving and a bunch of people were out walking family style. All I know is that there's now 800 calories in the bank account.

4 x .33

WVC (as usual). Met up with Dimitri and did a 32 minute warmup followed by 4 x .33 (.33 jog). We basically did the tennis court loop running half at tempo and half as a recovery jog.

2:14-2:14-2:11-2:09.

2:12 average.

15 minute warm down. I believe the total workout was around 7 miles.

Playing

Slowly feeling better. I ran and walked for 65 minutes. Playing mostly. Danny ran & walked with me and Tom just strolled. We're quite a bunch. Got to admit that I felt good. We went down to Denny's later for breakfast and watched the beginning of a nice rainstorm.

Tom said it is ablation time. I hope so. There's only so many beta blockers a guy can take.

70 minutes easy

Not feeling that great. I've been short sheeting the bed on sleep. I feel like it's catching up to me.

I decided to run easy this morning and stay away from the reps. I ran 70 minutes with Dimitri. We ran up and down some nice long hills but took it very slow.

Really easy

30 minutes of really easy running while the club ran 1200's.

Tom's bad luck continues. He seems to have pulled a hammie running a blazing 13 minute pace.

I'm not sleeping well. No matter when I go to bed I'm waking up around 6:15 am.

One of my long term buddies mentioned that he's moving to Colorado for a woman. I told him not to sell his house. Try it for six months. Make sure. He just broke up with his long time lady friend. Sounds reboundish. I think he's gonna sell his place and move anyway.

Three blind mice

Ran slowly around WVC with Danny and Tom. Tom struggled because of beta blockers. He's been struggling more lately. He continues to look for a chemical solution to his afib and it ain't working but I've laid off recommending an ablation. Danny's overweight, Tom's fighting heart disease and I'm just slow. We're like three blind mice. We just keep running and laughing about it.

I didn't do any reps. Maybe Sunday.

Cruising

Just Tom and I today. We cruised 65 minutes with easy running around WVC and the local neighborhood. I could feel Sunday, but was not beat up because of it. Cooler temps but not winter yet.

Tough

Today's workout was reps at WVC with Dimitri. We warmed up for 25 minutes and then ran the following:

400 in 1:41
942 yards in 3:35 ( tough...tennis court loop minus 220 yards )
220 uphill yards in 54 ( last 220 of tennis court loop )
400 in 1:38 ( fire truck turned in front of us and we had to detour around it )
400 in 1:36

Big Loops

Club workout at WVC but as usual I wasn't in on it. I jogged around the big loop and the track for 40 minutes. Danny joined me for part if the run. Cool clear morning.

Not alone

Danny and I ran an easy sixty minutes at WVC.  Beautiful morning. Almost summer-like. I kept it easy because of the achilles, but it didn't bother me. I taped it tightly as a precaution.

Alone

Tom (head cold) and Danny (XC meet) bailed on me as I bailed on them on last Thursday (flying to Palm Springs). I ran alone for an hour up and down the trail at Blackberry Farm. My right achilles was bothering me a bit so halfway through the workout I dropped by the house and taped up my foot. That seemed to stop the discomfort but no question this bears watching. It's not coincidental that I've been using the slant board to stretch my calves. So for now I've stopped.

I used the HRM for the first time since my calf pull in early September. Stayed in the 130-140 range.

Home run

Flew home from Palm Springs late this morning. The weather in the South Bay was moderate. Mid 60's with a slight breeze. I hadn't run today so I got out in the early afternoon for an hour circling the neighborhood including the Blackberry Farm, McClellan Ranch trail.

Indian Wells

I took Thursday off. We traveled to Indian Wells for a short vacation. Way too hot (90's) to run by the time we arrived at the hotel. The next morning I walked for an hour BECAUSE I FORGOT TO PACK RUNNING SHORTS! Drove over to a sports store and bought a pair before lunch.

On Saturday I actually got out for a run. The weather had cooled of significantly (60's) and not humid. I ran 50 minutes through the concrete sidewalks and streets of the town. I kept to a 4-1 run-walk pattern and did okay. Probably haven't been eating enough carbs and I felt that a bit but slow running evens out lack of energy.

Indian Wells is not a runners town. It's a golfer's town. If runners were allowed on the links, all would be different.

Gang Run

60 minutes of slow running with the gang ( Tom, Danny, Rick ) at WVC. Walking to cool down afterwards. The weather is incredible.

Reps

Drove over to WVC both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was a non starter. My plan was to run 40 minutes easy, but instead I ran and walked for 30 minutes ( mostly walking ).

