RUNNING AGAIN AT AGE 80 LOG OCTOBER 2016

Continuing my Running Again at Age 80 log since back it running after 30 hiatus.


October Running 2016

10/1- skipped training, drove from cabin 5 hours to MA kin's house, watched WPI football game, rain and cold, team Ei's son Chris head coaches, with grandkids and Kristin, team won 24-14.

10/2- treadmill run, slower aerobic pace, duration 1:40:43, pace 17:08, 5.88 miles. HR avg 111, peak 128. Longest duration and miles this time around. At MA relatives house. Misty, breezy cold rain outside so I opted for their treadmill. Family of young and older athletes.

10/3- Recovery slow run at the cabin after yesterday's one hour-forty minute treadmill workout; 2.21 miles; 35:36 duration; 16:04 avg pace 13:25 max; HR 124 avg - okay.

10/4- No run, visits with friends in Ithaca and Windsor.

10/5- Somewhat easy 3.27 mile cabin road run, 52:05 duration. Pace avg 15:55, max 12:05. HR avg 123, peak 134. Ascent-descent 220 ft. Hilly. Polar RI 42 elite. Load reasonable 11h. Eighty of the 80/20.

10/6- short 1.07 mile run with four 30 second surges, felt weary but worked it, duration 15:21; avg pace 14:17, max 8:33; HR avg 144, peak 183; ascent/descent on cabin road 140 ft; 12.43 miles so far this week, working up to 15.

10/7- not sure about a run yet today, watching HR action, caffeine, fatigue affects... Ahh. No problem, reached 15 miles a week goal with fairly easy 3.35 cabin hill run, 55:03 duration. Mile pace 16:25, max 11:56. HR average 127 hbpm. Ascent/descent 460 ft. Spikes in HR from affect of bouncy running style jarring chest HR reader - smoothed running style smoothed the HR recording. Total miles this week, 15.78.

10/10- No run, training last two days, road trip from NY cabin to Chattanooga house. Dentist this morning, maybe an afternoon run. So it was.
#RunningatAge80 -- In Chatt again after 2-day travel trek, resumed running in our hollow's grades and hills, moderately easy 3.27 miles, shaking out the kinks and weariness from the long drive from upstate NY, okay.
Duration 51:08. Pace 15:40 max 11:56. HR avg 124 peak 134. Ascent/descent 120 ft.

10/11- Slow and somewhat labored 3.07 hollow run; duration 50:35; pace 16:29 max 13:25; HR avg 121 peak 126; ascent/descent 140 ft. Good one, though. Working on adding weekly miles. Slept about 5-1/2 interrupted hours last night, laptop fixing, double checking bills and such, up at 2:30'am.

10/12- another 5 hour night of sleep, other concerns, not running, but impacting training probably. See how I feel after a nap.
So. A recovery slow 1.12 mile trail run on power line cut followed by a recovery strength session. Run duration 20:36; pace 18:20; HR avg 111. Strength workout: three sets of: Total Gym incline presses, lateral curls, squats; high knee heel lift walks; 60-second alternate leg lit planks. Duration 25;05; HR avg 96 bpm. Total running miles midweek: 7.46.

10/13- rest day research shows mixed offerings. So I'll have to figure it out, physiological measurements formal and informal, and how I'm feeling. And my own laid back procrastination tendency.
MILESTONE- ran 6.16 miles, longest since I stopped 30 years ago #RunningatAge80 - slow slow pace along hollow's hills and grades, breathing good, strength fades, seeing if I have it in me yet for a 10K race next week (6.2 miles). Next few days will help me know. Some arrhythmia.
Duration 1:53:23: pace avg 18:23 max 10:51; HR avg 117 early wide swings; ascent/descent 620' 549'; distance 6.16 miles.

10/14- Rest and recoverry day. Maybe a walk to clear away lactic acid, help some healing. Total distance run so far this week: 13.62 miles. Walked inside leisurely and quick for a half hour - maybe that will do 1it. Body needs duration and effort with some ease to bar injury. Definitely slow going.

