50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Nice running KP, but that head sounds tough. Good luck in the 15.

My neck-back-shoulder had some ups and downs over the week. On Tuesday I ran an easy 6 and it was about 60 or 65 out, and my arm felt like it was exposed-freezing at 15 or 20. But I'm taking anti inflammatory meds and starting PT this week. Had an encouraging hill climb (tempo from 5700 to 6700 ft over 3 miles or so, and then a long climb to 9600 on Saturday and fast altitude run today (averaging 7:40s on rolling terrain at 9000 ft plus). So Pikes Peak looks to be a go. I'll make final decision by Wednesday.

Nice KP!... Man, the time zone, no AC, no water & lack of sleep made for some tough conditions. Well done.

Had a pretty good 57 mile week here. Took Monday off. Felt real strong on the 4-5-6-5-4 part of Wednesdays workout which is giving me hope of sub 4:55 in two weeks. Saturdays longer run also went well.

M: Off

T: am: 4.6 easy, pm: 7 easy

W: 8.5 miles inc. 100-200-300-400-500-600-500-400-300-200-100 w/same rest. 1-2-3's around 72 400 pace; 4-5-6's 73-74 400 pace.

Th: am: 4 easy, pm: 7 easy

F: 6.6 easy

S: 12.1 @ 7:15

S: 7 easy

This week we're doing a 4x400 with full recovery. I'd like to hit 71-72'ish...Then Sunday I'm running a HM with my daughter up in Southwestern Michigan's wine country.

RunStrong...

Dave

SCgal - I've been doing my hip exercises for over a year now and while I can say that they DO help and you will get stronger, I swear that the exercises haven't gotten ANY easier. ;) Also, pool running is very helpful -- for your son, too. Maybe it can be some mother-son bonding time?

Me, I'm relatively healthy, I think, although I'm dealing with some non-running related issues. Slow, though. I did a mountain race two weeks ago - somehow didn't realize that it didn't start in Bend at 3500' elevation, but at Mt. Bachelor at 6350'!! It was more of a hike up, "try not to fall" down times two.

I'm organizing my last HTC, this time as a 50+ team, and we need 4 more runners (3 women). Yikes. I should have known that finding 12 mostly uninjured super masters would be hard after scrambling to put together our 50+ xc team (where we only need 3!!).

I only check in here occasionally (took a 2nd job and I'm so so tired), but good to see how well most of you are doing!

Physically, some ups and downs this week with running. Sounds like I fit right in with this group!

Mon: training group workout at the track. Ladder (200,400,600,400,200); 1 mi jog; VO2Max with 8 x 30 sec on / 30 sec off.

Tues: 4 mi easy

Wed: off

Thurs: 4 mi easy a.m.; 3 mi easy p.m

Fri: 6 mi easy

Sat: 13 mi

Sun: 6 mi - 5K race and 3 miles warmup/cool down.

Hamstring/hip hurt so badly after Monday workout that I thought I had really done myself in. Jogged, stretched, etc and felt ok on Sunday. Did the 5K just trying to hold a hard tempo pace in the heat and I did ok. Did not experience the pain I had after Monday's workout on the track.

Congrats to the racers, especially KP. Good to hear from Muddy! Good luck at Pikes, CO57 - look forward to the race report.

Stay healthy all - I am trying to do the same.

Alan Bennet wrote:

It's so easy to decide not to do things after a massage.

Indeed it is. I once tried to run 2 hours after a massage session, and felt totally miserable. Then I switched to cross-training on my massage days, and it still didn't feel right. Now I take those days off, unless I can run before a massage.

M: swimming 1000m.

T: 3.5 miles / 6.5 miles.

W: 3.5 miles / 6.5 miles.

R: 9 miles. (Progression with 7:30@ 8th mile)

F: 3.5 miles / 6.5 miles.

SA: 7 miles.

SU: 15 miles.

My first 60+ miles week, and first 15 mile run since March. I have been focusing on gradually increasing my volume, and I am getting closer to my target.

I have also hit my weight lifting target for the summer. (Squat 145 x 5, Deadlift 175 x 5) Now I only need to maintain this level for the next few months.

