RUNNING AGAIN AT AGE 80 LOG NOVEMBER 2016

Continuing my Running Again at Age 80 log, now back at running after 30 year hiatus


November Running 2016

11/1- new month, Tuesday. Run today? Need long runs, need speed work. Always a little weary & leery. #RunningAgainAtAge80 - Old body talking. Early voting and bill pay day. Bone and muscle weary. Did not run. Tried out the foot slant board for two minutes. Got permission from a local nearby high school athletic director to run on the outdoor track when it's not in use.
Nice to step out door & run in the hollow but in a rut. #RunningATAge80 -Got OK from nearby high school athletic director to use outdoor track & will make use of Greenway Farm trails. Needed change of scenes.

11/2- up at 4 a.m., restless sleep plus dream.
CRASH! #RunningAtAge80 -Tripped on a park-trail root while running and slammed my right shoulder, arm and leg on hard drought-packed dirt, rock and roots. Lay still hurting a moment, catching breath, wrist bleeding. Got up. Nothing broken. Jogged a half-mile to van, cleaned up a little at rest room, got home, patched up some. This will set my aching age 80 body down a few days. Damn! I'm a mess.
Dream overnight, was in a road race, and as I moved to pass a younger, bigger man, he hooked my arm to prevent me. I tried to free my arm and told him to let go. He wouldn't. Woke me up.
Did manage to record that I ran about 3 miles, run and jog, 2.42 up to point I fell. For the run, duration 35:16. Pace 14:33, max 11:47. HR avg about 118. Up down 160'/180'.

11/3- Right rib cage to sternum hurts, shoulder too from yesterday's crunching fall, but can walk and jog on treadmill. Want to keep some increment conditioning going so will see how that goes today.
Well, jogged easy 49 minutes on treadmill, 2.55 miles, till it died (What!). Felt okay, cautious. HR avg 92 max 104. Cadence avg 73:146. Listened to Leonard Cohen and K.D. Lang "It's a holy and a broken hallelujah."
#DayAfterHardFall Jogged easy easy 49 minutes on old treadmill till it died (What!). Felt pretty good. Listened to Leonard Cohen, K.D. Lang: "It's a holy and a broken hallelujah." #RunninAgainAtAge80 RIP treadmill.

11/4- Day 3 after trail run fall - right side ribs, shoulder hurt, but can jog, work range of motion. Had studied physiology, kinesiology, anatomy. Knowledge helps. Cautiously keeping on. #RunningAgainAtAge80 -Reminded of 8 cracked ribs from 40-vehicle crash years ago.
But. Seriously aggravated rib area carrying groceries. Painful. Ibuprofen, Icy Hot. Decided to try walk along powerline trail. Did 2.11 miles, 500/400 up down, vigorously. Helped. So, a little workout.

11/5- No question I cracked/bruised two ribs in trail run fall, recalling past cracked ribs pain. No treatment except rest, limited activity. Bounce from #RunningAgainAtAge80 won't help. Walked 2 brisk miles yesterday. Still aim to do 8K race Thanksgiving.
Walked 2.06 miles today along hilly power line trail, trying to maintain some conditioning, over ridge down to field northward. Four half-mile out-and-back laps. Duration 49:36.


11/6- Up at 2:30 a.m., EST now, still the rib pain of course, shoulder aching some too from trail run fall. Wondering whether I'll be ready for Thanksgiving 8K. Declined to run in 4 races I registered for since started running again 5-1/2 months ago, felt it was too much for this old bod. Now this injury. According to age-related computation based on performance 30 years ago, I could be much faster. If so, it's going to take some time to get there. #RunningAgainAtAge80 Even with this, it feels oddly good to be back at it again. The soul of it.
No workout. Took a break.

11/7- again, up around 2. Worked out. Also had root canal dental work. Pain from fall still there but mixed cross training with a treadmill jog. Cross-trading duration 20:35, mix of stairs, squats, step machine, knee raise walking. HR avg 88 max 100. Treadmill duration 25:09, easy jog about a mile. HR avg 102, max 114. Trying not to lose conditioning.

11/8- Slow hilly trail jog to see if fall-injured rib area etc will let me train. Did 3.16 miles. No pain. OK! -- #RunningAgainAge80 - How slow? 1:11:21 duration. HR avg 104 bpm. Satisfied but still cautious.
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11/9- post presidential Election Day break.

