Time Trial

I met Jake over at WVC and we ran a 3 mile warmup. My goal (like last week) was to pace him through a 3 mile time trial. It was on the cold side but no rain or wind. Jake led the first two laps and just took himself out too fast. I just loped along off his shoulder. By mile one (7:40)I could see he was struggling and I stepped up next to him. My HR was in that same 75-77% of max that it was last week.
By the middle of lap number 8 Jake told me that he was tired and that he would drop out for lap and then step back in. I just kept going basically staying in the same heart rate range.

Jake came right back in after I had run another lap and he was obviously feeling very recovered. AT lap 12 I was 23:34 which was 22 seconds faster than last week with an overall similar HR. Jake wanted to go on a lap to get in his 12 so I turned off my HRM and ran another lap at his pace which was basically faster than what either of had been running.

Afterwards we warmed down about 1.5 miles around campus. I felt stong and Jake didn't tie up so we were both happy.

My total mileage was around 7.5-8 (not sure). My HR during the trial was in the 158-162 range with a few spikes up around 164-166 but it didn't stay there long and always dropped back in that 75-77% range even though my pace did't vary much.

75 minutes

I made it early (for me). 7:40 AM...UGH! Basically my run was dry. The rain held off. I did a course that usually takes 80 minutes but got back in about 75 with my HR in the 140-144 range. My ITB bothered me so I wore a Pro-Tech strap which seemed to help. The big thing is that after the run I felt almost nothing.

Used Endurathon before the run. I didn't seem to feel any negative side effects. The Captain of Recovery tells me this should help.

The Rains Came (again)

I made the right decision to run Saturday instead of Sunday. The rains and wind came in last night and were still blowing this morning. Of course it is supposed to rain on Monday so I will get caught in it anyway. I am not that big a wuss. I will go out in it anyway. The rain doesn't bother me that much. It's the wind. That will keep indoors if it is blowing hard. I just don't have enough sail to navigate.

Dwight's been running indoors more often than not but he is in Colorado and winters can be tough in Fort Collins. 2 hours on the treadmill. Ugh!

I don't think I am motivated enough to do that. I would just lay back and wait for the weather to clear up. A big change from the old days.

Another Glacial Run..But......

Another cool morning. 38 degrees. Not Green Bay cool. Not even Maine cool. Just Bay Area cool. I drove over to the club workout after downing a tankard of coffee. Warmed up 3.25 miles, ran Farwell with Tom which was another 3.5 miles and then warmed down a mile. 7.75 miles in all.

The pace of Farwell was not very fast. My glide along "I don't want to hurt" pace is glacial these days. But (and this is the big B-U-T) if I age grade the run it is like running a 6:48 pace in the old days. The run today felt very much like that sort of run. 6:48 was my old gliding along pace (actually 6:45-7:00 was the range of that sort of run).

I don't mean to beat the age grading thing to death. It's just what it is.

To Hell With It

After a day of rain it cleared up this morning but was cold and windy. I did the old "should I wait until later to go out" but finally decided to hell with it. I would go early (or relatively early). I was out well before 9 am and ran for 60 minutes and felt good throughout. The ITB bothered me slightly (will this thing never go away???). I kept my HR around 138-142 most of the way. For once this was not a ten minute pace, 6 mile run. It was closer to 7 miles and despite the scorching 8 pace workout on Wednesday I had obviously recovered.

I did not take Metabol today. I am awaiting the shipment of Dwight's magic 4 to see if they help me recover or that at least I get a decent placebo effect from the stuff.

I haven't decided yet whether I will run Saturday or Sunday this weekend. If it is based on weather than it has to be Saturday because it is slated to rain on Sunday morning.

Pacing Chores

I got up early and drove over to Los Gatos High School to meet Jake. We warmed up 3 plus miles on the old dam run course and then went to the track and ran 3 miles. Jake wanted me to pace him to an 8 pace (Whoa, how the mighty have fallen). We pretty ran right on pace the whole way but picked up the last mile a bit to get in under 24:00 flat. My watch showed 23:55 and Jake was a second behind. The good news was until the last lap my HRM hovered in the 75-77% of max range so I was while the run could not be classified as easy or true recovery, it never approached hard. I never heard audible breathing except for Jake's.

I may go to the track again tonight and do some strides but that will depend on the weather.

Feeling better but not there yet....

Today was close to incredible. Bright sun and slight wind. Temperatures hovered in the low 60's.

I ran once in the morning and again in the mid afternoon while covering 45 minutes each time. Another day of Metabol. My legs feel good. Must be what Dimtiri calls the placebo effect. When I compare these runs versus a week or two ago, I would have to say that I feel stronger but I am not there yet. I am not tracking my per mile pace today but focusing on heart rate. Both runs were in the 140's so I was pushing a bit harder but not feeling exhausted like before. Anyway, 90 minutes broken up into two runs. Very digestable workout.

On Wednesday Jake and I are supposed to meet in Los Gatos and do a time trial 3 miler on the track. I hope we'll take a Bowerman approach and do the first one at a pace we can easily handle and then over time we can bring the pace down closer to 10K pace (whatever that is these days). It should be a great deal slower than our sub 16 minute 3 miulers we did back in the 1970's and 80's.

Captain of Recovery

After another two days off I went out and ran around 9.5 miles with the club including the 4 mile plus warmup and the 5.4 mile Valentine's Relay. I stayed in the back and ran my Big Jim Myers really stayed slow until the last 1.5 when Jim began to pick it up. The run was mostly 70-75% of max but it moved up to AT after that.

