Today I took the leap. Got tired of sitting around and decided to take a chance on this bothersome shoulder injury and get in a good run.
It was a beautiful morning and I managed to get in five miles at about 75% of 5k race pace. It felt fantastice to get out there and get in a workout. The shoulder did bother me a bit during the run, but I'm thinking the added blood flow to the area can't help but help.... I imagine I will know by morning for sure.
Today another little added feature. Many times I find coins along the way as I am running. I stash the coins in my little running 'dividend jar'. As we go forward you will see that I'm not getting rich quick with my running schedule. I am getting other world class dividends.....so I thought it would be fun to add my little Visa touch. So here goes....
Today's Dividend Report:
Today's run resulted in a one penny dividend. The reward to my well being...priceless!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ouch.....
Well, it happens.....especially to those of us who are crazy enough to continue to push the body's physical limits at an age when most have committed themselves to permanent "couch potato" status.
In the midst of a robust wrestling workout, I managed to strain my shoulder enough to put me on the sidelines for a few weeks. It is causing me enough pain that I have suspended my running for a bit as well.
I won't be down for long and will resume running within a couple of days. I do still plan to compete in Montana's Big Sky State Games the weekend of July 18....one way or the other.
Don't try this at home.....I am not encouraging you to go forward with the the same disregard for your body as I am willing to endure.
Although I may have to take some time off on the mat after the Big Sky Games, my ultimate goal is still to win the Veteran's National tournament in Las Vegas in April of 2010 and to represent the USA in the world championships in the fall.
May the force be with you!
In the midst of a robust wrestling workout, I managed to strain my shoulder enough to put me on the sidelines for a few weeks. It is causing me enough pain that I have suspended my running for a bit as well.
I won't be down for long and will resume running within a couple of days. I do still plan to compete in Montana's Big Sky State Games the weekend of July 18....one way or the other.
Don't try this at home.....I am not encouraging you to go forward with the the same disregard for your body as I am willing to endure.
Although I may have to take some time off on the mat after the Big Sky Games, my ultimate goal is still to win the Veteran's National tournament in Las Vegas in April of 2010 and to represent the USA in the world championships in the fall.
May the force be with you!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A Re-Cap and A Goal Revealed
Frankly, I'm a little bit crazy. If you're new here, you might not know that my ultimate goal has to do with wrestling. No. Not the 'crazy stuff' you see on TV. Not the professional rasslin' you've seen on TV since the 50's or the cage craze ultimate fighting that is the craze of the day.
I have been involved in amateur wrestling since I was in junior high school, was a high school state champion, a collegiate all-American, coached high school wrestling for many years and only recently decided that......you guessed it....that it is simply Too Soon To Quit.
So, I got my lazy tail off the couch and started working out for the Veterans National Wrestling Tournament in Las Vegas this past April. Bear in mind that I am 59 years old and that this hasn't been the easiest thing I have ever attempted.
I started out at nearly 200 pounds (197 to be exact) and entered the national tournament at 76kg (or 167.5 lbs.).
That was victory number one. Whatever the motive, the weight loss has contributed greatly in producing a more vibrant lifestyle. Along the way, many people have asked me how I managed to shed all that weight and get in shape to compete in a couple of short months.
The simple answer is exercising more and eating less....and, of course eating higher quality foods.
As I have stated in earlier posts, I started running, swimming and working out with the Cascade, MT high school wrestling team. It was difficult at times, for an "old man".....but my commitment was to compete. I focused on my goal and found myself in Vegas in April actually living my dream.
I finished third in Greco and fourth in Freestyle and qualified for the World Games. That's the 'pat on the back' part. The truth is that I discovered that I simply was not really prepared to compete at that level with the best-of-the-best.
So....I re-grouped and re-goaled. I decided to forgo the 2009 World Championships in Kouvola, Finland and to dedicate the next year of my life to training for a return to the 2010 Veterans National Tournament prepared to win and then compete in the World Championships with the physical ability to bring home a gold medal for the United States team.
There you have it. I continue my quest for GOLD and it has developed into a further goal to help motivate others to get moving, get motivated and go for the gold at whatever it is that excites them!
Life is too short to just go through the motions.......go for the gold!
I have been involved in amateur wrestling since I was in junior high school, was a high school state champion, a collegiate all-American, coached high school wrestling for many years and only recently decided that......you guessed it....that it is simply Too Soon To Quit.
So, I got my lazy tail off the couch and started working out for the Veterans National Wrestling Tournament in Las Vegas this past April. Bear in mind that I am 59 years old and that this hasn't been the easiest thing I have ever attempted.
I started out at nearly 200 pounds (197 to be exact) and entered the national tournament at 76kg (or 167.5 lbs.).
That was victory number one. Whatever the motive, the weight loss has contributed greatly in producing a more vibrant lifestyle. Along the way, many people have asked me how I managed to shed all that weight and get in shape to compete in a couple of short months.
The simple answer is exercising more and eating less....and, of course eating higher quality foods.
As I have stated in earlier posts, I started running, swimming and working out with the Cascade, MT high school wrestling team. It was difficult at times, for an "old man".....but my commitment was to compete. I focused on my goal and found myself in Vegas in April actually living my dream.
I finished third in Greco and fourth in Freestyle and qualified for the World Games. That's the 'pat on the back' part. The truth is that I discovered that I simply was not really prepared to compete at that level with the best-of-the-best.
So....I re-grouped and re-goaled. I decided to forgo the 2009 World Championships in Kouvola, Finland and to dedicate the next year of my life to training for a return to the 2010 Veterans National Tournament prepared to win and then compete in the World Championships with the physical ability to bring home a gold medal for the United States team.
There you have it. I continue my quest for GOLD and it has developed into a further goal to help motivate others to get moving, get motivated and go for the gold at whatever it is that excites them!
Life is too short to just go through the motions.......go for the gold!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Coming down....
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been a little disappointed in my progress in getting my 5k time moving downward so have resorted to a little more 'speed' work. It's helping, so I will continue my quest.....
My initial goal has to get my 5k time under the 8 minute mile barrier. While that may seem an easy task for many, it's been much harder that I anticipated for this aging athlete.
Warm-up and warm-down excluded I did manage to get four 'quarters' in the books in sub-2 minute times.... 1:41.85, 1:41.01, 1:38.54 and 1:38.94. I did miss my goal of running the last quarter the fastest but was satisfied with the times overall. I finished with a sub 4 minute half mile (3:54.83).
I was scheduled to throw in 100 yard sprints but passed on them this workout due to some 'tightness' in my right hamstring/glute areas. Better to not go quite so hard and avoid the downtime caused by further injury.
Am planning on running another 5k this weekend and will throw in another day of speedwork on Wednesday.
I do hope that you are reaching your fitness goals as well. Don't know if we'll break that illusive 8 minute barrier this week or not....but progress always feels great!
My initial goal has to get my 5k time under the 8 minute mile barrier. While that may seem an easy task for many, it's been much harder that I anticipated for this aging athlete.
Warm-up and warm-down excluded I did manage to get four 'quarters' in the books in sub-2 minute times.... 1:41.85, 1:41.01, 1:38.54 and 1:38.94. I did miss my goal of running the last quarter the fastest but was satisfied with the times overall. I finished with a sub 4 minute half mile (3:54.83).
I was scheduled to throw in 100 yard sprints but passed on them this workout due to some 'tightness' in my right hamstring/glute areas. Better to not go quite so hard and avoid the downtime caused by further injury.
Am planning on running another 5k this weekend and will throw in another day of speedwork on Wednesday.
I do hope that you are reaching your fitness goals as well. Don't know if we'll break that illusive 8 minute barrier this week or not....but progress always feels great!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Another Race Down
Wow..... It's been awhile since I posted. Guess I'd better get up to speed.
I have been training hard. Running 3-5 miles a day at least 5 days a week and have felt good about my progress.
As I've mentioned earlier, my short-term goal has been to get sub-eight minute miles for a 5k before moving up to the 10k races. Saturday I ran the Governor's Cup 5k in Helena and finished with a very disappointing 8:47 mile pace. That hurt!
There was considerable up-hill but I still felt I ran a better race than that. I didn't wear my watch and the course didn't have mile marker electronic timers, so really didn't gauge my 'splits' very well....I guess. Some lessons to be learned here?
I did do a little 'speed' work last week and was aware that my speed was still lacking. I did manage to get one sub 8 in (7:41), but my last two splits were successively slower at 8:21 and 8:43. Still..... I was really thinking I would be able to pull off 8:15 to 8:20.
Live and Learn! OK....with no formal coach on this team, I have come to the conclusion that I will have to build a little more variety into my workouts. The plan today is to get at least one good speed work-out in every week and to get to back-to-back-to-back sub-eights in the next couple of weeks.
I'll let you all know how that works out! :-)
Until next time...... Keep your feet moving!
I have been training hard. Running 3-5 miles a day at least 5 days a week and have felt good about my progress.
As I've mentioned earlier, my short-term goal has been to get sub-eight minute miles for a 5k before moving up to the 10k races. Saturday I ran the Governor's Cup 5k in Helena and finished with a very disappointing 8:47 mile pace. That hurt!
There was considerable up-hill but I still felt I ran a better race than that. I didn't wear my watch and the course didn't have mile marker electronic timers, so really didn't gauge my 'splits' very well....I guess. Some lessons to be learned here?
I did do a little 'speed' work last week and was aware that my speed was still lacking. I did manage to get one sub 8 in (7:41), but my last two splits were successively slower at 8:21 and 8:43. Still..... I was really thinking I would be able to pull off 8:15 to 8:20.
Live and Learn! OK....with no formal coach on this team, I have come to the conclusion that I will have to build a little more variety into my workouts. The plan today is to get at least one good speed work-out in every week and to get to back-to-back-to-back sub-eights in the next couple of weeks.
I'll let you all know how that works out! :-)
Until next time...... Keep your feet moving!
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