I felt a pull

Sun, 12/29/24-

After some uncertainty, I decided on 4x200 and 4x150...3' rest. The 200s were supposed to be in 32.xx, and the 150s in 22.xx. I was good on the 200s, hitting 32.5 for the first three and 31.5 for the fourth. The first two 150s came in at 22.5. I stopped 100m into the third effort when I felt a pull to my right lower glute. Dammit! I then skipped the fourth one.

a late decision

Sat, 12/28/24-Ran a mile (8:05) in the rain to the fitness center, did some drills and lifted, and then headed back home (1M, 8:00). 

Fri, 12/27/24-took off

Thursday, 12/26/24: I met Chuck and Wayne at my house (NJ) at about 3:30. We made good time en route to NYC, arriving just after 5:00! Unfortunately, some team members, including Daryl and John, missed the meeting due to traffic. After sitting for a little while, I started jogging..at about 5:45. It was awesome running on the brilliant blue new track. My knee felt pretty good. Unsurprisingly, I was assigned lane 6 for both the 400 and 200. For my 400 (heat 10), I went out conservatively, finding myself in third place at the break and at 28.81 at the 200m mark. I made a late decision to try to pass Nick on the backstretch, an unforced tactical mistake. I found myself in lane 2 around the final turn. I finished up, tight as heck, in 59.92. https://www.armorytrack.org/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&mgroup_event_id=9244&year=2024&do=videos&video_id=406272

The 200 was about an hour later. Although I had very little lift, I took my heat (21) in 26.99. https://www.armorytrack.org/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&mgroup_event_id=9244&year=2024&do=videos&video_id=406304

Chuck, Wayne, and I would stop by Tommy's Tavern (Bridgewater, NJ) for a late dinner.

Wed, 12/25/24-Christmas Day. Took off.

Tues, 12/24/24-Ran a mile (9:05) in the rain to the fitness center, did some drills and lifted, and then headed back home (1M, 9:00). 

Mon, 12/23/24. Took off. Got my knee drained.

followed the red brick-paved pathway!

Sun, 12/22/24-

On this 14-degree morning (7-degree real-feel temp!), I went to the partially snow-covered field and track and quickly discovered I might be alone today. After a couple of minutes, John (who lives nearby) showed up. I warmed up close to a mile and stretched into the science building. John accompanied me. We decided we would do some 150s...wearing trainers. Given my condition, I figured they would be modest. Boy, was I right! They were more like strides than sprints! The first was in 27. The second was in 26. Then I saw from a distance that Chuck Shields had come out. Evidently, he had just finished doing hills on Valley Green Rd. John and I did two more 150s, in 25 and 24, after which I suggested we check out the brick-paved hill on campus...as a complement to Chuck's efforts. We jogged to the brick-paved path. I figured we'd do 4. I cut the last 10m off, just beyond the tennis pavilion, as it was icy. Chuck did the first one with us. My runs were 37, 36, 35, and 34. Although my knee was still problematic, I felt decent about this effort. (Adding back in the last 10m, and these times would be about 39, 38, 37, and 36, not bad.) I'm glad we followed the red brick-paved pathway!

had to brace myself

Sat, 12/21/24-still had to brace myself

Fri, 12/20/24-wearing a brace.

Thurs, 12/19/24-got x-rays at urgent care; wearing a brace.

Wed, 12/18/24-leg was swollen; could barely walk.

Tues, 12/17/24--tried some hills. Not a great session, and the first effort was especially awful. Ouch! 47, 45, 43, 41, 39, 38, 37, 36.

Mon, 12/16/24-took off. Left leg was all messed up!

Sun, 12/15/24-2x100, 2x150, 2x200, 2x150, 2x100 with several of the guys. The rest would be "walk what you run," which meant about 2:00 after the 100s, 2:45 after the 150s, and 3:30 after the 200s. My target paces were 15, 23, and 31, respectively. I had to stop after the first 100 to remove my knee sleeve and place it under my tights. I wound up missing the second 100 and first 150. The times I hit were okay.  

Sat, 12/14/24-took off, as I was trying to heal!

my hamstring had other plans

Fri, 12/13/24-

I intended to hit the track today, but my hamstring had other plans. En route to the fitness center, I could feel my lower hamstring and the back of my knee tugging. Instead of track work, I stretched and lifted a little. 

Resting up

Thurs, 12/12/24-took off. Hamstring and back of knee issues.

Wed, 12/11/24--took off. Resting up lower hamstring and back of knee.

in favor of the balance

12/10/24-I set out to do 2x100, 2x200, 2x300, 2x200, and 2x100. The rest would be "walk what you run," which meant about 2:00 after the 100s, 3:00 after the 200s, 4:00 after the 300s. Having completed this workout on this day last year (and the year before!), my target paces were 15, 32, 51, respectively. Wearing a knee/lower hamstring sleeve on my left leg, I hit the target (15-mid, 15-low, 33-low, 31-mid). I tackled what would be my only 300 in 50-low. I saw that I was running late, having left the house at 6:15am, and decided to skip the second 300 in favor of the balance of 200s and 100s. I did these in 32-low, 31-mid, 14-high, 14-mid.  

I missed the mark

Sun, 12/8/24-

After taking four days off, I tried my luck at a track workout with the crew. On John's call, he, Andrew, and I did 200, 150, 200, 150, 200, with the 200s in 30 and the 150s in 22. By most measures, this workout plan was pretty modest. However, I missed the mark a bit due to my nagging hamstring and lack of speed. I managed 31, 23, 30, 23, and 32. The rest between each effort was 2:30. 

the flesh behind my knee

Sat, 12/7/24-took off

Fri, 12/6/24-took off

Thurs, 12/5/24-took off

Wed, 12/4/24-took off

Tues, 12/3/24-hills. I wound up doing 6 rather than 8 because the flesh behind my knee was bothering me. The times all hovered around 38 sec.

Mon, 12/2/24-1.2M to the fitness center, stretched, lifted, drilled, and then made my way back (1.15M) home.

My speed was missing

Sun, 12/1-Left the Ritz Carlton and headed to the track.

Did 3x200, 3x150, and 3x100 with Chuck, Federiko, and Guy. 

The goal paces were 34 for the 200, 24 for the 150s, and 15 for the 100s.

I felt slow as molasses today, managing a hard-fought 36, 34, and 34 for the 200w, 24s for the 150s, and 15s for the 100s.  

My speed was missing; Chuck and Federiko had theirs with them. 

Sat, 11/30-Went to the gym at Ritz Carlton. Treadmill action. Did mile in 9:00, stretched for 4-5 min, did another mile in 8:40, stretched for 4-5 min, did another mile in 8:20, lifted for 4-5 min.