At the lake, water running / swim

Love this time of year.  Had the lake to myself and did a decent workout.

Deep water running

6 x 60 (R/L) strides w/ 60 sec rest

Max HR - 160

Avg HR - 125

Lake swim

2 x 160 yds 

Was able to finally make it across the lake freestyle without stopping.   About 90x (R/L) strokes. 

Started the day with 23 pullups and some ab wheel... and a couple hrs of guitar practice.

Knee feels good and I think limiting leg activity to water and maybe occasional gentle seated bike might be what I need.  I don't know what to make of the comments on the last post.  A lot of ridiculous hyperbole, snide BS.    Bottom line, my knee is painless for daily activities, even when carrying significant weight up stairs.  The identified possible medial condyle defect ("emerging subfracture") is tiny, about 1/4" square.  I don't think it's unrecoverable for normal daily activities and may be recoverable with a significant healing period even for occasional running.   Dubious I'll be training for the 400m at the same level as before the injury, but that's ok.  Turf sprints once a week is really all I need + bike.  I don't think that is an unreasonable goal.   May try an under loader brace for biking, I'll ask the Dr.

Really light 141.3 lbs after workout.  12% bodyfat.  

Sympathy to my masters colleagues who had their first day of competition at USATF Masters Nationals canceled in OH due to air quality.  Fortunately, they have a 300m indoor track on site.  The air quality forecast for Friday is also not good.  That sucks, but they'll have to bring it indoors.  Not the first time.  It happened in '17 in LA when lightning forced us indoor at LSU on a 200m flat track for 200m semis. 

Bike sprint, pullups, fast

 I've been taking time off the bike until today, I couldn't stand it anymore I did a bike sprint but not full, effort.  I also have been doing the usual few exercises and I'm regularly able to do 21-23 pullups every morning.  Been walking a mile+ every morning including walking backward up hills.  

I'll see what the new ortho Dr. says about recovery next Tuesday.  

I'm fasting and purging for tomorrow's colonoscopy.  Yesterday ate a 'low residual' diet which was new to me.  Stuff I never eat, like simple carbs... specifically white rice and bananas.  That's the stuff I probably should have been eating before races instead of high fiber bread and cereals.  I should be able to drop close to 140 lbs by the time this is over.  I had to drink a 2 L of polyethylene glycol solution around 6 pm, then another 2 L at 1:00 am.   I'll be up most of the night.  Fun.

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:16

Avg speed - 13.3 mph

Max HR - 165

HR over 156 - 4:10

Avg HR - 150 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

I stayed seated most of the ride back, HR certainly wasn't up to what it normally is during this workout.  

Hard to tell if these types of rides are degrading to my knee.  The feels good afterward.  Sometime I get a slight soreness later in the night or next day but usually not.  Probably shouldn't do anything for a month with my legs, but I definitely would feel vulnerable to CV disease without pushing my HR, hard to do without legs.  Maybe be forced to swim only.  Water run at the most.  I'll see what the Dr. says but I'm sure less is more at this point.

Judging by the comments, some people don't apparently understand that 'jogging' - running with heel or midfoot strike is more damaging to my knee than high knee running, stairs, hills, or running with forefoot strike on the ball of the foot in sprint form.  FWIW, even when I raced 800s, my heel never touched the ground and I wore the same spikes as I would for a 100m race.  Anything faster than a 72 sec 400m is a sprint for someone over 60, and that would be about my slowest 400m split in any of the 800m races I ever ran, my slowest being 2:22.  Transitioning from high knee running gradually to full stride is the way I've been getting prepped for sprinting post injury.  

Anyway, hopefully my colon is ok.  Find out tomorrow.  

resistance - pullup PR, forward - MRI impressions

Doing my usual pullups and core work, hanging about 143-144 lbs, did 25 consecutive pullups today, a lifetime PR.  

The key findings in my MRI was that the posterior root repair as stated "remains intact."   Curiously, no mention of stitching on the medial complex tear although a mention of a "Prior repair of vertical tear in the posterior horn which remains intact."   This is relatively good news because a re-tear of the root would be unrepairable.  

Basically, all of these stresses were likely due to overly ambitious and premature training after the repair in an effort to get back to competition last winter/ early spring indoor season.   

All AI programs I've consulted on this say that I need a significant break from running 6-12 weeks and a slow cautious return.  That means even limiting my cycling and any leg-centered stuff, probably including rowing.  Swimming and water running seem the safest in the short term.   I will probably take a 10 day break from all cycling until I meet with the ortho a week from Tues. 

It seems that my natural knee health may be only barely salvageable, and this may very well be my last chance to get healed.  Certainly any further trauma will only shorten the time toward a TKR, however, my pain has truly been minimal, probably due to strengthening.  I have zero pain walking up and down stairs even when carrying significant weight.  Although, I do sometimes feel soreness or stiffness after a long hike.  There are also treatment options like subchondroplasty and injections which could be utilized as last option.  

