Rower

I'm definitely not in as good of shape as I had been.  Workouts have been irregular, and conditioning workouts less.  

On the rower tonight I was only able to do 3 sets of 500m w/ 1min rest.  HR only came down to 170 after 1 min after third rep, so I folded.  

Stretches, drills

Concept 2 rower

3 x 500m w/1 min rest - 2:03, 2:09, 2:11 (avg 2:08)

standing box jumps 30", ham curl, leg extension

HR did a weird thing again, wonder if it's equipment or some heart irregularity.  I topped out at about 181 after 3rd rep and it jumped in one second to 190, so probably equipment anomaly.   

Still too heavy, almost 147 this morning.  Time to start eating right.  Just in time for my Thursday end of yr party.  Right.  

I was reminded that I'm still unable to really run as I felt some pain as I ran to my car yesterday, late for a meeting, across parking lots and grass.  If I'm not warmed up, running hurts.  

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WR

I was just looking at the stats of Sabastian Sawe's earth shattering 1:59:30 marathon in London.  He averaged 68 sec for 104 consecutive 400s.  He ran a 4:12 mile after running 23 miles, he ran a 13:42 5k beginning at mile 21.  99% of humans can't run 100m at that pace.  Incredible human achievement.  Also, Yomif Kegelcha ran 1:59:41 in his first marathon finishing second.  Kiplimo also under the previous WR at 2:00:28.   

https://www.facebook.com/reel/969922565494074

Row, weights

 Did a short set of rowing, then weights including some deadlifts.

Concept 2 rower

3 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 1:56, 2:02, 2:10

3 x 10 x 140 lbs hex bar dead lifts

ham curls, leg extension, adductors, calf raises

Ate very little today, essentially a 24 hr fast save for some decaf cappuccinos.  Had a little oat bran with blue berries.  Drank a lot of water.  Still 147.5 after workout. 

 

rower

 In the gym tonight for my usual rowing workout.  Was a good one, even though I didn't feel like it.

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 2:00, 2:04, 2:09, 2:08 (avg - 2:05)

weights - seated leg curl and leg extension

I think this was probably anomalous, but I recorded a max HR of 198 end of the 4th rep.  It stayed over 190 for 50 sec and hit the peak 6 sec after the final sprint to the end.  I guess it's possible.

Super busy time of year at school.  5 student recitals coming up.  Have to be in Murfreesboro next 2 Fridays so I'll probably run stadium stairs Friday mornings.  Definitely not ready to sprint on the flat anytime soon.  Ran across the parking lot to a meeting today and it hurt a bit.

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It was 9 yrs ago yesterday I won my world championship in Daegu - M55 200m indoor (24.82).  Thanks to Shane for posting the memory.   What a memorable trip that was.  

bike climb

Friday was my first bike climb in a while.  Warm awesome spring weather.  74º and fair weather.  Amazing that 3 days prior, there was snow on the ground.  

The climb felt really slow and hard but, it was a minute faster than my previous, second fastest this yr.

Roark's Cove Rd bike climb

Time - 24:19

Max HR - 184

HR over 170 - 9:34

HR over 180 - 1:25

Avg speed - 5.7 mph

Avg HR - 164 

Summer like weather this weekend.  Going to be in the 80ºs.  

Enjoying watching the World Indoor Championships in Turin, as I lay on my porch, same track I raced on 3 yrs ago.   

The months are ticking by but I don't feel an urgency to get back on the track.  Having tried to come back too soon and race the 400m indoors resulted in my present setback, but I'm not yet giving up the idea of racing again.   Doesn't look like I'll be ready to race this season, at least not the 400m, but I'm thinking about the Worlds in FL a year from now.   Maybe the short sprints.  Still 4 months to Nationals and I think I could get ready to race short sprints in 2-3 months, but will only train if I'm pain free and feel like I'm NOT damaging myself.  

Lot in life going on.  My parents declining rapidly at age 84 and 86, I have to manage my mother's health claims and home care.  I have a major home building project starting this yr which will more than double the size of my house, a major lifetime project, expensive.   It will be likely starting by the summer and continuing all year.  A lot of uncertainty in the world with the incompetent US administration starting a war, unstable markets, likely higher prices for everything.  My main 401k is down only 2% because of my very conservative holdings, despite the Dow now down 10% from it's peak.  The longtime University President resigned and who knows what changes that may bring.  Anything negative from that change would likely not happen for more than 2 yrs, but one never knows.  I'm fine to retire but would prefer to work 4 more yrs.  

