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.

Tough run

Tried an experiment today and ran with Bill and Joann at Rancho San Antonio. From the beginning the pace, which was easy for them, was a bit fast for me, but I was able to hang with them for 55 minutes before I finally decided to back off and run in by myself. The pace was around 9:40 which age grades to low 7 pace at age 30. It wasn't anything to brag about but the course was all hilly trails.
Bill tells me it's 7 miles total. It took me just under 68 minutes.

It was a moment of truth. Bill runs in the 20 minute range for 5k and Joann runs in the 22's. No wonder I can't run those times anymore. Not sure whether it makes sense, but I might have to experience more days like this if I want to run faster.

The tempo running I've been doing definitely helped. I was never in oxygen debt. But it wasn't an easy run. It reminded me of first training with John and Jake back in late 1975. Back then it took me running with them every other day for a year to get used to a faster tempo. Then I could run with them every day.

Slow runs can tell you a lot

Sometimes slow runs can tell you a lot. Shel and I went up to GG Park and ran an 8k course ( me at low HR ) with one minute easy walks every 5-7 minutes and still ran 55 minutes. My HRM stayed in the low 130's most of the way. 11 minutes miles are slow but better than I expected especially with the walk breaks. Beautiful day in the city. We went to the restaurant at the Harding Golf Course for breakfast.

Fast and relaxed

Took a long warmup today. Over 30 minutes of easy jogging. Danny and I then ran 1000 meter loops with the first 400 fast and relaxed, and then jog-walked to the start-finish and did it again 4 x.

Nothing startling. 1:44-1:41-1:41-1:42.

Slow but age graded to 73-75 seconds when I was young and fast. The goal was not to go hard but to get fast leg turnover and some faster than threshold type speed.

Easy hour

Ran a very easy hour this morning. Danny kept me company ( Tom's in Cheese Head country....WI ).
I can feel my feet and knees. Lighter training shoes may be too light. The weather was cool and clear.

Long run

79 minute long run in the hills with Dimitri. Walked portions of some of the stepper stuff but still got to the park in 49 minutes. Came back down Moody in 30 minutes.

Threshold workout in the heat

Tom and I met a half hour early and warmed up together. No afib day for Tom so we went and ran 5 sets of 400-500's at 85-90%. It was hot out. It's the last day of the most recent heat wave. I let the HRM do the talking. I did the 500's down end 400's up. I ran faster than expected and my recovery was good despite the weather conditions. 2:22-23's on the 500's and around 1:50 on the 400's. One of my fastest yet.

Nuclear

The (((heat))) is here again. Got out early with Tom and Danny and cruised 60 minutes of slow stuff before the temps went nuclear. I'm dragging a bit. Not sure if it's not getting enough sleep, carbs or just being 69 years old. Frankly, I don't care. I'm running anyway. There is no bottom. If I had to trade being fast now for being fast when I was young, there's no contest. I wouldn't make the trade. But I still keep trying to find ways to youth myself. Natural ways of course.

So far, just like everyone else, my running keeps going steadily downhill.

Hey! Maybe I just need to run downhill courses.

The Weekend

I ran an easy 30 minutes on Saturday morning. I was still recovering from Thursday's tempo workout.

Sunday was a steady run on Foothill's track. I kept my HR around 70% much of the run. It hasn't begun to heat up yet but it's a coming.

Sunday's run was a good sign. I had to work a bit to get my HR up to the 65-70% range. My legs felt good so they weren't tired or beat up. It's usually a good sign if my HR doesn't pop right up into range. Of course the heat will speed things up but the HRM will keep me honest.

Ladder Workout

Jogged an easy 20 minutes to warm up this morning. Danny and I then ran a ladder consisting of 400-600-800-1000-800-600-400 (2 minute rest) at tempo pace. My HR never got past 165-166. In fact, 166 was this week's 168-170.

The first part of the ladder was pretty blah. The speed wasn't coming to me. Danny just stayed in lane two and went along for the ride.

"The air is heavy," he said several times. I'm not sure what heavy air is, but something was heavy. That's for sure.

From the 1000 on, the pace got faster while the effort remained the same.