I have been pushing very hard on the bike, HR into at least the 170s at least 3x a week.   I worry that a sudden cessation of hard cardio work will have deleterious effects on my CV wellness.   Same day I meet with my Dr., I'm getting a barrage of tests I purchased from this new test broker:  Goodlabs.  Incredibly inexpensive.  Should be a good CV risk assessment.    Also, have a colonoscopy on Wed.  

Fellow track mate Andrea asked me if I thought I might be ready to compete at worlds in March, I said I don't know.  It becomes a game of attrition at this point.  One guy I raced with in '21 just had a TKR and he's trying to run on it.  Very slow progress.  Another fellow world medalist in my age group had a heart ablation due to afib that caused his HR to spike to 250.  That would be scary.   He recently returned to race for the first time.  If I am to compete in March, I would need to start my first conservative running by Oct.  I have time.  

Looking back, if I had just done one short turf workout every 2-3 weeks all summer, that would have been probably OK.  But 2 track workouts with just 2 - 3x 90% effort sprints 5 days apart, I wasn't ready for that.  Should have stayed on turf and kept intensity to 80%. 

Again, I have time.   Now, knowing what to do with it.   Half jokingly (and half not) thought, maybe I should go non weight bearing, brace and crutches for a month?  Nah, probably overkill.  Then again, it couldn't hurt? Or could it... with the atrophy?  Motion and flexibility are good.  Should stimulate healing I would think.  I think they still try and stimulate healing with micro fracture technique... not that I'm going to do that.  But the body does respond to stimulus and to tasks.  

bike sprint, MRI

Did my first training involving legs since last Saturday's running.  Just a neighborhood bike sprint.   Got the knee MRI.  Definitely a mess.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:01

Avg speed - 13.6 mph

Max HR - 173

HR over 156 - 5:05

HR over 170 - 5:18 

Avg HR - 166 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

Slower and higher avg HR but lower Max HR from last time.

Knee continues to feel better and will allow recovery til I do make any running attempts.  

As expected, MRI showed a lot of problems.  It seems that the game should be to expect trauma and to allow recovery.  

On the plus side:

"Intact root attachment.... prior repair of vertical tear in the posterior horn which remains intact. Intact anterior root"

On the minus side:

"recurrent macerated tearing along the free edge of the posterior horn/root junction creating a small free edge flap with intact posterior root. Degenerative undersurface tearing of the meniscus at the posterior junction and partially extruded body segment without flap displacement ...  Prior repair of vertical tear in the posterior horn which remains intact. Intact anterior root with reactive edema or root sprain. Diffuse chondral loss throughout the central and posterior weightbearing femoral condyle at least 75% chondral thickness with stress related marrow changes diffusely throughout the femoral condyle associated within

evolving subchondral fracture in the posterior weightbearing aspect measuring 0.7 cm transversely with evidence of remotely healed subchondral fracture in the more anterior weightbearing femoral condyle. Partial chondral loss in the tibial plateau centrally at least 50% chondral thickness with mild stress response peripherally and posteriorly... Full thickness chondral loss in the central, with highgrade partial chondral loss in the inferior medial trochlea with chronic stress response and preserved cartilage in the lateral trochlear facet."

Summary impression:

1. Prior medial meniscal repair posteriorly with recurrent free edge tearing of the posterior horn/root junction, undersurface tearing of the peripheral posterior horn extending to the body segment with intact root attachments demonstrating degeneration/sprain and progressive arthrosis in the compartment at least moderate severity with increased stress response throughout the femoral condyle associated with a evolving subchondral stress or insufficiency fracture of the posterior weightbearing aspect, likely a pain generator.

2. Intact lateral meniscus with degenerative fraying along the free edge and relatively superficial focal chondral loss without significant compartment arthrosis.

3. Intact cruciate, collateral ligaments without acute injury or tear, early mucinous degeneration of the ACL.

4. Patellofemoral arthrosis, moderate severity with chronic stress response related to highgrade chondral loss in the trochlea.

5. Moderate size joint effusion with chronic synovitis more pronounced suprapatellar fossa, medial compartment. Small loose osseous bodies in the posterior superior medial femoral recess measuring up to 0.5 cm.

Seems that the worst cartilage loss is not on the tibial or condyle surfaces, but behind the kneecap on the medial trochlea.   Anyway, it sucks.   

Weight pulls, sprints

Saturday workout was cut short by a storm.  I went out to do some weight pulls and felt good enough after warmups to do a few sprints.  But did one too many.  Ran a 50m, then a fast 100m, then did 2x50 yd 90lb weight pulls.  Storm then came.  Was bummed I couldn't do more due to the rain and lightning, so I ran a hard 50m in the rain. Shouldn't have, knee hurt after.  Should have just quit while I was ahead.  But I ran a 13.8 100m in trainers, not bad for not having sprinted twice in 2 months.

Stretches, drills, bands

2 x 50m high knees

50m - 7.10

100m - 13.85

2 x 50m weight pulls on turf with 90lbs

50m - 7.40

Went swimming afterward.   Won't try running again for a while.  

MRI on R knee today, should get the report this week.  Not optimistic.  

