What Lengths Do You Go To?

This is too long for a comment…

 

I am very impressed with how well Neil is running.  I haven’t been able to run that fast since about four or five years ago when we had a reunion at SUNY-B and I almost broke six in the mile (6:03.9).  Ever since then it has been a slow and steady decline (incline in times).  Most of us are not as gifted as Mark…

 

1)    Regarding knee pain, what I found out a few years back was that shoes make a huge difference.  These days you can only get maybe 500ish miles out of a pair of shoes before they break down and stop providing proper support.  On at least two occasions the way I cured knee pain was to buy new shoes.  Both times, within two weeks the pain was gone.  Now I am much more proactive and replace shoes at the second (not the first) sign of them breaking down.  It still bothers me to have to replace shoes so often, so I do try and stretch out there use just a wee bit.

 

2)    I know two orthopedists socially and both of them suggest naproxen as the drug of choice for old runners with knee pain.  But, you do need to be careful because that can eventually tear your stomach up.  I think Aleve is a brand name for naproxen and there are less expensive versions that work just as well.

 

3)    Last year a made a big change in training that has helped a lot, both physically and mentally.  I was sick and tired of going out and slogging through four miles at an ever slowing pace.  It was just too depressing.  I decided that hence forth my normal workout would be shorter and faster.  I live very close to a high school track so I started driving to the track and running no more than two miles, but always using my watch to drive me to keep the time “fast”.  So, instead of four miles at an eight to nine minute pace I was running one to two miles at anywhere from a 7:00 to 7:30 pace.  Some days I didn’t even run a continuous mile.  I might do some 220s (yes, I run on a track that is 440 yards), or quarters, or a half and couple of 220s.  Of course I’d throw in the occasional time trial and run a mile “all out”.

 

I don’t have the endurance that I used to have, but I feel just as fit knowing that my “speed” is respectable (for a 51-year old).  I haven’t been injury-free but I believe that I’m healthier overall than if I hadn’t changed.  When I travel and a track isn’t close by, I still do the same kind of workout, but I just use the sidewalk and my Garmin GPS watch to ensure the appropriate distance and pace.