Running coming to a track near you

It's almost 2013 but then you know that. I am walking 60-90 minutes 3-4 x a week. Most other days are around 30 minutes. My knee is on the mend. Still some residual stiffness but I mostly feel that after long periods of sitting even with my legs stretched out. My plan is to introduce some very short periods of running during my walks. When I say short, I mean (((short))). 5-10 seconds in each minute after a suitable warmup. Over January and February I'll extend the runs until they engulf the walks. Hopefully by the end of February I'll be good to go. If it takes longer, that'll be okay too. Go where (as in good to go)? I have no idea. Just being able to run again. It's been about three months since I last took a normal albeit slow jog.

Surgery

I had meniscus surgery a week ago. The surgeon took out about 10-15% of the meniscus cartilage in my right knee. I was up and walking right after the operation. My son and I drove to a Starbucks and I picked up a coffee and a scone. No pain until the painkillers wore off that evening but 3 Aleve and a shot of whiskey (call it the big NO NO) took the edge off the discomfort and by the next day I was fine. Knee was stiff, tight and swollen but I could hobble. The next day after that, I could walk around and two days later I was walking the dog.I am walking 60-70 minutes now. No running until January 2013. Doc said 3-4 weeks but I have decided to make sure I am totally healed up.

Meniscus Surgery

The MRI showed a tear in the white zone of the meniscus so no choice in the matter. I decided on arthroscopic surgery which will take place next Thursday. Doctor says I'll be running in 3-4 weeks. I'll probably just take the rest of 2012 off and start again in after new years. Until I start running, it'll be walking and rehab.

MRI

Saw an orthopedic doctor on Monday which led to me having an MRI on Tuesday. We're looking for a potential meniscus tear. Hopefully if there is one, it is small and can either heal on its own or via arthoscopic surgery. In any case I am out of running for quite a while.

Walking AND running

Been walking and running for the past several weeks. Usually 60-90 minutes 4 x a week with 30 minute "walking the dog" in between. Leg has good and not so good days. Nice case of tendonitis. Using cross friction massage over ligament.

Enuf said

Going off line until I can run again I am walking...enuf said.

Life of the walker

Walked 80 minutes on Thursday. The first 30 was with Lucy and the last 50 with Madelyn and Danny (after he had run Valle Vista). Wednesday and Friday were both 30-35 minute strolls with Lucy. My leg already feels better for NOT pounding it Thursday (aka running). As Madelyn stated, if you told her twenty years ago that eventually she would be walking on the track, she would have said we were nuts.

A Walker Again

I had to make a tough but smart decision which was to STOP running. The MCL ligament sprain was causing me to limp while walking. Funny ( not ha-ha ) that I could run with no pain but was gimpy just getting out of a chair. I figure if I kept going that it would effect my knee eventually. So I have shut things down for whatever period of time it takes to walk around with no pain at all. On a happier note: The A's overcame the Texas Rangers and have won the AL West. The Oakland Coliseum was sold out! Hard to believe. 13 games behind the Rangers in late June. Best record in MLB from June 30th onward. Bung Ho!

Go figure that one out

Another one legged run ;-) 73 minutes including some time with my buddy Danny. I got the deep tissue treatment yesterday and my leg was pretty sore but serviceable. Probably felt okay because I had taken two days off. Between the MCL ligament sprain and a sore knee, I am up against it. Most of the discomfort is when I first get up after sitting for a lengthy period of time. No pain while running. Go figure that one out. I think the massage has helped the MCL ligament and I am working the knee. Hopefully I can overcome this but if it persists then I'll take some time off.

In the meantime, incredible A's season. A team that was expected to lose 100 games is battling for the division title. It's a lot like the 2010 Giants.  Too bad the owner is such a no op but the GM, manager and players have come together. They're in the playoffs regardless but if they win the division it'll be the million volt shocker of the season. Enjoying this immensely.

Ken Napier RIF 1932-2012

Took it really easy today. Ran 38 minutes over at WVC while the club ran Valle Vista and celebrated and mourned Ken Napier's passing. The celebration part were stories about Ken. He certainly was one of my mentors and targets back in the 1970's. I chased him for five years (1972-77) before I finally beat him in a race. Of course he was the first to congratulate me. Madelyn made black ribbons which we all wore. Mourning...but while I'll miss him, I didn't feel too sad. Death freed him from his life, not a life, that he was living. In this case freedom was more important than life. RIF Rest in freedom

Blondes and brunettes

I know that this log is often repetitive. But that is what running is. Constant repetition and hammering day after day or in my case every other day to stay in some sort of shape. The only logs that contain my racing accomplishments reside in hand written log books and calendars that are in a box in the garage. At some future date someone will toss them out because they are really of little value to anyone but me and I rarely if ever read them. With that in mind, I take pen in hand.... Right.....cough...cough... Okay, keyboard in hand and share with whomever reads this, that I ran 70 minutes in the fog this morning, an hour of it with my buddy Danny. The tall blond was back tattooing her own pattern on the track. There was also a tall brunette running in lane five who almost ran us down (we were in her lane after all).

Another....

Another 70 minute run followed by five minutes of walking. Very slow. Danny ran most of the way with me. We circled interior loops on WVC. Pathetic and repetitive course but we like it. Tom was back walking pain free. Tall blond girl with long legs running on the track over striding big time.

107 minutes

Big minutes today. 30 minutes walking Lucy our 16 week old Golden followed by 77 minutes of running with 14 x 200 strides at an 8 pace with a 100 meter jog in between each 200. D kept the time of each 200. I was leg weary during the early stages of the run but got stronger as things progressed.

Lucy and I walked the path next to the track. First time doing this since Amber and I tread this same route in January of 2010. It was deja vous.

52 minutes

I took two days off after running Tuesday and Wednesday. This morning I ran the college for 52 minutes while the club did its workout which was half tennis court loops or .33 miles. I did a campus loop warm down with Danielle to cap off the run. The inside of right knee has been bothering me walking around but not when I run. It seems to be some sore of tendon or ligament issue.

Ice, ibuprofen and massage.

Lost and Found

A rare back to back during the week. I ran 72 minutes with 63 up in Edgewood Park and the Redwood City Hills. Rick, my running buddy got us good and lost but also got us found again as we finally ended up back at where we started right on time. He has a knack for doing both. This run had plenty of long hills both going up and coming back down.