Nothing blazing. Sub-8 pace overall.

Big days (for me)

Two big days back to back! I walked over four miles on Monday and ran 60 minutes on Tuesday (with Danny).  Kept the pace slow so I have dome energy left for Thursday's reps.

A New 70% Record

Dimitri and I ran the Moody Rd course. Up and back. I kept my HR at 65-70% all the way. It felt rediculously easy but surprise, surprise, we got to the park in just under 42 minutes and arrived back in 70:45! A new record for that level of effort. I don't know what to make of it. Whatever it means, it is a good sign.

Easy Run

I decided to run 30 minutes easy today. The club was relaying 200 meters on the track, so I jogged and socialized. I guess the 400's on Thursday despite the heat, didn't take that much out of my legs.

HEATER

First heater run of the year. After a solid 20 minutes of easy running Danny joined me for 12 x 400 at 85-90% on the track. Originally I was going to run 800's but the climbing temps changed my mind. Danny and I grooved mid 150's on most of the reps after a slow start. We decided to pull the plug at 10 reps because of the heat. It seemed counterproductive to keep on going.

I didn't reach 167-168 until the last two reps. I was mostly in the low 160's and my recovery was excellent on the 200 meter walks in between. I was glad for Danny's company.

Jus too darn HOT!

Afib Run

Low key day. Tom, Danny and I ran an easy hour. Tom struggling with afib. He needs to take action. He doesn't get enough oxygen so the pace stays slow. It's Jake all over again.

My HR was rarely over 120 but I am not complaining. It was a total recovery run.

Big HEAT wave coming in. Thursday could be interesting.

Threshold Workout

I was planning to go up and run the DSE race in San Francisco but Shel called in sick last night so I decide to go to WVC and do a 1,000 meter threshold workout. It was overcast and windy and it was a heck of a lot further than I have gone so far since beginning this latest program.

Warmed up for 20 minutes
4 x .66 (5:07-12-10-09) at 85-90% of max. 2 minute recovery between reps.
warmed down for 10 minutes.

I averaged 7:48 for the workout. A looooong way from where I want to be. I ran it alone which made it mentally tougher than it had to be. I saw the HRM flicker at 175-76 once which means my operational max may be higher than I am judging it to be. Mostly, I stayed in the 167-173 range which is AT.

Easy stuff

Quiet day. I ran 65 minutes of easy stuff with Tom and Danny this morning.

MRI

65 minutes of run-walk ( mostly running ) with Ready to go Tom and back from Oregon, Danny.
It was windy and cool. We ran college loops plus the two mile warm up course. Then it was up to Bill Tarr's and breakfast afterward.

MRI on my shoulder in the afternoon. A study in discomfort. Something was jabbing the very spot below my shoulder blade that was being scanned. I dealt with it but I thought of hitting the panic button several times. You can't move and there's the rub.

20 minutes of pain. Low, throbbing pain.

It let up the moment they handed me my get out of MRI card.

Going to the mountain

Dimitri and I finally ran the going to the mountain course in the Los Altos Hills. This is a longer variation of our usual route. It adds one steep #@%* hill.

No wrong turns this time. 49 minutes to the summit and 30 minutes back down which shocked both of us given how easy it felt. Passed twice though by two young women (tall, brunette, athletic, cruising by us like we were jogging....Oh we were!). I kept my HR at or under 70%. If that meant walking some portions of the steeper hills, then I walked.

7:48's

Did my 8's this morning. Tom begged off due to heart rate issues. I ran 5 x 800 (2 minute rest) at a 7:48 pace. I used 168-172 as my AT range and right now I think it's right. I had to push early on to get up in zone but had to back off later to keep from going too high. The good news was that my recovery was excellent. My HR dropped back under 70% in a minute or less. Also, and this was the surprise, my reps got slightly faster as I progressed through them. The cool weather and two minute rest was probably the reason.

Good to Go Tom

It was Good to Go Tom today (versus Not Good to Go Tom). We didn't stay around the college much but instead ran Ray's warmup and the Northwest Passage that took us up to highway 9. It was cool but not cold so the running conditions were near perfect. I wore the HRM and mostly stayed in the 130 range. This was 15 beats below my target so the run wasn't hard.  Good Tom led the way. I hope he feels this good Thursday.

