Masters Weekend Runs and Races

Sunday is the start of my week. I think it comes from the younger days when I would often end the week with a road race. Also helped motivation to look at the first day of workouts and see a healthy number of miles.

Took it very easy this week (about two and a half hours on the trails and two and a half in the water) after my not-so-brilliant return to "conmpetition" Saturday past.

Tomorrow: an easy 75 minutes, off to cheer on some folks at a local four miler, then some Cajun salmon and Super Bowl fun.

dt

funny you mention this topic MF. I was pleased with myself this week for paying attention to weather forecast and moving up planned long run from saturday to friday morning -- 21 miles with 21 X 2:00 hard/1:00 easy. Friday night and most of Saturday I set a snow shoveling PR (approx. 2 feet of heavy, wet stuff X 2 driveways/walks/porches b/c my next door neighbor was stuck at his hospital job). Power still on, thankfully -- tens of thousands in DC area are in the dark/cold. Stationary bike Saturday but hoping to find plowed roads to run at least a little today.

My "week" is sunday to saturday but I'm flexible on when long run (usually 16 to 22, longest ever a couple of 25's) day is. always do it alone as with most other workouts. For several years I did a 9-day week (3 key workouts), but I've reverted to 7 (2 key workouts) for even more recovery. Having a very flexible job (college professor) makes me less tethered to a specific day/time, so I shuffle things around to accommodate races, work meetings and such.

Have a great week and stay warm,

Dave

Good morning everybody. I usually try to do my long run on Saturday or Sunday because I have more time. If I race I skip the long run and my long runs aren't very long.I aspire to run 8 to 10 miles but usually end up with 6 or 7. I ran 6.5 yesterday in 50 minutes and had a hard time making it that far. I kept thinking I'll be 56 years old and how long do people keep running and what stops them from running. Do they get injured and then never return or do they just totally lose the desire. I think I'll still be running when I'm 60 but after that I wonder. I'm listening to " A Walk in the Woods " about the Appalachian Trail and am guessing that a person could always hike if they can't run anymore or hey maybe run/walk. Well I'm going to go out again this morning and probably do 6 or 7 miles. There isn't any wind which is good because I hate wind when it is cold and you get all sweated up. It appears that most of the country is rooting for the Saints and it would be nice for them to win and good for the city of New Orleans. More snow on the way for Monday and Tuesday; 6 to 9 inches and I wouldn't be surprised if this storm goes east. Almost predominantly our winds in winter are out of the Northwest but lately they have been out of the Northeast which is strange. The week after next I am going to be in San Diego and plan on doing some true long runs because I will plenty of free time. I am looking forward to that. Have a good week. Tom

As a northern VA resident, I had a very similar week to dhaaga. I normally do a long run on Saturday mornings with a recovery run Sundays to close out my running week. But with the weather predicted to be bad starting mid day Friday, I switched my long run to Friday morning even though I did a hard tempo run Thursday. Friday's run wasn't quite as long as normal, but it felt good and I still managed 81 miles this week. I will back off a little this week as I'm scheduled to leave for Spokane Thursday morning.

And I too shoveled my ass off most of yesterday, and I still have plenty more to do today. The county still hasn't plowed the streets of my neighborhood. My wife is in Florida at her mother's, was supposed to come home this morning but now can't get home until Tuesday night at the earliest. I'm stuck in this house with 3 teenagers and about to lose my mind.

Looking forward to spring.

Navy Master if the 19 miler that you did on a treadmill a few weeks back didn't drive you absolutely nuts then there's no way the three teenagers will...go NM!

The long run; probably my favorite part of training. You get to recap Sat races, weekly training, and generally socilaize. I was inducted into true Sunday long runs on the corner of Diamond and Lamont in San Diego (The Congregation they called it). Plebes keep their mouths shut on that run as it was attended by some of the fastest guys in the country each week. I learned more about running just listening to that group. And then there was always 'story time' where you got to hear about the happenings from the world's elite. All free. If you were fit enough, you could participate in the last few miles when the gauntlet would drop and the pace got down close to 5:00 along the boardwalk. Good memories. Thanks MF.

My week was much better than last. The ill effects from that 1/2 marathon are basically gone. Now, I only have to deal with my 'age graded' inability to recover.

A good week here, most of it in Las Vegas at a trade show. Managed to run daily in the very early morning, a few times along the Strip. Found a side road with one end closed off to run 8 x 400'ish one day. Straight line 400's which felt good. I am sure the local's wondered what I was doing charging up and down their street. My Hilton Honors status allowed me free access to the gym too, so took advantage of the sauna - no unisex story here - the treadmill (one day) and weights.

Friday was insane as the hotel transformed into a Super Bowl center. They go all out. The sports book had bets available on so many aspects of the game such as picking the player to score first. Who gets sacked first, etc., etc. Amazing.

Sunday is typically the long run and closes out my week.

Have a good week!

