Pheidippides’s BodyBlog

Today is the last day of my summer fitness program, and my deadline to reach certain fitness goals.  Inconstant attention to diet and my ongoing Achilles tendon battles have derailed my achievement of my weight and running goals, at least temporarily.  But I did meet one goal: this morning I did a single set of 55 pushups, meaning I achieved my pushups goal for the summer on the last day of my program.  That’s also the greatest number of pushups I’ve ever done in my life in a single set.  I wasn’t really expecting to do it, since I did 53 two days ago and thought I’d still be a bit sore, but I got started and felt good enough to keep going.  Half way through my wife entered the bedroom with our dog, and she told him "Go say hi" with a laugh.  I was at about 30 pushups at that point, and, thinking I had a shot and not wanting it to get frustrated by a golden retriever licking me, I screamed back "No, get him away from me."  I think the wife was a bit taken back, but she did shoo him away.  So I kept going, and managed to get in the 55th pushup before collapsing.  So that’s something, at least.  Now it’s time to get my heel healed and get back on track with losing weight and running faster.

My Achilles tendon is still bothering me, just enough to prevent me from amping up the running, but not enough to keep me from working out altogether.  Two days ago I went to the gym and did some intervals on the stationary bike and treadmill.  My treadmill intervals were roughly at 6:00 to 6:40 pace and lasted two to three minutes.  No perceptible injury afterward, but in general the tendon is a bit sore, and I know if I push it I’ll injure it.  It’s hard to throttle back when I want to be running hard right now.  I’m still hoping to do a 5K or 10K on Labor Day, but we’ll see.

On a better note, I increased my pushup total to 53 yesterday, one more than the week before, though still two shy of my goal (the finish date of which, as I recall, is tomorrow, so I may extend my finish date a bit).  It’s interesting to see how a very simple and not especially rigorous (but consistent over several months) regime of pushups has measurably increased my strength (and to some degree, muscle mass) in my arms and chest more than some of my previous, seemingly more intense and much more time consuming, bouts of weight lifting in the gym.  Doing pushups on my bedroom floor seems to yield a lot more benefit for the time involved than going to the gym, and it’s a lot easier to do in tandem with lots of running.  Now if I can just get around to adding a pullup bar in my garage I’ll be able to work out most of my upper body without having to go to the gym.

According to some online information I’ve seen 53 pushups is above the 90th percentile for my age group, and something I saw said that 73 is the 99th percentile for my age group.  So 73 would be a good eventual goal — then I could say I am in the 99th percentile for my age group in pushups ability.  I would estimate my 5K ability at somewhere around 96-97 percentile for my age group, but that’s a guess.  It would be kind of cool to be at 99th percentile in my age group both in running and in a standard measure of upper body strength.  Of course, I have to heal.  First things first.

The good news is my Achilles tendon seems mostly to have healed in the last week, allowing me to run on Saturday for the first time in 18 days.  I ran pretty slowly, totaling 5 miles.  I plan to run again today.  We’ll see how that goes.  I’m not yet sure how much the layoff has affected my fitness.

One thing it has affected is my weight.  I’ve gone up to 174.8 as of today, although my BF hasn’t gone up much (it’s at 17.2%, according to scale, although the reading fluctuates every day).  The good thing is that with all the pushups and hard running I’ve done over the last three months a good portion of the gain seems to be muscle rather than fat, but the bad news is it’s going to be hard to get anywhere near my weight goal by Labor Day.  At this point my goal is to get solidly under 170 pounds by September.  I don’t want to be focusing on weight loss during my fall training.

The other goods news is I did a single set of 52 pushups on Sunday, the most, I think, that I’ve EVER done at any point in my life.  I may have done that many once a couple of years ago, but never more.  I’m within sight of my 55-pushup goal to be achieved by Labor Day.

My last race was a success, but it was followed three days later by a big setback.  The race was the 5K I ran on July 25.  I beat my previous PR by 8 seconds with a time of 19:22, not quite as fast as I’d hoped but still my best race yet.  I started fast, clocking 6:04 for the first mile, then I slowed to 6:16 for the second and about 6:22 for the third.  My overall pace was 6:14, so I was pleased.  At the time it seemed like my running was progressing really well and I was on track for that sub-40 minute 10K, my big goal for the year.

