Sunday, February 11, 2024:

Just an update on how I felt the day after my first track workout on Thursday. In one word: awesome! Really I had no pain or soreness from the 4 x 400 meters I ran. I feel pretty good about that. Also I wanted to note that yesterday and today I devoured the book The Ageless Athletic Spirit by Bill Collins (which is mentioned in an interview with Bill Yelverton conducted by "Autumn Athletes . . . Not Done Yet" that is posted on YouTube). The book is amazing. Clear and direct, positive and affirming. Also, there are easy-to-follow weekly workout plans (for a whole year!)  that incorporate what Collins calls the three basics of training: core strengthening, running workouts (milage [treadmill or outdoors] and sprinting on the track), and weight training.  So the good news is, now I have a training plan. Now I am trying to run 3 miles a day, 5 or 6 times a week, in under 30 minutes. I can start to push myself to get my weekly average of these runs to about 24 minutes. As mentioned in my first post, I already workout in the gym about 4 days a week, so I will implement the suggested routine in Collins's book (I will need to add the core routine he suggests every day/every visit to gym, adding to my three days of Pilates). And of course, now I have guidance and direction as to what to do on the track for my sprinting workouts. 
Next week in Philly it will be colder again. I will post a screen shot of the forecast for the week, just to have a record of it for myself. I am originally from Southern California, and although I've been living in New York City and Philadelphia for the past 30 years, I still am not completely in my element in colder weather. . . . Let me look for a positive aspect:  Maybe the cold weather helps to reduce inflammation? Anyway, I prefer to run outdoors in warmer temperatures, though I do prefer slightly cooler temps when compared to humid heat. 

 . . . oy, snow even!
Cover of the book:

Two new gadgets I purchased (again, suggestions gleaned from the Bill Yelverton interview). I think the finger timer may really help me time myself. I love my Apple Watch, but it was a little cumbersome to operate while running (especially with layers on). The first gadget is for timing intervals while training--may be some time before I try that one. 

finally, the cool finger stopwatch: