Halloween

I took my usual day off from running. Actually I mostly hid out and only left the house to have lunch with Dave. Otherwise I did nada unless surfing the internet and watching TV are considered something. Amber has diarrhea so I did take her over to the vets just to make sure it wasn't serious (seems not to be). I don't
mind scooping poop but scooping diarrhea is something else.

Hey let's eat!

Amber seemed non plussed about the whole thing......Appetite is good and her nose is wet and she is playful. The only thing she hates is the HOUSE OF PAIN (aka..the vets).


It's Halloween and I brought down two big bags of candy for the kids who will be "mobbing" our house tonight.

I thought some on slowly increasing my running (every other day) and seeing if I can slow the slow that way. But I don't trust myself. Now why do I do 25-30 mpw. It's because I WILL do it almost without fail. It was the same with 60-65 mpw in my best days. I would do it. That was key. I can play the I will run more game but I know it's a losing cause. I just wonder how Ed Whitlock talked himself into running 2-3 hours a day. I mean life is good but 2-3 hours on a one-third mile loop over and over?

I can't imagine running 2-3 hours a day every other day which would be about 45-50 mpw average. I guess I could try and see what it is like. All slow of course with races as speedwork.

Monday-Wednesday-Saturday: 2-3 hours of running

Friday could be one hour. That would be the easy day. GULP!

Or just go every other day literally for months. 2-3 hours every other day.

I could call it Every-other-day-Whitlock.

Molasses

I ran 75 minutes this morning. It was tough at the beginning. A bit like running in molasses (cool morning) but I warmed up and began to find my stride about half way and then ran fine.

At Jollyman Park some Asian woman was in the middle of some sort of workout experience that caused her to bellow like a wounded animal. It shattered the natural quiet of the place and she kept at it the whole I was there so I scooted down to the college and finished the bulk of my workout there. The track was crowded with walkers spread as usual acorss half the track. I negotiated the minefield and out ran most them. Eventually most of them disappeared and then it was just me and a little stump of a young woman who runs there almost every day. She tends to stick to the outside lanes so I do run into her much (excuse the pun).

The Japanese-hatted runner showed up again and plowed around the track first clockwise and then counter-clockwise. There must be a method to his madness. When the rain comes we'll see how many of the summer "normals" will still be out there.

Cruising

I cruised 8 miles Saturday morning while my club ran a track workout (I am self-prohibited from doing these for the time being).

Should I really feel this good? It was in the mid to high 40's at the start and I just motored along pushing the HRM up in the 140's. My legs are starting to respond to the prohibition of intervals and anything else too hard. They are feeling pretty good. I still have a few tweaks but who doesn't at this point of the game? I mean I am 61. Knuckle-baller Joe Niekro died yesterday at age 61. Who am I kidding?

From now on it's LSD and sub-tempo for the bulk of my training. I will do a test AT run when I think things are right.

I have nothing to lose seeing how far I can go. The other path certainly hasn't worked.

I am thinking of making this blog less of a running diary and more of a personal diary. Can my few very few readers stand that? Just writing about running is getting monotonous. I look at other blogs and I realize that incomparison to them I am just not that nice of a person. There is a darkness to me that derfines what I am and why certain peiople are drawn to me. I will never be a "kiss the girls and hug them" sort of guy. Joeness is an attempt to mask this and see if I can be something else. I told Dimitri I need a break or a down week from Joeness every now and then because I have to recover. It is just too far away from the core of what makes me what I am.

Of course a Xanax makes me pretty mellow to everyone but myself. I keep them around just in case i need to be nice. otherwise, I am what I am. At best I have a flexible morality. I am not as bothered by things that others consider immoral. I believe in people's right to freedom and not interfering with that right but I also believe that if I have to influence or spin things to get a necessary outcome, I will do this.