We hit an hour, walked a bit and called it a day.

KING OF THE FOURTH LANE

Another one of those days. An hour exacto, running slow at first and faster later on. I wore the HRM and let it run for me. My HR floated up to the mid 140's and I was actually passing other joggers on the track. For a brief time I was King of the Fourth Lane. The reality was a ten minute pace and sometimes faster. Age grade it and you have a 7:18 give or take. Mostly take.

8's with the HRM

8's this morning. Tom has been experimenting with not taking some of his meds to see if it would make a difference and it has! He stayed in the workout only taking one 800 off.

We ran 400-600-800 x 2 followed by a last 800. I wore the HRM and found that 166-170 was the range that I hit while doing the reps. After each rep my HR quickly dropped back under 70% so the recovery is about right.

Next week, no more mister nice guy. I'm going to do 2 x 400 followed by 4 x 800 followed by 2 x 400.

Easy hour run

Tom, Danny and I ran a very easy hour with walk breaks. T's and shorts. Seemed comfortable. First sign of summer. It's warming up. Real summer is several months off.

Altamont

Ran up Altamont to the park and back down the trails to Moody and then to the college.  I took it very easy. The hills did the work for me. 80 minutes total.

Dimitri joined me.

Real 8's

Ran 8's this morning. All four of us were there. Vince who had to be someplace before the meat of the workout began, Tom, who is dragging badly, and Danny who showed up halfway through dressed to the T's.

600-800-600-800-600-800.

I kept the pace closer to 8 minutes versus the 7:30 pace stuff I was doing. The goal is to go longer right now. Not faster. It turned out to be a good move. I felt good throughout.

Before the rain...

Storm came in and we figured it would be wet Tuesday morning but for some reason the calamity held off and we got in our run with only a few sprinkles. Tom who is tracing his problems to a probably calcium deficiency, ran fine and we did our hour. Danny did most of it coming out fashionably late (as always). It was cold and warm all at once depending if the sun came out from behind the gray clippers blowing over our heads. There wasn't much of a wind down below. It was all up high blowing clouds.

Later on I walked Lucy between the rain. So maybe I got in 7 miles today but I wouldn't bet on it.

Sluggish and then strong

I met up with Dimitri at Foothill. He wanted to milk every bit of value from his time by running tempo and fartlek on the track. I wanted to do the exact opposite. I was feeling sluggish and so I jogged around for an hour going pitifully slow at first and then later on speeding up to a 9:20 pace. That's 6:50 age graded to put it in perspective. So the last 30 minutes of the run was actually strong.
So it was like two workouts. One half abysmal and the second half acceptable.

Interesting workout today. My buddy Tom continues to have vascular issues related to his heart. He really can't run. He's headed back to see his cardiologist. My other friend Danny did the workout with me. We were both "off" our game but went ahead anyway. I wouldn't characterize the workout as hard but it wasn't a walk in the park either.

600-600-800-600-800-600

The first two reps were sluggish. But we got faster as we went along while avoiding upping the perceived effort. The 800's are in bold.

3:00, 2:57, 3:45, 2:51, 3:40, 2:47. 

The 800's were our strongest showings. Next week I move to three of them.

Big day

Big day!!!! 8-9 miles total.  Ran for an hour with Danny and Tom ( Tom was dragging ) in the morning and then walked three miles roundtrip with Bob to Tom's Cafe for lunch. It was a good day to die ( Hoka Hey ) but I survived.  Had a great convo with Bob on the best way to run The Double. This has been an ongoing thing with us. But honestly, I have never run The Double. May never run The Double.

81 minute run in the hills

Dimitri and I ran a variation of our usual routes up and down the Los Altos Hills. We clocked around 81 minutes when it was all done. We did take a wrong turn but ended up back at the college anyway. My legs felt recovered from Thursday. We made sure the run was at a very easy pace. The hills were enough work.