Sunday was business as usual but over at WVC.  Dimitri and I did a 20 minute warmup followed by:

400 in 1:42
400 in 1:40
400 in 1:40
500 in 2:10 (1:38-400 )
400 in 1:36
400 in 1:36

200 meter recovery between each rep.

The weather was cool and breezy on the backside.

Dragging

Ran another of those easy 60 minute workouts. I was scheduled to do reps but was dragging a bit so I passed. Tom and Danny joined me. Beautiful weather continues.

200 club

Rick and Tom and I jogged 60 minutes. We're all members of the 200% club. That means we now take twice as long to run a distance in comparison to our best days.

Example of the 200 club for a three mile training run.


1970's and 80's: 3 miles in 19:30

Now: 3 miles in 39:00

Real hills

I finally got back to running real hills again. Dimitri and I ran up Moody to Palo Alto park and back. We took it nice and slow arriving back at 76 minutes and change. I do admit to walking some of the uphill simply to go easy on the calf.

Hippy

My left hip was bothering me so I popped some ibuprofen. I drove over to the club and ran and walked for 50 minutes. I'd say 80% was pure running including a warm down around campus with some faster guys at a faster pace.  I felt good. Flowed along with little or no strain. Ice and more ibuprofen on tap for today.

Not too shabby

I ran 5 miles give or take this morning. Tom and I warmed up and then, joined by Danny, I proceeded to do 6 x 400 at fast ( for me ) tempo. 1:45-42-39-37-36-34. 200 recovery in between. I'm getting partial to 400's.

1:38-39 average. Age graded to 72 seconds. Not too shabby for 69.

Very Easy Day

Ran and walked for 70 minutes. Tom, Danny and Rick accompanied me. Used a 2-1 ratio for an hour which made it very easy. Walked for recovery. My legs felt decent after yesterday's massage. The weather has cooled off. Sunny but with heavy clouds coming from the southwest. The wind had picked up by breakfast time.

Something

I walked and ran 6 miles this morning. Stayed low versus running hills. Dimitri and I jogged around Foothill College Track so slow that everyone was passing us. Business as usual. I didn't sleep that well last night and felt sluggish so I decided to do something but not too tough.

Something ended up being 6 x 200 relaxed tempo. Started at 48 and dropped down to 44.  I was more than happy with the results.

40 minutes peppered

Ran a very easy 40 minutes this morning. Peppered the running with walking breaks. The club ran 3 x 1600 on the track. Danny dropped in a sub 7 minute mile. Not bad for 67 years old.

It was cool and overcast. Fall's coming!!!!

Bailing

Wow! Another cool morning. Tom and I ran 65 minutes (4-1). I decided not to run tempo for no good reason. Jus' felt like running and chatting so that's what we did. Danny bailed because he had a cold but joined me for breakfast. Tom ran but bailed on breakfast.

I'm thinking "time trial" for Sunday.

Fog's in

Wow! What's new.

Nada

Tom ( back from Cheeseheadville aka Wisconsin ) and I ran 65 minutes with Gallowalks thrown in to keep our legs fresh. Rick K ( he of the walkers and hikers ) joined us. The weather temporarily cooled down. The fog was in, not burning off until we were having coffee at a local Starbucks.

Danny's high school team is hosting a XC meet and he was off marking the course and setting up the finish area.

New Course

Dog walked Lucy and then drove over to meet Dimitri at Foothill. We ran a new course that took around an hour. Rolling hills at the beginning but pretty much downhill and flat after that. The weather wasn't too bad (we're in the midst of a heat wave). Very mild at 9 am.

I'm guessing at 7-8 miles total including the walks.

40 minutes

Saturday morning mid heat wave. It wasn't too bad in the morning at WVC so I jogged 40 minutes of 4-1. Don P joined me even though he had trouble getting extracted from his bike. The club ran step up, step down. Once again XC bled off runners so it was a small workout group. Only four of us at breakfast.

5 x 400

Tempo test day. After a slow warmup of 25 minutes Danny and I cruised 5 x 400.

1:49 ( 200 walk recovery after each one)
1:44
1:42
1:37
1:37


Generally, did not force the pace. Last two were nice surprises.

Slow as we could run

60 minute run with Danny going as slow as we could. Rick K. Joined us. He's in really poor running shape and we could hear him breathing sorta hard throughout. No one complained about going 4-1.