It was two years ago next month during one of these winter storms passing thru up north when I decided I want to live in the South, so glad I made the switch, don't envy you guys and your shoveling.

This was a scheduled down week of volume and it ended up being even more so as we had to travel across the smokies midweek after my wife lost her grandmother. Running and workouts were put on hold to help out and be available.

Arrived home middle of the night last night so still hoping to get in something resembling a long run today. (Although it's noon and I just finished breakfast I'm not sure how optimistic I am) :)

Was able to get one workout in early in the week 4xmile@LT then 8x200 I was transported back in time running the 200's. I actually felt like I was running. Have spent the last several years putting in the miles to accumulate a base after years of not running so it's fun to start a different aspect of training.

Have a great week and congrats to all the masters running in Boston and Melbourne this weekend. Way to go EA!

As a young beginning runner 30 something, used to do long runs with a group of 2:45 marathoners, fancying myself an up and coming marathoner, 16 milers at altitude on Saturdays at the "Rez". My tongue was typically dragging on the ground after about an hour every time out. A few times the sag wagon even had to come out and retrieve me. It never "took". I kept waiting in vain for it to click and become fun or at least do-able. Then at some later point..my first session of intervals on the track, I was right there with the same guys, pulling them along in fact. It was 6x800. I remember that day.

The same still holds true. Track sessions..good. Long run..not my best event. I do go long on Sunday. Pace varies based on fatigue/health from the week, typically unbelievably slow. Distance 7-8 occasionally up to 10. It is the last run of the week, not the first. I like the camaraderie of an easy hour+ with friends, but am so slow most weeks I have trouble finding any takers.

This view of long is for sure a minority amongst the weekend/runs/races posters, but there you have it.

As a young beginning runner 30 something, used to do long runs with a group of 2:45 marathoners, fancying myself an up and coming marathoner, 16 milers at altitude on Saturdays at the "Rez". My tongue was typically dragging on the ground after about an hour every time out. A few times the sag wagon even had to come out and retrieve me. It never "took". I kept waiting in vain for it to click and become fun or at least do-able. Then at some later point..my first session of intervals on the track, I was right there with the same guys, pulling them along in fact. It was 6x800. I remember that day.

The same still holds true. Track sessions..good. Long run..not my best event. I do go long on Sunday. Pace varies based on fatigue/health from the week, typically unbelievably slow. Distance 7-8 occasionally up to 10. It is the last run of the week, not the first. I like the camaraderie of an easy hour+ with friends, but am so slow most weeks I have trouble finding any takers.

This view of long is for sure a minority amongst the weekend/runs/races posters, but there you have it.

I tend to start my week on Monday and do my long runs on Sunday. The latter is mainly because most of the runners in my area do their long runs on Sunday, and sometimes it's nice to do them as a group. Particularly in the summer when we can spend 90+ minutes exploring the Finger Lakes trails. I also like to run some of the trail races near Ithaca, where for a nominal fee, there are water stops provided, plenty of good company, and the opportunity to run as fast or slow as I like.

I'm working on speed and indoor track at present, but I still like to do 75-90 minute runs on Sunday. Today I opted to run the first 1000m of a 1500m race at Barton, and I clicked off consistent 35s to finish at 2:54.7. Probably not fast enough to get into the 1000m exhibition at Albuquerque, but it's confirmation that my mental block for the mile is just a matter of not working hard enough. That probably goes back to my youth when I always had one or two events after the mile, so I never gave it 100% effort. Time to change that!

I have never been a fan of the long run. I always ended up with an overuse injury of some sort when I attmepted them. At different points, I would even set limits on how many miles I would run at one time to avoid them. I do like to stack 3 or 4 good mileage days in a row though.

I ran a couple long races this month and have found myself falling into a schedule where my hard day/race after a day off has totaled 15 miles. I also do a double one other day of the week where I get in 15 or 16 miles.

Today I ran 9 half mile intervals alternating between 6:00 and 7:19 pace with the last 3 a little faster. With 3 warmup and 3 cooldown, I ended up with 15.05 miles. This past week was another 63 miles with a couple strong progression runs. That was my first speed work in a long time so the goal was to stay around race pace for the volume I did. I'm holding off the fast stuff for another couple months.

Met a group that eventually grew to about 12 this morning for the long run. Mike, you are so right in that it is the one workout I almost never drop. Of course, how long it is varies considerably based on time of year, fitness, goal race, etc. Most weeks the minimum is 11-13. Since turning 40 I have tended to not race much past 10k and thus the long run tops out at around 15-17 miles. In my so called youth and when I was running a few marathons I got up to 20 and occasionally just over. I think my longest was 23-24? This morning was 15. I actually rarely set out to run a distance, but instead a time(1:20, 1:30, 1:45 etc.). This morning I wanted 1:45 and was just over that in order to get back to my car:>) Hit 71 for the week and did both the form drills and strides along with 6 x 3:00 on/off from Magill's Carlsbad training plan. Will race a 5k next weekend and see what I can do. Have a great one, and for those with snow, be careful.