72 minutes

72 incredibly slow minutes in the morning including an hour with Danny.

More striders

Ran an hour in the morning including 12 x 200 striders at Foothill with Dimitri.

Rogue Runner

I did an easy 45 minutes over at the college. The club was doing campus loops. Typical run. Not a great deal of pep. Slogged through and went to breakfast afterward. I have to change my approach. Recovery really stinks. Going to think this out. Time to go "rogue" again.

72 minutes

Ran 72 minutes around the neighborhood and then over at WVC with my buddy Danny. With Tom gone we stuck to loops on the campus. Pretty boring but it seems to suit us. Tom sent us an email. He's on the Yangtze River. It took him an hour to get on line. Slow boat. Slow connection. First day since having Xiaflex manipulation that my right pinky finger felt decent. The swelling was down ( not gone ) and I had a fair amount of flexibility.

Circle The Wagons!

Tom's in China and Danny locked his stuff in his other car. But we got in a run anyway. 70 minutes circling the wagons at WVC.

Dimitri Returns

Dimitri returned from two weeks in Toronto. We ran out and back on Moody Road  and then hit the track for 10 x 200 striders (100 jog).  Averaged around 55-56 with a few faster ones at the end. My total including a neighborhood dump run came to around 75 minutes. I generally felt pretty good. Better once we got to the striders. Dimitri's foot, while better, still is giving him issues. Now I am beginning to imagine using an Elliptigo to do the Moody Road part and then going to the track to do the strides. Less pounding.

I ain't quite there yet but I'll have to go test ride one.



Elliptigo

Is green my color?

65 minutes of running and walking

45 minute easy run around the neighborhood and DeAnza College. The football field is in but the track is not. Still looks like a war zone. Right after my run I walked with Lucy for 20 minutes. It all counts. Lucy had her head up and tail out. She seemed happy.

 

Last ride and 70 minutes

Got back to 70 minutes this morning with Tom (on the bike) and Danny. Tom's last ride for a couple of weeks because he and his wife are headed to China on vacation. Beijing, Shanghai and up the Yangtze river on a cruise. My running continues to be slow and slower. "There is no bottom'" as my friend John once said so eloquently when bottoming out at 18 minutes and change for a 5k. But we're out there. Maybe that counts for something or maybe we should be walking.

59 minutes and Xiaflex

I ran 59 minutes this morning. Danny, Tom and I met early so we could run and get in breakfast before I had to drive up to Stanford Hospital (Redwood City Campus) to get treatment for my retracted pinky on my right hand. Xiaflex is what it's called and while the treatment has had good success it is still a roll of the dice. If it works I'll get full mobility and useage of the little finger again. I'll know in a week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xifddtvuy0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

60 minutes solo

I did a 60 minute solo run in the morning with most of it over at the usual place (WVC). Threw in 10 x 200 strides in 55 avg with 100 meter jog after each one. Felt stronger than last week. I definitely felt like I could have run more but decided to be smart about it. 7:20 pace isn't very fast compared to what I used to do but these days it's faster than I normally run so who am I joking. Age graded it's a 5:30 pace (gulp).

Thursday and Saturday

I ran 70 minutes on Thursday morning with Danny and a still injured Tom (on his bike). On Saturday, I did another 67 minutes mostly running with Walt and later Danielle. Both runs were primarily over at WVC (b-o-r-i-n-g). The club was doing tennis court loops. I stayed away as usual even though Mike Krey, one of our club members was trying to tell me (between gasps) how much fun the workout was. My right foot was taped and I had the compression sleeve on my left calf. The sleeve was strictly for caution's sake because I felt a slight tightness warming up around the neighborhood. My knee felt slightly tweeked but it loosened up as I ran. Finally took some ibuprofen when I got home. Was really creaky.

Eked out 72 minutes

I eked out 72 minutes this morning at West Valley. Tom was on his bike and Danny slogged alongside me for much of the way. Tom did try a tennis court loop on his "new" foot but it didn't work out. The pain was still there. He stopped about at around a half mile. Tough deal for him. I think we all hoped that last week's cortisone shot would be magic but I guess at a certain point there is no more magic. Just slogging. Tom is heading off to China late next week so until then I think it'll be the bike, walking and no running until he gets back. My right foot cramped up a bit too but I did have the big massage yesterday and I had her work on the plantar and arch. It let up after a while I was able to run without discomfort.

Sleep, perchance to dream....

I did a run over at WVC. around 60 minutes. The heart of the workout was 12x200 in 56-58 seconds with each 200 followed by a 100 meter jog. These aren't very fast nor are they intended to be. The goal is simply to reintroduce my legs to faster running. The one caveat is that I am burning the candle at both ends. I'm not getting enough sleep. Lucy our Golden Retriever puppy wakes up early and that's that. On a rare occasion I have put her out and tumbled back into bed but for five weeks that's been the exception. Six hours of sleep a night ain't enough. Naps help but not much. I am going to have to go to bed earlier ( some retirement....I love staying up late ) or Lucy's gonna have wait longer to rouse the household. Or..... Doggy sleeping pills......

Social Running

I ran an easy 62 minutes over at WVC. The club ran 200's but I stayed away and ran social loops chatting with various runners and doing a campus loop warm down with Danielle.

Another 70

Dropped another 70 minutes over at WVC with Danny and Tom. Overcast and cool. Tom was still on the bike but got a cortisone shot Tuesday. Foot pain is goners.  He's heading off to China on vacation in several weeks so he plans to start running after he gets back. 

Back door run

More of the same. Tom riding and Danny and I running (slow). 70 minutes total. Ran the campus and also reverse short six cutting in through the back door into the campus.

50 minutes plus strides

Took it easy today. 50 minutes total. I included 10 x 200 meters strides with a 100 jog after each. 55-58 seconds on the strides. I might have run further but I got talking to a friend and when I was finished chatting I decided to call it a day.

62 minutes

Saturday is my club run even though I rarely run with the club except for a warmup and warmdown.
Small crowd because most of the faster runners were over in Santa Cruz for the first XC race of the season. I ran a tired legged 62 minutes. Danielle ran the club run and then we warmed down around campus afterward. By that time I felt pretty good.