Went to see TARR afterwards and then had breakfast,

Well yeah seven

Met up with Dimitri and ran a new course down El Monte - University plus laps around the Foothill Track. Maybe seven miles, maybe not. But if I throw in the Lucy walk, well yeah. Seven. I haven't run down El Monte since the late 1970's.

Weak four miler

Ran and walked for 40 minutes over at WVC. More than three but probably less than four. Cool weather.

Test the calf

Tested the calf this morning by running 4 x 400 at easy tempo pace sandwiched in an hour of running.
I checked out two of the reps and got 1:47. It's been five weeks since my last meaningful workout. I'll up it a bit next week.

Running 2-1

Ran and walks (2-1) for 65 minutes. Tom and Danny were my company.  My legs feel great! I'm sure the ratio of run to walk helps. The weather was overcast and mildly humid.

More run-walk

65 minutes of 2/3rd's running and 1/3rd walking. Legs weren't tired at all from back to back days.
My calf feels good to go.

Run-walk

Ran Saturday for the first time in a long while. 42 minutes of run-walk with Tom.

Shotgun run

Sixty minutes with Danny and Tom ( back from vacation ) at a very easy pace shot gunned with walks. Calf seems fine. I'm hoping it's passed for now....until the next time ;-)

It was very humid. A system was passing through but if there was any rain it was falling someplace else.

I think I can begin to get back at it next week.

Mostly running

Ran and walked for 60 minutes in the morning over at WVC. Mostly I ran. I had no calf problems (not even a glimmer) so I'll proceed to get back to normal.

The major changes are:

Judicious use of the foam roller.

Gradual addition of the Wharton technique or slant board stretching beginning in October.

I recognize that calf tweaks can happen seeming out of nowhere. I get that in spades.

Two week anniversary

73 minutes of mostly walking with running breaks liberally sprinkled in to test the calf. Everything held together. We ran the track and then did a section up and down the flatter section of Moody Road.


It's the two week anniversary of the tweak ( ouch ).

Acupuncture and assorted other things

6 days since pulling my calf. Lucky I shut it down immediately. Within a day the calf was good enough for me to walk a pain free hour. The only thing I did was massage with a combo of my hand, the club ( aka the stick ) and the foam roller. When I stacked my feet, I could feel the spot. That was the only time it was painful.

On Wednesday I had my first ever acupuncture treatment. One hour of needles, electric pulse and some cross friction massage. Two days later I worked my calf again with the foam roller and the sore spot was gone.

The acupuncturist recommended that I stay away running for two weeks from the date of the injury. That pretty much fits what my plan. I'll get DTM on Monday, keep working the roller and later on add in the slant board.

Until then exercise is limited to running.

OUCH! Again!

OUCH!

Calf heart attack less than five minutes into an easy run up in SF. Pulled up immediately and walked back. First incidence since January of 2012. Last week was a warning. This one is right in the belly of the calf.

I'm outa here for now. No running for the time being.

Can't get to my magic fingers massage therapist until next Monday.

Another test day

I ran 65 minutes this morning going 2-1. No problems with the calf at all. Legs felt really good. Danny, Tom and Rick were on board.

Testing the calf day

Testing the calf day. Ran two minutes on, one minute walk for an hour. I stayed off the hills and ran very slowly. Tom and Danny were kind enough to stay with me (we'll all be walking in a few years).
My calf was sore from the massage but no pain otherwise.

We drove up to see Bill TARR for our monthly chiro adjustments. He did some extra work on my right leg.

Taking it easy Thursday too.

Tweak!

Dimitri's gone so I ran from the house on Sunday after taking Lucy for a walk. Took the low path through Blackberry Farm to McClellan Ranch and then down the road to the lake behind the 7-11. Only problem is that the lake was dry. Totally dry! It's a habitat for ducks and geese ( or was ). Could be the drought or maybe some other reason. Dunno.

I turned back and ran over to the high school track and then back through the Ranch-Farm road. I was just starting up the last hill when I felt a slight soreness on the outer edge of my right calf. I'll call it a tweak.

I immediately shut things down and walked in. Sixty five minutes of mostly running.

First time my calf has tweaked since early 2012.

On Monday I went to see my masseuse at lunchtime and she worked over the leg but good. Yikes! It hurt. A good hurt. She told me that the muscle was ropy.

Tomorrow I stay on the flats, wear my calf compression sleeve, run-walk and see how it goes.

6:36 pace

After a 23 minute easy jog Danny and I ran 8 x 400 at 90%.

Averaged 1:39 per 400. Felt good from the first one and we gradually got faster at the same HR. Anyway, 6:36 pace. Another big drop. Fastest was 6:43 pace. I noticed that I had to push to get to 90% which is a good thing. 