Running is pure in a way. The fastest wins. Simple. But if you are the fastest you had better enjoy it while it is there because age and time will rob you of this and so there had better be a another reason for your happiness. I still enjoy running (blah..blah...blah) but so many of my friends try to define my running by my being faster than someone else. That never was the definition of running as far as I was concerned. It has always been just being able to run that has defined the experience. At the beginning of running I always knew two things. One is that I would get much faster (and I did) and also that eventually I would get slower again (and I am doing that too). So today as I tooled around the West Valley Campus at an 8 minute mile pace it felt the same as when I used to run at a 6:30 pace. I felt fast and smooth and strong. But it didn't make me want to race. I just enjoyed the process.

At breakfast, after the run today, the talk was of heart disease and high school runners (coached by several of my buddies). Not much about us. Our running seems to no longer be the focal point.

Running is something we do. The fast running is done by others or we talk about dying. Not directly but indirectly. It's starting. Pretty soon all we'll be talking about is dying. I am just not there yet. The last time I looked I was still alive and ticking and running.

Quick 4

Ran a quick 4 miles this morning. Had to go early (for me) because of a 9 am breakfast meeting. Makes me wonder how I ever got up at 4:30 AM to go run 4-6 miles before going into work at Stanford years ago. Then a 12 hour day and back out for another run in the evening.

Gasp!

Well, I was motivated. Very, very motivated.

10 miles

I ran 10 miles today in two runs. One in the morning (my legs felt strong) and another in the evening with the club at the track. 400's at an easy pace with a few at the end to test my right foot.

WHAT! NO PAIN?

Yes. :-)

My foot felt good (MFFG). First time in almost 4 weeks.

Now why did my legs feel strong? No real fast stuff for weeks now. I feel like I am coming around.

"Truly for some nothing is written."

Fun Running

I realize as I spend time reading Cool Running and a few other forums that most runners either have little talent or the drive to make running anymore than a small part of their busy life. I can't say I blame them. Balance is OK. In a way I have slipped down the ladder as far as commitment is concerned. In the 70's it seemed like everyone who ran was trying to get faster. I know that wasn't totally true but the "we're all winners" concept was not in full force.

I mostly run every other day

I have really lost intererst in running hard.

I don't run races much anymore. When I do go, I wear my HRM and don't go over 90% which is at best a tempo run. Also I don't have to sandbag before or after a race. I know I am not going to run hard so no excuses are needed.

I don't particularly want to coach, especially kids. Way too flakey just the way I was at their age. Ju-Nut did me in with her lack of focus and commitment. She is running this year but slower than last. She has run through coaches who care more than she does so one is pushing her. If she runs at BYU, either her commitment will need to change or she'll be a bench wafrmer and in running that isn't good.

Marathons are futher away from me than climbing Everest. I have no plans on climbing Everest.

All in all, I feel OK about where things are these days. I was fast on a local level. I had my time. I have slowed faster than the curve and won't and can't do anything about it. I am faster than almost all my peers from the 1970's and early 80's and generally slower than the runners in my age group who came up much later (fresher legs).

So from here on out (seriously now) it's long slow running with club runs or races at sub-AT or AT efforts. If I get faster than I am right now by going down this path, then fine. If not, the inevitable will happen anyway. Age is a relentless competitor and always wins.

Big Loops: The Winter Route

What a day off and some advil can do...LOL

This morning I went out and ran a winter route which basically means streets and the local track (many big loops). It the type of course I will have to run when the rains come. I was out about 80 minutes with my HR around 140 BPM on average.

My legs felt much better than they did Saturday afternoon. The soreness was pretty much gone and I was able to run tirelessly (whatever that is).

Beat Up

Saturday afternoon my left hip and my left leg hurt. I had taken a cold water shower to soak my legs but as the day wore on I realized that I was beat up so I finally gave in and took some ibuprofen and about an hour later I felt much better.

On Sunday I woke up and hopped out of bed (yes, hopped). Everything seemed ok.

Probably a combination of the Tuesday-Wednesday back to back, running a bit harder than normal on Wednesday evening and also running the harder effort on Saturday. I will try to avoid this triple header in the future. Once again (yawn) i run best when I take it very very easy during the week and run something a bit faster on the weekend. Slower is better. I can never do enough slow stuff.