Was 142.5 today before dinner.  12.6% body fat.  Going to continue with the weights and stuff.  The campus weight room was just renovated with many new machines.  They finally got a glute machine you can load up with plates.  That'll be good.  Should open this week.  

Lovely this morning, 6:00 am...

hot bike climb

Went out in the heat today for a bike climb, 92º and exceptionally humid, dewpoint 78º, heat index 107º.  Hottest part of the day.   I got Dr. Scott an endurance runner a few yrs younger than me to motivate me.  We finished together.  

This was the hardest I've ever pushed my HR.  The overall time was not exceptional, but the effort was due to the conditions.   Faster than last time.  I did very little sprinting off the seat.  Scott did more than I did.  

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 23:11

Avg speed - 6.1 mph

Max HR - 190

HR over 170 - 14:59

HR over 180 - 4:15

Avg HR - 166

Had a nice swim afterward.  Scott lives right at the top of the hill and on a lake.  Got to hang with friends for a few hrs.  Roya joined us.

It was supposed to rain today, even possible severe storms, but nothing came.  Nice lightning and thunder in the distance. 

Roya's day off tomorrow so we'll go swimming.  I want to hit the track during the heat and do some weight pulls.  Could be hotter tomorrow, and certainly will on the reflective turf field in full sun.  

bike sprint, weights, water running, swim

Not keeping track of all my workouts but spent Sunday doing weights all day, several sets of upper body and core.  Finished with a brief swim.  

Tuesday did a bike sprint.  2nd fastest.

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:31

Avg speed - 14.3 mph

Max HR - 184

HR over 156 - 8:10

HR over 170 - 1:10

HR over 180 -  0:26 

Avg HR - 160 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

Today, water running, lake swim, weights, backward walking uphill.  I really felt the fatigue in my quads at first.  Any new activity gets new areas.  

water running:

6 x 60 strides w/ 1 min rest

Max HR - 160

Avg HR - 124

Lake swim:

345 yds

Max HR - 139

Avg HR - 124

Lake water temperature 90º according to my watch.
 

Interestingly, more confirmation there is no activity like sprinting... with just a few short sprints on Sat, my hamstrings were a little sore for 3 days.  Don't get that from slow running, drill, stairs, etc...  

Even though I haven't lost much weight, hanging around 142 -144, my body fat % is down 1% from when I first started measuring it, from 13.5% to 12.5%, according to the Hume pod.  Have added some hard fought muscle mass I think.

Hottest day of the year today, low 90's and super humid, dewpoint hit 80º today and heat index over 100ºF.  Early evening before we went to the gym, we walked up the Roark's cove rd. steep and that lush micro climate on the north side of the mountain was noticeably cooler (84ºF) than the area around my house, a south facing bluff which was over 90ºF.  I walked up the steeps backward.  Really felt it in my quads.  

Roya likes to walk with ankle weights while pumping light dumbells.  Looks kinda funny. 

Medical:

My MRI results showed very little.  Very scant detail, nothing concerning, pancreas cyst no change, perhaps even a mm smaller (7mm).  The radiologist has good creds (Harvard, J. Hopkins, BU) but is relatively young.  

Monday, I'm going for an MRI of my knee to assess the issues.  

Roya just had an Ezra full body scan.  No results yet.  

Tomorrow, we'll have heat indexes close to 100º.  I'm going to revel in it.  Going to the track and taking my weight harness, going to pull the 90 lbs weights across the field in the hottest part of the day.  Will be fun.  

Drinking tea again.  Flowers are loving this weather.

Resistance, first track sprints in 2 mo

I got to the gym today, did mostly upper body but went to the track afterward.  Felt ok, not 100%.

Stretches, drills, bands

2 x 50m - high knees

50m - 7.10

100m - 14.17 (6.90, 7.27)

Not terrible considering my first sprints in 2 mo and in trainers with a 3 step rolling start.  Got to be careful and not do this much.  I originally said I was going to wait til Sept to run, but a lot of time on my hands and I miss it.  The knee is not pain free but isn't bad.  The lateral stability has improved but the week has been tough.  2 bike workouts and a stair session since Tues. 

Heat wave starts tomorrow, but it won't be unbearable here like in the cities.  Highs pushing 90º here on the mtn for the next several days.  100º down below for the cities. 

141.1 lbs after workout.  

bike sprint - PR

This was a hard effort.   Massive PR by 17 sec.   This one will be hard to top.

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:21

Avg speed - 14.3 mph

Max HR - 177

HR over 156 - 9:51 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

HR over 170 - 3:53

Avg HR - 166 

I hit the turnaround at 9:56 about 4 sec faster than last PR.

Have been eating more meat (chicken breast) lately.  Weight holding steady in the 142s.  Doing daily strength so seeing a little difference.  

For whatever reason, my MRCP / MRI read may take another week.  I've never known a report to take this long.  I really think this Vanderbilt medical center isn't what it used to be.  When it was a single centralized teaching hospital back in the day, it was top notch.  Now it has taken over numerous other smaller hospitals and facilities, it's losing quality for quantity.  I may look elsewhere in the future.  The Vanderbilt medical name was always very well respected.  Notsomuch now, judging by online reviews.  