Very slight swollen gland in my throat. It's a warning. Not getting enough sleep (LUCY...She's the best!) but that will work itself out over time as she matures. Right now her internal alarm goes off at 6:15 every morning. I need to gradually reset it to 7 AM.

Tues and Thurs

Ran an easy 70 minutes each day. Tom rode his bike. Danny absent because he was over with his XC girls starting up the season. Dealing with floaters in my right eye. They seem to be getting better. Lucy is letting me sleep through the night. She still gets up to early but then what is a ten week old puppy supposed to do...

70 minutes in Los Altos

Today was going to be another heater so I got out early and ran 70 plus minutes, most of it with Dimitri. We went up and back on El Monte and then went to the track and did 200 stride, 100 job eight times. The 200 strides are really soft. Just about an eight pace. Faster than training pace but way off so called race pace. I can't hammer my way to quickness anymore so I'll do more and more laying off pace and see how my body holds up.

More icing, taping and message for the PF. It didn't bother me at all while I ran so no complaints there.

Dimitri heads to Toronto (family) so I'll be on my own Sundays' for the next two weeks.

Don Rebal

The club workout was a track relay but I stuck to my usual easy jog. 62 minutes total. Caught up with Don Rebal an old friend from the glory days when I was a 33 minute 10K runner and Don was a 2:09 half miler. Between the run and breakfast, we had plenty of time to catch up. The weather was unusually cool. The fog had come in during the night. My right foot with all of its annoying issues held up okay. I taped it up and also ran it over a tennis ball to stretch out the PF.  Iced my foot when I got home.

72 plus 5

Ran 72 minutes, walked 5. Tom rode his bike and Danny ran. I felt strong but seem to have some soreness in my right foot. Need to be careful. Might be a mild case of PT. Admittedly it bothered me in the beginning but felt better later on. Doing the usual. Taping, ibuprofen, stretches. I will add in ice. The battle continues.

The Three Runtateers

I ran ten minutes around the "hood" before heading over to WVC for a 60 minute run with Danny. While I was waiting Tom showed up on his bike. It wasn't much of a workout for him but he rode with us while we jogged. We figured he probably burned a calorie every time he squeezed the brakes. The good news is that we worked out together.

The Three Runtateers!

We were dreadfully slow but still covered 60 which was our goal. We also walked 5 minutes for a warm down.

True North

I met Dimitri over at Foothill College. We ran an easy 45 minutes up El Monte Road and back. With the rest of my "secret" running I was at 62 minutes when we hit the track. We then ran 6 x 200 easy striders each followed by a 100 meter jog. So the total must have been north (TRUE NORTH) of 70 minutes. Strange weather for summer morning. Overcast and cool. My legs actually felt good. D noticed that I was picking up the pace heading back to the college. Nothing fast but non the less, the "I have a new puppy and am not getting enough sleep" legs seemed for the moment, not to be a problem.

58

A very easy 58 minute jaunt with various other runners while watching the club workout. Feets don't fail me now. Things seem okay at last since I switched back to my expensive street shoes. Thank friggin' bejesus because the last 8-9 months have not been a picnic. But I am still standing and that means something.

Good Will Hunting

68 minutes easy running around WVC. Danny and Tom joined me. Tom's right foot is injured. He's thinking about taking some time off. Probably will walk while we run. My own foot problems seem to be much better. Don't think it was the running shoes but rather my street shoes. If I wear the soft leather Santoni loafers from my Imelda Marcos collection I am fine but when I wear the heavy leather, downtown Palo Alto shoes, my foot hurts. So they're going to Good Will.

70 minutes

I jogged an easy 70 minutes today. My right foot seemed okay. I used tape, Advil, ice and Capsaicin. The unholy alliance of old runners magic that kept my foot together for another day. Both my running buddies, Danny ( lower back ) and Tom ( ball of his right foot ) ran injured. Tom walked when it got too tough but then would have no problem catching up with us. It occurred to me that our pace was so pedestrian ( sorry for the use of a big word ) that Tom could have walked most of the workout today and with only 3-4 brief 30-60 second runs caught right back up with us.

65 minutes at Foothill

Did a run from Foothill College up El Monte Road and back to the college. Then ran 5 laps on the track jogging 100 and cruising 100. 65 minutes altogether. D joined me for most of the workout.
We ran into Ellen Clark, Bill Clark's wife. She was motoring up El Monte as we were coming back. We chatted for a minute or so. Bill was one of America's best runners in the late 1960's and early 1970's plus he was a dominating force in NorCal road racing throughout the first running boom.

Thursday and Saturday

Thursday: Ran 68 minutes with Tom at WVC. Tom is having foot problems. Had to walk several times.

Saturday: Ran 67 minutes with Tom, Scott Graham and Brian Conroy while the club did their own workout. Scott was pretty fast back in the day. Broke 30 minutes for 10K. Finished third behind Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers at Falmouth in the mid 70's.  I missed going to breakfast because Scott and I chatted in the parking lot.

Slow 67

I ran a very slow 67 minutes this morning. Dragging a bit because of Puppy duties (getting up at night to let her "go" out). But you know, those puppies have those earnest little faces so I am happy to help with the heavy lifting. Danny and Tom were happy to run my glacial pace. Tom did taunt me at times by walking alongside us to show exactly how slow we were going. We did pass a number of runners but that was because they were going in the opposite direction :)

Sleep deprived 60 minute run

Got a lot less sleep last night with Lucy the Golden Retriever pup now adjusting her new regime. Maybe 4-5 hours sleep. UGH!

I ran 15 minutes around the neighborhood  to shake out the cobwebs and then jogged up Moody Eoad with Dimitri because there was some big Asian festival that had taken over Foothill Track. The good news is that parking was free. There is also a nice dirt path next to Moody so we were able to run soft surfaces up and back (40 minutes). Then we did some 30 second striders on another dirt path adjacent to the track. 60 minutes in all.

Another little issue

I went to the doctor yesterday. I have been coughing up a storm for the past several weeks and suspected that something wasn't right. Turns out I might have a lingering case of bronchitis. He put me on some meds. Said I could run but to take it easy. I did 70 minutes Thursday running the last 60 with Danny. I am not coughing as much today even though the medication makes me tired (not that I am complaining). It would be nice to be healthy again. Lucy coming this weekend. Got to be on my toes.

I don't have a photo of her yet but she'll look something like this.