More 4-1's

Tom and did 4-1 pushing the four (a bit ) and walking the one. 60 minutes but covered 4 tenths of a mile more than usual. I felt great! Good recovery from second fastest on Sunday.

67:23

Dimitri and I ran the Palo Alto park out and back.

67:23!

Not too shabby. Ran-walked 4-1 on the way out pushing up to 70% during the four minute portion. Got up to the park in 39:03. Ran all the way back down at 70-75% covering the distance in 28:20. The weather was nice but not  too cool so it was a challenge to keep my HR down ( BUT I DID IT! ).

Humid Tempo

Warmish and humid. Noticed that right away. The shade felt too good. We warmed up slowly at 4-1 run-walk.

Target workout was a hair under 3200 meters of reps at 90%.

Throw away 400 to warm up. 1:52.

531 meters in 2:17
400 1:41
531 2:12
400 1:39 ( fighting to stay at 90% )
531 2:13 ( same issue )
400 1:39 ( had to back off to stay at 90% )

Was happy with the times and the recovery but the humidity was a hammer and an anvil. Still...if I take out the throw away, I am at a 6:43 pace. Not too bad.

Easy hour

Ran an easy hour with Danny and Tom ( back from cheesehead land ). 4-1 run-walk ratio.

Who does this?

Reverse Course

Dimitri and I ran our Altamont-Taffee course in reverse. We jogged easily to the upper park but still got up there rather quickly (42:58) and then cruised back down to the college via Altamont and Taffee Roads. 78 minutes with several minutes of walking added on to cool down.

I had to double check my watch going up. The last time we slow jogged, we ran 48 minutes. This felt the same but simply was faster. 

I checked on my two Kindle World books . My latest, Shield of Mongetai is number 4 (action and adventure) and my first, Sword of Monegtai is number 12 in the same genre. Of course this changes daily.

I am working on my next book.

Fast Reps

Met up with Danny to run some fast net downhill 400's. After a 20 minute warmup we ran a throwaway rep but cruised it in 1:40 which was way faster than usual. Like 7-8 seconds faster. We took a full recovery and then blasted a 93 and an 89 in succession. Jogged down for 10 minutes and called it a day. Felt very capable of doing a few more. Both Danny and I were strong today, but it was mission accomplished. Three was enough.

All hail S L O W !

Tuesday is getting lazy...

I ran a very easy sixty minutes with Danny. Four minutes run, one minute walk. Is it really running? My HR was very low throughout. It was cool, overcast and we didn't push it. All hail S L O W !

Seriously, the  s l o w e r  I am willing to run on Tuesday the better I run the rest of the week.

By the way, I quietly released my second Foreworld Novella. Shield of Mongetai.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MEQBODA

The first book, Sword of a Mongetai,  was in the top three in its category for 16 weeks despite mixed reviews. I got beat up on editing. My bad. I mistakenly uploaded a beta version and didn't catch it for five weeks. I fixed it but once those b a d versions get downloaded you're sort of up the creek.

Kindle Worlds has gone romantic over the past month or so. Hunky romance novels have taken over the territory once held by SciFi and alternative history ( my specialty ). I can't write romance ( and not puke ) so I'll just stick to writing what I care about.

Moderate long run

With Dimitri traveling, I decided to run variations of my old courses in the neighborhood. I  did a run-walk of 4-1. The weather was cool and it was overcast. Felt really good. I had to push a bit to get up into the 130's and 140's because my HR dropped so fast during the walks.

6 x .33 fastest yet again

Tempo Thursday!

After a 25 minute warmup we ran 6 x .33 (531 meters) with a two minute recovery in between.
Danny and I ran together and Tom ran rode drag.

2:22
2:17
2:17
2:13!
2:13!!
2:12!!!

The 2:17's early on were a nice surprise but the 2:13's and the 2:12 were a shock. Overall average was 2:15 which is a BIG improvement. Not sure what to make of this but I ain't changing anything.

It felt good to walk

The mini heat wave continues or perhaps I should call it the humidity wave. Danny, Tom and I ran our usual 60 minutes using 3-1 on run-walk. My HR stayed in the 120-130 range.

It felt good to walk 

It's the way things are now. Walking feels like running did 20-30 years ago.

After breakfast I drove over to Bob's and we walked three miles roundtrip to Tom's for lunch ( and back ).

The new 8-9 mile day. I was thirsty and tired most of afternoon. Finally napped and woke up feeling rested and refreshed.

