January went OK. I got in a few more miles as my injuries and pains were less. I ran harder on some hills to build leg strength.
Only three months from my race goal. Time is flying, and I aint ready. Health wise I am not too bad. My left knee wants to lock up sometimes when running and always needs ice when I finish, but WTF? Just one bad knee at my age is pretty good. My left ham string was a big problem, today the right is acting up. Lucky me as I now have in good good compression bandages. Over all, I am doing OK. I am much slower than I thought I would be by now.
I have been taking note of the best over 60 runners with in a three hundred miles. There are a lot of them.
Only a couple are elite level. "Elite" is the level racer that if he has a broken leg and the flu, I will still be too far back to even see him finish. I have never worried about those guys, just posed after races for photos with them.
On the "mortal" level many geezers excel. They tend to be smaller guys of course. My size 13 feet weight more than most of them. The best of the "mortals" can run 5K in the 20's. I could do that at 60, but I am not 60. The next level is the 21s to 23s. I would like to think that if things go well for me this Summer, I can crack into the 23s by next Fall. That may be a pipe dream.
Right now it is impossible to get a line on how fast/slow I might go in my early races. My physical and mental limits for pain are very low. My mechanical skills are poor. My cardio is a mess.
Henry Rono says "First learn to run smooth, then go fast". To that end, I have attempted no fast running. The slow stuff is beating me up enough and makes my heart race all out. Speed kills.
I have improved.
I dream. I am starting to think that breaking under 25 is a reasonable 5K goal for this Summer. That is 3 eight minute miles plus that damned .1. So far I have not run even one mile like that, but under 25 seems like a goal I might reach some day. In the old(young) days in my late 40s, I could run in the 16s. Aging humbles one.
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