First runs

After a strong early mid June of diet and vigorous biking, I've gotten a tad soft after a week in FL with my parents and an unusual chest cold on this July 4th.  Last night I did the obligatory Stairmaster and a few machines, and my weight is OK, 143.8 lbs after workout last night, but I feel soft and not in shape.

While in FL, I did some of my first hill runs.  On Thurs and Sunday I did 3x150 hill runs and it felt OK.  On Tues I did 8 stadium stair runs and it felt ok but not great.  Very out of shape compared to last year when I ran 30 of these.  The next morning I felt a little weak, also due to the cold and travel.

My original plan was to get really thin, then start building muscle.  I did lose weight but 145-146 avg is not 'really thin' and my training has consisted of some cardio plus one set maintenance lifting of a few machines.  No real gains can be made with one set workouts, 2-3 times a week, so I'm just maintaining a moderate level of fitness, not really pushing it.

I can tell with my first runs, running hills and stairs 3 times in 6 days, that I should not be running more than once every 4-6 days or so at this point, and only hills and stairs, nothing fast or full stride. It's been 6 months today and I can still feel a small amount of pain when I really torque the knee to maximum flex and do single leg squats, but just minor.  I believe that the body needs time to adapt to running after so many months off. 

There is no rush!  I don't anticipate any serious interval workouts on the track for at least 6-8 weeks.  I really want to be viable to race a year from now at M60 and in the following indoor season which is a LONG ways away.  The USATF Indoor Championships will be at the Armory in NYC! on March 19, 2021... that is more than 20 months away, and the World Masters Indoor Championship WMACi Edmonton will be one of the latest ever contested... April 6-12, 2021.  That is where I hope to be 100% and back to world class at M60... 21 months away.  If that goes well, I may do Nationals again in 2021.  But all of this is so far away, I have no idea what will happen or where I'll be.  It's just good to have goals.