Naps seem to be a secret weapon.

The plan for Thursday is 6 x 531 meters (.33 miles ) which when totaled is 14 meters short of 3200 meters.

Los Altos Hills

80 minute run up in the Los Altos Hills with Dimitri. Warm and humid. We took the HP Trail for the first time today. It was a nice alternative. I walk-ran much of the steeper uphill sections but my HR stayed up in the zone so I was getting a decent training effect.The humidity definitely had an effect on my heart rate especially over the last mile. I had to slow down to stay at 70%. I felt fine otherwise.

8x400

Someone turned the heat on! Another (((heat) wave rolled through the Bay Area.  Tom and I ran 8 x 400. Me at AT and Tom at Vo2 max.  We took a 200 meter recovery in between reps.

1:48-43-43-41-41-41-40-39

1:42 average.

2-1

60 minutes of  2-1 (run-walk). Strangely Tom and I covered the same distance as when we run straight through.

Danny was a no show. His back went out.

Threshold 800's

Met Dimitri over at WVC this morning. It was kinda warm and humid. We did a warmup and then ran 4 x 800 meters ( on the tennis court loop ) with a 200 meter recovery in between reps.

3:43-3:45-3:45-3:41 at 90%.

Had to fight to keep my HR down on the last two.  It popped up to 174-175 several times but a slight adjustment in effort dropped it right down again into range. No complaints though. Another good workout.

We warmed down around campus afterwards.

Close to six miles total.

Dimitri has a renewed respect for doing the reps off track. Yeah, it's downhill over the first 300 meters but after that you're flat or climbing.

Some speed

Tom, Danny and myself.

West Valley Track

Mid morning

30 minute easy warmup.

2 x 400 ( 93 average )

10 minute warm down.

Drag-Ass

Danny, Rich and Tom running as slow as we could for 60 minutes. The weather was humid but not too hot. We drag-assed our way through the workout before heading up to see Big Bad Billy for our monthly wheel alignment (Chiro adjustment). Stopped to have breakfast too.

Moody Run

72 minutes. Moody Road course with Dimitri. Under 43 going up and under 30 coming back down.

Went to Starbucks afterwards. Spilled hot coffee on myself ( lid was not on tight ). Missed vital parts. Wiping off table with damp rag. Good upper body and core work. 

Best ever again

Tuesday was a 60 minute slog. I admit to feeling a bit knackered. Tom and Danny felt the same.

Thursday's warmup was a continuation of that feeling.

Danny, Tom and I really felt sluggish during our warmup. What else is new? We decided to keep the workout reasonable. 8 x 400. The best I'd done in this workout recently was a 7:08 pace or around 1:47. 

Today was a bit different.

1:50 
1:43
1:42
1:39
1:39
1:38
1:36
1:35 ( this was the only one where I crept over the top of my range. HRM hit 173)

1:40 average at 85-90 of max. We all shook our heads. This was a big breakthrough workout.

Drop the 1:50 and my average is 138. Danny was on my shoulder so he was the same.

Tom averaged 1:55. He's coming around.

Pushing the rock forward

Danny, Tom and I ran for sixty minutes. We all had sluggish days but got through the workout anyway. I don't remember when I last had a smooth feeling training run. Going out and running strong seems to be a thing of the past. We push the rock forward.

Thursday should be interesting.

After we run, we usually go to breakfast and see other older folks shuffling along taking forever to get from their tables out to their cars ( or vice versa ).

Then we look at each other.....the thought is the same.

Keep running...

Long run

Met up with Dimitri at Foothill a College and ran Altamont to Foothill Park  and back. 78 minutes keeping my HR at 60-70%. We expected it to be warmer but the weather was relatively cool and overcast. My legs seemed to be recovered from Thursday,

Fastest yet again...

I walked four miles on Wednesday. One mile with Lucy (The Wonder Dog) and three more with Bob.  Our usually there and back walk to Tom's cafe. It doesn't seem like much but there was no question that I was feeling flat today.

The plan was for Danny and I to run 8 x 500 at 85-90% of max.

I ended up running 7 x 500 instead but 6 of them were in 2:18 average (fastest yet). I pulled the plug after number 7. My legs weren't there plus it was getting warm.

6 days of nada

I ran 60 minutes on Tuesday last and then took the next six days off from running. I did do some serious walking in Stanley, Idaho but that was it.

Got back at it today running 60 minutes with Danny.