Reset

On Monday I drove up to the chiro and had my foot looked at. Turns out that both the talus bone and ankle were out so he adjusted them. I could hear an audible "pop" when he adjusted the ankle. My foot was pretty sore afterward but today I went out for a 60 minute easy run at WVC with Danny, and nothing hurt. Hopefully I have put this behind me for now. I can't complain too much. It is only the third time it has gone out.

Talus Bone Out????

I ran early. 65 minutes. Right at about 60 minutes the right foot started to act up again so I shut things down after another five minutes of walking and running. Twice before my talus bone in my right foot has gone out. This may be what it is. In each case my chiro has popped it back in and I have been able to run with no further issues. I am seeing him Tuesday so he can check it out then.

60 minute walk

60 minute walk over at WVC while the club ran 5K on the track. I plan to run on Sunday.

Test Run

Using the Lydiard lacing pattern on my shoes, I was able to get in 60 minutes of pain free running and another ten minutes of walking. Danny mostly walked while Tom and I ran. I shut things down at an hour of running just to be on the safe side. After all it was three days of running in the last four.

TOOOOO Tight!

I ran for 50 minutes this morning but then my right foot started to cramp up and I had to limp the final ten minutes back to my car. I realized later that my new running shoes were laced way too tightly. The pain went away as soon as I put on my older shoes. I did a few strides and the pain was gone. I just needed to re-lace the new shoes. Hopefully the problem is solved.

 

Golden Gate Park

I drove up to Golden Gate Park to run and have breakfast with Rick. I did 10 minutes beforehand and then we ran 55 minutes together. Up JFK to the DeYoung Museum and around Stow Lake and then back to the start/finish which was the south end of the Polo Fields. Cool, overcast and breezy.

Walking

I drove over to Foothill College and walked for an hour. Dimitri showed up and ran for 30 minutes. His foot finally seems to be on the mend. He is committed to the Vibrams. Hopefully he does not have a re-occurrence.

I walked the old Fun Run mile course remembering that the last time I did it was in the high 4:40's some thirty odd years ago. Much slower today.

70 minutes

The usual 70 minutes over at WVC. Ran mostly with Tom who is going to race the Bang Mile tomorrow. Danielle joined us for part of the run. My legs felt really good. For now, I am sticking to three days a week. I will walk on Sunday.

71 minutes

Another 71 minute run this morning over at WVC with Danny and Tom.  Danny was late and dropped early.  Well....as long as he was late then dropping early is okay in my book. We all made it to breakfast. Jake joined us and talked (more) about his high school XC program.

The weather has been incredible. Sunny and cool at the start. No big warmup.

The last three days

On Monday I hiked up in Edgewood park for an hour. I used to run up there. Plent of hills and trails ( of course ). Beautiful, isolated place. On Tuesday I ran 70 minutes with Danny and Tom over at WVC. Took a secret trail up to highway 9. Good hills. Ended up on the track running the last mile in 8 minutes. Had DOMS from Monday. Wednesday was an hour walk on the RR Tracks. Saw plenty of people walking their dogs. Spotted a barefoot runner out with his three legged dog. Soon Lucy and I will be walking that same path together. Another month or two.

Head Cold Upon Me

My annual head cold is upon me. I started to feel a sore throat coming on Saturday evening. The draining started yesterday (just when I thought I was out of the woods!). NyQuil induced sleep last night. I woke up this morning and felt like my brains were still lying on the pillow. I sipped coffee for an hour and gradually woke up. It would have been better if I had orange juice but I (((love))) coffee.

Won't run  until the weekend at the earliest.

AT Run

I decided to run Valle Vista with the club today. I had things to do today so running early was a good option. I haven't run anything approaching AT since May of 2011. I was realistic enough to hope to break 25 minute for the hilly 3 mile course. It roughly translates to 5k on the flats. I did a twenty minute easy warmup. The race itself went off as expected. The first mile is mostly uphill. My goal was to run 85-90% but my heart rate was rarely over 80% going up the hill. It felt odd to be running anything sustained. It had just been too long since doing anything resembling AT effort. Once I leveled off my HR gradually floated up towards 85% and frankly I decided to keep it at this level until I hit the downhill. I glanced at my watch around the two mile point. It was over 17 minutes. An all time PW ( personal worst ). I kept the effort going back down to the college and crossed in 24:36. About what I expected. Just like in the past, Tom's all out effort was faster than my AT. HE RAN 24:12. Tom and I jogged around campus for another 17 minutes. My total was 61 minutes and change. I didn't sleep well last night and frankly have not been sawing Z's like I prefer for the last week or two. For a retired guy, I ought to be sleeping like a puppy dog. Several things I have decided. 1. I am going to a three day running week. No big extra mileage. 60-90 minutes. I have been thinking about this for some time. Galloway recommends it and I think he is right. 2. I'll walk two other days. 60-90 minutes. 3. I get injured doing fast reps so I am going back to AT-Threshold work. I seem to tolerate it better. I'll test my AT every 3-4 weeks. I am not used to AT so I'll work at getting efficient running in the 85-90% range. If things work my AT will get faster. If not, then I'll continue as secret jogger.

70 minutes again..again..again...

The weather cooled down making this morning great running conditions. I did 70 minutes around campus and up in the hills with Danny and Tom (as usual).  Kept my HR under 140 but didn't feel as perky as I did on Tuesday. There is no rhyme or reason for feeling good or bad these days. Not that today was bad. No question that the biggest challenge is running no matter what.

Dictating an easy pace

Upping the ante. Ran 75 minutes this morning with the last 60 in the company of Danny and Tom. I kept my HR really low. 120-130. Danny was struggling and Tom has a minor case of DOMS from running Holy City last Sunday (read: BIG uphills and BIG downhills for 9.1 miles). So no one complained of the easy pace. I felt great. Ever since I just backed off, I am feeling much better.

Jake joined us for breakfast and he was beat to a pulp after running every day for the last 19 days straight. He fired his coach. Big lesson for me is to stop screwing around and just keep the runs easy. Once every week or so I can go do something fast but nothing where I can't recover.

Lucy my once and future running partner

This is Lucy. Well, she is somewhere in this brood of puppies. She'll show up in around six weeks and gradually become my new running partner. She doesn't know this of course. Born June 1st 2012. It's been two and half years since Amber "The Wonder Dog" passed on. I have missed her every day. Lucy will be a welcome addition to our family.