8's again

It was a full house this morning. Tom, Danny, Vince and myself. My legs felt better this morning. Not 100% but good enough to run the 8's. We decided to run 5 x 600 plus 1 x 800 (stepping up). Everything seem to come together though. I did feel the pace but I found that whether I pushed or ran relaxed the result was well under an 8 pace. Numbers like 2:51, 2:48, 2:46 kept popping up. Even the 800 was 3:42. I kept mumbling about backing off but I seemed grooved into a certain pace.

The hangover from Sunday's run was still evident but nothing like Tuesday. But I did pay a price.

On my way to 6 x 800.

Run in drag

Dragged through the workout this morning. 60 minutes plus dog walk. 7.5 miles total. Just not my day ( except for the dog walk with Lucy...that was good ). Probably a hangover from Sunday. I was not recovered yet.

64:29

Dimitri and I ran the Moody 7. Up and back. Nothing fancy ceptin I wore the HRM and vowed to get up into the 70-75% range and stay there. Steady state run...Legs felt good and loose so we went for a course record. Note to all. Course record somewhere in the low 74's.

We hit the top in 37 flat. Our best by 7 minutes. Came back in 27:29. Whola! New record. Shocked by the improvement. I was looking for low 70's. This one is gonna be tough to beat.

Circling the track

Ran the track for an hour straight with Vince and Danny. Hardly ever do this sort of thing for an easy run. It was kinda fun. "Just follow the line," Vince said. Just follow the line. 

Turns out Vince (good guy that he is) gave blood late last week which explains why he was "tired" on Tuesday. He had no idea that no good deed goes unpunished. He'd given away 1/10th of his oxygen carrying capacity. It takes 6-8 weeks for the body to replace the deficit. 

Easy Hour

Easy hour. Cool and sunny. I wore my cycling gloves to keep the chill off my hands.

Danny kept me company. We passed Vince who was walking on the track and did not make direct eye contact. He mumbled something about being tired. We left him alone. It was strange though.

My legs were still recovering from Sunday's hard run back down from the Park.  Quads felt sore. You never know in this old guy's running life. Some days you just don't have it but you just grin and joke your way through the run.

A good 75 minutes

Dimitri and I ran our usual course wining up to Palo Alto Park and back. My legs felt heavy going up and I was surprised that we got to the park entrance in just a tad over 45 minutes. We cooked coming back down. Legs started to feel great and we arrived at the end in the low 75's. So overall, a good run.

The weather was overcast and moderate. I wore a T and running shorts.

Gung Ho!

8's

Ran my 8's today except I'm beginning to think I better start calling them seven and a half's. (7 1/2)

After a good warmup I ran 8 x 600 averaging 2.48. Danny ran most of them with me and that helped big time. Anyway, much faster than two weeks ago. I didn't push the pace. I kept the effort even but I was just faster. Once again, we were off the track and using the tennis court loop instead. Much more fun that way.

I've been hesitant to use the HRM to gauge HR but the time may be coming. I am doing these by feel. I am getting faster at 600 which means it is time to go longer.

Torrid run

Ran early at WVC with Danny. At one point I ran close to 70% of max hitting a 9-9:20 pace. Age graded that equals a sub 7's. Low 9's are torrid these days.

It was actually warm out. Kind of humid.

Altamont

Dimitri and I ran up the never ending hill that is Altamont Road to Palo Alto Park and came back down Moody via trails, Moody Court and eventually Moody Road (aka Moody). We did it under 75 minutes. A little bit slower than last time but who's counting.

The weather was moderate but with post rain storm, clean air.

We had a good time arguing about whether or not the US should be involved in the Crimean mess. Actually we both agreed that the USA should stay out. I likened Russia's move to Hitler's with the Sudetenland back in 1937-38 that eventually swallowed up Czechoslovakia. That's where the disagreement resided. There's the rub. If the Ukraine disappears back into the stomach of mother Russia then I will be right.

No 8's today

It rained all night but cleared up just before my morning run. I decided not to run the 8's. Instead I jogged around with Danny for an hour. My HR stayed low. Mostly in the 120's. Either I am in awesome shape or this is my new 70%. Of course I doubt the latter and the former. The face that my HR stayed consistent and didn't climb told me that I wasn't running tired. I walked with Lucy before the run so maybe (maybe) I got in 7 miles today.