Up and back: a hobbit runner' tale

Dimitri and I met up at Foothill and ran an easy pace up to the park via Moody Road and back. We finished in a hair over 73 minutes which these days is pretty pedestrian. I kept my HR in the 60-65% range most of the way. I did see 70% as we closed in on the summit. Otherwise the run was low HR. We didn't push coming back.

Tempo Day

This morning was TEMPO DAY for Tom, Danny and I. We ran 8 x .33 around the tennis courts.

After a twenty minute easy jog we got off to a sleepy start with a 2:30. After that we gradually cranked it down to the low 2:20's finishing up with a 2:17. I stayed in target HR which is still 168-172. It was on the warm side ( but not hot ) so I had lay off slightly to avoid cardiac creep. We averaged 2:24 which is a blazing 7:16 pace. Age graded it's 5:18 which, like last week is fast for an AT workout.

Tom, who is getting back in shape, ran 2:30 average which is still fast.

We're all traveling on and off over the next few weeks ( all of us are MIA next Thursday ) but we will rendezvous back Thursday July 3rd and resume the next tempo workout.

60 minutes, no kidding!

Met up with Danny and Tom and ran an easy 60 minutes. My heart rate pretty much stayed in the 130's. So very easy even by the new ever slowing standards.

Afterwards we want to see Bill Tarr and then had breakfast.

In the early afternoon I signed the title papers propelling my mother 's home in the direction of the new owner.

BIG LONG

Tom tells me we only did 8 x 400 on Thursday. A bleak moment in OTH running.

NEVER ASK DANNY WHERE WE ARE IN A WORKOUT!

Seriously, my bad if it is true.

Anyway, this morning Dimitri and I ran the BIG long course out to Page Mill and back. Of course big and long are relative these days. Forget the distance. I generally run by time these days.

88 minutes change and for whatever distance it was.

Fastest yet

Met Tom and Danny over at WVC to run threshold reps. We decided to do 10x400. The same workout I did Sunday with two differences.

1. It was cooler

2. We did the reps on the tennis court loop which meant a fast 400 with a net down followed by a not so fast 400 with a net up.

My legs were stiff during the jog warmup and didn't feel that great on the first 3 reps. But the times were there from the beginning and the recovery during the 200 walk was good too. Then it got better. After the first one, Danny and I consistently nailed 146-147's going down and up. My HR stayed in the 80-90% range. The last one was a hair trigger under 144. I averaged 1:47 which is a 7:08 pace.

Fastest yet!

Well, at least for this program.  Now if I could ever get the 800's and 1000's down to that pace, I might even try a club workout or two. At best it's a long shot.

Tom did okay too. He's not in good condition and is working his way back. Averaged in the low 8's. He'll be back up with us if he can stay healthy.

Not so hot

Temps returned to late spring normalcy. Danny, Tom and I ran an easy 60 minutes. Tom was shade seeking because he is not in very good shape and Danny, exhausted by a 1.5 mile run to campus staggered through the workout.

Okay, it was only easy for me. 130 HR most of the way. Breakfast afterwards. No complaints.

HOT!

I've been walking since Wednesday due to the cervical cortisone shot. Doctor's recommendation. I finally decided to get back at it today. I walked Lucy for a mile and then went over to Foothill to do a real workout with Dimitri. Twenty minutes easy warmup followed by 10 x 400 ( 200 recovery ) at 85-90%  of max.

It was warm and getting hotter. My  HR jumped into the target range pretty quickly. I still averaged 1:55 (7:40 pace ). The warm conditions definitely slowed me down. I easily hit 175-76 several times towards the end (cardiac drift) which tells me that 180 is easily attainable.

I rewarded myself with a big frap at Starbucks.

60*

Tom and I ran an easy 60* minutes at WVC. Afterwards we went to Starbucks. I had coffee and a blueberry scone (((sugar))).

60*   Don't really know the distance and don't care.

Tomorrow I get a cortisone shot in C 5-6. Hopefully this will help calm the pinched nerve issue. It's been going on for months.

The usual run

I planned to run on the track at Foothill but that wasn't happening. The entrance to the parking lot closest to the stadium was backed up with cars waiting to get in. Meanwhile there were a number of empty lots right nearby. I took the alternative and sought a space in one of the empty lots.

Anyway, it seems that some sort of youth track meet was in full swing. That canceled out the planned workout. Dimitri and I decided to run our usual long run up to Palo Alto Park and back. It was a nice morning. We made the summit in 42:12 minutes and came back in 30.

72:12 minutes total.

Add in 30 seconds if we had started from our usual parking spaces.