The weather has been awesome so far, cool for this time of year but a heat wave hits on Sunday and continues without rain for about 4 days, temperatures in the lower 90ºs... which means near 100º in the cities.  

I expect I'll be swimming and water running everyday beginning Monday.  

Yesterday before my bike climb, I did an 80yd sprint on the track.  It felt ok. Kind of chompin to get back to some limited running.  Maybe do some drills and high knee runs in the heat next week 

Bike climb

Early morning bike climb on Roark's Cove Rd.  I had to take my mtn bike in so while I was out, I did the climb.   Today, didn't put out real hard, tried to keep HR low and no stand up sprints.  Still, not a bad time.  

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 23:51

Avg speed - 5.8 mph

Max HR - 175

HR over 170 - 4:42

By contrast, my previous climb was just 1:21 faster but HR over 170 was 14:27, compared with only 4:42 this time.  

My mtn bike repair was only $19.  Happy with that.  

I think I'm going to rearrange my HR zones on my watch to make it more specific to my HR and  training.  

6: >179 

5: 170-179

4: 156-169 

3: 140-155

2: 120-139 

1: <119

 

stadium stairs

Incredible day yesterday.  Tiring.  Met with contractor rebuilding my carport and shed in Murfreesboro in the morning, MRI/MRCP scan, then followup, then a meeting with a cardiologist, then taught a 90 min lesson and it was still daylight, so I ran the stadium stairs 15x.   I hadn't eaten in 24 hrs and going on just 2 cups of coffee.  

Stadium stairs - MTSU

stretches, drills

15 x stadium stairs

It was hard and my knee felt it this morning.  Third day in a row with some hard exercise.  I'm just doing resistance today.  I even thought about fasting last night, that would have quickly taken the last of my body fat but I ate the usual low carb stew and wasa crackers for a dessert. 

Hanging about 141.5 lbs, happy with the progress.  

Doing this regime every morning:

- 20 to 25 hanging abs

- 20 pullups

- 35 pushups

- 20 to 25 ab wheels

Medical:

I haven't gotten the report on the MRCP scan.  The NP that looked at it with me said it seemed unchanged and non threatening, cysts mostly liquid, but would contact me if the report says otherwise.  Plan is surveillance.  Another scan in a yr.   

Cardiologist basically blew me off.  Said I don't need statins and that was basically it.  He said my lipid particle fractionation tests that were all in the higher risk area didn't correlate to anything clinical in the absence of symptoms.  He would not prescribe a CT angiogram.  We ended up chatting about 400m training as his son is a 51 sec HS 400m sprinter.  Oh well.  

I booked an MRI for my knee to assess the issues.  Unless there's a clear and fixable problem, perhaps like a floating piece of broken cartilage, I probably won't do anything.  However, good to get an image and report in case I want to pursue some sort of a revision in the future.  

Wasa cracker w/ fig preserves and pistachios - dessert with tea.  About 80 cal.  (about 50 cal without the nuts).   I ate way too much today, no progress today.  

Total bonehead thing.  Screwed up my mtn bike rear brakes trying to adjust them.  Probably a $60 mistake as I'll need to take it in tomorrow.  

Back home - bike sprint, weights

 Back home in Sewanee.  Tied my PR today on this course.  Riding in between waves of severe thunderstorms.  About 2 hrs ago I was falling into my PM nap and a tornado warning siren went off, woke me up.  As usual, 'a hoax.'   Another wave expected around sunset.  

I hit it pretty hard and got to the turnaround by 5:00 flat.  So I pushed it hard.  Was unwilling to take the final downhill corner at breakneck speed so missed a PR.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:38

Avg speed - 14.2 mph

Max HR - 176

HR over 160 - 9:01 

HR over 170 - 3:50

Avg HR - 164 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

Higher HR than my previous PR run.  

Doing the resistance work - upper body and core in the morning.  This evening at the gym, leg curls, extensions, calves, leg press, chest, arms.  

Hell day tomorrow - 5 appts.  3 medical (MRCP scan, consult, cardio), 1 builder, 1 lesson.  I'll leave tomorrow at 7:20 and not return til the evening.  

Dinner:  Diced chicken breast, zucchini, celery, onion, garlic, stewed tomatoes, fresh basil.  No oil, cooked in tomato juice.  Less than 400 cal in 2 bowls, very low carb and very low fat.          

                                       

bike, resistance

Past two days I've been biking after dinner.  This is something I never could do in a serious track workout, yet nothing is as hard as a serious track workout.   

Yesterday did two circuits after a day at the museums.  Today Sunday, did 4 circuits, 2 each way.  The original way is harder because the hill climb isn't preceded by a downhill.  Now, if I really wanted to suffer, I would come to a dead stop at the base of the second hill and not use downhill momentum to climb, but it a good workout nevertheless.