Triangle

The club ran the Triangle course (4.76).

After warming up for 3 miles I decided to pace Jake. The conditions were bordering on cool but the sky was clear. If there was any wind, I didn't notice it. Jake took off fast and I didn't really catch up to him until we were out of the college and heading down Fruitvale. My HRM was in the 150's pretty quickly but stayed there for about a mile and half. On Saratoga the course begin to climb very lsightly and so did my HR. It still stayed in the high 150's all the way to Highway 9 where the hills get steep. Then it gradually climbed into the 160's and stayed there up the long hill. Jake ran a pretty even effort because my HRM did not vary much once we settled in to a section of the course. Tim had passed Jake just past the mile and gapped him but gradually Jake made up the difference and by the time we turned on Fruitvale with a little over a mile to go, Jake really began to push and my HRM repsonded by going up to 171-173 which is 85% of my max. Tim seemed to sense it and pushed too. I just stayed back slightly watching these two duel it out all the way down to the college. 23 years ago this would have been at a sub 5 pace but these days it was sub 7, BUT IT LOOKED THE SAME.

Finally Tim pulled away but only slightly and I glided up next to him and we finished together with Jake a few seconds back.

For me this was at best an 80-85% run but that was OK. It fit in well with how I wanted to run. Sub-AT.

Afterwards we jogged slowly around the campus so the day's total was around 9.5 miles.

Unremarkable 5 miles

5 miles today in the late morning. It was unremarkable except that the fall wearther is not here yet. It was warm and going up to 80. I ran very easily. My right foot is still bothering me especially when I toe off so I am surrounded at last and have to stick to slow running (or just stop running). If i keep relativel;y flat footed (as in slow running) it doesn't bother me much at all.

I am still running and that is what counts.

Back to Back

I ran another 8 miles today. 4 in the morning and 4 more in the afternoon with the club. Actually I felt OK even with the 10-8 back to back. The weather is (was) beautiful. Clear sunny conditions. Cool in the AM and warm in the afternoon. I stayed close to Stacy in the afternoon and got in a decent sub-tempo type workout.
3 x 1600 in under 8 minutes with two in the low 7:30's. Maybe this isn't the race workouts I should be doing but right now but I love this type of running. Easy is very easy and hard is not really that hard.

I am out tinning the Tinman. Well, sort of.....

Ray and Dimitri, in the quest for the 5:20 mile ran a 4 minute 1200 meter trial. of course Dimitri ran a hard workout the day before, sure that he would recover. He didn't and he had to push the last lap to hit his time. Ray could have gone on around the bend which is the true nature of this effort. The feeling that you could have gone on a bit. Ray felt it but Dimitri admitted that he was used up.

My right foot is better but still aches now and then. I notice that my almost departed toe problems have caused some residual issues with my right leg but the easy running will bring it back to normal. So right now I am being very careful. No choice. Can't force my way through this. Not at this point.

Drifting

Monday...OFF. Had to do an all day offsite.

Tuesday: Doubling up. 10 miles today in two runs (5-5)

I will run on Wednesday. I GIVE myself permission because I took two day off prior to today.

I feel like I am drifting again. The mile didn't take hold. Just doesn't grab me anymore. I should know the obvious. I don't want to compete. I just want to run and now and then test myself at 90% of max.

I have known this for 11 years.

Cool Running...The marathon is back with a vengeance but this time no more Mr. Nice Guy. No, this time it's Mr. Mediocre. I always figured we were pretty clueless back in the day but these guys (and gals) are worse. They have more information at their fingertips than we ever had but they don't access it. Two marathons in a three week period. God! The eternal rush to make sure that the world is well stocked with 4-5 hour marathoners. Reading their posts is painful. Only my buddy Jim and this Sun Raider guy make any sense but no one listens to them.

The good news is that unlike flying and climbing Everest they only hurt themselves.

Pop!

I went to to see Big Bill, my chiro on thursday. My big toe on my right foot was "out" of alignment. It was causing a strain on the whole foot.

