Fitness/training

Seeing as how I'm running faster now than I was in my 30s, there's not much about the allegedly "inevitable" decline in physical performance that I'm inclined to accept.

One thing I do acknowledge is that my maximum heart rate has declined, as I've got older. It';s now around 170 on a good day, compared to 195 or more when I was younger. But all may not be what it seems.

OK, so I overdid it; I admit it.

I was tired, too tired, going into Friday's track session. We adjusted the workout accordingly, but then I felt a little warning twinge in my left hamstring. I jogged it out. Then, on my final 400m, I was on pace for 72 seconds when right on 300m I got a much more insistent twinge and stepped off the track.

So, up to one mile I rock, from 800 on down I am in serious need of rehab.

That's what the All American Standards of Excellence tell me. These are age group standards based on current world records; as far as I can tell, the UK standards are exactly the same.

It's hard to get your workouts in on the road. I'm in Durango, almost as far south-west as you can get in Colorado and stay "civilised". That's in quotes because this area still has that frontier, mountain man feel. Abby and I are celebrating our wedding annivesary with a road trip to Mesa Verde, the astounding World Heritage site where the Anastazi Indians built pueblos into ledges on inaccessible sandstone cliffs.

No, not quite what you expect to hear, especially at my age chasing a sub-5 mile and super-fast 5k.

What Ric means is I need to make sure my easy runs are...easy. And yes, the pace has been creeping up again. Even on Sunday's run at Magnolia and especially over the last couple of days, I've been finishing them at a brisk pace. I do start slow, but then finish as if they are tempo runs.

The result: feel-good on the trail; dead-ish legs when I get to the track for my quality workouts.

Great story and video in the New York Times on Sara Hall's traiing.

Article

Video

I'm not exactly "injured", but am forestalling something serious by taking a few days off.

There are Three Desires I have about any race or time trial I go for. The first desire is to hit the time that will get the job done. The second is the time that I would feel really pleased with. The third is the secret time that, in my heart, I really really want to hit: a time that would constitute at the very least, a breakthrough.

I had all three desires in place for my 3200k time trial -- 8 laps, or two miles. Getting under 12 minutes would merit "Job done". 11:45-ish would be a real boost. "Secretly" I was hoping for something even faster.

I know that sounds like I had company on my week's "long run" in London's Hyde Park, but actually the company was in my head thanks to reading the Sunday papers just before setting out.