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A change is a coming……Get on board…..

Dear RTRE,

Starting August 1st I will no longer be posting my blogs…. I have decided there is too much good information falling into hands that are not deserving of receiving such information garnered, created and evolved over a generation of years.
For you loyal readers of which I am proud to say there are a great many I will be happy to personally make my daily writings available to you in e mail format if you wish to join my mailing list. I have toiled hard and diligently as athlete and coach for twenty five years plus and have earned what ever success has come my way, the old fashion way…. I earned it….
Please e/m me at coachgp@runningbuzz and I will be happy to add you to the list….
Run Tall Run Easy,
Coach GP.

Midweek

Middle of an unloading week.
G’day RTRE reader.
Thanks for checkin’ in with me. I am a day behind in my blog….
Yesterday (Wednesday) I was up and at ‘em early for a very busy shit at work….. I worked really hard in the shift and felt it to be an excellent workout but was disappointed to find out this morning that I had a number of miss loads. I take this very personally as I have high expectations of myself; I hold myself to a high standard and this is unaccpetable to make these errors. I worked hard today in another very busy shift and hope to have more success.
I met with a new client immediately after work yesterday and then came home to on line coaching. Later in the afternoon, I did 200 pushups, 100 sit ups, 50 reverse crunches, new core routine, 100 back extensions, “180” workout with lighter 35lb kb last two rounds non stop, then a controlled relaxed 6 miler @ sub 7 pace from home down to the water, up the boardwalk to Manasquan downtown to South st to Greenacres park to home….. quick stretch and off to take Sam to baseball, then Luke and I hung out together and relaxed and swam at the Atlantic Club pool and hot tub. We had dinner at the pool and ran into one of my former students (Kayla) who was lifeguarding. Luke and I had a great time, then went to watch the end of Sam’s baseball pracitce. An early night ensued….
G’day all, G’day Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace

Helter Swelter

Helter Swelter !
G’day RTRE blog reader,
I am back in the saddle after the weekend if not strangely a little under the weather…
I left off spending the evening with the boys on Thursday night I was in bed early and had a good night’s sleep…off to work for a very warm shift at UPS Friday morning. Great workout and had to superhydrate to keep up with the loss of fluids from the intense but gratifying work.
Friday proved to be one of the hottest days I can remember. I heard on a forecast at lunchtime that Belmar was going to have a heat index of 120 degrees…Are you kidding me?
I was definitely not running, in fact I did nothing except for 100 pushups…. I left work at enjoyed some DD solo, then went to pick up Luke from Junior Guards and then went back to DD with him to get him a donut and to relax…I spent the day chillling out until it was time to take Luke to guitar lesson and Sam to a school mate’s birthday party. After that it was time to go surf and I enjoyed a super time. The cold water felt so refreshing.
It was home for dinner with my family and watch some Metsies…… I was really tired but overall quite relaxed…
Saturday morning, I was up and at ‘em early for track….. already 80+ degrees at 6.10am when I arrived at track, very humid but a light breeze from the south which made life somewhat tolerable. Mile and a half warn up, mile strides,
3 x 150/250 jog… 26.88 27.73 26.09
400 jog…
6 x 300 cutdown recoveries…
53.61 53.40 53.12 52.86 52.36 52.23
Then 15 mins complete recovery then an open ended 75 second interval… the goal to run that pace for as long as I could and as soon as I fell of pace to stop… I made it 1200 meters in 3.47.
Mile cooldown….. overall, I felt this to be a very effective and productive workout. A great group at track followed by good times at DD.
The family and I spent the day at the beach, a little surfing to cool off. A friend of mine I was surfing with got hit in the face with his own board and was taken to hospital but thankfully, he was ok. Some stitches in the chin but no concussion. We went to a friend’s 40th birthday party in the evening but did not stay late. We came home and watched some Mets and relaxed for the rest of the evening… Saturday was another smokin’ hot day !
100 pushups on Saturday.
Yesterday (Sunday) our group commenced our run at 7am, already over 80 degrees, sunny with light but warm West wind. An easy 3 mile to start then I ran with a young Collegiate runner over the 10k course at marathon effort…it started out fine but there is no doubt by mile four, the heat index took its toll. 6.29—6.22—6.31—6.40—-6.35—–6.47…….39.26 for the 6 mile….overall again given the conditions, very pleased with the effort…
Rest of the day was spent at the beach with my family on another warm day…
What was strange about the day was I kept falling asleep…. I fell asleep right after the run, then again after breakfast, then again on the beach, then again before dinner….. unheard of for me….. what was going on? I have been hydrating like crazy… electrolyte loss, heat stress more likely causes….. then I was so tired that I went to bed before 8pm right after dinner.. 50 pushups on the day.
I awoke at 3.30am and knew I could not make work. I felt really exhausted, no energy and had muscle aches….. kind of like flu symptoms without the flu…… I had to get up to notify my bosses I was not working today. I slept until almost 7am and between on line coaching, I have basically slept all day today…… there will be no training today….. family time and just trying to get to 100% to be ready for work tomorrow and to get back to training….
G’day all, G’day Dad, I love and miss you..