Bill asked me what the hell I had done (lol) and then he popped the toe back in place and as soon I came down off the ceiling I could actually walk again without limping. The toe is still very sore but I ran an easy 4 miles on Friday and did not push during 8 miles of running on Saturday. I paced Jake through 3 x 1600 in 6:56-6:55-6:48 and the only time I felt any discomfort was when Jake picked it up on the last lap of a rep.

So how did this happen?

I finally figured out that it must have been when I stubbed my toe several weeks back we moved back in to the house after it was painted. I hit (stubbed) my big toe against a piece of furniture that had been moved during the process. I was barefoot so I must have really slammed it.

My right foot

This morning I chugged through a slow 5 miles. In the late afternoon I did another 5 with the club but I did not run anything hard. My legs felt GREAT! but I am still having some issues with my right foot. The good news was that I had no problems scooting along at a a sub 8 minute pace chatting with Stacy about weird movies. I just didn't put the pedal down. I will see Tarr my chiro on Thursday. I think something in that foot is out of alignment.

Not doing speedwork feels good though.

Dimitri, as always brings up the sub 6 minute mile which I just don't care about that much.

I am on my new quest which is "Joeness". More on that later.

Seascape

My wife and I escaped to the coast for a Sunday-Monday mini-vacation. We stayed at Seascape or as I like to call it Sea Escape (pun intended).

On Monday I ran a 72 minutes on my big loop around the lodge and adjacent dog park. It takes roughly 20 minutes a loop and much of it is soft trail. So three times around and then I scooted around the big oval at the dog park several times to make 72 minutes.

I passed my wife on loop number 3. She whistled at me and later told me that I looked slow. I would have taken it personally but I was running slow. HRM mostly in the 130-140 range.

Dinged Up

I ran 5 miles in the morning Friday and another 9 miles on Saturday. My legs feel good. Not tired at all. But I am dinged up. My right instep and my back both were bothering me. So even though I haven't rested, I have stayed away from anything hard.

No complaints. Dimitri thinks I was all set up to run the quintessential 6 minute mile and now I have lost my way. From my perspective (500 plus races and a thousand or more hard workouts) I am glad just to be still running. It's just not all about racing for me. As a matter of fact it's just not about racing at all. I am 61 and I am glad just to be running and enjoying the sport. Being the last runner standing is more zen than anything else. It is a meta answer to why I run.

I you don't get this I can understand why. I didn't years ago, or I really did get it years ago and lost it amid competition and striving for big goals. Nowadays, it's being there.

Sometimes that is at races. Most of the time it is me, alone, running. Just like it was in the beginning back in 1968 when I headed out my door and ran 2 miles to my friend's house. I just called him and told him I was on my way and would he drive me home.
That began it.

First Rain

The first mini-storm hit yesterday. My morning 4 mile run was fine but but my so called late afternoon track workout was a done in a steadily inceasing drizzle turning to showers. I had planned to run 2 x 800 at 5 seconds under pace but I ended up whimping out and just running medium easy for 5 miles. The track was slick and I felt as if I were running on a surface that had been lathered in butter. I know...I know...It's an all weather track so it may have been "in" my head rather than "on" my feet.

9 mile day.

70 minutes

Another good night of sleep. I was out by 8:30 AM running for about 70 minutes. It was cool and overcast so I had to drive the pace to get up in my HR range.

It may rain this week so that will be a big change. My railroad track route muddies up and can be rather nasty once it gets soaked. It's not so much the mud but rather the small rocks that I am constantly kicking up into my shoes. Pretty soon I am running with a layer of gravel between my socks and my insole.

Not fun.

Haven't heard from DC - He of the one hundred mile weeks. I would guess my email saying I wanted to hear about races not how many miles he and his wife were running may have sent the message. I am just not impressed with miles. I am impressed with results. Otherwise why else run 100 mpw?

8 hours zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz:-)

Slept 8 hours last night. Usually Amber (our Golden) comes in and nudges me around 6:30.

GET UP, she is saying.

But she slept in too.

Rain may be coming next week.