Busy day:

Walk Lucy
Run
Breakfast
Lunch
Chiro visit for pinched nerve in my shoulder

So goes the day of the retired Silicon Valley Warrior.

Tom-less run

Sunny and cool in the beginning but it warmed up. I did several loops before running into Danny (excuse the pun). I had strapped on my HRM to keep myself under control but it was unnecessary. I bopped along in the 120's maybe hung over from Sunday's 10 x 400.  Danny was overdressed and besides, he was in questionable shape given his recent history of chronic under training and two colds one right after the other.

The workout was 68 minutes total but there was some significant walking in the mix towards the end.

A Tom-less run, he being on vacation in the Caribbean.

Which reminds me of a song.

Love, exciting and new
Come Aboard. We're expecting you.
Love, life's sweetest reward.
Let it flow, it floats back to you.

Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure,
Your mind on a new romance.

Love won't hurt anymore
It's an open smile on a friendly shore.
Yes LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! (hey-ah!)

Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure,
Your mind on a new romance.

Love won't hurt anymore
It's an open smile on a friendly shore.
It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's
LOOOOOOOOOOOVE!
It's the Love Boat-ah! It's the Love Boat-ah!

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/theloveboatlyrics.htmlull

A bit too fast but.....

I decided to hang out at Foothill Track this morning and run 400's at whatever. It's been a stressful last 5 days and I figured that I'd go do something just to get it in. I warmed up slowly for 23 minutes and then ran 10 x 400 (200 walk) and surprised myself with consistent low 1:50's. It was all done under control. Sub tempo at best and my legs felt surprisingly good. I actually had to back off because I was beginning to nail 1:50 and probably would have gone under if I hadn't put the breaks on.

A bit too fast but not too hard.

6 miles of various

Didn't run until midday but finally went out and got in a 50-55 minute run. Not exactly sure because during one brief stop, I forgot to start up my watch again plus I stopped to talk to our UPS Delivery guy briefly. He's also a good friend.  Anyway, had to kinda, sorta rely on watch time versus stopwatch time. I also walked a mile with Lucy beforehand. Somewhere in there I got six miles of various something. Can't complain about the weather. Cool, hazy and a slight wind. I carried my iPhone in case Sue needed to call me. I made the mistake of turning on the Nike running ap. My pace varied between 10-10:30 on the flats and low 9's on the downhill sections. This closing in on 69 years old is unforgiving. If I age grade it, it's a bit more sane but slow is still slow.

It's been almost 29 years years since I was at my best running-wise.
It's been almost 19 years since I decided to stop racing.
I doubt very much I'll be around for another 29 years or maybe even 19.
I'm not complaining. Enjoying each day as much as I can,

I still get to run 3 days a week. I can walk with our dog Lucy.

Tight run

Tom, Vince and I were running and Danny was walkin'. We did our usual 60 minutes of various campus loops. My legs felt very good but my lower back was tight. I ran on though it.

Altamont

Dimitri and I had another great run today. We climbed out of Foothill College and headed up Altamont Road towards Palo Alto Park. Strangely even though the outbound course was a consistent steep uphill, we got up to the park entrance right around 44 minutes. We took the old way down which is a back road that drops down to Moody Road and then to the college. We got back to the finish in 74 minutes. We jogged a bit of the way into the college to round off the time at 75 minutes.

I wore my HRM which stayed right around 137 going out and back.  The weather was near perfect. Sunny, cool (50's) and windless.

Tennis Court 600's

8's but not on the track. Tom, Vince and I ran 8 x 600 on the half tennis court loop adding in 100 meters to make it 600.

The course ran downhill counter clockwise, turned in at the main driveway and then up towards the bathrooms to finish. No reference points to stay on pace at first. Just effort base. The first one was on the slow side but after that we were under an 8 pace the rest of the way. Actually I averaged 7:33 pace included the first really slow rep.

It was a nice break from the track. It's a fast course because of the downhill sections but you pay it back over the last uphill.