I took Metabol before and after to see if it would help my recovery. My legs felt Ok throughout and they felt really decent after sitting at breakfast for 90 minutes. Probably a placebo effect. I have consulted with the "Captain of Recovery" (Dwight) about what he uses and ordered some "secret" stuff on-line. A 60 year old guy who can run 80-100 mpw for years on end without breaking down must know something so I will try it out and see what comes of it.

Back at it....

After taking 3 days off I finally went out Wednesday and ran a double workout. I ran 4 miles in the mid afternoon then drove up to the club workout and ran another 5 miles with 8 x 100 striders. I would not say that my legs felt rejuventated but they did feel more spunky than last Saturday.

Only a few people showed up for the workout. I guess this was mostly due to Valentines Day. I was off the hook because Sue had a medical procedure mid day and I promised I would fend for myself for dinner. She conked out and napped away most of the mid to late afternoon. I had covered the marriage bases though by buying her a quart of Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream. She had gotten mne gigantic slab of Hershey's Chocolate. So there are fatty calories waiting silently, in our home, for us to consume them.

My ITB bothered me after the run so I went after it with Advil, Ice and more Advil.

3rd Day

Tuesday: 3rd day without running. My legs feel good again. Little or no soreness (at all). I looked at the Advil. What was that for? It is obviously that I needed to rest. Well, at least it is obvious now. Of course a non runner would have said it to me long ago.

What would life be like without running? It's only been since 1968. A few stops for injury and a few more for colds or the flu. But basically I have been a runner forever or so it seems. In the meantime works closes in again. A new client. Interesting work. The HR VP has gone native. It happens. You lose persepctive. "Heart of Darkness" way up the river. Eventually they have to send people after you to bring you out.

Walkin'

I walked 63 minutes today starting around noon. I probably covered 4 miles. The way my legs have felt lately this was better than another drag-ass run.

Amber our 11 year old golden joined me for the first part of the walk. Now, several hours later, she is laying on her bed, conked out and dead to the world. Well at least until I get up and go for the fridge.

Dead Legs

What a strange day. My legs were dead throughout 9.5 miles of running. I ran with Tom W who told me his legs were dead too and then at breakfast Jake told me that his legs were beat up. So 3 old guys (OK, well veterans) all have an off day. The weather was not bad. Drizzle and rain but not cold or windy. Since the general trend of late has been a very slow pace with dead legs, something is not working very well. My ability to recover seems to be compromised.

So (once again) does this mean (1) stay the course, (2) take time off completely from running, (3) shift to a 3 day running week or (4) go to ground zero and do a rebuild but wihtout taking time off.

It means something. Aging, yes but more. The slope has been pretty slippery lately.

The Track Was Mine

Work intervened in my life and blew away my morning run. I finally got out for 45 minutes (give or take) in the mid afternoon. It alternately rained and drizzled but I have to admit that it felt good just getting out there. I ran my usual 5 miler covering 4 laps on the track.

The track was mine! On a Friday afternoon with crummy weather, no one was out there. So I just cruised. Where was P.E. Bitch now? Hiding no doubt from the rain. It was my 23 hours.

"Sorry, but I will be needing the whole track for the next 10 minutes." Of course all of this would have been more impressive if my pace resembles real running but as usual, it was little more than a jog. My HR was consistently in the 125-135 range. I am getting way too use to it.

But this is it. Slow pace daily jogs and test AT runs every month for the most part.

Getting out ahead of the rain

It was supposed to rain today. It may have rained someplace but around here it drizzled but never really got going. I was sipping my coffee this morning thinking about how it was going to rain and how quiet the sky was at that moment and I realized that I should just get out the door and run right then.

So I did.

90 minutes of easy running later I was back at the house and the only real change was that the wind had picked up slightly and some dark clouds were gathering thickly over the coast hills. The run went well enough but once again I felt a bit beat up the rest of the day.

My body doesn't really want to do this right now and I am sort of forcing it to go out every other day and run anyway. But what it feels like is that it wants is a big break.

Still, I burned off 800-900 calories and that may be the last reason I still run.

I have renewed my email dialogue with BIG D in Colorado. He of the 100 mile weeks at age 60. He is still on the quest for the holy grail. I told him that when Galahad found the Grail, he and it disappeared.

The Afternoon Show

I waited until 3 pm to head out. The weather was incredible. Low 60's and windless. I jogged at a slow (SLOW) pace staying out for almost 90 minutes. I guess this qualifies as a long run. It certainly wasn't tough but it did make me feel creakly later on in the evening and into the next morning. Finally I took some advil and felt better within 30 minutes. Cheaper than a massage and a visit to Big Bill (Chiro).

Tennis Court Loops

I drove over the club workout this morning. It was cold again (at least for the Bay Area). Mid to high 30's. Double gloves, wool cap and tights. I warmed up slowly with the club for 3 miles and then struck out on my own for another 3. The club was doing the tennis court relays which is two man teams with each runner doing 4 x .66 each. I joined Tom W. for his last 3 and paced him through averaging 4:24 or thereabouts.
It was rough for Tom but easy for me. I stayed on the aerobic side of lactic acid at a 6:40 pace which if I age-graded it was like doing a 5:16 pace in my prime.

The reason I was able to do this was because I ran really easy all week with Wednesday being particularly slow and dismal. So like it or not, there is no pace so slow that it does not help to make my legs feel decent.

If I go up to the DSE run next Sunday and run a 5K AT run my plan is to make this a down week and go in very rested.

Short 5: 40:27

This was it. I ran my short 5 in 40:27. A good sign that something is still there if I leave it be. I kept my HR in the 145-148 range. The track was clear of PE classes. Just a golf class hovering around the edge and "Samurai" Runner screaming towards me with each lap. No matter which way I run he seems to be coming right at me. I always give him the inside of the inside lane. A brief gesture with my hand says "You have the inside!" It is unerving but I am getting used to it.