Roya just likely got hired by a world-wide engineering firm, a 6 fig job where she can work mostly from home.  A huge relief for her after being laid off in Jan.  She was previously offered a job from this company and turned it down.  At age 64, she's more than happy to take this offer and the benefits package. 

With a half time sabbatical coming up next year, I need to get in concert shape on the guitar.  I feel the carpal tunnel issue coming on in my R hand, and I probably should have the surgery but so far, I'm ok.  Also, continued concerns and surveillance about my organ health with more testing coming up this spring and summer.   No glaring issues and I feel ok, especially with the new morning water drinking regime.  I was going to get more tests next week to be sure there's no significant changes.  

The one variable that has changed is that I completely stopped taking all supplements back in Oct.  Anecdotally, a month later the knee started hurting, so I'm going to start 5 grams of collagen a day to see if it helps.  I'll have a CMP to make sure it's not affecting my liver enzymes.  

Plan for near future is to get strong and light before I try any turf sprints.  Will stay with bike and rowing, then graduate to hills and stairs before sprints on the flat.  Still hanging around the 145-146 lb weight, and want to be 140-141 before any running.  

This was Monday...  Tues morning was 24º - Friday was 74º

rower, gym

Usually workout on Monday night but it was brutally cold, snowy and I was hungry so stayed home and ate too much.  Inspired me to go to the gym after work on Tues.  Had one of my best rowing sets in a while.

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest -  1:59, 2:03, 2:09, 2:09 (2:05 avg)

Leg press, leg curl, leg extension, step ups, pullups

145.5 lbs after workout.

Insane weather.  72º on Sunday, 27º w/ 2" snow 18 hrs later.   I took these before and after photos on Monday on campus.   

Spectacular and even summer-like weather this summer coming up.   No rain for next 10 days, temps this weekend in the 80ºs.

Sewanee was ranked by Princeton Review and Travel & Leisure Magazine as the most beautiful campus in the US.  Great place to live, train, ... and occasionally work. 

 

A few runs, hills, rowing

I tested the running, still not there.  Not really a 'restful' week with 15+ miles of hiking and biking.   Some of the longer hikes I felt some knee stiffness, so not fully rested.

Stretches, drills, 50m stride

2 x 100m w/ 30 sec rest on turf - 18-19 sec. pace

50m and 100m hill 

4 x 500m rower w/ 1 min rest - 2:02, 2:09, 2:11, 2:13 (2:09 avg)

Seems it's going to take a long time if I'm ever going to be able to do workouts with pain free running.  Maybe should set my sights on indoor season next year and just take more time off.  I don't want to force it.  It was better 4 months ago.  I was also taking a lot of collagen supplements then and now I'm thinking about starting again.  Still not at optimum weight.  

144.5 lbs after workout.

row and bike

Freezing cold Monday night, went to the gym.  Did the usual rowing workout.  Got down to 15º last night.   Today Tues, I opted not to run but to wait til Friday and do stadium stairs since I'll be in Murfreesboro.  I did a little biking instead.  

Concept 2 rower 

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 2:04, 2:02, 2:18, 2:18

USATF Nationals were last weekend.  I wish I had gone and just ran the 200m.  Ron won the 400m (M65) in 60 flat, 200m in 26.27.   No one was close, Silver was mid 28s.  Not much depth in M65.   He won all 3 sprints in M65 - formidable times in all.  If I were healthy and able to train fully, I may be the only person in the US to challenge him, but I'm not really interested in getting any more Silver medals.   

No hurry to get back.  If I endeavor to train for the 400m again, it will take 4 months to get there and I'd be starting over.  If I'm able to do 2 good workouts a week by mid April, I could get there by summer.  

Rower, drills, more wood cutting

Seems like it's been a long time since I did anything.  Have been very focused on the music performance I did Thurs and now that it's over, I can focus a bit more on training.  

The performance went really well, and it had to.  For many new faculty, administrators, and students, it was the first time they'd ever heard me play.   I hadn't played solo on that stage in almost 6 yrs.  In 2021, I was completely obsessed with athletic training.  It produced an amazing yr and a world #1 ranking, and guitar took a back seat.   I worked really hard to get ready for this and it paid off.  It was a showcase concert of faculty and everyone played one piece.   I arranged a really slow romantic lyrical piece to start, then finished with my most fiery flamenco dance, with lots of fast arpeggios, scales, tremolo, and rasgueado.  I specifically wrote some fast picado scale passages for the ending. Really a plethora of techniques and expression, all I could fit into 7 min.  The students were screaming by the end.  All my colleagues played great.  Unfortunately, they apparently did not post the video. 

Friday, I did another hard session on the rower, one set of weights, some sprint drills and high knee running.   Definitely have lost fitness.  Also, gained a small amount of weight, mostly due to anxiety over health concerns.  But it seems that these concerns may have been a bit overblown. 