The Hansen's soda can was plopped down in the pen to show how tiny these pups are right now. My son, my wife and my son's girlfriend cooked up this as father's day surprise. I was just on the verge of talking to my wife about getting another dog.

I was preempted.

FARTHER'S Day

I ran farther than normal because I heard that it was FARTHER'S DAY. So I did a 78 minute round trip from my house up into Stevens Creek Park and back home again. Plenty of hills. Only later on did I find out it was FATHER'S DAY which I meant I should have been sitting home with a pipe and slippers watching sports on the TV. Interesting thing. There were two really steep portions. Nothing too long. Maybe 100 meters max on each but I found that I went up faster by walking them. My HRM stayed up around 135-140 on both sections. I kept my HR in the 130-140 range over the whole run. Doing this made the workout more enjoyable.

An hour with some pacing

WVC again. Ran the campus and track for an hour while the club did all courses day (meaning that the runners could race any of the road courses that are normally run during the year).

Danielle (I am coaching her) went to the track to run 2 x 800 in 3:05. I told her I would take her through the first lap at pace plus. I wanted her to run negative splits. On the first one we went through in 96 and she ran the next 400 in 82. After jogging around we did a second one. I took her through slightly faster hitting the 400 in 94. She ran an 84 on the second lap to ace a 2:58. We jogged a campus loop after.

Each time we hit 400 during the 800 meter reps, I thought about going on but decided not to. I doubt I could have matched her speed and frankly I was only too happy to just step aside. 94-96 felt easy enough after months of besieging 80 seconds.

Bowden

Danny and I ran over at WVC. Took it slow and easy for an hour. I also ran 15 beforehand from my house so I got in a total of 75 minutes. As we were cooling down we saw Don Bowden. Danny knows him and I have briefly met him in the last. He is quite a guy. First US runner to break the four minute mile barrier in 1957. I got a chance to talk with him before I drove down to breakfast. Humble but very knowledgeable guy. It was a real treat.

Pounding Cirlcles

Danny and I explored new levels of slow as we pounded out artistic circles with our feet as we ran around West Valley College. It felt cooler than Sunday.  My intention was to up the ante to 75 minutes but I failed miserably and stopped at my usual 70. Not out of exhaustion. Just because another five minutes (towards the end) seemed pointless.

Afterward we drove up to Menlo to see Big Bill for a chiro adjustment. Then we had the giant bowl of oatmeal at a nearby restaurant. At Bill's office they are starting to call Danny and I thing one and two.

Tom will be back on Thursday so I'll need to strap on the HRM to insure that I don't go over 70%.

66 minutes

Instead of going to the track I decided what I needed was an easy day out on the roads. I wore both the HRM and Garmin.  It was warm out (and going to be a hot day) so I knew that the HRM would tell me to slow down. I ran for 66 minutes and sure enough my pace dropped off sharply about half way through the run as my HR started to hit 70%. I fell just short of 6 miles over the first 60 minutes which means I grazed a ten pace. Reality sucks but after the run I felt good. So whatever pace it was, the run worked.

I have had a cough for the past month (no, it's not lung cancer). I get this cough whenever I am over training plain and simple. It is my DEW line. DEW standing for Distant Early Warming.  No new news here. This was something I dealt with back when I was a much faster runner. I may think I am not over training but the cough doesn't lie. I don't get sick. I just gradually get run down. THEN I GET A NASTY COLD.

The key for me is using the HRM or just running a heck of a lot slower than I really want to.

At 67, I can't really listen to my body because I don't hear it too well these days. Better to use tools that tell me when I am screwing up (or run woefully slow).  It's funny, when I do this, on the days I choose to run hard, the speed is there. Of course speed is relative these days.

70 minutes

70 minutes this morning. Never ended up doing the 800 meter trial I was planning. It was a combo of a twitchy hamstring and personal ambition. I passed on the 800, 1500 and 3000 and jogged around the track chatting with folks in between their events. Had fun joking around and generally being social. Danny ran the 800 and hit 3 flat. So did Bill in his 800 race. 3 flat seems to be the new 2 flat. Sort of like 60 is the new 40.

Route 66

Thursday was another Forbes Mill run. Jake and I ran the first loop together and then I ran the second loop by myself, letting Jake get a head start. All in all I ran 66 minutes total including my neighborhood shake out jog. Jake is running six days a week. He has good and bad days but is hoping that he will adjust. I still run 4-5 days. I am not sure I can really handle more than that. Physically I don't seem to recover.

Back to Forbes

After jogging for ten minutes around my neighborhood I drove over to Forbes Mill and did several loops with Jake. 26:44 on the first and 24:53 on the second. I ran an extra 6 1/2 minutes to get myself up to 68 total. Could feel the deep tissue work from Monday. Especially in the right hamstring. My running shoe, the Adidas Adapt is becoming extinct. I have Christine at Athletic Performance seeing if she can find me a few pairs through her channels. If not, it'll the "find the new shoe" game.

Track Reps

I went back to the track on Sunday morning. Second time time this week. I ran 40 minutes total. Sandwiched in there was some reps

1 x 200 in 37
1 x 300 in 59
1 x 300 in 37

Better than last weekend. I did add in a fifth day to burn calories since dieting bonks me.

On Monday I drove up to Menlo Park for my every two week massage.

55 minute social

Socialized my way through  55 minutes of running over at WVC.  This will be my second week of running 5 days if I get in a run on Sunday. Why am I running 5 days? Because there are two ways to drop weight. Cut calories or increase running and eat the same (or pretty much the same).. I don't want to do doubles so I have decided to run 5 days. This will get me up around 28-30 mpw. Nothing that big  but more than I have been running over the past few years. The last two weeks have been another lesson in "hurt" management. My left knee was bothering me. Then my right ankle. Big Bill adjusted my knee and that has been better. I iced and taped my right ankle and have been able to run without discomfort.

I talked to Tim Rostege today. At 72 he is slogging his way back into shape. We both have well over 100K on our legs. As Tim said, "It wasn't getting to 100,000 that was tough. The last 4,000 after that has been tough."

This is what 98, 304 pennies look like. There are days when my legs feel like 98,304 pennies.
This equals two cubic feet. In my case it equals two legs.