Alas, three days later, during my afternoon speed interval workout, my right foot started to hurt.  It wasn’t the same as the Achilles tendonitis I’d suffered two years ago; this was lower and nearer the heel.  I made it through three 600 meter intervals and an 800 meter interval with increasing discomfort, but had to give up during the second 800 meter segment.  I haven’t been able to run since then, and it’s been 9 days.  I’ve hit the gym three times and spent time on the stationary bike to try to maintain aerobic fitness, but there’s no way I can avoid setting my running back if this keeps up.

At first I thought it might be a stress fracture, but the doctor seems to think it’s an injury to the Achilles tendon where it connects to the heel.  I’m taking a painkiller and trying to rest it, and that’s about all I can do.  In the meantime I’m going to keep going to the gym to try aerobic exercises that don’t put pressure on my heel — especially the stationary bike, as it works my quads as well as the heart.

It’s quite frustrating, but if it heels within a week or two it won’t set me back too much and I should be able to still enter some races this fall.

I have another 5K coming up this weekend.  I hope to go under 19 minutes this time.  Training has been going really well, so I think it’s possible, but it might be a bit warm to get a PR.  We’ll see.

On other fronts, I just did my first set of 50 pushups this morning, so I’m getting close to my Labor Day goal of 55 in a single set.  I really haven’t been doing any upper body exercises other than pushups in the last couple of months, but they have undoubtedly given me some more definition in the chest, shoulders, and arms.

With June over, It’s time to get going on my goals for the remainder of the summer.  My running went really well the last month and a half, and I managed to lose some weight as well, but I still have a way to go.

My goals for Sept. 4, the Friday before Labor Day: (1) Get weight down under 164 (I’m 167.8 today); (2) get BF down to 13% (I’m at 17.4% today); (3) get waist down under 33 (I’m at 35.5 inches today).  (4) Increase pushups to 55 at one time (42 today, and high of 48 over last month).  (5) Build running mileage up to 40 plus miles per week.  (6) Get 5K time close to 19 minutes or better if possible.

The goal is to get myself in ideal shape by Labor Day to begin a fairly rigorous training program for running races in the fall, and ultimately achieve my goals of (a) a sub-1:30 half marathon; and (b) sub-40 minute 10K.  If I can get my 5K time under 19 minutes by Labor Day AND if I’m comfortably over 40 mpw running without injury by that time, I may set a goal of a sub-3 hour marathon.  But I won’t do that unless my weight, mileage, and 5K pace make that a realistic goal.

I ran the Shriner’s 8K race this morning.  It’s part of the Pacific US Track and Field Assocation road race circuit, so it always has a lot of fast runners from all over California and some other parts west as well.  It was my first 8K ever.  My goal was to try to set and stay at a roughly 6:30 pace, and demonstrate my progress toward a sub-40 minute 10K.

Temperature was probably 60s, mostly sunny, light breeze.  Good conditions for an 8 a.m. start.

I started a bit farther back than I would have liked because the starting line was so crowded, and got off to a slower start than I expected.  But after about 600 meters it started to thin just a bit, and then I was able to get  up to my target speed.  At that point I started passing slower runners.  My mile splits (rounded) were 6:33, 6:20, 6:30, 6:34, and my last .97 mile split was 6:13.  I was able to hold pace, pretty much, and I passed a few runners over the last two miles as some runners slowed down.  Overall time was 32:16, a pace of exactly 6:30.  So I hit my target right on the nose.  In terms of age graded performance that’s equivalent to about a 40:50 10K, so I’m definitely getting closer.  With a little more mileage and steady training I should be able to get under 40 minutes by early fall, maybe earlier.

I was very pleased with the performance, since it showed I’m right on track with where I want to be.  But to put it in perspective, I only placed 14th out of 41 runners in my age group, and the top runner in my age group (45-49 years old) ran the 8K at a 5 minute/mile pace !!  So I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m looking forward to it.

Summer is underway (I guess it technically starts on Sunday, but I count from when the kids’ school gets out), and so far I’m making progress on my fitness goals.  Running is going very well.  Number 1, I’ve stayed healthy; number 2, I’ve managed to slowly and steadily increase my mileage; and number 3, I’m getting faster.  Tomorrow is an 8k, my first race at that distance.  My goal is to run under 32:30, a 6:32 pace.  The course will be fast and flat, and the competition will be very tough, so it will be easy to go out fast.  It may be just a bit warm.