Stretches, drills 

Concept 2 rower - 4x500m w/ 1 min rest:  2:01, 2:04, 2:12, 2:09 (avg 2:07)

It must have been an anomalous reading but my HR monitor said 192 at one point.  

Saturday I cut more firewood but it wasn't as hard a workout as my last session of wood cutting because I handled less wood and lighter season oak.  Should be set for the rest of the winter.  Weather is now changing to warm. Possibly no freezing weather for the foreseeable future.  Into the 30ºs on some nights but not freezing.  Will take my plants out.  50ºs today.  Near 70º by Tues.  We'll probably have a few more blasts of cold before the winter is over, but we've probably seen the worst.   I really don't mind the cold, love the snow.  

Looking back at my previous knee surgery, it was a full 18 months before I competed again, largely due to the pandemic and some plantar fasciitis.  I feel I pushed too early too hard with this second surgery, with the idea of racing indoor within a year of my surgery.  Probably a bad idea that cost me.  

I am going to try and run a little on Tuesday, a full 4 weeks since my last attempt to run.  Just warmup and a few strides.  It was suggested that I could train for the short sprints and abandon the volume required to race the 400m.  Might be a viable option.   I can presently do strength work and even squat jumps without pain.  Someone also suggested longer distance which is completely crazy and out of the question because of the volume. 

Retirement from competition is definitely on the table.  I'm NOT the guy who wants to run in all ages local meets and pose on FB with generic medals designated for kids.   (I know masters like this).  If I can't contend at the national level, I don't want to do it.  I know one of these guys my age who is continuing to race on a badly damaged knee and posts photos at these meets with his medals, sometimes because he was the only one entered in his age group ... always 'praying' on his fitness and his knee.  Not the sharpest tool. 

Will go to the gym tonight.   Need to up the strength work.  Was thinking about a hill climb today but have house work to do.  Have really enjoyed watching the Olympics.  Especially the men and women's down hill races.  

Hanging at about 142 lbs.

UPDATE:

Someone suggested abandoning 400m training and focusing on short sprints.  That may be a viable option.  Easier on the body.    

rower again, master track book

Another rowing session.  Hard effort but not a pr.  

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 1:58, 2:04, 2:12, 2:09  (2:06 avg)

HR monitor said I peaked at 195 but I'm sure that was inaccurate.  Busy lately, but I felt I needed to get to the gym tonight.  Definitely have lost all that long sprint foundation I had gotten back by late Nov.  Knee is slightly better, progressing slowly.  Still probably won't try and run for a week or 2.

Was light this morning when I woke up 141.5.  

Monitoring potential health issues, had another scan this morning, Dr ordered, CT w/ contrast.  Due to weather emergency, probably won't have results til at least Mon or Tues.  

Major winter storm tomorrow.  My hometown in NY could get well over a foot of snow and below zero temperatures.  Here in Sewanee, snow tomorrow morning and freezing rain all day.  Not much snow here but 3-5" up the road in Murfreesboro.   Then rain on Sunday followed by maybe some brief wrap around snow and a very cold Monday with highs in the low 20ºs.  Schools are already closed for Monday.  If we lost power, I have only about 3-4 days of firewood - assuming burning 24 hours, so I'll save it for when I need it.  

Book:

Graham B is writing a book on Masters Track called, "Faster than you at 60."  Graham is a serious author, he writes for Forbes and his last book went to #1 on Amazon, so this might be pretty cool.  Graham competes in my age group, he made the finals of both the 200 and 400 in my '21 championship races. The book has 20 chapters about champion masters athletes over 60.  One of the chapters is on me and I just got the first draft.  It's quite good, honest, with many of both the successes and failures noted.  I think the book may be out by the end of the year. 

same workout, winter weather

Slow on updates, things are getting busy.  Appointments, back to work, etc...

Last Sunday, another hard effort on the rower.  This tied my previous best of 2:04 avg.

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 1:56, 2:02, 2:07, 2:12 (2:04 avg)

This is a hard workout, getting a bit tired of it but good to push the HR.  Hit 175 in this set, so it was hard.  I really almost bailed after the 2nd and 3rd reps, but I kept going.  Amazing how easy it feels at the beginning.  Guess like any intervals.  

Entering the dead of winter with the biggest snow storm probably of the year here this weekend.  Certainly schools will be canceled next week.  Murfreesboro could get a foot of snow, and here, ice and snow with rain and freezing rain.  Sewanee will be close to the rain - snow line.  The models have diverged tonight with the GFS showing much more snow and the Euro model showing significant rain and even thunderstorms.  Should be interesting.  

rower, weights

 At the gym Friday night.  Rower session and some weights.

