Tag: running and aging

No time machine

The day came up sunny..but there still quite a bit of snow on the ground. I thought about “I’m gonna do this..I’m gonna do that…” but it was an effort just to get to the gym.

I decided to do the Riverplex track and go until I got tired or bored. 11:27, 11:19, 11:42. 11:09, 11:19, 17:12 walk (56:58, 1:14:11). The “running” miles were outer lane (7.3 laps to the mile) walking laps were in lane 1 (7.9 laps to the mile). So I averaged 10:24 for the running miles (5.48 miles) and with the walk: 1:14:11 for 6.5 miles.

Along the way, some “in shape” guy (in his 30’s?) blew past me repeatedly; he was wearing a crew shirt and later told me he was averaging 7:15 mpm. He lapped me so many times, so easily. And yes, that was once my pace.

But…but…just be grateful I am not carrying an oxygen tank or, as my wife puts it, trying to put tennis ball halves on the bottom my my walker.
Still..I was a bit astonished at how much this took out of me.

Weight: 193 in shoes and shorts beforehand..or 191 without.

Self talk during a workout

I’ll have more to say later this evening, but right now it will be about working out. Weight: OMG..193..but I did eat very late last night.

Workout: yoga then due to snow and cold..the plan was to just run 5 miles (40 laps of the outer lane, with 8 laps being 1.096 miles) but due to people on the track and some old guy timing intervals off of me, I ended up picking it up more than usual: 12:00, 10:32, 10:25, 10:28 (43:26) I knocked it off after 4; well 4.38 in 43:26 (about 9:55 mpm average; or about 9:33 average for 3.28 miles) as it was becoming, well, “too much work” and I wanted to leave something for the rest of the day.

Then a 11:03 mile on the treadmill finished it up for 5 for the day.

As usual, there were a LOT of old people on the track and …ugh…well, I think “that is ME in 10 years and I don’t like that” and that got me to thinking about retirement.

I’d love to see “retirement” as “you did great at work and you no longer have to work.” But instead it is “you’ve declined so much that you really can’t work effectively anymore.”

My long, gradual adjustment to running and lifting as I age

Workout notes: 5 mile walk yesterday (prior to going to an Illinois game)
Today: 1 mile warm up; 10 K “run” in 1:05:21; I started out with the wind at my back (18:25 for 2 miles) and then really gave into it when I faced a hard blowing headwind for about 2.5 miles. It was all I could to to not walk; my guess is that my lack of running conditioning AND my recent squat work took its toll.

But I decided to do the 10K in order to GET that conditioning. Note: I had some posture issues; back hurt a bit.

And …sigh…..I just can’t stay with the mainstream pack anymore.

But I think that my putrid performance is the result of many things. For one, I am very cautious with my workouts; I tend to error on the side of caution as I am careful not to push myself past the point of injury. I do with with weight training as well; I often do NOT push for that one extra rep.

And there is something else going on.

Yes, I know that my distance running and walking hurts my lifting and my lifting hurts my distance running and walking. But I am afraid to stop. Reason: I see those who are my age..and if I think that I am slow and weak, OMG…I do not want to be one of those who needs help to lift even the lightest object or one of those who can barely move up the steps or ramps.

So, for perhaps the fist time in my life, I am finding a “health” reason for at least some of it.

Enjoying the outrage….

Ah, good old Schadenfreude. From time to time, I do enjoy it..it is part of my dark side.

This little meme has angered some..and it is easy to see why. Life is full of issues and they tend to be complex ones. And if you are blessed enough to not see the complexity, you can come up with simplistic solutions that the “nose in the book experts with no common sense” fail to see. But alas, no one listens to you…even though you KNOW that you have it all figured out.

In reality, often there is no single optimum solution; just “less bad” options, each of which has an upside and some downsides. Ah…but realizing that means that, well, you are just one of the many that do not see the big picture.
And yes, that especially applies to ME, too many times. I have to watch for that.

Politics

Here is the deal: Trump supporters KNEW this about him…they just see ALL politicians as corrupt with Trump just being more upfront about it. This will not hurt him with the base; there is evidence of a slight erosion of support (can’t say if it is definitive or just noise). (Real Clear, Fivethirtyeight….but are we seeing this in the swing states?

Football: the weird

Illinois State is hosting FCS powerhouse North Dakota State this weekend; NDSU has won 7 of the 8 last FCS national championships. And ISU is ranked. Yes, I have tickets. The only thing available from the school are lawn tickets.