A time poor week but still managed to get some ok running in.

Great stuff KP.

Mon. A post work 3 km run up and down Pianta's Hill 136 m elevation gain 23.09, nearly dark so I was careful on the descent.

Tue. 5.3 km run again up Pianta's Hill and back 150 m of elevation gain 35.10 again finishing in near darkness.

Wed. Morning run as per yesterday's 5.3 km this time in 32.57 , km 5 in 4.51 and the last 300 a bit quicker.

Thu. 9 km run in Tooborac, very cool and breezy. 48.27 on smooth dirt farm roads, 200 m of elevation gain.

30 min paddle on the lake.

Fri. Pre work 5.2 km run up Pianta's Hill and back in 34.45. Then 10.7 km mtn bike ride climbing up to the same point on the ridge, 47 mins and nearly 200 m of total elevation gain.

Sat. 31 km ride in 1.35.

Sun. 3 km warmup. Hilly club 6.5 km handicap race in the forest, solid but slow just over the 30 mins. Again the motor seems to be fine but unsurprisingly the legs are not moving quickly yet. Did a slow 6 km shuffle in the forest afterwards.

Muddy - My son ran at Bend too, finishing 2nd in the juniors. He was really beaten up afterwards and didn't realize that it would be at 6350' either.

Good luck with you HTC team. Hope to see you at Club XC in Dec!

Well, looks like the quest for Boston is on hold for a while. Went in to see the orthopedic doc about my painful Achilles Tendon and he says it's Tendonosis and also a bone spur on the top of my heal. 6 weeks for some PT and if that doesn't fix it, more extreme measures. I'm pretty bummed but just want it fixed.

Been a couple of weeks since I've been on here. Two weeks ago ran the worst 5 mile race of my life, 33:57, and that still won the age group 50-59, mainly because some of the better runners were in the accompanying 15K. Last week bumped the mileage back to almost 57 on all 7 days. Long run was 11 miles(8:33 pace) and two days later I did 4x1 mile repeats on the track with 1 lap rest. Splits were 6:18, 6:16, 6:18, 6:23. I thought it was a decent session of repeats, considering I wanted to keep them between 6:15-6:20 pace. Prepping for the local road and trail half marathon on September 12th. My allergies suck at this time of year, so if I can get through those I'll be ok next month, even though its not a course to PR on. At 55, its getting tougher and tougher to find the motivation to push some of these runs. Hopefully some of you my age are faring better....

Steve

Greetings from Lyon one last time.

Made it to the 1500 Final. 2nd in Heat 1 of 6 in 4:35 with a great battle with the returning world champ 'Zag' the Russian, a Slovak, a German & a Japanese guy. The other 6 guys were gapped behind us in their own race for pride. Once again the heat winner was the lone automatic qualifier for le finale. Only 6 big Q's plus next 10 fastest times. Heat 1 sets the tone for the pain dance. Theoretically 95% of us had to race it like a final to have a shot at advancing to the next level. Not easy in another day of 95F and humidity. Not easy in that you're only "racing" 12 athletes in your heat. The other 60 or so are watching and waiting for their turn. I am satisfied with my 2nd place on the heels of 'Zag' as well as my time as it was only a half second off my seasonal best. After all six M55 Heats the official results were posted and I barely made it through to the final as #14 of 16 (13th fastest time). Tough tough tough. But this was by far the funnest, toughest, and best race I've had here in Lyon.

Though my race is run. My left arse and hammy is just to injured for Friday night. Time to go home to my other friends and family.

C'est la vie KP!

