1x600m,1x400m,1x300m, 2x200m @ 1:32, 61, 45, 28, 27 sec

A pretty solid track workout for me on a cold, rainy, windy track. It is not much fun doing these workouts with no training partners to help keep the pace. I was feeling terrible today but I found the motivation to get up and do a track session. I did 1x600m, 1x400m, 1x300m, 2x200m @1:32, 61, 45, 28, 27 sec with about 1 lap jog between intervals.

Rest day

Today I had a little stomach ailment and had low energy. I took the day off.  In the evening I did 100 push ups.

10x80m hill repeats @ 90 and 100% effort

Very hard hill repeats up steep incline. This workout gets my lactic acid levels sky rocketing. I came home did 100 pushups and recovered with a healthy whey protein, banana, blueberry smoothy.

Easy 40 minute run with some hill surges

A nice recovery run in the rain. I did a few light surges up hills to get my heart rate up.  I made a great recovery smoothie.

My ingredients: 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 tablespoon organic cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon hemp protein, 1 table spoon moringa powder, 1 cup coconut milk , 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds, 1 teaspoon stevia powder. Blended with Ninja blender.

8 mile trail run

Today was an 8 mile trail run with one 3 minute hill surge up steep incline.  Yesterday was spent doing construction in my recording studio.

3 mile run with hill repeats 1x400m and 3x200m

In pouring rain and freezing conditions I ran a few hill repeats. I also carried a cinder block up about 200m flights of stairs. After this, I ran straight to the track and ran a 400m @ 63 seconds. I did 15 pull ups then ran 3x200m @ 29 seconds.

10 mile run with 6x100m strides

Easy 10 mile run on the Nike campus.
Yesterday was a rest day except I maxed out with 100 pushups.

3x800m, 1x400m, 2x20m

Tonight I did an easy light track session on a cold and icy track. It was a bit slick on track so I had to take it easy on the turns.

I started with 3x800m @ 2:40,2:30,2:20 then 1x400m @ 65 seconds,  then 2x200m @ 30,29 seconds.

Yesterday 10 mile run on the Nike campus

Yesterday I did an easy 10 mile run and picked up the last mile to a tempo pace.

Easy 6 mile run and ab work

Today was an easy recovery run of about 6 miles. I also did some light ab work.

1x400m, 1x300, 2x200m

Today I am just coming back after a slight calf strain. I did some difficult remodeling work for two days then came back with a track session.  1x400m, 1x300, 2x200m @ 57, 43, 28,27 seconds in freezing cold conditions. I had a long warm up and ran in spikes.

2 days of sheet rocking

Today I was doing some remodeling and hanging 5/8 sheet rock by myself.  I also had to carry a few 4x8 sheets of 5/8 sheet rock up some stairs. Very hard work for a lean middle distance runner.
After waking up with sore arms and back, I went out for a track workout. See next post.

8 x hill repeats @ 90 -100% effort

Today was below freezing and I went out to do some hill repeats. I started with about a 50 meter hill and sprinted about 5 times. I then did about 3x200m hills at about 90% effort. I measured my heart rate at the top of the hill right after each interval. I found my heart rate to max out at about 160 bpm. It will be interesting to do this test in warmer weather. I read that maximal heart rate tests are lower in colder weather.  The general formula for maximum heart rate is 220-your age.  My testing indicated that my max heart rate was low for my age. I also found that this may indicate that I have a higher stroke volume. Recently I measured my resting heart rate at 44 bpm. These results may indicate that my heart is pumping more blood per beat compared to the average 40 year old whose resting heart rate is between 60-80 bpm. 

Here is a quote from the an article in the New York Times 

Some people get blood to their muscles by pushing out large amounts every time their hearts contract, he said. Others accomplish the same thing by contracting their hearts at fast rates. As a result, Dr. Hagerman said, he has seen Olympic rowers in their 20's with maximum heart rates of 220. And he has seen others on the same team and with the same ability, but who get blood to their tissues by pumping hard, with maximum rates of just 160.

To read more about this topic go to:

Here is an interesting article on this topic

Easy 6 mile run with hills

Today was another light run with some hills. After a few easy days, I am ready to put in another hard week of training.

Easy 6 mile run

I had some therapeutic massage work done then went out for a 6 mile jog.  Earlier today someone asked me my age. Its funny when I give them the answer, they seem to be in disbelief. They usually guess that I am 28-30 years old. Although I may appear 10 years younger, I definitely don't feel like it after a hard day of training.

5 mile run and 2x200 stairs carrying cinder block

My calf is feeling better after testing it with some strides. I did an easy 5 mile run over hills and did an improvised stair workout carrying a heavy cinder block.  My arms are feeling pretty sore. I have also been focusing on consuming very healthy foods. Most everyday includes a serving  of a variety of super foods. I consider diet and exercise the best health insurance.

My resting heart rate is 45 bpm

My resting heart rate was an average of 45 bpm this morning. I guess I am an anomaly according to this chart.