98,304 

Ninety-eight thousand three hundred and four Pennies
[ Two cubic feet ]
  

Too Slow 70

Ran over at WVC with Danny and Tom. I was still feeling the effects of yesterday evening's 3 x 400 workout. Danny, Tom and I ran slow. I thing Tom went a bit bizerk with the too slow pace. My HRM never topped 130 during the whole run.  It was the usual 70 minutes total but I doubt it was seven miles. Both my buddies are gone on vacation next week but Jake joined us for breakfast and said he would meet me to run over at Forbes.

Had a great lunch with Bob Anderson. He is on his crusade to run 50 races, 350 miles and a sub seven pace. He's 23 races in. He has slowly built up an 8 minutes cushion. At age 64 this is quite an accomplishment. Sub seven is like 5:24 at age 30. Just to give it some perspective.

http://www.alongrun.com/diaries.php


Bob and his son Michael

Crucible on the track...

I ran somewhere between 3-4 miles over at West Valley Track late this afternoon. Not really sure of the exact distance. My club was running 400's. I decided to jump in and run three of them. It was warm or so everyone kept saying. The first was the toughest. I was sucking wind the last straightaway. I had to rein in the pace. I thought I was going to lose it. Hit a gasping 85. I had simply gone out too fast. I went out much slower on the second one hitting 44 half way and pushed the last 200. This one was another 85 but I felt much (much) better. On the last 400 I ran even pace, felt strong and nailed 83. I thought about doing a fourth one but decided against it. I am hoping with constant effort that I'll get used to running 400's in the 70's. I have to accept that I have lost ground since last fall before I tweaked my hamstring and later on my calf. Age graded, it's like I ran in the 63-64 range. So given that perspective, I can't be too unhappy.

76 minutes

Ran 76 minutes this morning. Some of it alone but most of it with Danny and Tom. We ran the campus and the hills. A bit nippy at the start but it warmed up. I wore the HRM and kept it around 140 most of the run. Breakfast afterward.

Bonking

Ran 35 minutes today. I tried to run some rep work but frankly felt sluggish. I decided to cut it short. I have been dieting this week. Trying to lose five pounds over the next 4-6 weeks. That could be the reason I was bonking. I am going to have to take a longer approach to dropping weight. Can't run hard and diet. I think there are a couple of easier changes I can make in how much I eat.

Easy 53

Tom and I ran an easy 53 minutes while the club did tennis court loops.  My left knee has been bothering me. Tom's right knee has been bothering him. Quite a pair. No pain for either of us while running. Just getting up from the couch or out of bed. I wore the Protech knee strap just in case.

70-83

Ran 70 minutes this morning with Danny and Tom. We also threw in another 83 second 400. No strides beforehand. Just head down to the track mid run and push a 400. Would like this to be 80 in the same relaxed state that I now run 83. Just not there yet. Weather is incredible. 60's and almost no wind.

72 minutes easy

I ran 72 slow minutes with Danny on Tuesday morning. My legs were nicely sore from the deep tissue massage that I received on Monday. Danny was more than happy to go easy. Tom returns on Thursday so the HRM will go back on to make sure that we (I) don't train too hard. The key to my running anything fast even once a week is to run slow on the other days. While I regret the passing of the vaunted eight minute mile pace the truth is that I haven't done 8's on any sort of regular basis for well over twenty years. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi!

60 minutes

Danielle and I ran an hour over at WVC. The plan was to do a couple of quick 400's on the track but the gates were closed and locked. The maintenance crews had either fertilized or seeded the grass ( or both ). We settled for some striders.

83 second 400

I ran ten minutes in my neighborhood, better known as a dump run. Then I ran another 60 minutes over at WVC with Danny. We threw in a 400 in 83 seconds. Relaxed speed. It felt good. Danny said my form was great. Breakfast afterward.

70 minutes

Ken and Danny were my running mates this morning. My legs were still a bit stiff from Sunday but the weather and the course was nice enough. We ran tennis course loops, Saratoga-Douglas and on the track for an hour. I had done my usual ten minute warmup before. Afterward Danny and I drove up to see Big Bad Bill and have breakfast.

Dumb Run

Ran about 55 minutes. Sandwiched in there was the following: 2 x 100 17-18, 1 x 600 2:15, 1 x 200. 37, 2 x 100 17-16. The 600 was strange. A friend was reading my 400 split and I thought I heard him call out 95 ( I wanted 90 ) and I stopped and started to walk. My intent was to abort the run. Then I heard him call 90 and realized the error. At about 92-93 I started running again and ended up with a 2:15 thanks to a 37-38 second last 200. Probably would have been 2:10-11 without the hesitation halt just before the 400. Just plain dumb on my part.

59 minutes

Ran 59 minutes this morning mostly at WVC. Kept it easy as usual. Tomorrow is my quality day.

Form Check

This morning it was just Danny and me trudging around WVC. We were averaging close to a 12 pace. Could not believe I am that slow but it is true. Even before Danny showed up I was getting in a pre-run at a ten pace. The total was the usual 70 minutes. I had Danny do a form check on my style while picking it up on the track. He said I looked good. I felt good too picking it up anyway.

Drag Assing

My legs were beat up from yesterday's deep tissue massage but I still managed to get in 70 minutes of really slow hilly stuff with Tom and Danny. I was drag assing through this. I know I'll feel better Thursday. The weather was okay but we're entering a spell of hot weather. But at 8:30 am it wasn't half bad.

Relaxed Speed

One hour of running. I did all but 15 minutes of it over at Foothill College. Bright sunny day. Iphone weather app said low 60's but it felt much warmer. I worked on what I call relaxed speed. 3 x 200 striding through but not pushing. I told Dimitri that I expected 40-41 but instead I got 38-37-36. We both agreed that now I have to do some work on carrying things out over 500-600 meters. Next week the plan is to run a 600 at date pace and then a 200 at goal pace. Sort of a simulator.

Running as an old guy

I did 10 around the neighborhood (minutes..not miles) and then drove over to the club workout where I ran another 60 minutes while the club ran 200's on the track. Sunny, a bit breezy and on the cool side. But still a great running day. Had time to catch up with several of the veteran runners. Mostly we chatted about running as an old guy. It's a whole different thing. Less days running, more recovery. Not doing things that wear you down. It's individualized but the story seems the same. There are a few who can more days and more miles. They are the rarity.

