MASTERS WEEKEND RACES AND RUNS

Oh yeah, forgot to mention -- PORTLAND BEATS OREGON AND GETS AN AUTO QUALIFIER FOR NATIONALS IN XC!!! My friend Rob is the coach and I'm SO excited for him!!! Woohoo!!!

MG - thanks for getting the ball rolling, even if you had to do it at 3 a.m. I'm posting early as well, or at least pre-run, since most of my day will be devoted to coaching my son's Lego robotics team in their regional competition. It's been fun but has limited my Fall racing schedule and will keep me from running the last Upstate NY XC race today. I am free for the Philly HM next weekend, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather.

My legs are feeling great, even after a pretty intense ~5 mile threshold run yesterday. But I'm still having issues from a back/neck muscle I strained week before last. It is getting better slowly, but affects my sleeping and is very uncomfortable when I'm at the computer (which is at least 50% of my work day). Furtunately running seems to loosen it up a little, and that's therapy I can live with.

lego robotics and half-marathon -- that's what I call versatility!

first week of base training -- 45 miles with 12 (2 X 2 at marathon pace) monday and hill repeats wednesday -- was a slog because I got sick sunday night and have felt varying degrees of crummy all week. Probably going to call my MD tomorrow as I suspect sinus infection at this point. I've given it a deadline of tuesday b/c I'm traveling weds.--sat. and hate traveling while ill.

wishing everyone good health and good running in the week to come.

MG,

That's above the call of duty to get up at 3 to post on LR.

I've almost finished my second successful week leading up to XC Nats. Healthy and progressing. All is well.

nyloco, I did the Lego Robotics thing with my son until 8th grade. It was a great experience for everyone but as you know, takes a lot of time.

Have a good week all.

hi all

good week here. took monday off after a 60 mile week last. i bought the 'triggerpoint quadballer' last saturday morning and spent about 40 minutes with it later that day. sunday morning arrived and i felt like i had beat my legs with a baseball bat, literally.

tuesday i got in a nice 4 miler at 10k pace, then saturday a local 5k (masters finish one and three!).

today i'm going to enjoy a nice 15 miler. all in all a nice week, total 65 or so depending if i go longer today.

dhaaga (dave?) i had been having sinus infections to the tune of about 8-10 a year for the last few years. i finally had enough when i got one in mid-september, took the antibiotics, and had it return two weeks later. i went to a nose doc and he gave me flounase (sp?) and i've not had a problem since. its something i need to do everyday, but it works.

Ran the Veterans' Day 10K today in DC. Pretty good run for me in 35:02, but would really like to be in the mid 34s by spring. Just can't seem to get over that threshold. Anyway, it was good enough for an AG win, but only because the top two guys in my age group (Andrew Duncan and Ray Pugsley) both went under 32 and were in the money (top 10). I chatted briefly with Andrew afterwards, and he was very happy with his effort so congrats to him. It felt good to be in a bigger and faster race with some good runners to pace off.

It was pretty inspiring to see two Masters run that fast, and also inspiring to see DC's Mayor Fenty run 39 (got to be one of the fastest big city mayors!).

It's almost time for the turkey trot everyone. We'll be dragging our asses out there again this Thanksgiving, for sure.

Much of the same for me. The nice fall weather is still hanging in there, however it has been cooling off so that my after work track workouts are getting a little chilly...at least for me! Low 60's which I know is perfect for distance runners. They all run around half-nekkid while I'm semi-bundled up, at least until I'm thoroughly warmed up. The worst part about the recent time change where we "fell back" an hour is that the track is very dim. We get some stadium lighting but not much. It's pretty freaky trying to hurdle in the dark so I'm putting little flashers at the foot of each barrier which helps me a bit. Once the mist and fog start up, not even little flashers will help!

So far so good on the training front. I'm having fun with different interval lengths and intensities, hills, stairs, plyos, weights, yoga, etc. Variety is the spice of training!

Hope everyone has a great week and that all the aches and pains subside.

Greetings all. Another week of getting out the door and enjoying running. Slowly and methodically easing back into it. Got to enjoy a beautiful fall morning trail run in Georgia with a few of my ATC teammates and had a blast this weekend.

Funny today I was reminded of last weeks topic of "fun" while running, as my wife and I did an easy run, found an old football and tried to toss it around a bit as we went, we used to do stuff like that all the time as a high school xc team, dang if it didn't hurt bad enough going any direction but forwards to make very short work of that fun! :)

Have a great week.

Another wet week up here, but only 26 - 30 more weeks of rain until we.....never mind.

65 miles on six days this week with two workouts - the rest of the stuff at 7+ pace (all trails).

Weds (on track w/son) ~ 400 - :68, Mile - 4:48, 1k - 2:50, 1k - 2:46 always feels good on the track.

