Spring has once again turned to summer and I’m still trying to figure out how to run. It’s been a good three months for the most part. Started lifting and it’s going well. Workout schedule right now is kinda like this: Distance most days. Two to two and a half miles. If the weather is prohibitive I hit the gym and lift. And on the weekend I try to go to the track one day. Time trials the first w/e of the month, Astrands the rest of the time.

I shoulda started watching all of my numbers sooner. My weight WAS bouncing from 217 to 221 but lately it’s been in the 216-218 range. Happy with that. And recently noticed my body fat % under 25 after swinging between 28 and 30 last winter. Twenty-five is kinda the magic number for guys over 60. My Cooper Test’s are in the mid 35’s. Good but not good enough. Need to get them into the 36 range, which means taking 10 seconds off my 2k and 21 off my 1.5 mile.

This is where Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio comes in. Stumbled across it a few months back and been charting it ever since. Roughly it looks at my training distance over the past week and compares it to the past month. If the ratio is under .9 I’m not working hard enough. If it’s over 1.5 I’m heading for an injury. So I take my track workouts as they come and convert my lifting into calories burned and then into distance run and use the whole damned spreadsheet to determine how far each daily workout is.

I edged past 1.5 before last w/e’s trip to Knoxville so injury was avoided. This procedure is keeping me mentally comfortable while providing a nice guideline. I can see 2 1/2 Sunday or Monday and 3 miles by July 4th. Speed work/race prep by August?