50+ Weekly Training Thread

Cold and wet 30 miles - missing days again. Into physically and mentally stressful time of year and finally learning to back off once in awhile. Usual progression runs with two morphing into tempos 6:50 and 6:45 avg. Those days felt good; couple other real drags, although usually if I endure the heavy leg days, the following ones tend to be much better.

Probably never done enough mileage (tops about 50) to impact my sleep.

Started in jr. and sr. high: so-so runner on a good team. Just a taste of college running in a short-lived program. Back in those days, before the running boom, there wasn't really a place for the average runner unless you were into getting creamed in the occasional AAU events. Spent 25 years in repeated attempts to run for exercise, but could never maintain it. Finally, started finding time to jog at lunch about the time my older son got into XC. Gradually, got sucked in again and established the habit aided by having road races to train for. Been training and racing ever since. Will hit fifty + twelve next week - so far so good.

Overall really good week, CT scan results were negative the infiltration in the lung has disappeared, cyst in the spleen, so we will see. It has been four years since the renal cell carcinoma was discovered, so I guess it's always going to be something.

All runs at HR 130 - 138 on grass

Mon 30 min

Tues 45 min

Wed 30 min

Thurs 45 min

Fri rest

Sat 30 min

Sun 75 min

As far as sleep aids, there are times it is tough to get to sleep especially when I get in from a run near 2200 and shower and bed by 2300. As someone suggested chamiolle tea works, I have also found cherry juice works well Unfortunately I can't recall the exact component within the cherry juice that helps induce sleep.(Cherry juice is great in reducing muscle soreness) Lean turkey will help due to the trypophan ( sp). I try to avoid taking any high glycemic index food ( gets tricky with the cherry juice so I only usually use it on the weekends)after a run at night due to the insulin spike will shut down the secretion of HGH. If you are not reaching stage four REM sleep HGH doesn't get secreted which retards the body's ability to heal itself which is so critical for us fifty guys considering we generate less of it as we get older. Most over the counter sleep remedies will make you drowsy enough to fall asleep but will interfere with you drifting into REM sleep. In fact often times you will wake up more tired then when you went to sleep.

Started running in 8th grade, PE teacher noticed I loved to run our punishment laps for acting out of line. I used to get this one kid really stirred up so by the time we hit the field he would do something stupid and we would have to run. It was my way of avoiding some of the " meanful' activities PE teachers used to conjure up back then. I was a distance runner back then running the 440 the longest event we had in 1971.

Ahhhh, Mt Atkins...knew that someone like yourself would totally dig the Long Distance Log stuff...I have hard copies of almost all from about 1969 to the end but they're tucked away in a remote storage locker, so, discovering this "on line" access including the 50s and 60s was like a serious treasure chest...can I say that Browning Ross (aside from having started LDL and the RRCA Road Runners Club of America, and being a 2? time Olympian) probably had the most positive impact on my life than absolutely anyone in the world aside from my parents.

While I can not always remember what I had for breakfast on a given day, I never forget all that that era had to offer to a wide eyed budding young long distance rummer.

stay well,

MF

Sorry to barge in 50+ers, but i was looking for posters driske and mopak. Found driske for 1 quick question:

driske,

Any idea what happended to DYRT II thread? I asked mods and JoBros via email but no reply yet. And i imagine they are real busy with real stuff. So probably no time to reply.

Moreover, when i do a search, the thread does not appear with LRC search but does appear with google search. I made a post for yesterday xc run (which was great by the way) but still could not find in index.

It is as if it was hybernated or limboed.

Any idea?

PS. nice to read a running cv with quite a few affinities not withstanding the Gonzales in you...

PS2 If it's gone for good, may i post here? Too young but... only by a measly 4 years...

Tpcb, I have just posted on DYRT (accessed via favourites)so hopefully it will bounce up on the front page again.

My week was a transition week. I've been hampered by a groin niggle since late august and this has led to many non running days. The groin is much better so I decided to try and run every day, slow as necessary. Just wanted to give the legs a gentle reminder that they are supposed to run most days.

Mon - Thu were all slow easy 1 hour runs all off road. I also rode the bike on each of these days for 35-65 mins. Ialso had a solid 40 min kyak on tuesday.

Friday I paddled an hour and ran for 35 mins.

Saturday I ran an hour which included 8 x 150m of bare foot striding.

Sunday I ran a slow 90 mins through hilly forests on trails.

I've seldom slept more than 6 hrs a night. I usually have no trouble sleeping but just wake up after 6 hrs.

My running start. Well in 4th grade I remember running about 2km at football (Australian style) training and beating most of the 6th graders. I never made the football team but fancied being a runner. Unfortunately I was too slow to make the school team at 800m. In Aus. school running is simply a once a year try out then a regional race and if you do well a run at the state schools event.

In 6th grade my mate and I met ultra legend Tony Rafferty. He was handing out little charts to log your training on. I was keen to fill that chart so started to run every day.

At tech school (7th-10th grade) I did manage to make the xc team one year for the regional event but finished well back. I left school at 16 and worked in horse racing. I'd run most days around the paddocks but did no racing.

I ran a marathon at age 20 and soon after joined a club and have been racing ever since.

tpcb and mopak,

Glad we've found an umbrella to gather under again.

There does seem to be a barrage of editing going on. Possibly DYRT at 3000+ posts was viewed as too cumbersome to carry. Who knows. Despite being on here daily for 2.5 years, I still have no clue what sort of criteria(if any) the mods operate under.

Off to join in deer hunting. One of our young guys(15) got a trophy Buck yesterday. The size you see once in a lifetime. His Dad suffered a stroke last summer, now his Mother has been diagnosed with cancer. We thank Providence for a brighter day in this young fellows world.

