Sprinting At 60

 Sunday, November 24, 2024 Completed an excellent track workout this morning at club practice. I did 8 x 400 meters, all of which were under 90 seconds, with 3 minutes rest in between. The best news is, I felt NOTHING in my hamstring until . . . maybe the 7th or 8th 400, and even then it was just that I noticed a slight tightness. It has now been 4 months since I re-injured the hammy at Nationals. So I am feeling very happy about today's workout. I have been doing my PT leg exercises regularly, about three times a week. I saw Josh again on Wednesday, and we had a great session. He gave me 5 more exercises--challenging ones!--and I did them on my own at the gym yesterday. I worked out on the track at Penn on Tuesday. I could feel my hammy a little, say like a .5 to 1 level of "pain" or tightness, so I curtailed the workout a bit. I did stairs Thursday, and I had acupuncture and cupping on Friday.  Here are some pics from Tuesday, when I did a series of 800 meter runs: Trac...

Sunday, November 17, 2024: Track practice with the team this morning: The workout: 3 sets of 300m at 60 seconds each, 30 seconds between, maybe 2-4 minutes between sets. I did my best today, but I could only do half of this workout. Most are runners doing it with me are younger runners, so it makes sense; however, Bob and Keith (both 65 ish & distance guys), did it with ease. Trying to stay out of my head about how hard it was for me--I just don't have the cardiovascular strength of these amazing runners.  My times: First 300:   1:05 2nd:           1:04 3rd:            1:01 4th:            1:00 5th:            1:00 6th:            1:02 I followed with three 100 meters at 17 seconds each. Cooled down and did my Pilates mat routine.  Again, it's great I could do it, even though in my head I'm thinking will I EVER have...

Friday, November 15, 2024 I haven't updated this blog in a couple of weeks. My knees healed completely at the beginning of the month . . . that's good . . . whatever THAT was! I haven't been on the track yet this month, as a couple of weekends in NYC made Sunday track practice impossible, and I opted for outdoor runs along the river instead of the Franklin Field Track. I have been having GREAT Pilates reformer sessions in the studio the past couple of weeks, and I've been pretty consistent with my daily mat routine. I have been doing my PT leg exercises three times a week, plus doing regular weighted leg exercises at the gym. My legs are feeling stronger and more well-rounded in terms of development. My hammy feels much better overall; I could barely feel or sense it during the outdoor runs (which have been 3-5 miles . . . best day was yesterday, when I did 3 miles together at a 9 minute average [two of them were under 9 minutes)]). I've had two consecutive Fridays ...

Friday, November 1, 2024 The weather has been dry and warm--no rain in October at all! Very unusual. Doing my best to work through latest frustration--excessively sore knees for almost 2 weeks now. (They're feeling better today--I saw Dr. Aaron for acupuncture on my hammy and for cupping today, and we did an extra 45 minutes of needles on both my knees.) Last Sunday (October 27) I went to track practice and did 10 x 400m with some teammates. I had taken Aleve night before and morning of, so actually my knees didn't hurt much at all. They seemed to be inflamed, as opposed to, like suffering from a tear or something. Tender on front of knee cap, just below cap, toward inside (especially on my left knee). Google gods suggest it might be Pes Anserine Bursitis, which is basically an inflammation problem. Anyway, more to be careful with, care for. Here are the times for my 400s (2 minutes rest between each): 1) 93 seconds 2) 91 3) 93 4) 92 5) 92 6) 93 7) 93 8) 90 9) 89 10) 91 Tuesday...