7.4 mile bike circuit - Sandy Springs

elevation gain - 870'

Max HR - 179

Avg HR - 147

About 42 min including some brief rest stops.  These hills are short but peak at between 12-14% grade.  The last one I did once peaks at 16.5%.  

Lot of ups and downs in this one.  It says I burned over 400 cals so that's good.

Also been doing core and pushups every day.  Hanging ab straps.  Roya bought a Roman chair so doing that with 25lbs for glute and hams. 

Definitely dropped some weight, now hanging about 141.5, daily range about 140 -143.  

Diet good:

Lemon water in the morning, then cappuccino with collagen in the late morning.  One piece of Royo bread with preserves+psyllium husk early afternoon.  Dinner today was flounder and salad.  Night snack -  tea with Wasa cracker w/ preserves+psyllium husk, and a piece of sugar free chocolate.  I'm thinking it's about 1200 cal max.  

I'm close to optimum weight and when I get there and just below, I'll up the calories and protein, then really get after the strength regime.  I'll be home Monday.  Tues is my scan, followup, first appt with cardiologist, and 2 other appts non health related... super busy day.  

Stairs, drills, resistance

Making progress on my fitness, down close to where I was before my trip to NY.   At present pace, should be close to race weight in a week.  

Days like today make me feel that it may still be possible to run track.  Sprinting is one thing, but training to elite level is another.  

At the Marist School in ATL.  It was warm, about 83º and in the sun, hotter.   Their stadium stairs are 25 steps.  (Compared with MTSU which are 40, and Vestal HS which are 20).  

Stretches, drills, bands

22 x stadium stairs

4 x 40m high knee running

backward running

Ab wheel

Really good hard one.  I did one at the end as double leg hops all the way up.  Really sweaty.  Roya came too and despite wearing her 2 week heart monitor, she ran 7.  

Been working on my upper body and core too.  Fitness definitely 'snowballs' with progression.  

Eating really well, just salad and sardines tonight.  Coffee with a Wasa cracker and watermelon during the day.  I've found that mixing a tsp of psyllium husk with fruit preserves and eating it with a Wasa cracker and tea - only about 100 cal, curbs late night tendency to eat.  My weakness is grazing on nuts and dried berries at night - calorie dense food that isn't particularly good for digestion and bowels.  This has substituted for that quite well.  

Going to bed at just under 143 lbs.  Was 143.2 at morning weigh in.

bike circuit in ATL

 At Roya's house this week.   Yesterday did the usual ~ mile circuit with 3 hill climbs 4x.  Also, resistance work and a 2 mile hike after dinner.   Fat is coming off slowly. 

With so many short hills and ups and downs, HR graph looked pretty weird.  None of the hills were long enough to generate a high HR.   Just a dozen short sprints.

Bike ride

6.8 miles

Max HR - 170

Avg HR - 142

Roya has a pullup bar so I brought my hanging ab straps and ab wheel.  

Roya got bummed by her reading on my Hume scale showing her bodyfat at 26% and her 'metabolic age' at 61.  (I'm at 13% BF and m-age 48).  A lot of that is genetic I think, and the 'metabolic age' is basically a algorithm.  

Hume's "metabolic age" is based on basic metabolic rate (BMR) -  number of calories your body burns at rest—compared against the average BMR for others of your same chronological age, gender, and height.   Hume platform bases this metric on several specific physiological variables, particularly body composition.  Lean muscle mass, total body fat, and visceral fat. (Muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain than fat, which directly raises your BMR).   Of course this proprietary algorithm is probably not accurate, consistent, and is only as good as the measuring tool, which isn't very good.  It's just a general indication.   The scale weighs a bit more than the beam balance (physicians scale). 144.1 on the Hume, 143.5 on the beam scale.  

Going to hit the resistance today.  

A friend of mine who is a retired 2x World 400m Masters champion in my age group just completed this enormous bike climb in the UK.  95 miles including 6 climbs with a total ascent of 2332 meters.  He did it in about 6 hrs.  I can't imagine.  Just the first climb in the series of 6 is about what Raccoon mtn is.  He retired from track after a very serious knee injury and surgery, probably more serious than mine.  Amazing that knees can handle such severe biking but not sprint training.  Sprint training is very specialized.

bike climb, NCAAs

Roark's Cove Rd bike climb.   This one was a bitch.  Not bad conditions, about 80º and humid.  Having the previous climb season PR on my mind I probably went out too hard.  I climbed the big hill about 3 sec ahead of last climb but couldn't maintain the 21:38 pace from last time.  HR was way higher this time.  

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 22:32

Avg speed - 6.1 mph

Max HR - 183

HR over 170 - 14:27

HR over 180 - 2:09

Compare with last time, HR over 170 was only 4:07.  Of the 14:27 over 170, several min of that was over 177.  So it was a really hard effort.  I didn't feel like it but was going into town for an errand and I thought I should burn some calories.  Besides having a fairly heavy training load the last few days, I'm 2 lbs heavier than last climb.  Getting sick of being over optimum weight. I need to face the fact that at 145.5 lbs, I'm 5 lbs overweight.  

