4.3 @ 12:25 pace. Overcast and cooler in the mid 70s. If I’m going to continue with this power jogging then a new pair of shoes is in order.
Got to start working on strengthening the lower back. It’s not going to just vanish. Make a mental note today to look into it.
4.3 @ 13:11 pace. Straight ballin’ speed.
The last couple days were very helpful for gathering info. I took a beating though. Keeping it simple by very, very slowly increasing mileage is easy to manage because the next day is simple. My goal is to make things better along the way. The biggest item is lose weight, closely followed by hammy stretches. What is always there is pain in my pelvic structure and lower back. Beside running I walk 2-3 miles a day to keep things loose. I need to find a good stretch/strength for my lower back.
I look forward to every morning. I started to eat some easily digestible carbs about 45 minutes before I run. That and 3 cups of 50/50 black coffee. I went and got white bread, applesauce, graham crackers and bananas. Put down 150-200 calories.
4.2 @ 13:08 pace and it was brutal. I was on the verge of heat exhaustion. I should have stopped about half way but I forced it. I’ve felt better finishing most of my ultras than today. Two bad days in a row. I start out fine, but quickly deteriorate. Probably the high protein volume and calorie cutting. I’m going to try something new tomorrow and eat some simple carbs about 45 minutes prior to running.
4.2 @ 11:56 pace. Struggled the last half. I know why. Gonna have to make an adjustment. My back is still an issue, but two separate stretches are keeping me in the game for now.
The wife has Cat Stevens playing. Pleasant bonus.
To motivate myself I think I need to start pondering race goals either real or imagined. One adjustment I made is abandoning walking for brief stretches inside my running. Takes forever to cover any sort of distance. I still walk some every day to burn calories and keep limber.
So the two faux events would obviously be the Ice Age 50 mile and a road marathon. It motivates me to train and then analyze what I am doing and how this would map over these distances. I’m just starting back running so for now the goal times would be 11:00 and 4:00. That’s 13:12 pace on trails and about 9:09 pace on road respectively.
My last Ice Age was in 2023 with an 11:02. My last marathon was Lakefront in 2015 in 3:06. Pipe dreams.
For Ice Age I’d look at a 48/52 split which is a 5:16/5:44 split. 12:38/13:45 pacing. That’s an aggressive split, one that would take a lot of work.
So for me that’s getting my everyday training pace to about 10:15 minimum on pavement. I don’t generally take days off unless I have to. The volume would need to approach 65 miles a week and I would run the same volume every day. I would probably only do 3 long runs of like 22 - 26 - 30. Those would be trail. Mostly everything else on pavement because that works for me.
For grins I searched for aggressive 50 mile trail race training for a 65 year old. Puff the Magic Dragon advice. Like Frank Shorter said years ago, “It’s not all good looks and a secret recipe.” People are soft. And I am as well!
Time to change that.
In 2008, Tom Bunk at 66.5+ years old ran the Ice Age 50 mile in 8:35 and change. That’s a 10:20 pace and the age group record. Now that I’m 64, it really is an exemplary time that’s hard to get your head around. My last 6 trail 50 milers on 3 different WI courses were between 11:02 and 11:57. And that’s been a few years ago.
Most locals knew Tom. I certainly learned a lot from him. What secret sauce did he have? Tom’s training seemed simple. Almost everything was run on the trails and he ran long every Saturday. Not to mis lead anyone, Tom routinely put the coals to it the last half.
Just thinking about it, I think Tom and a few others (Clem certainly is at the top of this list) seemed to have shortened the conversion pace per mile from roads to trails. I’m thinking as much as 50% better than good runners, not the Girl Scouts.
My only clue to this is Tom’s theory was your Ice Age time should be 2 x your current marathon time plus one hour. This was never close for me, but it worked for him. I was more of an add 1:35.
Look at Clem. 2:32 times 2 is 5:04 plus 1:00 is 6:04. He ran just under 6:00. That’s insane.
4.0 today @ 11:44 pace.
4.0 @ 12:31 pace. 4 cups of coffee just to loosen up.
Richard joined the Church today. 96.5 years old.
I can still eat a whole medium pizza.
Donna’s watermelon she grew is fantastic.
Pirates win. Need bullpen help to make playoffs. Half game back in wildcard.
Two hour nap. I must of been tired. Dreamt I had a full length, asphalt basketball court in the backyard. I have dreamt in the past I could gorilla dunk.
John’s Roast Pork. Sandwich shop in Philly. Might go up next year for a bite. Catch the Pirate game as well.
Boundary Waters looking grim with the fires.
Gonna try 4.0 again tomorrow before I ramp up to 4.1.