Two day recap….

Wednesday/ Thursday recap….
G’day RTRE blog reader,
I completed my requisite strength training Tuesday before heading off to coach at Ocean Township…. Excellent turnout of Stingers for the meet with some excellent performances. Once again I got a kick out of Sam jumping in the 100 meters barefoot, he is a funny lad but most importantly he was having a great time.
By the time I got to bed it was much later than usual, close to 10pm. Up super early Wednesday morning to be at work by 4am… very busy shift, excellent workout, very warm, had to be sure to take in plenty of fluids for the shift….. left work to pick up some java at DD and home to on line coach. After coaching, it was time for 200 pushups, 100 sit ups, 50 reverse crunches, new core routine and then 100 back extensions. This was followed by a “180” KB workout with 45lb bell. Then it was time for an indoor run. yes, it was hot but this was not the reason I ran indoors; it was simply a scheduling situation as I had my boys and the only way I could run was to put them in the kids zone at the club and run on the treadmill. A light progressive 5 miler, the indoor air conditioning was welcome… started around 8 min pace and moved smoothly through the gears to 7.30 type pace then worked it to 7 min pace, then in the last mile worked it quickly to 6.42 pace and each .1 I worked it up a .1 mile per hour, and ended up reaching 6 min pace shortly before the finish….. I felt relaxed and terrific throughout the run.
Post run, Luke,Sam and I spent an hour and a half playing in the outdoor pool and had a blast and as I like to say, building memories….
Thursday up early and off to work on my motor bike….. very warm at work, had to hydrate very intensely and enjoyed a great shift….. awesome workout..
Home at 9am, stopped in Belmar to see Luke at his Junior Guard tournament and then had DD in Manasquan. Home to change and stretch. Out the door into SW wind Sunny, humid and smoking hot, temps in the mid 90’s with heat index at 100 +….
I ran the smartest of smart runs today…. I was so pleased. I only had a small window of time in which to run and thus had to head out the door at 11am….
I jogged over to the Brielle 10k course, then ran the first mile at marathon effort- 6.47…..this is a tough mile at the best of times but today this was a solid mile…… took a planned 1 min break, then ran another marathon effort mile….—-6.08—– smokin’ hot ! took another minute then ran the next two miles continuous in ‘fartlek’ fashion…..6.32—-6.51……normally not especially quick but I was really pleased how the fartlek went and I just ran very smart and worked the conditions to optimize recovery whilst still getting in requisite quality…… then took a minute and ran the next mile in 6.17 at a marathon effort- then rested a minute and ran the last mile in ‘fartlek’ style in 6.57…… extremely hot and humid, but again I made the best of a tough day…
Met Sam from rec and walked home with the lad…
Came home for 200 pushups, 100 crunches. 50 reverse crunches, new core routine, 100 back extensions then KB workout… “300” workout split…. First two rounds with 45lb, next three rounds with the 35lb non stop action, then a good stretch, lunch and on line working the rest of the afternoon, until 5pm where I will conduct a group biomechanics session before spending the evening with the kids…..
G’nite all, G’nite Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace

Four day recap…

Four day recap….
G’day RTRE blog reader,
To my regular daily blog reader, I apologize for being on the down low for a few days….life has been rolling on but I have just been too busy to actually sit down and write my blog.
I am happy to be back. I left off on Friday night looking forward to track the next morning. Saturday I awoke to lovely sunny skies and temps in the mid 70’s with light south prevaling wind. It was reasonably humid and by the time I arrived at Borough track on my motorbike, it was getting warm. However, I think that this was weather I should have been able to cope with.
On tap was week 1 of my 10 week marathon build up of 6 x 1 mile. The workout ended up being a laugher and not in a good way. Planning on running all miles sub 5.30, my first mile was 5.30 and I had to accelerate in the last lap to make it. bearing in mind I have been opening five mile races in 5.30, this should have been manageable (and it will be)….but on this day it was like your baseball team that get beats 22-0. In some ways this as a fan is easy to reconcile than a last second point/goal that defeats you that leaves you with ‘what if”…
For me this day there was no what if…… I opened up with a 5.30 mile but I was behind from the get go and had to charge the last lap to make it…… from there I went 5.50, at this point I thought ok, let me just manage the workout and reap the reward from the effort put forth…. A 3rd mile in a struggling 6.15 and I as I jogged the recovery, I begn to doubt the merit…. I did not mind being off pace but I wondered if I was now doing damage. Meaning was there something in my body that I was fighting that I would be better of serving by rest or am I just beat?…. Anyway I decided to call it….. a mile cooldown and I move on…… I will commence week 1 next week..
I had a great time coaching a huge group and then later in the day along with my friend Steve and his step son Justin, I took Luke and Sam to Citi Field to see the Mets versus the Phillies. To say it was a perfect day with perfect weather it an understatement. I simply had the most wonderful time with my children. Sam even received a foul ball from a fan that handed it to him….. just great !
I awoke Sunday to cooler temps in the 70’s light south wind and a little humid….nice n sunny… we met at 7am for a fourteen miler with about a dozen of us and we cruised the first loop of the 10k course, the highlight of which was Ray completing the 10k course without stopping for the first time….. the whole group was fired up !……then on the second loop, I ran in the 6.50 range for two miles, then 6.42, then 6.22 on the tough 4th mile and then 6.09 and by now it was just me at Stephanie with Rocket Man shadowing us on his bike… as we hit the 12 mile marker in 6.27 then soon I was running solo with the last two miles in a hard earned 11.53…. what a difference in 24 hours… Saturday I was flat flat flat and Sunday I was pep pep pep…
A nice time with the group Sunday at DD then wonderful family time at the beach later in the morning into the afternoon…..spent the evening at friends with my family and again great times..
Saturday Sunday for strength not too much….. 75 pushups Saturday, Sunday 100 push ups and surfing….
Monday up and at ‘em early to be at work and a very busy shift that was awesome and a great workout…… home later in the day, and spent the day having a wonderful time with my boys as we went to see Harry Potter part two and we had a wonderful time and I was building wonderful memories….
Later in the day I did 200 pushups, 100 sit ups, 50 reverse crunches, new core routine, 100 back extensions and 5 rounds of “300” non stop workout with the lighter 35lb bell…

Tuesday up and at ‘em again and after a good workout at work, I stopped for coffee (as I did yesterday too) and then at 11am with my son Luke accompanying us on his bike, Wheat Thin and I ran the 10k course….. originally we were scheduled for track but the extreme heat and humidity put an end to that. then I decided to switch to a Kenyan progression run on shaded albeit hilly 10k course….. it felt like 100 degrees early in the run and by mile two we were gasping for air…. We decided to take a break at two miles having run 6.56—6.44 we took a 2 min break, and off we were again, the next two miles in 6.10 –6.28, unbelievably hot….. 2 min rest, then 6.14—6.22….. now these may not be paces to write home ordinarily as they are marathon type paces but I know better I was at close to a 5k effort and I actually am thrilled with how tough I ran…. Home to stretch….. there will be 200 pushups on the day and coaching later at a local track meet….
That brings me up to date…. Thanks for checking in…
G’nite all, G’nite Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace

XT Fri….