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 1:58, 2:04 2:10, 2:12 (2:06 avg)

It wasn't as fast as my last set but it felt every bit as hard.  HR peaked at 176 on last rep.  Been doing the slant board squats and other stuff.  

This interval set on the rower is about right for me.   Good hard workout in less than 12 min.  

Weight has been stable, around 141-143lbs. 

Cold weather coming next 3 days, highs in the 30ºs lows in the teens.  Still enjoying my plywood shed at night for practicing guitar.   Seems to stay warm as long as I don't open the door for long.  

rower

At the gym tonight for a brief rowing workout.  I pushed it pretty hard.  

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1min rest - 1:57, 2:02, 2:09, 2:07 (2:04 avg)

Got a slant board for knee strengthening, particularly the VMO.  In no hurry to start running.  I briefly thought I might go to Nat'ls and just run the 200m, but that would be ill advised.

Been eating carbs, had paella past few days, weight up a few lbs.  Just below 144 this morning. 

Rower again

Another quick workout on the rower, more consistent than last night.  High stroke rate (41-43), damper set about 2 1/2.   Knee feels better but not 100%.  Really would like to run this spring so taking it cautious.  

4 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 2:07, 2:05, 2:08, 2:10 (2:07 avg)

rower, gym

In the gym for an interval session on the rower and some glute machine Monday night.  Decent workout for a short time.

Concept 2 rower

4 x 500m w/ 1min rest - 2:01, 2:04, 2:13, 2:14

Glute machine - 310 lbs

2 x 35 (each side)

 

Interestingly, HR peaked after rep #3 at 184, as I sprinted the last 40 sec at 41-42 stroke rate.  I was pretty relaxed on rep #4 until the final 25 sec sprint.  HR only got up to 170, recovered to 128 in 1:20.  

 

bike climbs and rowing

Since my last post I did 3 rowing workouts last week and a Roarks Cove Rd bike climb today.  First time I did Roarks Cove Rd on the bike, I made the mistake of doing a moderate hike that included some climbing the next day.  The knee hurt and was stiff.  

I did these three rowing workouts during the week.  Modest effort.

2000m - 9:46

2 x 500m  w/ 1 min rest - 2:09, 2:15

3 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 2:14, 2:12, 2:09

The last workout I did on Friday and the next day, I was up and down the ladder kneeing on my roof cleaning out the gutters.  Knee hurt the next day so I did nothing Sun and Monday.  

Today, my bike climb was hard but better than the last.  Total time down to 26:10 from 29 min.  HR over 170 for 13min instead of 17min.  Gorgeous weather after a cold weekend sitting by my outdoor woodstove.

Max HR - 188

HR over 170 - 13:19

HR over 164 - 17:39

HR over 180 - 4:50

Avg HR - 163

Total time - 26:10

Avg speed - 5.3 mph

Also did bicycle crunches with 10 lb ankle weights 3 x 30, pullups (18). 

Going to start adding some band work focusing on working lateral movement.

Still have some minor pain in the usual place (medial side knee cap) in the one narrow range of movement approaching extension.  It feels better after biking... as long as I don't do something taxing the next day.  

Weight holding steady 146-148. 

Visiting my parents this weekend and I'm probably going to take it fairly easy.  I guess not training has some positives.  I remember numerous times on Christmas morning training when visiting parents, including once when I had to sweep 2" of snow off the track.  Looking forward to swimming season coming up.  Have been really focused on music lately and looking forward to doing some recordings in the cathedral this summer, and a possible return to the concert stage later this yr.  

Hiking vacation for August on hold still.  May not be running til late Aug, Sept ... or maybe never if this medial knee pain doesn't go away.   Maybe do some track drills by next month.  Now I really appreciate the shape I was in in past yrs.  If I ever get back there, it could take a year of extremely hard work.  

Right now, it's all about developing my Baroque lute repertoire and technique.  

gym, rower

At the gym tonight to burn some calories.  Did a brief hard set on the rower then once around the machines.

stretches

concept 2 rower -  3 x 500m w/ 1 min rest - 1:59, 1:58, 2:02

machines - pec, shoulder press, bench, hams, leg press, adductors, abs

It pushed my HR to the max, 180 after the final rep.  I avg about 41 stokes/min.  A short but intense workout.

I didn't weigh myself today but my diet is still not so good.  Probably be about the same or heavier after next track workout. 

May go to the track tomorrow, depending on my foot and the weather.  Sunday looks better for weather so I may wait.  We're entering a rainy period next week.