11/10- Decided to try to train for a marathon #RunningAgainAge80 -would be 2nd, ran NYC in mid'80s -might work off @HalHigdon plan.
Tested my injuries via a somewhat easy 3.15 miles run on hollow streets, duration 49:15, pace 15:37. Focused on cadence, which averaged 172 strides a minute (generally recommended is 180). Mild reminders of rib wounds but okay.

11/11- okay, ran 3.2 miles in the hilly hollow focusing on cadence and breathing - cadence average was 86/172. Duration 48:59. Pace 15:19. HR zone between 118 and 168 re Fitbit, did not wear and do not like chest strap, doesn't work reliably, especially with my skinny and bony build. Run felt more moderate than easy, i.e. labored.
Miles this week so far, 10.51, with injured ribs etc. Keeping on.

11/12- Decided not to train today. Need recovery and healing. Cadence focus is right for now. Injury hampers strength work I can do. Try again tomorrow, a busy day. Need volume but need, too, to recognize the right approach for me. Switching the start of a training week to Monday instead of Sunday, seems more apt.

11/14- awake at 2 a.m. and up. Atmosphere in SE TN filled with wildfire smoke, drought driven. Wise to run? Short, easy 23 minute indoor treadmill run late yesterday, rib cage area still sore. Tried Mio Link HR reader, gave a reading far far above those from chest strap and Fitbit. Contacted support for advice. Outdoor run today? Dentist at 2. Between fall's injury and smoke training caution, I wonder about losing hard-wrought conditioning for this old bod. And then there's the presidential election result. The hatefulness unleashed.
Another easy treadmill run, a mile, HR around 110. Thought I'd do second treadmill bout but didn't.

11/15- Runners are cautious about TN wildfire smoke as @runchattanooga and @chattanoogatrackclub and #CHAmarathon noted canceled training runs.
Pondering the run today, now 9:30 am. Too smoky outside yet? Treadmill. Sore ribs and intensity?
Three miler on treadmill. Duration slow 55:12, concentrating on form and cadence. Pace then, 18:24.HR average 120. Cadence avg 160. Felt good.

11/16- still smoky, friend's house threatened by wildfire. Offered storage space if needed. Perplexed about running outside, research mixed, seems unwise. Might consider this a rest day. Can't really do volume, speed work with rib injuries, rest might ease strain there too. Don't care to be "grounded."
By sunset, air seems a lot clearer. Firefighter work stemming danger to friend's off-grid home. Could be good for a run tomorrow. Only about 5 miles this week, on treadmill. About 11-1/2 last week. Fall injury impact.

11/17- outside again, air clear enough. Ran 3.01 miles on power line trail, cautiously slow mostly, stepping lightly. Duration 55:57. Pace avg 18:34. Cadence avg 77/154. Steep hills made it demanding. So far 8 miles this week, low due to air quality and rib injuries.

11/18- Should I run or taper? Thinking abour injured rib area and where to run, how to taper, including rest. Though slow, yesterday's trail run was demanding due to steep hill segments. Feeling it today. Don't care to drive anywhere, so it's in the hollow or on the powerline trail...
So, ran a moderate bumpy 2.04 hilly miles on the power line trail, duration 32:22, average pace 15:50, cadence 85/170, increased all this cautiously. HR sensor had me consistent at two very divergent levels, highest and moderate, need to find the sweet spot for the reading from my arm. Nice run, keeping rib area injuries and soreness in mind. About 10 miles so far this week. Low.

11/19- seem to be heading for a rest day. Concerned about losing conditioning but need to keep my age, recovery, and healing in mind. So I rested from running.

11/20- Another rest day, though unexpected. The way the Sunday went and I felt. Low mileage week.

11/21- Turkey Trot 8K Thursday so I'll taper run today and tomorrow and rest Wednesday. Cold mornings, I'm spoiled by long hot and warm seasons here in Chatt, but have gear for the colder temps. New phase in this return to running. Finding progress slow and that I need to be more cautious about training intensity: age. The 8K is a new distance for me. See how it goes. Might do 2 miles and a few moderate short sprints today. Signed up for a 6.7 mile trail race in December. That could be it for 2016 racing.
So, easy pace 2.37 mile powerline trail run with four 30-yard sprints at the end. Duration 39.07; avg pace 16:32; HR avg 123 bpm; avg cadence 168/84.