Cross Training Friday !~

G’devening RTRE blog reader,
Good night’s sleep last night. I was up at 3.30am, down for brekky # 1 and onto the motor bike to head up the highway to UPS. A busy shift at work and out of there at 9am for a little r& r at the local DD in Squan.
Home for on line coaching, writing schedules. Upon completion it was time for 250 pushups, 100 sit ups, 50 reverse crunches, new core routine and 100 back extensions, followed by,
“300” workout with 45lb bell…… I felt very good in the strength work tonight. Then I went to my club for the first time in a while and had a super relaxing 20 min pool run. The cool water felt really nice on my body and the time passed very quickly indeed. Great weather the past couple of days after high heat and humidity earlier in the week.
Looking forward to a TGIF relaxing family Friday night before what I hope is a good night’s sleep prior to returning to track in the morning for week 1 in my traditional ten weeks of 5 x 1 mile workout as I build up to the next impending marathon; in this case, the planned Marine Corps marathon in October.
Post track workout I look forward to coaching the Stingers group, before a little java at DD then heading to City Field with Luke and Sam and Steve and Dustin to see the Metsies play the Phillies….
Thanks for checkin’ in…
G’nite all, G’nite Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace

Fartlek float..

Fartlek Float !~

G’day RTRE blog reader,
Good night’s sleep Monday night into Monday morning…..
Another good slep Wednesday night into Thursday morning, arising at 3.35am…. brekky # 1and onto the motor bike and on the line by 4.35am…
Very busy but satisfying shift, with cooler temps today which helped….
Out of work at 9am and off to DD for my java lite… great weather and a lovely day for a bike ride.
Home for on line coaching, then time for 200 push ups, 100 sit ups, 50 reverse crunches,, new core routine and 100 back extensions….
Then time for the track with Sam the Man, Liam, Wheat Thin, Rocket Man and Steff……
Temps in the low 80’s but much less humid and sunny with 12mph wind out of the NE.
The planned workout was simple in its construction. A quazi fartlek of sorts, a broken tempo workout, not particularly intimidating for a change as so many track workouts can be, but non the less very valuable. I was the only one of the group doing this workout.A great day of weather for the workout run at Point Borough…. It was cool to see Steff, an elite runner, running with Sam. Very cute.
1.5 mile warm up, mile stides, then 25 x 150 which with a 50 meter jog beyond the final 150 would give me 5,000 for the workout.
The goal, to run right at or just above 5,000 pace in a relaxed controlled manner, not focusing on the split times but rather focusing on the process, form, relaxation at speed, breathing cadence etc…
28.81 30.93 31.27 30.79 29.75 30.14 29.71 29.25 29.1 29.68 29.63 30.05 29.89 29.76 29.85 29.72 29.25 29.23 29.16 29.78 29.53 29.14 28.53 27.63 26.64

Recoveries 20.58 19.20 18.48 17.73 19.24 17.83 18.91 18.96 17.91 19.00 18.08 18.51 18.84 18.52 17.94 20.24 19.29 17.88 18.82 20.22 19.15 18.15 17.81 16.74 9.74 19.55 total for 5,000.
Mile cooldown. Excellent and valuable session…
Family time the rest of the day !
G’nite all, G’nite Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace

“Mid summer conclusion”

“Mid summer conclusion”