MikeF wrote:

Navy Master if the 19 miler that you did on a treadmill a few weeks back didn't drive you absolutely nuts then there's no way the three teenagers will...go NM!

That 19 miler was far more enjoyable and took FAR less time than it took me this weekend to get a couple teenage generation X-boxers off the couch and outside to help me shovel. Especially my younger daughter. She better marry well.

I'm afraid my "long run" is my 1/2 mile warm up before sprint/hurdle practice. I always try to have Saturday as a rest day because Sunday morning practices are particularly rigorous. As opposed to Tues/Thurs practices that happen after work, Sunday mornings have more light and we are supposed to be fresh and rested, not stressed out from some work day annoyances. I felt ready for a strong practice as I arrived at the track this morning.

Today was a "test day"---he wanted to time me in the 60m hurdles so we'd have an idea of where I stood going into the World Championships in 3 weeks time. I'm very happy to say I aced the test. Although it was hand-timed, we had 2 timers on me, and I ran the race twice. Averaging all 4 times and rounding up to account for hand timing still put me well below my PR. The last time I ran the indoor race was 2008 and I've had some significant technique improvements since then, so I expected to better my PR. However seeing it actually happen was a huge confidence booster.

Time to make some of my incredibly good fiery buffalo wings and prep for the game. Go Colts! (Peyton M. is such a cutie!)

Happy week ahead everyone!

Long run always on Sunday (since HS where it was about 8-10 miles) to now where it is 90+ mins to over 2 hrs (ALL TRAIL). It is always slower than 7 min pace and used to flush out the week. If I am tired on Monday ~ it is because I ran too fast on my long run on Sunday.

Missed two days this week but ended up with 55 miles.

Mon ~ 4 x 800 w/son ~ good effort

Off to watch the GAME now with 70 other folks. Tradition has grown a bit much over the years, but gotta love the comradery and food.

The Boston meet was awesome. Lagat is sooooo smooth!

Cheers ~

ty

I'm a long run girl -- something I've loved for almost forever. Once upon a time, it was on Saturdays (which had its allure because what is more glorious than an easy recovery day on a Sunday?), but I switched it long ago to Sundays when I started running with a group in Minnesota. We'd start out with the guys (who for some strange reason would run behind us girls (in our tights) for a mile or two before taking off). Then it was a matter of hanging on for dear life as the group strung out. Most of the girls would run fewer miles, so there were just a handful of us running 14-15 miles and if we hung with the guys long enough, it was really exhausting.

After those years, I'd run with a couple of girlfriends and that became the model of my favorite run. A couple hours, lots of talking and enduring bonding as we traversed trails and "short-cuts" and many adventures.

I've learned over time to modify the pace and generally my long runs are at a moderate pace, only occasionally slipping into a more frisky, fast mode if the trail is nice and I'm feeling way too good (and I'm either alone or with a partner who is up for it.) But trail pace is always slower than the road - so even then I'm *flying* if I can do my 16 in under 2 hours. A "fast" run is about 2:08 and it's usually more like 2:15-30, depending on the depth of the mud.

My long runs are virtually always on the trail and up until recently, mostly 16 miles. I usually run the same route, too, and often alone, but have been changing things up (and to avoid a stalker-ish guy, of late). Today, I started from a trail head that I usually use for runs with my daughter (for her 8 mile Saturday long run) - I have been exploring some trails I rarely use and had another nice run of about 14+ miles today. This part of the trail was much muddier than where we ran yesterday, but again there was NO rain!! ;-)

I'm also a Monday to Sunday person - I like knowing I can add on to my week on the last day. I even buy my planners so that they read M-Su. ;-)

Well, I'm supposed to go to a SB party, but I think I will get some more stuff down here before I head over around half-time. Have a great week and if anyone is going to Spokane, please let me know.

Just got back from watching the Super Bowl with a couple friends at a local pub. (One of the guys has a running streak of over 30 years!!) Had a good time, too many beers, and too many hot wings. Being from Indiana, it's kind of weird because I was actually pulling for the Saints. Always been a Bears fan...Never really interested in the Colts...

Had a pretty good 76 mile week. 3 mile Tempo on Tuesday was rough, 13 & 16.5 on Thurs & Sat went pretty well. Felt a little ragged by weeks end. Thankfully, we missed all of the snow that blasted the country this weekend.

Congrats, again, to PaulAuf in Melbourne. I'm really happy for you! And welcome to the 45-49....

http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAMastersHalfMarathonChampionships/results.asp

That's it from here...

Dave

Felt really good to be on the Indoor Track racing again. Had a blast at the low key Pilot Indoor at Univ Portland. Foot held up well. Fitness getting there. Basically chased the gap and college youngsters the entire race. Oh well at least I stayed out of trouble. 2:06.32.

Hope all have another great week. We love El Nino here in the Great NW but are sorry y'all are slipping and sliding in mud in the southwest and snow and ice in the East.

KP