So, need to self correct here.  I'm going to Roya's house where I'll eat better.  Not eating real bad, but the nuts, dried fruit, and Wasa crackers with nut butters and preserves need to go.  If I'm disciplined, I could be where I want to be in a week.  

I'm feeling some progress in my knee health and hope to take another crack at track training in the fall.  Having some success in short hill sprints,  maybe that's the ticket, short to long.  If i ever am able to train again, it will take 5 mo to get to elite level, but maybe this crosstraining will help.  I dream about track training sometimes. 

---

UPDATE:

Best NCAAs ever

The NCAA DI track championships have been phenomenal.  World leading times in the sprints, college records broken, and a WR in the 110H.   MTSU's Mustapha B. took 6th in the 100m (9.99) and 4th in the 200m with a school record PB of 20.04, sadly missed the bronze by 0.02.  Women's finals tomorrow.  These times were CRAZY, certainly faster than the pro circuit.  All wind legal except the 100m was just over.  I've noted foreign athletes,  will represent their home countries in international competition:

Men:

100m - 9.72 (+2.2)  Kanyinsola Ajayi (Nigeria)

200m - 19.63  Jaiden Reid (Cayman Is) 

400m - 43.38 (4th fastest all time)  Samuel Ogazi (Nigeria)

110H - 12.75 World Record (semis)  Ja'Kobe Tharp

4x400m relay - GA 2:57.93 (42.99 anchor leg - Jonathan Simms) 

Women (semis):

100m - 10.63 (5th fastest all time) Adejah Hodge (BVI) 

200m - 21.68 Adejah Hodge 

400m - 48.79 Dejanea Oakley 

800m  - 1:56.85 Sanu Jallow

These were all college records except for the Mens's 100m because of wind.

water running, short hills, resistance

Gorgeous summer like day on the mountain.  I just love it.  I went to the lake today and had the place to myself for almost 2 hrs.  Did a set of water running and it was harder than expected.  Also today, did some upper body and some 40m hill sprints.  

I definitely felt the pump in my quads after a few reps of water running.  I dd 4 sets of 60 (L+R) strides.  Each set takes about 80 sec, and 60 sec rest in between.   Then I did some short hill sprints.  Like with any type of running, some minor pain on the first 2 reps that goes away.  I do notice that paying attention to my form and keeping it aligned helps alleviate knee pain.  

Water running

4 x 60 (L+R) strides w/ 1 min rest

Hill sprints 

3 x 20m

5 x 40m

Also have been trying to develop my core and doing various resistance exercises.   My most recent measurements on the Hume pod show a slight increase in muscle mass and decrease in body fat despite being heavier, about 145 lbs. 

Definitely living in paradise.  It reached 84º here in Sewanee.  By contrast it was 98º with a heat index of 108º down the mtn in Murfreesboro.  

My almost 40 yr old motorcycle gets me there.  

 

Bike sprint PR, swim and water running

Another PR for the 2.5 mile bike sprint on gravel with the mtn bike.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:38

Avg speed - 14.0 mph

Max HR - 175

HR over 160 - 7:32 

HR over 170 - 2:01

Avg HR - 161

Beat my previous PR by 6 sec.  It was hard.  

Going to go to the lake later and do some water running.   Forecast to be 86º today but the only rain storm in the state happened to be over my house this morning and has kept temps in the mid - upper 70ºs. 

Yesterday, did some pullups and some squats.  Back slid a little in weight.  144 lbs, still 13% bodyfat

Update:

Went to the lake today, did a little water running and a 370 yd swim.  Beautiful.  Water still cool, 81º at the surface.  

Small stadium stairs

Did stadium stairs at 7:30 this morning at the Vestal HS with my nephew Kris.   Kris is 39, wealthy investor and has 3 insurance offices.  Strong guy, fit.  

These stairs were about half the height or less than the MTSU stadium.  

We did 20x consecutively.  HR hit 178 on the last one.  

I wanted to do another set but Kris folded.

It's ok, I have to travel today.  But, with all the food I've been eating, this was much needed.  

Stretches, Drills 

20x Stadium Stairs - Vestal HS

This and the Friday bike climb have kept me from backsliding much. 

This is Kris and his family.  Very sports oriented.  His 12 yr old son Tiano is already my size and is a standout in football, baseball, and basketball.  His daughter will be the sprinter.  She is super fast for an 8 yr old.  Wife Sabrina is from Argentina.   He was telling me about his investment strategy and upcoming vacations.  He's going to Barcelona, cruise to Mallorca, a seaside villa in Portugal.  Always flies his family first class.   They've been around the world.  

Tom's daughter's wedding went well, and I played the ceremony and the cocktail hour prior to the dinner for about 100 people.  

Photos:  Kari and Billy.   Billy is an electrical engineer works for a rail company.  

 

Bride and groom.

Parents moving back to FL after making arrangements to move to Binghamton.  Total 'about face' after a week.   Crazy.   Mom and dad are 86 and 84, never know when or if it will be the last time we'll all be together.  

