56th Birthday

Daily Quote: "Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." - Franz Kafka

Today I'm 56 years old, but my body has never been so fit and my spirits never so high! Last year at this time I started training for the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon and was 172 pounds; this year I'm training for the Boston Marathon and I'm 174 pounds, the extra two pounds is probably from heavier muscles as I've been true to my weight lifting routine. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Running defines me.

Birthday or not, today is Cross-training!!

10:45 a.m. Warm-up, 10 minutes on the elliptical machine. Weight circuit training, 25 minutes. Lifted weight primarily on the circuit machines, with the exception of my chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps, which I worked with dumbbells. I often wonder if I didn't lift weights how much lighter and faster I would be, but what's important for me now is overall health and fitness.

I quickly followed the weight circuit training with the Cross-Training Workout #2, Mode 2, as written in the book, "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster," pg 106-07. Both ankles are a little sore from yesterday's hilly Long Run, but the weight-bearing stationary cycle didn't seem to trouble my ankles.

Stationary cycling (50 minutes) Workout: 10 minutes easy spinning as a warm-up, 15 minutes moderate to hard, 5 minutes easy; 15 minutes moderate to hard, 5 minutes easy as recovery; all with cadence of about 95 to 100 rpm. Watched ESPN on the television screen as I was cycling, a rehash of last Sunday's Super Bowl, which was mildly interesting.

Tomorrow is my interval workout, but if my ankles are still sore I might just do another cross-training routine...maybe swimming?!?