Nice Running

Danny was a no show today so Tom and I toured the upscale neighborhoods around WVC. 60 minutes or nice running with plenty of hills (both up and down). I wore the HRM and the Garmin. One for each wrist. WOW!

We covered precisely 6 miles so we ran a ten minute pace (UGH). With the ten minutes of around the house running beforehand, I did 70 minutes total. As Bob Anderson said so accurately, 70 minutes is sort of my thing.

The weather was overcast and in the 50's. Great running conditions.

Waiting for the pace

I jogged the neighborhood for ten minutes this morning and then did the usual drive over to WVC. Tom, Danny and I ran out usual 60 minutes. I jogged a few minutes afterward to run my total up to 72 minutes. I wore the Garmin and even though we were moving along, it still wasn't faster than a ten minute pace. In the old days, age graded to 7:30. I was thinking to myself that this was way too slow and way too hard for the pace. By hard, I don't mean hard-hard. Just not smooth and easy. One of the things I have learned over the years is that the pace comes to you, not the other way around. You can try to force it but you'll just break down.

65 minutes

Got out early. I drove over to WVC and ran the campus and then up the hill to Valle Vista. I wanted an hour run but also needed to burn time until Bob Anderson came by the 1.5 mile point of a four mile race so I could snap a photo as he raced by. Mission accomplished (see above). There was a big field of primarily fun runners. The leader was ahead by quite a bit. As I ran back down the hill to the college and my car Joe Hurtado, one of my club buddies, joined me. I ended up running 65 minutes.

65 minutes

I doubled today running 30 minutes over at WVC while club ran their road run. Then I went to Foothill in the early afternoon running another 35 minutes. I finished off with a track workout. D was there to both jog and time me. 2 x 100 in the 17's. This was fine but I expected at least one of them to be in the 16's. I then ran 300 in 56. I was a bit disappointed. I had hoped for a 55 but there was a headwind down the stretch and it slowed me down. Of course it might have also helped the first part of the run. Who knows? I decided to finish on a positive note ( for me ) and tore off a low 16 second 100. Felt very strong doing it. I realized that I should have gotten out faster during the first part of the 300.

Another 70 minutes

Things back to normal. I was able to go through my usual routine this morning rather than spend an hour dealing with a hacked email account. So, coffee, 10 minute neighborhood jog, drive to West Valley, 60 more minutes of running, breakfast. Strange run though. My HR stayed down around 130 most of the early to mid part of the run. It felt like we were going harder though but according to my running buddy, Tom, we were only in the high 9's. Danny who dropped Tuesday seemed fine today.

65 minutes

This morning my email was hacked. Sort of threw me off as I sat around changing passwords and making sure none of our accounts were compromised. I finally got out and ran 65 minutes with Tom and Danny using my new Garmin for the first time. It was a good stress reliever. Probably the major damage was losing all my past email and email folders. Yahoo will try to retrieve per the online form I filled out and submitted. UGH!

3 miles easy

I drove up to Golden Gate Park to watch Bob and Bill race Zippy's 5K. My job was to help Bob warmup and also to film Bob at the first and second mile marks. Between all the running around and I did, I covered around 3 miles. Fourth unintentional day in a row. 70 minutes, 3 miles, 66 minutes and 3 miles again. I feel fine though but Monday will be a day off.

Bill ran about what we expected but Bob was off (slower) by around a minute. The 60-69 field was very deep. You really needed to run in the 18's to be among the leaders. And late 60's is very different than early 60's. Like another world. In a way, I am glad I am out of it.

Double Day

Double day. Morning and a early afternoon workout. I ran a very easy 45 minutes at WVC this morning. Obviously it's going to be another hot day. I have already committed myself to running at 1 pm over at Foothill Track. It'll be in the 80's. The workout will be shorter and include some strides and maybe a rep or two. My plan is to get in and out relatively quickly.

Later on that same day.....

Okay, now it is hours later and the workout is over. It was hot. I am sure it was in the low 80's but on the track it was much hotter. I jogged another 21 minutes with D and then did some warm up strides. I felt pretty loose but then the warm weather tends to make you feel pretty loose.

I ran two x 100 in 17-16.  I then walked to the far turn and blasted off a 200 coming through the first 100 in around 18 and finishing with a 17 down the stretch. 35 seconds with some change. I walked a lap and called it a day.

5k with Bob Anderson

I ran 5k with Bob Anderson. The weather had warmed up and we ended up running midday. Bob ran my slow pace. The course was pure Los Altos Hills. Back roads, no sidewalks and rolling terrain. Hard to stop sweating. I finally sat in my car and ran the air conditioning. We went out for lunch afterward.

Slow...slow...slow

Tom and Danny both bashed themselves Wednesday doing non running activities. Tom biked and Danny moved bricks. So I recommended that we run easy. How nice of me...right? My heart rate monitor was in the 120's and 130's throughout the run. Very easy for me but then my legs felt fine. I won't ride a bike and moving bricks will destroy my back.

75 minutes

I ran an easy seventy-five minutes this morning with Danny and Tom. Kept the HRM in the 130's and 140's. So it was nice and easy. Weather was really great. Spring time conditions.

Speed is still there

Ran an easy 75 minutes with some fast strides mixed in over at Foothill College aka "The Track of Bob". This is where Bob Anderson does his speed work.

I broke the 17 second barrier on two of my 100's (finally). I then ran a solo 200 in 36. If I age grade the time it is like running 27 at age 30.

Good sign that my speed is still there.

Social Run

Jogged for 41 minutes over at the college. I watched the club run and socialized. I meant to get in a good hour but spent too much time standing around chatting. I am thinking of going out for another run. Not sure if I am that motivated.

60 minute test run

Seventy minutes of 70% running over at WVC this morning. Tom kept me company. We were trying to see how far we could go in an hour at 70% of max heart rate. To give us a decent chance of going further than the last test several weeks back, we ran a combo of tennis court loops and laps around the track. I felt strong and for the first 15 minutes my HR stayed in the 130's so I thought we had it nailed (but alas we didn't). The run degenerated into a struggle to keep my HR from going over 70%. From the half way point on, I could feel that today wasn't my day. I kept having to cut back on pace to maintain heart rate. And yet I never was in any sort of distress.