*************************

Week 219

*************************

Greetings, 50+ers! Hard to believe it is mid-August already! With the summer almost over, I've hardly raced a lick. Managed only 4 days of running, but I logged 35 miles; it reads as such:

Sun: 5.0 easy (7:56 avg pace)

Mon: off

Tue: 6.1 w/4x1000 (352,351,352,355) + 3x400 (84,82,82)

Wed: off

Thur: 9.7 w/2.5@6:38 pace + 1@6:24

Fri: off

Sat: 14.2 (7:50 avg pace)

Probably not the ideal way to structure the week, but my legs feel pretty good all things considered and the mileage and effort were there. Tuesday's track workout was better than the 5x1000 that we did a month ago. Same 1-lap jog recovery (~2:10-2:15) between the 1000's, and full recovery between the 400's (200 walk, 200 jog). Thursday didn't go as planned; we'd meant to do a 1/2-hour tempo (@6:50-6:55 pace), starting on a long mild downhill to get a good pace going. Unfortunately, we didn't slow down any once we hit the flat, and burned out at 2.5 miles. We ran another hard mile after recovering for a bit, then slogged 3 miles back to where we started. The midday Sun was no help as I was feeling pretty faint and overheated by the end. Saturday's long, hilly run was mostly steady effort around an 7:50 to 8-minute pace, but one of my running buddies threw in a 1.5-mile surge (~6:30 pace) at the 9-mile mark.

Thanks for your report from Lyon, KP! Sorry that your injuries kept you from running the final in the 1500, but you did a nice bit of running to make it that point. Kudos!

And sorry to hear about the bone spur and tendonosis, Paul061. Hope that the PT does the trick!

I have to concur with Muddy Girl; I'd never found core exercises to get any easier with time. Still wanting to get back to doing this stuff, just nervous about reinjuring myself. On that note, it's been 2-years now since I suffered a tear in the groin region. PT's had told me that this was the time-scale by which I would either adapt or need to move to more drastic measures. I feel like I've pretty much recalibrated my running to where this is no longer causing me discomfort, but I've also definitely lost a step in the process. I have no plans at this point to take more drastic measures.

OK. That's my report for the week. No rest for the weary as Fall Semester starts tomorrow! Yeesh! Hope you are training/racing/rehabbing well; as always, looking forward to your reports!

All the Best!

Still running about 35 mile weeks. Had a slight break in the weather a couple days back, so less humid and slightly lower temps to low 80's. Guess I need to look closer at the heat index numbers to be more accurate as to what is too difficult for my wife and I.

Anyhow, still getting a bit of speedwork done, I find that between 1 and 3 miles worth feels like enough at age 64, mostly around 1.5 to 2 miles worth. It was warm enough that we didn't go longer than 600's (200, 400, 600, 600, 400, 200). Can't seem to run them much faster than around 7:20 pace, either. My long runs need to begin, since I have gained about 3 pounds since they ended with the dog days of summer. Seems that I can handle about 1/2 of anything/everything that I did in my prime (distance, tempo, speed, etc.). And my prime was when I was about age 32.

This coming Saturday is a certified 5 km so will see where I/we stand with racing. The next one after that will be a flat course on Labor Day, then a hilly one mid-September.

Congrats on a very fast for conditions 1500 KP, I've been telling Jane we should consider Australia next year, though she'd be only 59 then.

Taper week for Pikes Peak, so I just ran about 20 miles leading up to Saturday's race.

The course includes a 7800' feet elevation gain from Manitou Springs to the summit. I took it out pretty cautious and kind of hung on. The first 5 miles were very hot but once we got up to about 9500 feet and out of the sun things cooled down, once we broke over treeline (last 3 miles) we were up so high that the heat wasn't much of a factor. Nevertheless, times were overall slower than in recent years.

I never felt comfortable an just made it a goal to finish. The last 3 miles was just hike. It still gains something like 800' per mile and you are scrambling over boulders and such. Held on for 3rd in age class with a 3:14:02, a bit lower than slower than what I'd hoped for but this was less a race than just something to finish.

Looking forward to getting back into regular running, after a few days of recovery.

Congrats on Pikes peak Co57. I had planned to visit my daughter who lives in Co springs but looks like they are moving back home. So no Co running for me I guess.

Mon = 2.1, trail, easy

Tue = 2.2, cemetery, easy

Wed = 2.3, cemetery, easy

Thr = 2.4, cemetery, easy

Fri = 2.5, cemetery, easy

Sat = 2.6, mountain trail (4000 feet), medium

Sun = 2.7, mountain trail (4000 feet), medium

Tot = 16.8

It was a pretty good week where my knee felt about 98% and continues to improve even though I'm adding a tenth of a mile a day. No stretching, no core exercises, no anything except put on the shoes and go.