11/22- up early, as usual, a fatal Chattanooga school bus crash in the news, feeling for parents, injured children and relatives. Expect to take an easy tapering run today and then tomorrow off before Thursday's 8K Turkey Trot.
Did the easy run - 20:33 minutes on treadmill, HR avg 113 bpm, 1.12 miles - really easy, get things circulating. Cadence 83/166, okay, 170 my aim now.

11/23- light limbering prep training for tomorrow's 8K Turkey Trot. So, 25 15-20 second uphill repeats on backyard steep incline, walking down, .55 miles, duration 17:14. Following research recommendations to do a little to energize before the race. 4.44 miles this week so far, light tapering. Feeling the twinges.

11/24- Turkey Trot 8K in a couple of hours. Run my run, run my race. I'm still working at doing this, enjoying the feeling of accomplishing. The goal is to accomplish. To do it.
So I did. From Polar M400 - Duration 1;10:17, 5.04 miles. Pace avg 13:56, max 10:04. HR avg 129, peak 149. Cadence avg 84/168, max 97/194. Stride choppy and short. From race data - 1:10:09 duration; 14:07 pace; 676 of 690 runners, 13 of 15 in 65 and over group. Where I'm at right now.



11/25- looking at the six months I've been at it so far. Improvements, sure. Good ones. Some needs: increase stride length at current cadence, so stress it, ways to do that; increase training run volume; do stride exercises; keep at the hills, trails; think about a half marathon in March. Comfort zone re balancing frequency, intensity, duration.
Shook yesterday's 8K race out a little with 20 minutes of thigh lifting walking repeats on backyard steep incline, slow stride work, .42 miles.
10.3 miles so far this week.
Wauhatchie Trail Race in three weeks - 6.7 hilly gnarly miles. Figure on being slow and cautious in that one.

11/26- Feels like I need a rest day. What does wisdom say?
Wisdom says take a walk. Did, on steep backyard incline, stride repeats on 45 yard stretch, 1.07 miles, duration 40:57, working on higher forward knee action and the strength the hill repeats offer, keeping in mind recovery from Thanksgiving's 8K. So that's 11.37 miles this week, low volume.

11/27- up at 3:30, 6-1/2 hours sleep, wired and tired. Will feel out day re running. Want to, but recovering from 8K race.
So ... no workout, somewhat active, but nothing really strenuous. Day off to saunter about but do things.

11/28- My early morning arisings are becoming routine- up at 2:30 am. Mind and emotions. Segmented sleep phenomenon. Coffee, settles me. Plan on running some today. Would it be wise to do the 6.7 mile trail in three weeks that I registered for? Maybe as a training and fun run. Not be hung up on performance.
So, power line trail short recovery run, opening stride, thinking about back of it. Two devices measuring. Fitbit HR: 1.25 miles by stride; 14:03 pace; HR avg 141; duration 17:35. Polar M400: duration 17:14; 1.2 miles GPS; 14:18 pace; no HR synced; 152 cadence. Used lighter Nike running shoes instead Nike Zooms. Best pace on trail.
Thought I needed cadence emphasis first, but now feel it should be stride, cadence coming with speed and stride strength.
HR 141 is in 131-157 estimated aerobic threshold range, 157-174 estimated anaerobic range.

11/29- Thinking about lactate clearance and running. Also recovery yet from last Thursday's 8K. And about HR zones re training and racing. Ground soaked from last night's storm, badly needed rain, so might run on the road. Or something else. Got post-race/training letdown -6 months at it since decades #RunningAtAge80 -strength/endurance slow coming; but yes to speed.
So, cross training workout mixing treadmill, stairs, planks, toe and knee walking, 1 set of presses and lateral curls on Total Gym, etc. Duration 33:43; Fitbit HR avg 109, max 147, Polar HR avg 103 max 130 (chest strap), pattern record similar, avg bottom of zone 2 max bottom zone 3 in Polar. Maybe .8 miles. Stairs up 200 ft. OK. Did something.

11/30- Tornado bearing storm all night, wasn't going to train,o but read about Runner's World challenge #RWRunStreak - a mile a day (or more, of course) over the holidays. Storm still about area, so to treadmill. Since it could be easy, I complied. Ancient treadmill said 1.0 miles. Fitbit 19:15 pace/durarion, HR avg 128, 1.17 miles re stride. Recorded on Polar too, 19:16 duration. No HR chest strap, Fitbit measure likely a bit high. It's something.
Not certain, but I'm inclined not to run in any more races this year and will skip the Wauhatchie Trail Race.