The hills of Conklin on the bike

After playing the wedding rehearsal, I had nothing to do and instead of spending my entire evening alone in my hotel, I got my brother's bike and did a 10 mile loop in Conklin Forks.  Of the 3 hill climbs I did last year, this was the hardest, so I chose this one.  

From my brother's house:  Conklin Rd to Fallbrook to Stetson to Finch to Ross Hill to State Line to Brady Hill to Conklin Forks to Conklin Rd.   About a 750' elevation gain, 1047' of total climbing.  

Conklin Forks is still beautiful and so quiet.   

I took a ride across the bridge to Kirkwood which is closed to cars, but not bikes.  

The Susquehanna River that I grew up on, still beautiful also.  

stadium stairs

Was in Murfreesboro yesterday, took advantage of the MTSU stadium stairs.   I probably over did it a bit.   Did 20x which was the most in a long time.  But it took me over an hour.   

20x stadium stairs - MTSU Floyd stadium

Did these in sets of 6, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2.    Knee was a little sore afterward as well and calves and quads.   After the workout, was down to 141.1, but morning weight was a 142.2.   

Today, did a leisurely bike ride and resistance work - pullups, pushups, ab wheel, hip thrusts, etc..

Leaving tomorrow early for NY to play my niece's wedding.  Probably 5 days of very little exercise coming up.   

This was my last one, #20.  Barely making it...

 

Bike spring, resistance

Another PR in the 2.5 mile bike sprint on gravel with the heavy mtn bike.  Again, wasn't 'trying' for a PR, just working hard  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:44

Max HR - 177

HR hit 160 one minute into the sprint and stayed there for about the next 5:17, then above 170 the rest of the way.  

Also did some resistance last night.  I think the hip thrust deck that I have is the single hardest piece of equipment.  I've been doing 20x with 3 bands, holding the last 5.   2 or 3 sets.  Best glute exercise.

Was going to go to Murfreesboro today but it stormed.  Was going to run stadium stairs, maybe tomorrow.  

Weight is about the same despite really light eating.   Yesterday, I ate a lb of grilled tuna, 2 apples,  an orange and some Wasa crackers.   Probably about 1400 cal.   Getting to that 'jelly belly' stage where the last of the fat softens up before it goes away.   A hard process but it's going.    Still at ~143 lbs and 13% body fat according to the Hume pod.    

Bike climb

 Did a bike climb today, didn't intend to really bust it but I did.  Fastest post op and fastest in about 2 yrs.   I thought I'd just keep my HR low today and just burn some calories but, after making good time on the first half, I started cranking toward the end.  The kicker is that I kept my HR relatively low until the final sprint.  I was only over 170 for 4 min total.

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 21:38

Avg speed - 6.5 mph

Max HR - 188

HR over 170 - 4:02

HR over 180 - 0:52

Encouraging as I ever so slowly drop my body fat and increase fitness.  This may be in the top several all time on this course.   Still need to do more consistent strength work which I find difficult.  But it snowballs as I make progress.  Woke up this morning at 143.7 so a ways to go.  

Bike sprint PR

 Pushing the envelope on the bike sprint course, a PR by just one second.

Maybe getting in better shape, HR only peaked at 171 and no spike at the end.  HR also went briefly down to 142 almost halfway, which it hasn't done before.  I spent more time off the seat pumping on this one.  Avg 14 mph which is pretty good on gravel and hills with a 33 lb bike.   

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:47

Max HR - 171

I will also do some strength work later.

Weather is great, cloudy, thunder rumbling, occasional showers, not hot.  75º but a tad humid, dewpoint 69º.

Weight holding at 143-144.   I do my Hume measurement after peeing in the morning so it's not my lowest weight of the day.  That occurs usually after toilet and workout.   To lose that last 5 is going to take a little hunger.

One good thing about the weather, my plant collection loves it.  

 

 

Water running

First time in the lake this season.  I did a set of water running and, being a new exercise, it felt actually pretty challenging.  Not that it raised my HR super high, but I definitely felt it in my hip flexors.  Not really 'warm' but certainly swimable.  I estimate about 76º

Water running

4 x 60 (R-L) strokes w/ 1 min rest

Definitely a good training exercise for future running.  

Still hanging at 143 -144 lbs.   Losing that last 4-5 lbs is the toughest.  The body really wants to hang on to it.

The Sherpa that gets me to the lake turns 25 this yr.

strength circuit

Yesterday, did a home strength circuit focusing on core and glutes.  Pulled out the hip thrust machine.  

3 x 45 - Bicycle crunches w/ 10 lb ankle weights

3 x 20 - hanging ab straps w/ 10 lb ankle weights

3 x 20 - ab wheel

2 x 20 - hip thrusts w/ 3 bands

3 x 30 - shallow Bulgarian squats w/ 45 lbs

3 x 8 - lean back squats

3 x 30 - pushups

Definitely something I want to do more of.  Maybe do this every other day along with the bike.  This and eating more protein, perhaps I can increase my muscle to fat ratio.  Get leaner / stronger.  