After too many months of not running am back in the saddle albeit very slow on the treadmill. Feeling inspired from reading all your efforts (while lurking on the boards) and seeing the great results from Lyon.

Last Sunday stepped on the treadmill and for the first time did not feel bone on bone from my concussion fracture of L4. A long, slow process ahead but ready for the journey

Have a great week!

I'm trying to maintain my fitness level until month end and my record attempt. My current pattern is speed endurance once a week, weights once a week, and hurdle/block work twice a week. If the meet were run today I'd be ready, so all I need to do is stay sharp and injury-free. I won't get any fitter in the next two weeks and I could potentially do damage so I'm being very cautious during my hurdle and speed workouts. My warm-up takes forever! It's been hot here so I've noticed the extra warm-up efforts leave me less energy for an extended workout (which is probably just as well); I train enough to maintain my edge and then no more.

Congratulations to the Lyon competitors! KP had some great race reports. Running rounds can sap your energy like nothing else. After the hurdle races finished I checked my rankings for my previous age group as of 2 weeks ago, and I'm stoked that I have a #1 national ranking and a #2 world ranking for that race and age group. Now on to the next one....

Sounds like some solid training is taking place - happy running!

I had a busy work week plus a physical, including a stress EKG, so after 3 consecutive weeks of ramping up the mileage I decided it was time for an adaptation week and dropped back to 30 miles this week. My stress EKG went reasonably well. I was on the treadmill 15 minutes and then stopped at HR 172. I think I could have gotten my heart rate into the mid-180s if I had gone to a race-finishing kick type of effort for another 20 or 30 seconds. I haven't checked my max HR in about 15 years, but back then when I was using a heart monitor in training I could hit 192-193 as max HR. So, I don't think I have lost too much in the ensuing years. The cardiologist who read my chart said my heart function was stellar for a 65 yr old, but my blood pressure at a high effort level was a bit higher than they like to see. As a result I am going to try to tweak my diet a bit to improve my blood pressure (and, hopefully, avoid a statin prescription down the road). No more salting my food, more food items higher in calcium and potassium, and even more items with chili peppers, which are high in capsaicin. One more week until my first XC race this season. My plan is easy mileage the first three days of the week, then two days of shorter runs and strides before race day.

Have a great week all!

Hi Fellow Runners,

The doctor and an MRI confirmed my self-diagnosis of high hamstring tendonopathy. The only additional thing the doctor recommended that I do in addition to my current program of physical therapy, ART, massage, pool running, and elliptical workouts is dry needling. I'm having a session tomorrow - have any of you tried this?

Actually, my hamstring did feet a little better this week. I was able sit in the car on a long drive without being in agony and yesterday was the first time in months I was able to run on the road pain free for more than a mile. This week I'm going to begin to transition back to short runs to see how much my tendon can handle. Here was my week:

Sun: 3.35 Elliptical

Mon: 40 min pool run, 500 yds pulling

Tue: 5.2 3.2 elliptical, 2.0 treadmill

Wed: 35 min pool run, 1000 yds pulling

Thu: off Took son back to college - 7 hr. drive

Fri: off Moved son into 3rd floor dorm room (no elevator), drove

back home

Sat: 6.6 3.4 road - Yeah!!!, 3.2 elliptical

KP - Congratulations on qualifying in the 1500, especially given the

challenging conditions!

Co57 - Congratulations on your Pikes Peak run!

Paul061 - Sorry for your misfortune. Keep up with those PT exercises!

Mike L - Good luck on your 5k next Saturday!

Glad to hear that some of us are healthy. Send those race reports to give the injured among us incentive to do our rehab work....

Concerning the hamstring tendonopathy, is it possible that a tight Piriformis could be causing the hamstring issues?

Also, the pelvis may be out of adjustment?

my $0.02 thoughts worth.