10/15- up at 3:30 after awake for an hour, 5-1/2 hours in bed. Coffee and oatmeal. Thinking about a running blog. Sleepy.
Finding: The neurophysiology of running, or any activity, is an imprinting that affects the whole system, duration the key.
So, after more sleep ...
Ran an easygoing 3.14 miles, hollow hills and grades, duration 48:32. Pace avg 15:25, max 11:39. HR avg 119, peak 133. Ascent 260', descent 200'. Total miles for week: 16.76. Total duration about 4:50:02, about 17:20 minutes a mile.

10/16- new week, maybe a 10K next Saturday Ran slow to moderate 2.25 miles, duration 32;42. Avg pace 14:39' max 11:14. HR avg 119' max 134. On hollow's graded street, 1/2 mile one direction. Felt decent during and after.

10/17- treadmill run, easy, 40;12 duration; HR 107 avg 120 max; 2.3 miles, slow slow. Couldn't get outside for a run till afternoon 80s heat, not for that today. More to put some time in.

10/18- Tapering for Saturday's 10K. Ran 1.11 miles; duration 15:22 basically moderate shakeout; 13:50 pace, max 11:06 (pace better than two mile races and training miles I've run these days but woefully slow); HR avg 120 max 127. Legs felt heavy. Old man tapering. Maybe.
Running's defining moments for me: 1) high-school dropout to collegiate All-American; 2) middle-aged renewal, winning too, then stopping; 3) 80-year-old picking it up again like an old friend, now in the back of the pack if not last, but experiencing its transformative primal core anew, to run, fly or swim, like other creatures, the physical dance and challenge, and limits to try to overcome. #RunningatAge80
Will run for food.

10/19- last run before the Pie Run hilly 10k Saturday, taking two rest days. Ran 2.28 miles in the hollow, thought about negative splits and consumed a sports gel about 20 minutes before to see if it would bother me; it didn't. Conversational pace. Duration 34.58; pace 15:17 max 12:33; HR 121 avg, 128 max. RI 44. Inclines 120' up 160' down. Satisfied.

10/20- rest day, one of two, in prep for Pie Run 10K Saturday. Might do a little strength and stretching work.
Words I love to hear:
"Humans are well-adapted to run into late middle age," says Daniel Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University who figured prominently in the bestselling book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. In fact, says Lieberman, who has spent part of his career studying pre-industrial cultures, our ancestors appear to have evolved to continue running or hunting well into today's masters years. "Hunter/gatherers who survive childhood often live into their 70s or even 80s and remain very active," he says.
From:
http://www.runnersworld.com/masters/mastering-running-as-you-age
Began reading "The Cool Impossible" by Eric Orton.

10/21- 1st 10K in 30 years tomorrow & since I returned to running 5 months ago #RunningatAge80 - hilly Signal Mt TN Pie Run - new (old) challenge.

10/22- Note to Pie Run 10K race organizers -
"Great run! First 10K after a 30-year layoff. Thanks so much for the pie and bread! - #RunningatAge80 - loved it all, even the hills and my coming in last, and especially how well you put it together."
From my sports watch: Distance 6.33 miles. Duration 1:35:58; pace 15:10, max 11:11; HR avg 134 (spikes - poor contact); cadence avg 81 (162). Good performance for me at this stage. Running is sweet.
Run distance this week: 15.7 miles about.

#RunningatAge80 - 10/23- easy recovery today after yesterday's 10K race, then onward with workouts, easy first, drawing on helpful article and book tips from coaches Eric Orton and Jeff Gaudette, and Runner's World. Glad I had those graduate and undergraduate exercise physiology classes though I need a review - long time ago.
On tapering RW: "Tapering allows muscle glycogen stores to return to peak levels. Metabolic enzymes, antioxidants, and various hormones return to their normal levels; muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues repair and strengthen. Your body is actually very busy during the taper, even though you feel like you are being a couch potato."
On recovery RW:
"A 5K recovery plan would include 3 easy days after the race. My recommendation is to give yourself one day completely off after the race to sleep in and enjoy your accomplishment as a nice reward. This also gives you time to see how you fared and notice any post-race aches or pains. Follow your day off with two easy days. Day 2 and 3 post-race can be cross training at an easy intensity level or short runs done at an easy pace. By Day 4 you should feel able to resume your usual training routine in preparation for the 10K. Likewise, a 10K recovery plan would be one day completely off post-race, followed by 5 easy, low intensity days. If you feel sore or unusually fatigued after the 10K, allow yourself 2 days completely off followed by 5 easy days. Most importantly, learn to listen to your body! If you feel you need additional days off or more easy days, take them."