Foggy run

Vince, Tom and I on a foggy clingingly cold morning. We ran 60 minutes even though Tom came up a bit short with a calf pull. Hopefully it's nothing but then what's not nothing at our age?  Tom broke into a walk immediately which was smart. Been there. Done that. Four times in 2008 and again in early 2012. Deep tissue on my legs ever since.  Our little buddy missed again. He elected to go to the fat (gaining) farm with his wife for Valentine's week. It's called Reno. She gambles and he sits in the spa and relaxes. Both gain five pounds.

Hmmmmm...

Actually that sounds pretty nice except for the Reno part. Seems to me that there's got to be a spa and weight gaining place a great deal closer than Reno.

100 minutes of hills

Dimitri and I and ran a different course heading out of a Foothill College. Instead of heading up Moody we bore right and took Elena. 100 minutes of hills, rolling hills, long hills and other types of hills. Overcast but it didn't rain so the only wet was our own sweat. This was my longest run in a long time. I wore the HRM and stayed in the 65-70% range.

Great run but my lower back tightened up on the way back, I walked and ran my way out if it.

8's in the drizzle on a wet track

It rained last night and into the early morning. Tom and I figured that we would run half tennis court loops instead of the track but the rain let up send settled down into a drizzle. The track was wet but only several sections of the inside lane were flooded. So we went and did our 8 x 600 workout. We both got off to a slow start before we adjusted and began to mow the 600's down with precision. Well, mow might be too strong a word. After all it's only an 8 pace.

We'll stay there until Tom get's back from his cruise.

Long Valle Vista

Tom, Vince and I ran for an hour around campus and up long Valle Vista. We ended up back on campus and spotted Danny running wind sprints on the track. The weather was clear and felt cold. Tom must be on PEDS. He pushed the pace throughout. Afterward Danny, Tom and I drove up to see Bill Tarr for an adjustment and then went and had breakfast.

Seems I definitely have a pinched nerve (according to Bill). He did an adjustment plus I have been taking Aleve 1-2 x a day. It all helps but my left arm still numbs up at times.

Ritualistic Soaking of the Hands

The usual long run from Foothill College up Moody with the turnaround at Foothill-Palo Alto Park.
It rained most of the way drenching Dimitri and I. It didn't really bother either of us except for our cold and wet hands. My gloves, which are great for cold weather, did jack once they were soaked. Our time was okay. 81 minutes. That was from car to car.

8's and it rained last night

Tom, Danny and I ran 8's on the track. 6 x 700 and 1 x 400. Averaged under an eight pace. Tom was strong. Danny was running like he never took time off. It rained last night but the track wasn't very slick. I was still feeling Peach Hill from Tuesday and it was rep five before I began to feel decent. I never struggled though. My body goes onto eight pace auto pilot and I just sort of settle in.

Peach Hill

It was a full house today. Vince, Danny, Tom and myself. Tom and I ran a couple of college loops and then with Vince and Danny in tow, we ran Peach Hill. I wore my Fitbit off the front of my right hip where it seems to get the best reading. We chugged up Fruitvale, crossed highway 9 and then up (up) into the sidewalk-less neighborhoods of Saratoga. I was kinda dragging at the rear all the way to the top but recovered going back down. When we finished, sans Danny who made a life saving dash to the bathrooms as we re-entered the campus, I had 6 miles and change on my device. Tom's GPS watch had almost exactly the same reading.  The difference was a few 100's.

We were all pretty tired but breakfast and coffee perked us up.

A morning at the track

Today was a nowhere run...

60 minutes of the slowest running imaginable over at Foothill College Track . I warmed up with Dimitri very slowly, jogged around while he did his two mile trial and then warmed down with him afterward. There was a field hockey game going on and some of the mothers and kids seemed blissfully unaware of track etiquette. Not as bad as Saratoga High  School Track though. I chased one mother and her young daughter off the inside two lanes where she had parked her baby stroller. I was nice about it and so was she. Dimitri was coming by around and it had accident written all over it.

I thoroughly enjoyed it all. A fat Asian guy blazed jogged by us we were running so slowly.