On the other hand, Notre Dame is hosting…Bowling Green (no, ND did NOT play teams like that in the old days)

Who knew that an Illinois State ticket is a hotter item than a Notre Dame ticket? (ok, I know…size of the stadium, ND is a 45 point favorite, etc….still it is counter-intuitive)

Workout catch up: my favorite workout tracking site appears to be down for the count; I’ve used it since 2003 but figured it had little time left. That doesn’t really matter as I have a paper back up until 2005 and then I have my blogs. Still, it really doesn’t matter as what worked years ago is no longer relevant. Just look at this sample of race results from 1998-1999, 2008-2009, 2018-2019. The formulas have changed on me, and what worked 20 years ago is no longer relevant.

But here goes:
Wednesday: 4 mile walk (Cornstalk classic), 5 sets of pull ups, goblet squats: 6 x 35, 6 x 50, 1 x 60 (sore)
Thursday: yoga, 5 mile walk (just didn’t feel like running; right now walking is more pleasant)

Friday: (today): weights: rotator cuff, pull ups (5 sets of 10, one of 5..good..little body swing), bench: 10 x 135, 1 x 185 (strict but weak..got it anyway), 5 x 155 (pause), decline: 10 x 165, military: 2 sets of 10 x 40 dumbbell standing (strict), 2 sets of 10 x 180 machine (seated), rows: 3 sets of 10 x 110, goblet squats: 6 x 25, 6 x 50, 6 x 65 (good depth), hex dead: 6 x 175 (very easy now…should be), 4 x 225 (getting easier..really)
plank: 2:30, lots of back stuff.

Almost 5K; almost a complete race

In one of my early Peoria area races, back in June, 1997, I ran the Metamora Lincoln-Douglas “3 mile” (about 3.07 miles) in 20:38. I remember mile 1: a runner named “Sue Boast” was with the group as we ran past and a volunteer called out the time. One runner didn’t hear it..I and for some reason Sue saying “Six Twenty Five” stuck with me. According to my log, I was to get to mile 2 in 13:07. My time equates to about a 20:50 5K, and I ran..surprisingly, a 20:52 just a week later (on a warmer day). I wrote in my log “too fast, mile 1.”

Well, today I didn’t run a 6:25 first mile. I got there in 8:10 which, yes, is my fastest mile since 2015 and my 17:07 was my fastest 2 mile since 2016. And no, I couldn’t sustain it; I fell apart on the final 1.06, walking 3 times (really, too many…should have gutted it out better than that).

Perhaps the first mile split was a tiny bit short, but I was way too close to people who usually finish way ahead of me.

Rule of thumb: if I am right with a bunch of people that actually LOOK like runners, I am probably going too fast to sustain the pace.

Final time: 28:05 (about 9:09 mpm or 28:22 for a 5K). This would have been a decent time for me last year, but I am capable of better this year…PROVIDED I pace myself better.

Aging and lifting part 101

Yes, I talk about aging and attempting to do sports quite a bit. Reason: as I age, the formula changes.

Weight lifting: though I am NOT as strong as I once was (not that I ever was strong; best dead lift was 425 and best bench was 310) my strength seems to have taken less of a hit than my running ability.

Part of the reason, I think, is that lifting involves fewer systems. The other reason: I am not a natural runner. I’ve noticed that, among the men who were a bit faster than I several years ago: some are much faster than I am not. These tend to be the small boned, “runner body” men. My guess: their efficient running stride and lighter weight means that they didn’t have to decrease their training to the degree that I’ve had to. Much of my slow down comes from the fact that I can’t train as much as I once did. Ok, part of that is my knees: I’ve had 5 operations total.

But I can lift 3 times a week and while I don’t do as much as I once did, I can still do a respectable amount.

Some key differences:
1. I need more rest between sets if I want to handle the same amount of weight. This is why I do better in the summer when I don’t have to rush through.
2. I sometimes get out of breath; this happens when I challenge myself to do a set of 15 pull ups (instead of just 10); I am breathless when I finish.

Today’s workout: (more detail than normal)

rotator cuff (usual)
pull ups: 5 sets of 10, one of 5 (varied the grip; notice: I now keep my eyes open and make sure that I can see over the top of the rack…this changes has lead to a bit of “core soreness” at first but has done me good.

bench press: 10 x 135, 3 x 185 (solid)

dumbbell military press: 10 x 50 (standing, full reps..best in a while)

bench press: 7 x 160 (kind of gave up; left shoulder sometimes acts up)

dumbbell military press: 10 x 45

rows: machine 3 sets of 10 x 110 with sets of other things in between

machine military: 10 x 180 (90 each arm)

goblet squats: 6 x 30, then 6 x 40..felt some soreness

planks: 2:30 bent arm, side plank

head stand

Crow pose (yoga)

knee stretches: kneeling then sitting on a ball. This is what I cannot do:

I have to put a medicine ball or an “on edge” yoga block under me.