Slogged 101 miles last week. All very slow with a 20 miler on Saturday morning. First long run in a very long time. Maybe a year, so I hope it will be a spur to boost my normal training pace.

Have a hip issue that I am trying to correct with squats.

Try to get 8 hours sllep a night.

Never ran in HS or college. Decided to run a marathon after 9/11/2001.

the point could be wrote:

driske,

Any idea what happended to DYRT II thread?

You're really slow? Every big event the old threads disappear and you ask the same dumb questions. After the event the threads come back. Wake up, sunshine. Wejo takes all of the old threads down reight before big events. He says that it prevents his servers from crashing.

Three blind mice,

Thank-you for the musical LOL-handle and for passing the Jo-word.

Re. Big Events: can you imagine what will happen when the three mice will meet in Gimmelwald, Switzerland, in 2011 for The MOARG, The Mother Of All Running Gatherings?

Have you been to Switzerland? Do you want to come? Are you slow enough to qualify?

Not good here on the Arctic front. After 2+ weeks off from any activity, I tried skiing twice last week total about 6K (3K/day) and my knee take it at all. Been sore and stiff since then. Going into the doctor tomorrow for evaluation.

I had some success with sprinting in elementary school but did not run competitively in high school or middle school. I went out for track my senior year, but quit after the first practice thinking I had no talent and would not be able to contribute to the team.

I felt guilty about that and a few weeks later, decided to take up "jogging" as a way to contract out of gym class. Started running 3 miles, 3X a week, and by summer I was running in all comers meets (sprints). Moved from 100 y and HH, to 220, to 440 y.

At college the coach tried to get me out for CC, and I thought running 10 miles a day was nuts and declined. By spring I was on the track team and moved up from 440 and 600y indoors to the 880 and mile outdoors. Within a year I was running the 3 mile/5000--through college I tried to be a miler, and didn't realize that my best distances were 10K and up.

Mike,

H. Browning Ross has been called "the father of long distance running in the United States". I checked google to update my memory of his running achievements. He was 7th in the Olympic Steeplechase in 1948 in a time of 9:23.2. In the 1951 Pan Am Games, he won gold in the 1500, tied for first in steeplechase and was 4th in the 5,000. He was on the 1952 Olympic team but DNQd in whatever events he ran.

Browning Ross' greatest contribution to our sport came outside of competing. One of those contributions was the "Log". It helped motivate many of us. Also, we now have a history of what happened on the roads in the years that the "Log" was published. It is great that Tom has recorded them on the internet!

Mike I have been wondering for a long time if Gary was the young runner I picked up one Sunday morning in the 1970s (I think) and took to Palos Verdes for our run and breakfast. Would you please ask him? Thanks. Orville

Orville,

Hmmm, that might have been me if you're referring to the 1977 Palos Verdes marathon or Gary if it was around 1973ish as he ran for Santa Monica Track Club under Joe Douglas.

Thanks for the Browning Ross stats...he was a remarkable man...if not for he, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

MF

Great posts guys! Nice to read all the stories on how you all got started. Many of you have been at it many years. And still going strong.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Mike,

Thanks for the reply.

It was a group of runners that has met, run and had breakfast together every Sunday morning since 1969. Many are now in their very late 70s and eighties. Some were very good open or age group marathoners but many now jog or walk. Many have run Boston, some as many as 20+ times. We used to rotate homes for the breakfasts but now the host, who picks the course for that Sunday, often has his annual turn at a restaurant. We have had as many as 52 in the group but now there are 35 members. We had our run/jog or walk at Hermosa Beach yesterday. The majority are older than I. I have learned a lot about tje aging process from this band of "cousins". Three of the group have died, two are in wheelchairs, a few are in walkers or use canes. They all keep on keeping on.

Over the years we have had an occassionall visitor. In fact one of those visitors at least for one of our evening parties was Bill Baillie.

I guess neither you or Gary joined us that Sunday in the 70s.

By the way, in 1975, I was coached by Joe Douglas, who, in 1965, was my apartment mate along with Merle McGee and Ron Larrieu. Orville

Joe Douglas was my 8th grade math teacher in 1966 at Audubon Jr. High School. The guy could out sprint all the kids with a white short sleeved shirt, tie, and dress shoes. Who knew?

Mike - Thanks for the great link to the old Long Distance Log issues. I'm in the April 1972 issue, page 23 - the Scarsdale 15K Met. AAU Championships. I was 48th in 57:15 I was 16; it was my very first road race, and the longest run of my life (at the time). Those issues bring back lots of memories.

The first time I ever ran was age 13 in junior high gym class - a 1/2 mile XC run in about 2:35. That led me to try out for XC in high school. I've never been fast like MF or others who post here; my only compensation is that I've been able to run for 40 years with no significant injuries.

This fall I've been training for a trail race (Quad Dipsea), but my mileage has been inconsistent. I'll pay for it at the race this Saturday!

Wow. The Scarsdale 15K was the first road race I ever heard of, back in HS. I graduated from Iona Prep in 1974. I recall it was a popular pre-Boston race.

How times have changed. In 2007 I won that race at 50 with a 54:26. Here's the current course:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=775887

I assume the 45:47 is still the course record.

Orville,

In this my 41st year of running and racing my memory is a teeny fuzzy...that being said I oft times remember some esoteric race results etc from 1971 more easily than what I had for breakfast this morning...so, wasn't there an old RW photo in 1970-72 in RW when it was still black and white of you running down San Vicente with??? Peter Mundle et al??

Regardless, glad a number of you (BEL)found the Long Distance Log links as interesting as I...irreplaceable stuff!

long may you run,

MF