8's on the track

8's on the track with Tom. Danny joined us for the last part of the workout. We're up to 6 x 600 and 2 x 400. I was my usual sluggish self for the first 3 x 600 but began to settle in after that. Pretty much stayed around an 8 pace or just under. The last several 600 we're 2:55. The last 400 was 1:53. All were sub tempo and I did them under control.

Tom hung in there until the 7th rep and then he didn't.

He still averaged around an 8 pace except for the 7th.

The warmup was 20 minutes. The warm down was walking to the car.

Another Fitbit Calibration Run

Tom and I ran sixty minutes at the college. Tried to further calibrate the Fitbit but it was way off this time. Ran the tennis court loop and a campus loop. We know the distances because the loops have been measured by a calibrated wheel but the Fitbit didn't even come close. It's seems more valuable on my walks.

Anyway, my legs felt good and Tom who juggled medications ran well too. Danny joined us for the last straightaway.

Fitbit

Dimitri and I ran a very pedestrian 89 minute up and back from Foothill College. We reached the upper park in an all time slow 50 minutes and came back down to our cars in 39 minutes. We were around 85 minutes at the last Y before you go into the college. It took us another 4 minutes to reach home base.

I took along the a Fitbit device that Tom and I calibrated on Thursday to see what the distance might be. The device said that we were over 8 miles but I would take that with a grain of salt until we use a GPS device to get a closer read. Fitbit "calibrated" said 8.25. It seems to read 5% less than actual.

But who knows for sure.

The day started cool but warmed up nicely.

Back out...back in

I threw my back out Monday and didn't run again until this morning. I took it easy jogging with Tom and Vince. We did 60 minutes with walk breaks every five. My back didn't tighten up so I am going to guess that I can return to regular training next week.

Chiro and massage helped to speed the healing process.

60 minutes at Foothill

I drove over to Foothill to run with Dimitri. We slowly warmed up together as he got ready for a one mile time trial. After that I picked up the effort taking my HR up to 140. I checked the pace and it was right around 9:20 per mile. Nothing FANTASTIC but good enough for my old body. It was a 6:54 effort age graded. I felt very strong and smooth doing this. 2-3 months ago this would have been a ten mpm pace.

After Dimitri had finished we slow jogged for another twenty minutes. I ended up about with an hour total.

The track was crowded. There was a kids field hockey game going on and people were walking back and forth across the track. Oblivious of course to runners.

Eights on the track

8 pace day on the track with Tom. We warmed up for 20 minutes and then launched into our veteran's version of tempo.

600-600-400-600-600-400-600-400 (200 walk recovery).

The first three were not easy but then from the fourth rep on things just flowed. Tom had exactly the opposite experience. He struggled from the first one all the way through to the end. He was literally staggering. I tried to talk him into backing off or just stopping but the guy is amazingly tough minded.  So he completed the workout but as I got faster and smoother (lucky me) he was getting slower and looked ragged.

But he finished. 

60 minutes

Met up with Tom and ran 60 minutes. We almost forget our walk breaks. Made 40 minutes before we decided to stop and stroll a bit. Still on the cool side. Hanging in the 30's but warms up to the 60's my midday.  I need a mental adjustment about cool weather. This is nothing in comparison to the arctic blast hanging over the Midwest.

Thursday is eight pace day. We're working our way up to 5 x 600 and 3 x 400. Danny showed up and walked around campus and then we all drove up to Bill Tarr's office for an adjustment.  Breakfast after. A GIANT bowl of oatmeal.

73 minute calorie burner

73 minutes of very easy running at a Foothill College with Dimitri. Temps were in the high 30's but frankly it felt much colder. We stayed down on campus so we could run in the sunlight versus the shade. A bit weenie but at least it helped get us through the run.

We ran into a group of marathoners doing mile repeats Galloway style.

4 x 400-600

Another relatively cold morning. 30's.....

Tom and I ran a good warmup and then reeled off 4 x 400-600 sets at a sub eight pace. I, for one, had trouble getting untracked but once we finished the first set (400-600) I began to go onto automatic. Tom hung in well today. Had no issues keeping up. Danny came down and walked for a while before we all went to breakfast.

I recovered from Peach Hill on Tuesday. I was concerned that it had taken too much out of me. Didn't bother Tom either.