Men	Age
	18–25	26–35	36–45	46–55	56–65	65+
Athlete	49–55	49–54	50–56	50–57	51–56	50–55
Excellent	56–61	55–61	57–62	58–63	57–61	56–61
Good	62–65	62–65	63–66	64–67	62–67	62–65
Above Average	66–69	66–70	67–70	68–71	68–71	66–69
Average	70–73	71–74	71–75	72–76	72–75	70–73
Below Average	74–81	75–81	76–82	77–83	76–81	74–79
Poor	82+	82+	83+	84+	82+	80+

Women	Age
	18–25	26–35	36–45	46–55	56–65	65+
Athlete	54–60	54–59	54–59	54–60	54–59	54–59
Excellent	61–65	60–64	60–64	61–65	60–64	60–64
Good	66–69	65–68	65–69	66–69	65–68	65–68
Above Average	70–73	69–72	70–73	70–73	69–73	69–72
Average	74–78	73–76	74–78	74–77	74–77	73–76
Below Average	79–84	77–82	79–84	78–83	78–83	77–84
Poor	85+	83+	85+	84+	84+	85+

[edit]

45 min run and stairs

Yesterday I ran a 45 minute run. On the way back, I noticed a long flight of stairs on the side of the road. I ran up it and at the top of the stairs was a large cinder block. I pick it up, carried it down the stairs, then ran back up with it.

6 mile run with hill surges

After taking yesterday off, I felt a little better and decided to push the pace up the hills. I did about 3x2 minute hill surges at about 80% effort in the middle of my run. It was cold, dark, and raining but I somehow find the motivation and the energy to keep going.

Rest day today. Therapeutic massage

Today I took completely off and had 1 hour of deep tissue sports massage.

1x800m @ 2:20 and strides

I started with an 800m @ 2:20 then had to stop.   On my second interval I felt my left calf tightening up so I decided to stop before I would pull a muscle.  The freezing temperature contributed to my muscle tightness.  I did some running around yesterday on the streets of Portland in the wrong shoes and my calves let me know today.  I also will make sure to take at least two days of easy recovery between track sessions. 48 hours is the magic number for the minimal recovery time between track sessions. The next days will just be easy distance running, stretching, and foam roller. I also scheduled some massage therapy tomorrow.

This is good advise  "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way. If you really like what your doing, it doesn't matter what it is, you can eventually become a master of it."

I took this quote from this movie. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151397745507577&set=vb.150082065062250&type=2&theater

Easy 7mile run over hills

Today was just some easy distance running. It feels so good to be fit.

1x1mile,1x800m,5x200m

Still have some cold symptoms. It was a clear day today but freezing cold and windy. I went out to the track and did 1x1mile,1x800m,5x200m @ 5:14, 2:24, 30,28,27,27,27 seconds. It was 32 degrees and windy. I believe training in the adverse conditions makes me mentally stronger. I plan to do some indoor 800m races this month. In Feb and March I will do some more base training to get ready for to run some outdoor track meets.

A picture of my jazz trio

10 mile run on the Nike Campus

A nice cold and sunny day. I decided to go run on the cedar chips on the Nike campus. The trail also has some small hills that give it some variety.

1x400,1x300,2x200m @ 60,46,30,30 seconds

I decided to to an easy track workout since I was not 100%. It was a cold 31 degrees F on a frozen track. The track was very hard so I had to wear road racing flats. Despite the weather being cold, dark, windy, in addition to myself feeling sick, I still managed to get a workout in. 1x400,1x300,2x200m @ 60,46,30,30 seconds with 200m jog recovery

easy 5 mile recovery run

Still fighting a mild cold virus. I got out and ran an easy 5 mile run. I had to get up early this morning and play the piano at two church services. I am thinking about doing a couple fast 400m intervals tomorrow. Something like 3x400m @ 55 seconds will be my goal.

1 hour easy run over hills

Yesterday I was fighting a mild cold virus so I took the day off. Today I felt a little better and did a nice 1 hour recovery run over hills. I also recovered with a great recovery drink that included frozen organic banana, frozen organic blueberries, 1 teaspoon peanut butter, 3 table spoons greek yogurt, 3 table spoons organic cocoa, 1 teaspoon stevia, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 2 table spoons of organic Moringa powder. I have just discovered and I am excited to add it as a regular part of my diet that will help me recover and have the nutrients for optimal health and peak performance.

Moringa is my new favorite super food.

Profit before sanity

Profit before sanity? More drugs rather than prevention through healthy life style choices? More guns for protection rather than coming up with solutions to prevent violent attacks? More wars to perpetuate the global arms trade? Truly the love of money is the root of all evil.

2x800m, 3x200m, 1x400m @ 2:15,2:16, 26, 26, 25, 60 seconds

Today I had a solid workout on the track. It was freezing cold so I had to wear some some layers, hat and gloves. I decided to start out with 2x800m @ 2:14,2:16. After this I felt warmed up and ready for some speed work. I then ran 3x200m @ 26,26,25 seconds. I took about 3 min recovery. It is interesting to experience running 200m at the current world record pace for 800m set by David Rudisha at the 2012 Olympics. It definitely seems humanly impossible. I then finished my workout with a 400m @ 60 seconds to experience my lifetime PR 1500m pace.