G’day RTRE blog reader,
Good night’s sleep Monday night into Monday morning…..
Awoke at the usual hour, brekky # 1 and onto the motor bike to be at UPS at 4.20am…. very warm weather right now and an intense physical shift, excellent workout. I left work around 9.15am and headed to DD for some r&r….. It was extremely warm and sunny and humid out. Temperatures would reach 100 degrees in certain parts of the tri state area Tuesday.
On line coaching through the day after brekky # 2 and then along with my two boys, Ray, Wheat Thin and B2, we left for the track meet around 4pm… arriving there super early as is my usual M.O. we stopped near the track at Starbucks to sit in the cool for a half hour rather than sit at a warm track. Temperature at 5pm was 95 degrees…… After arriving at the track around 5.15, we met Rocket Man and the Jet and Rocket’s girlfriend, Stephanie who was visiting from AZ. where she runs track, in addition to Muzz, Diva girl, MCM Frank and John. We were all racing the 1500. Except Ray who ran well later in the 800 in 2.20 placing 3rd overall. We found a great shady spot to set our stuff down.
Usual warm up and strides and a 150 that was too quick (23)…..
The highlight for me was watching my son Sam, with his one arm and barefeet racing the 200 out of lane one against bigger kids…… I didn’t even know he was going to race but he ran really well and much more importantly had a huge smile on his face whilst doing it……!!! He just decided to jump in it…
So the College and high schoolers were definitely in to taking on the old man for sure…… but I had my eye on another competitor, a 45 year old runner getting ready to race the 1500 at USA Masters Nationals at month’s end.
Elliott, started the 1500 in the wrong place, about a meter and a half long as compared to the many 1500 meter races I have raced at these meets over the years. Enough to make a difference. The plan was 72 pace or a 4.30 1500.
There was confusion at the 300 meter mark as I followed behind Jet, Wheat Thin, Stephanie and another runner about to go to TCNJ. The timer called out 51 but my watch said 55.41….Nothing much changed in the next lap position wise….. the pace felt comfortable but the lack of track racing was impairing my mid distance race turnover….. I split a 73.53 in the next lap (2.08ish at 700 meters so in the ballpark), at the 150 to go marker of the third lap I overtook Stephanie, and then she worked hard to chase me down in the home stretch and passed me at the start of the bell lap, split here was 73.81. then I tracked Stephanie through the last lap and made my move on her with 150 to go. This time the move was decisive and I pulled away to finish third behind The Jet and Wheat Thin in 4.34.19, splitting 71.44 on the last lap… This was good enough for a certified track meet Masters All American 1500 meter time which was cool. It was also long and each runner could legitimately take a second off their time but whatever….. conditions at race time, between 87-90 degrees, 70-75% humidity but with a light breeze, sunny and actually with a 7.15-7.20 type start time, the weather seemed surprisingly manageable…. We all enjoyed a nice 2 mile cooldown and stretched and we just had a great time…awesome to have my boys there and Sam had a blast with his buddies doing the long jump.
This brings the curtain down on my summer racing season which has been a great deal of fun and overall very successful….. there will be no off time from training, just from racing. I will race again next month but now in my head the page turns, it is a new chapter and it is entitled, Marine Core Marathon preparation……
I came home last night, ate, showered, kissed my family good night around 10pm (late for me but it was an exception as it was race night) and then I rose this morning at 2.10am, completed 100 pushups, 100 sit ups, new core routine and 100 back extensions and 50 reverse crunches…. Then I set out for a very relaxed paced 5 miler in warm humid conditions on a clear starry night with temps at 75 degrees….. great stuff ! Then off to UPS then to DD to meet a new client and home to work and watch the USA in the Women’s World Cup and a good nap ~
Before dinner there will be “300” workout with lighter bell at 35lbs and100 more pushups…then family time…. Thanks for checkin’ in to my blog !
G’nite all, G’nite Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace

Sunday Monday !

Sunday Monday recap….
A great night’s sleep Saturday night into Sunday…
After awaking and having a quick brekky, I was due to meet my Sunday run group at 7am…. temps in the high 70’s and not as humid as yday with a northerly prevailing wind and beautifully sunny. My left calf was a little tight so I skipped their first two miles and spent the time stretching the body….. out the door I went and ran very slowly and joined the group toward the end of the Brielle 5k course and then ran an easy loop of the 10k course then added a mile with BP at the end of the loop. It took 45 mins to get my legs under me but then they felt good. Easy pace today. Very easy up the hills. No need for speed….
Then 200 push ups 100 sit ups, 50 reverse crunches, new core routine, 100 back extensions and the 3 round “180” workout with the 45lb kettle bell.
This was the day of the amazing USA Women’s world cup game versus Brazil. I watched a lot of the game up until the first penalty and then my family and I went to the beach where the weather was gorgeous. A wondeful time…..
We had fresh tuna and ribs on the Q in the evening with Mike and MB and kids over….. great end to a near perfect weekend !
A good night’s sleep and up an at ‘em for Big Brown at 4am, on the line 50 mins later. A solid workout and out of work pretty early at around 8.30, for java lite and home to on line coach…… family time now…… 100 pushups 50 sit ups and then get ready to race a 1500 tomorrow night……
G’nite all, G’nite Dad, I love and miss you..
Let the good times roll !
Walk in Peace