I’ve set my summer goals for weight and bodyfat.  Goal date is September 4, a Friday, rather than a Monday, to make it a bit easier, since I tend to be a bit undisciplined in my eating on weekends.  The goal is to reduce weight to at least 164 pounds by Sept. 4, from current weight of 168.4, to get bodyfat from 16.4% to 13%, and to reduce my waist from 35.8 inches to 33 inches.  The goal is to achieve all three goals, so, for example, I may need to lose more weight than that to get my bodyfat down that low.

I also want to keep upping my pushups total and also start working on pullups.  Current pushups high is 47 — want to get that up to 50 if possible by next Friday, but I’m doubtful.

Today I ran my first 10K.  Well, it was billed as a 10K, but as I was timing my mile splits I figured out the "mile" between mile 5 and 6 was about .2 miles short!  So I ran 6 miles.  What it lacked in distance it made up in terrain, because the first and last miles were through twisty, narrow, somewhat hilly, and soft dirt trails.  So it was not a course to get your best time.  Of course, since this was my first it was bound to be my best time.

Anyway, my goal was to use this race as a way of figuring out what my 10K level was so I could calibrate my training toward my 10K goal race in the fall.  So the plan was to go out at a very controlled, moderate pace, hold it for three miles, then see what I could do over the last half of the race.  The one thing I absolutely did not want to do was to go out fast and crash.
There were 184 participants, not an overly big bunch.  I started out fast, well within the top 10 runners, though well behind the really good ones, about three of whom took off far in front.  After about the first mile I settled in with about four to five other runners, one of whom also was named "Steve", and who seemed to be known by all the race volunteers, who all yelled out, "Go Steve."  After a while, knowing it wasn’t me, I started to get irked.  I made it my goal to beat the guy.  Around mile 4 I passed a guy who looked about my age, along with a guy around 20 (it’s great to pass guys who are 20), and set my sights on catching the other Steve, who looked like he might be my age.  I thought if I did that I would definitely be the top over 40 finisher, because I knew the guys who were far ahead were a lot younger.  So I stayed right on Steve’s shoulder and felt pretty good about being able to catch him at the end.  With 200 meters to go, out of the dirt trail, I took off, and when he saw that I was going to try to beat him he took off too.  I was still maybe 5 yards behind with 50 meters to go, but I ran as fast as I could and beat him by .1 seconds at the finish line. As it turned out, his "chip" time was a bit faster than mine, because he lined up at the start farther behind the starting line than I did.  It also turned out he was a lot younger than I thought.
My finish time was 40:42.  Assuming it was about 6 miles, that’s a 6:47 pace, so I assume translated into a real 10K it was the equivalent of a little over 42 minutes.  Because of the terrain, though, I ran at least one minute slower than I would have on a flat, faster surface, so I would describe it as about a 41 minute effort.  That was good for 7th overall out of 184, 1st out of 15 Men 45-49, and first among all Master’s age (40+) runners.  I actually beat everybody over the age of 34.  I was very happy with that result.  I’m not completely certain but it may be the first time in my life I actually placed first in any athletic event, even in an age group, so that was good.

Next up is an 8K this coming Saturday. Since that race is part of the PAUSTF circuit, it will have a very competitive field.  I will not be winning any awards in that race!

According to my scale, I have entered uncharted territory:  166.6 pounds, and 16% bodyfat.  The bodyfat figure is the lowest figure I have recorded yet since I started recording it a year and a half ago or so, and the weight number is the lowest since I can remember — certainly the lowest number since my 20s, nearly 20 years ago — possibly even more.

My waist measured 35.75, possibly a bit lower (it seems to be impossible to hold the tape measure completely still, or at one measurement), but I’ll call it 35.75.

So, I’m on track to get down under 165 by June 26, and I’ve already reached my BF goal (although that figure fluctuates wildly because of scale error).  Still three quarters of an inch from getting my waist where I want it.  Still, great progress over mid-Spring, when my weight was regularly in the mid-170s, my BF was up around 19%, and my waist was well over 37 inches.  It is getting to the point that I should begin to see the positive effect of weight loss on my race times.