Sat ~ 9 Mile Tempo on trail just under 50 mins. Felt haggered at the end but concentrated on holding form.

eat, football, eat, nap, football...

eat. football, nap. eat.... woke from nap...did the Redskins really win ?

Great opening MG, well written.

It is a lovely, warm Monday morning in Sydney. I managed a nice run this morning and one yesterday (after arriving) along the Duck River Cyclepath in Parramatta suburb. Very nice path along more of a stagnant stream versus a river. Regardless, it is a very nice path, not used very much. A few bikers, one runner. The Olympic Stadium isn't too far away, so perhaps tomorrow I'll try to run more that direction.

It is mid 80's, a little humid. The Jacaranda tree's are in full bloom, so very purple all of the city. I've hired a car so am having fun driving on the left side, haven't caused any damage yet or been asked by the local police department to refrain from driving.

Slathered by breakfast toast in a light coating of Vegemite, It isn't bad tasting unless you put too much on, then a bit harsh.

Have a good week!

MG, thank you for initiating this week's geezer rant.

mediocre running week until this morning when, so very unexpectedly, saw a gimongous bald eagle perched on a snag directly above my quite remote turn around point on a Marin County trail...have seen a couple of dozen bald eagles over the years but NEVER ever right here in Marin...downright took my breath away...(or was that the preceding 5 miles that had done so?)

stay well,

MF

MG. Thanks for the opening lead, on occasion we may get a rude comment on here but just ignore. One of the reasons I enjoy your post is because of your sharing. Thanks for getting up so early and posting.

I just moved back to my home of origin. The homeowner's insurance company decided that it needed an occupant. I was the best candidate with the least number of responsibilities , so it was back to my old stomping grounds.

I just got permission to run the fairways of the local golf course ; as long as I'm off the course by the time the first foursome tees off - 7:30 a.m. I feel very fortunate , but have found that the early morning dew soaks my socks and shoes. For me , that's a small price to pay for beautiful surroundings , and a soft surface.

I also have permission to use my old high school track , as long as I'm off it by 7:30 a.m. I can do that , and feel blessed to have those early morning options.

I have no excuse not to get in shape. I'll miss X-Country Nationals again this year , but for the last time. I'm going to assemble a team between now and next year that will compete in 2010.

I was reunited with my high school class ring this week. It had been missing and in the possession of someone in Virginia for the last 25+ years. She got around to tracking down my old high school and sent it to me this past week. How cool is that ?

I'm starting to eat better , and am running and biking up a storm. God is good. Have a great week , noble harriers ! I'm proud to know you !

Old Man by the Sea wrote:

eat. football, nap. eat.... woke from nap...did the Redskins really win ?

Yes they stuck it to my Broncos, hard hitting game, several injuries. Sigh. And my CU Buffs (football) also can't seem to win also. But... the Buffs (X-Country) are looking good heading to nationals both men and women. Yea! About 1 millionth the budget of football too. I hope Jenny B. finishes her collegiate career with an undefeated final season.

MG, does running hard take a toll like you suggest when you are very ill? Immune system and training is kind of a love hate relationship, with the balance kind of tricky, I'd think. But it comes down to quality of life as much as quantity, right? Its an interesting question for sure. One many of us will face.

Training and racing:

Good workout Tuesday repeat 400s down to 68 on grass.

Raced 2 miles yesterday Turkey trot on a cold almost snowing day: good news: won a turkey for 1st m50+ with a somewhat slow time (12:39). I was running just as hard as ever, only it was so much slower than just a few years ago. 50+ really shows. Two miles seems farther than it used to.

Today, 1 foot of snow.

Good week to you all.

Great week of training, with lots of volume and quality. Only dampened by a nasty case of allergies yesterday that literally knocked me on my can. Headache. Aches and pains all over. Non-stop coughing. Was afraid I'd gotten the flu again, but then woke up this AM feeling good! - a little wheezy and beat up, but otherwise well! Talk about being relieved!!

So ran the So Cal XC finals today. The race is always (very) sparsely attended, but it's a challenging course and a good tune-up for Club Nationals. Somehow wheezed my way to a 24:54, with my new clubmate Gray right on my butt at 25:13. Even with our third and fourth men out for the day (one recovering from injury, the other hungover), we had two more guys just a couple ticks over 26 minutes, and a couple more guys at mid-26. So (cross my fingers, knock on wood) it looks like the club's rounding into shape for Lexington.

Okay, hope everyone has a great week!

tracklover,

NICE cover shot of "Mrs tracklover" on the new National Masters News.

MF

Flew to Austin for TRE. Was great running at sea level for a fe days. The humidity sucked but my lungs and skin love the wet. As a bonus I can drink more in the land of oxygen.

Saw KP and he is back to some good running. Did some faster stuff Saturday and 90 minutes in the snow today.

MikeF wrote:

tracklover,

NICE cover shot of "Mrs tracklover" on the new National Masters News.

MF

Thank you! I agree.