10/24- somewhat easy recovery after day off yesterday, following the day before's hilly 10K run. Distance 2.21 miles. Pace 14:40 max 11:56. HR avg 120. On hollow's half mile fairly straight road. Felt pretty good though the 10K impact is apparent.

10/25- moderately easy hollow hilly run, 3.17 miles. Duration 48:17. Pace avg 15:12 max 11:39. HR in the 120s. Inclines 480'up 440' down. Cadence avg 79 (158). Getting more air in the stride, focusing on form.

10/26- Running is also my relief, momentary at least, from the vicious hateful violent behavior that pervades among we the people, even ageism, no less, a word that invokes a flow of sarcastic, snide and condescending posts on social media, if you haven't noticed. #RunningAgainAtAge80 -Recovery week from 1st 10k race after 30 year running hiatus. Easy 2.2 miler after a 3+ & 2+ days before. Week goal: 15. Feeling like I'm finding it again.
Distance 2.21 miles. Duration 33:29. HR avg sub 120 bpm. Pace 15:08 max 13:14. Slow. 7.59 miles so far this week.

10/27- feel I need a day off from training, mind and body sense, psychologically a break from the idea of performance in my running. Other things weighing as well. Maybe a little strength workout might happen. Or a nap. Connect the abstract with the grounded.

10/28- Picking it up after 10K race days ago #RunningAgainAtAge80 -ran hilly 3.21 miles -straight road in pic low part, either side up climbs to high ridge. Duration 46:59. Pace avg 14:38 max 11:14. HR avg 125. 260' up down. 10.8 miles so far this week.


10/29- Felt behind and useless and wasn't going to run, but did, a slowish 4.11 miles, duration 1:04:21, focusing on foot plant and knee forward form. Glad I did. Pace 15:40. HR avg 118, max 126. 520/340' up down. 14.91 miles this week. Goal was 15.

Note from RW article:
For instance, early in the season focus on shorter intervals once per week (early in the week) at a higher effort level to develop your form and economy, and run at an easy effort for the other two running workouts during the week. You can still run hills once per week, but do so at an easy to moderate effort level. (Learn how to run hills efficiently here.)
This sets the stage for recovering from two hard workouts per week: the speed workout and the long run. Although the long run is done at an easy effort, it is demanding and requires recovery. As you progress toward the middle of the season, begin to alternate tempo workouts with speed workouts every other week. (Learn how to run a tempo workout here.) As you build toward the final phase of the season, run tempo workouts to prepare for the sustained effort in the marathon. A once per week speed/tempo workout schedule might look like this:
Another RW note:
How do I run a tempo workout?
Start with a walking warmup of 3-5 minutes gradually increasing your breath and heart rate.
Run at an easy effort for 10-15 minutes to continue to warm up. This should be at an effort where you can talk easily (or recite the Pledge).
Run twenty minutes at tempo effort—at a point at which you can no longer talk easily but you're not gasping for air. Hold it there and be mindful of your pace and other variables on the day.
If you are new to this and overwhelmed by the thought of running at this effort level for a full 20 minutes, break it into shorter segments and add 1-2 minutes of walking in between. For instance, running 10 minutes twice with 2-3 minutes in between or for four times at 5 minutes with 1-2 walking or easy jogging minutes in between.
Finish with 10 minutes of easy running and a 3-minute walking cool-down and you're done!
Keep track of the variables (weather, fatigue, energy, stress, date) as well as your pace and how you felt. Running at the right effort will not only allow you to improve faster, you'll be motivated to train consistently!

10/30- Started training week with a mix of indoor intervals. Duration 52:07; HR average 93, peak 112. Four intervals of treadmill totaling 1.2 miles; of total gym incline presses and side curls to max effort; pretty much same with body weight squats; and 60 second alternating leg lift planks. Decent.

10/31- Easy 3.2 mile hollow hilly run, duration 51:36. Pace avg slow 16:06, max 12:06. HR avg 114. Up/down 100'. Wasn't sure I had a run in me. Age makes me cautious.