Bike sprint, new scale

Did a hard bike sprint today, 2nd fastest of my season.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:54

Max HR - 177

Max HR during the ride was 177, but 26 sec after finishing, it spiked to 182.  Rather typical, then fell 22 points in the next 18 sec.  

Also, got the Hume pod scale (... because Joe feels I should measure myself constantly).  Very interesting piece.  When setting up my profile, one honest realization, I am not 5'7".   I've actually never been 5'7".  In HS if I stretched my neck I could get 5'6 3/4".   Now maybe I've shrunk a bit but I'm definitely not 5'7" and for purposes of calculating BMI, and other health parameters,  I am definitely 5'6", which doesn't play in my favor for anything.  In shoes I might be 5'7 1/2".  

The Hume scale give body fat % and has interesting features based on algorithms, like "health score, metabolic age, visceral fat index"... etc...   I unfortunately got a less than optimum reading my first time since I drank a liter of water just before.  Still good, 797 (out of 900) health score, metabolic age 48, visceral fat index 4 (low).  Body fat 13.2%.   Playing with the parameters I put in a goal of 138 lbs and that caused my health score to go down.  I asked a fellow user about it, he said, "they don't account for elite masters athletes, and since dying people tend to wither away, this seems to confound the causality, so very low BMIs appear dangerous in the data. Of course, 13% is probably good for longevity."  

We'll see how this goes.  I definitely need to focus more on strength training and core.  

Hike

Been raining everyday which has produced a very green, cool, and lush forest.  We sat out on the bluff last night, it was beautiful.  It has rained over 4" in the past 5 days. 

Memorial day hike.  We left in the morning and as usual during this time of year, Sewanee was a lush and very quiet place with the students gone.  

Did a total of 3.5 miles including a hike down and back to the Bridal Veil Falls and then to the mountain laurel 'tunnel' at Otey view.  It was surprisingly hard.  HR in the 150s climbing out from the falls.

Forest was very dense and full of a variety of birds.  

Roya left today and I'm on my own for a few weeks.  Playing my niece's wedding in NY in early June, have construction going on in Murfreesboro and hopefully soon here in Sewanee.  So this is like the beginning of summer except unusually, the weather is not yet warm enough for swimming.   It's been in the 70ºs, not 80ºs.  Very cool generally for this time of yr.  Really do miss track training, was the center of my life for so many yrs this time of year.  Trying to get back in similar shape, "400m shape"... is a really high bar.  Hanging around 143 lbs, what I weighed in HS.

Another bike sprint PR

After spending most of yesterday at the US Space and Rocket museum, I did some resistance work last night and this morning.  Today in between bouts of rain, I went for it hard on the bike.  Another PR in my local hilly mtn bike sprint on gravel of 2.5 mi.   Seemed harder than last time.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:48

Max HR - 174

This time, HR stayed remarkable stable, after 2 min it was 168 and it stayed there for the duration, never wavering more than 6 points.   No weird spike after completion, just a nominal raise to 174 after 20 sec the followed by 15 pt drop in the next 20 sec.   Quite a pump.  

I'm thinking I should avoid all attempts to sprint on the flat for quite some time, as I'm now feeling a bit of progress.   Need to wait until I feel really significant healing.  No schedule.  I'm staying in decent shape as it is.   I do think some of my medial knee issues are exacerbated by my running form, supination, bowleggedness.  When running stairs, I feel less strain on that area when I concentrate on keeping aligned.  

143.2 lbs after workout.  Pretty much the same for the past 2-3 days.  

Pic from yesterday...

Morning bike sprint, resistance, food

 With waves of rain in and out, during a break in the rain I went for a bike sprint.  Hard effort.  Everytime I start one of these things I tell myself, no need for a PR, but I still blast away anyway.  

No PR today but my second fastest.  7 sec short of PR 

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:03

Max HR - 178

Also doing resistance work, pullups, bands, etc...  

HR in the 160s for the first 6 min, 170s for the last 4 min.  No big HR spike this time, just a small one.  Hit max HR at the end and it dropped to 173 then after 30 sec, briefly went back up to 178 before falling 20 points in a less than a minute.  This might be a perfect daily or every other day workout.  Short, hard, doable.  

One of the inherent risks in this course is how fast do I take the gravel turn coming down the hill to my driveway.  Going down would not be worth it.  

Enjoying having Roya here and eating really well.  Huge salad last night, and during the day yesterday, half a chicken breast and an apple.  Tonight I'm going to make a small paella with low carb rice, seafood, and vegetables.  

143.1 lbs after workout.  

Good new for my brother, his latest CT scan of his abdominal aorta and mesenteric arteries show no blockages.  

As with most women I've dated, I do all the cooking.  I've rarely met a woman who can out do me in the kitchen.

Tonight's meal:  Seafood paella - with cod, scallops, salmon, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, fresh basil, onions, peppers, garlic, lemon, paprika, turmeric, garlic salt, and pepper.  Yea, missing the saffron.   The kicker: Lavivia instant shiritaki rice, low carb, less than 1/2 the calories of regular rice.  I calculated less than 800 calories in this entire large bowl.  5 good sized plates of food.