The pace was the pace...

The rate was the rate.

Ended up with 6.28 miles and that's rounding up. Tom told me later that we were at 3.5 miles at the halfway point but dropped off sharply after that. So maybe we went out too hard. It certainly was cool enough. No wind to speak of.

There will be another day. Dum de dum dum!

Not-a-Track

Got out and ran my neighborhood for 45 minutes. I lucked out and missed the rain. I jogged over to the college and looked at the track or rather the not-a-track. It's all gone. Just a swath of dirt where the track and stands used to be. Most of the eucalyptus trees are gone too. The hill at the west end still stands but for how long? It will be interesting to see what kind of super loop course will exist when the work is done.

Not Running!

In the spirit of not running, I am taking two days off. I was on the road yesterday, a normal day off anyway. But my plan is to not run Tuesday either. I may run some Wednesday but won't really get back to it until Thursday.

The abiding secrets of master's running since I was in my mid 40's has been (and is) :

Run more on the days you run and take the intervening days off.

Use a HRM to make sure you don't get into trouble. You don't have to use every day but should use it most days. Recovery runs are 65-70%.

No pace is too slow.

Deep tissue massage every 3-4 weeks.

A good chiropractor.

In races or workouts, just try to beat what you did last year.  Forget the old days.

Whoosh

Ran an easy 65 minutes with most of it over in Bob Anderson territory-AKA Foothill Track. I capped off my workout with 2 x 100 in 17 and then a 37 second 200. Dimitri let me lead this last one. I didn't push the 100's or the 200. I glided. "Whoosh". The speed was right there. I was smart. I decided not to take out the nail gun and hammer myself to death. A 37 is like running around 27-28 back in the day.

Besides, I was shaking out the cobwebs of the last 3-4 months.

Weather was superb. Sunny with almost no wind. The track was pretty much empty. Easter Sunday, I guess. Folks started to show up around the time I was winding down.

60 minutes

I ran for an hour over at WVC mostly with Danielle. We took it easy while the club ran 300's on the track. Cool and sunny. Great weather.

Under powered

I woke up to a cold windy morning. But I ran anyway. 70 minutes to be exact including an hour with Tom and Danny. We ran are usual WVC-Valle Vista  course. I wore my HRM and it told me early on that I was going to be running slow. Had to fight to stay under 70% much of the way (but fight I did). In this case slowing down. No one complained. We were all a bit tired or in my case perhaps under powered. I ate the BIG SALAD for dinner last night. Very good but not enough dense carbs to power my aging engine. The good news was that my legs felt great. No doubt it was a benefit from the massage this past Monday.

Variations of the Dental Plaque Run

I ran my usual 70 minutes this morning. My knee feels better. Dr. Bill believes it patellar tendinitis. I think he right. So I am doing cross friction massage and stretching my knee and quads.

Anyhow, we ran a variation of familiar courses including the backside of the Valentine's run. We bored each other with stories about The Dental Plaque Run (circa 1982). It was run on the same course as thw Valentine's Run but was 10k instead of 5.34 miles.

I was sore from the Monday's massage but we took it easy. Thursday (or the following week) may be an hour on the track. An attempt to see how far we can go.

17's....Really?

The rain went away over night and I was greeted by really clear skies but also a quartering head wind coming from north-northwest. But I was really ready to run after two days off. I ran the neighborhood and then drove over to Foothill College and ran some more. Dimitri joined me (still nursing his plantar Fascia issue). I kept jogging easy but I admit that my legs felt great! I capped things off by running 5 x 100 meters (walking back for recovery). I made sure the wind was at my back. It had calmed down quite a bit but I still wanted the push if I could get it.

I ran all of them in the 17's. No hard running. Just striding through. Two seconds faster than last week. The wind must have helped but no two seconds worth. I even tried to slow down on the last two but still nailed 17's.

It must of been a very green run. Wind powered.

About 65 minutes of total running.

No Running

Something upset my stomach so I opted for the no running clause in my contract. It rained much of the day anyway. Windy too. I thought about going out several times but in the end I just sat down, watched some TV and did some work on my computer.

Launched my first ebook novel on Amazon-Kindle late this afternoon.

"Cold Warriors"

Working on my second book.

Further Again

Tom and I again today. We went out strong and kept moving throughout. Once again I kept the HRM up in the 65-70% range. The weather cooperated nicely. Cool and no wind. Different course today. Plenty of rolling hills. I figured it would slow us down but we did went a tenth and a half further than Tuesday. So FURTHER again.

70 minutes all told including my shake down run beforehand.

I seem to be recovering and getting stronger.

Hmmm. Let's see. No intervals.

Hmmmmmm.

Bonanza!

The usual WVC Run. The usual time (morning).

Danny was gone to Santa Cruz so Tom and I got very business like and went off strong from the beginning. It was cool and overcast and so my HR stayed down in the high 130's and low 140's most of the run. It did edge up to 150 several times but that was usually the result of some ghastly hill section.

But we moved along cranking out slow miles but faster than normal slow. In 60 minutes, according to Tom's GPS, we covered a half mile further than our best run last week. Same heart rate, same duration. Just further.

WHAT A BONANZA!

Of course I am being a bit facetious but frankly the run felt great. It felt like sub 7's did years ago. But of course we were a good deal slower than that.

With my ten minute shake down run, I covered 70 minutes.

Breakfast afterward with Tom and Jake.

Maybe we can bottle further

The speed is still there

I was luck today. The rain held off and I was able to get out in the late morning and run 60 minutes at a glacially slow pace. Finished off with 4 x 100 in 19-20 seconds with no strain. The speed is still there.

I wore my HRM but the pace was so slow that it was rarely above 120 bpm.

Cold and windy

I drove over to WVC and ran various campus loops while the club ran  the tennis court loop (.66 miles)  as a relay. It was cold, windy and wet (really only drizzle).  Not wonderful conditions. I wanted to bail at 10 minutes but kept going until I had run 51 minutes. The last part of the run was a campus loop with Danielle, one of the runners I am coaching.

Injury update: My hammie and calf seem to be fine but I wore a Pro-Tec knee strap because my right knee has been sore. Strangely it does not bother me when I run so that is good. I feel it more around the house or walking.  I am sure a photo of this is already someplace in my blog. Every injury I get seems to be on my right side.