50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Week 257: 4 hours 43 minutes in 2 runs.

Sat - 4 hr 13 min very slow 33.4km

Sun - 30 min easy

Not the best way to return from 5 weeks off, but I had a good reason. My quads are hating me today and I expect tomorrow will be worse. Week 258 I will be more sensible.

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. A great day here.

A bit of a messy couple of weeks training wise. Not much mainstream running but keeping the fitness ticking along with lots of hills.

Mon. April 25, 45 min kayak.

Tue. 5.6 km up and down the steep roo tracks 445 metres elevation gain 53 min.

Wed. 3.5 km hilly single track in 23 min then 3 steep climbs 4.2 km 330 metres elevation gain. 49 min.

Thu. 35 min kayak and 25 km mountain bike

Sat. 2 km roo tracks 155 metres elevation gain 22 min then hilly hour on the mountain bike 13.6 km and 230 metres elevation gain

Sun. Our little town had it's first marathon festival. 500 competitors total (pop. is only 2500). I ran the 10.55 km. Windy +++ on the way out I produced a big neg split to finish in 48.58. The marathoners were lucky as their race was point to point with a tailwind. The course is on the dirt railtrail and is quite undulating. The winner is a young man who trains harder than anyone else in the region. At 24 he regularly hits 190 to 200 km per week. He clocked a comfortable 2.34 on debut with no taper.

Mon 2d May. 2.5 km roo tracks 157 metres elevation gain 24 mins then 35 min kayak.

Tue. In the Grampians at Halls Gap, a beautiful spot.

Early morning 7 km run up/down the

Pinnacle. The 3.5 km climb took 35 mins. 470 metres elevation gain. Back down in 25. The rest of the day was spent hiking with my wife.

Wed. Early morning bush run of 8 km in an hour with 180 metres elevation gain on rugged terrain. More hiking with my wife.

Thu. 10 km along the railtrail in 53 mins.

Fri. 2 rides of 10 km in and out of work. 35 min kayak.

Sat. 3 km jog and strides then hilly 5 km trail race 22.30 then 5 km jog.

Sun. 6.3 km muddy run mostly on roo tracks. First 5.3 in 1 hr with 440 metres elevation gain then 5 x 100 m hill efforts for another km and 110 metres elevation in 12 mins. Hiked back home about 2.5 km.

Rtype wrote:

RF Reader wrote:

My 9th marathon was the most surreal experience I had in any race.

Congratulations! What an experience. Hope you are recovering well with no lasting effects.

Thanks. Only runners would congratulate me on an experience like that.

I have been recovering well so far. I have found plenty of stuff written on fatigue and loss of coordination. I don't have the time to read them right now, but I will get back to them later, and certainly before my next marathon. In the meantime, here is the last week.

M: off.

T: swimming 1000m.

W: 4 miles.

R: elliptical 20 min, stationary bike 20 min.

F: 5 miles.

SA: off.

SU: 6.2 miles.

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Week 258

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Salutations, 50+ers! The "busy next 30 hours" I mentioned last week evolved into a fairly busy week. Then, we had a spate of daily Thunderstorms that wreaked havoc on my training plans. Mileage was down, but I'm feeling pretty optimistic going forward. Managed about 25 miles on 4 days of running:

Sun: off (no time)

Mon: 7.0 easy (8:08 pace)

Tues: None: evening Intervals were cancelled (T-storms)

Wed: 5.4 Intervals (2x8 + 4x4) no splits, forgot watch

Thur: Off (evening storms again)

Fri: 6.2 easy (7:35 pace, ideal weather)

Sat: 7.0 w/5k race@19:51

Things to tell on myself about: 1) I could have gotten a workout in after the storms on Tuesday, but by then, I was in a different frame of mind; 2) Wednesday's intervals were a terrible bust (high humidity didn't help); 3) I didn't do any drills this week---they were planned, but got off on the wrong foot by missing Sunday, and then Thursday was the other day I was to try them, but terrible storms; and 4) my broken record regarding my weight has become tiresome to me, but is very real, I'm now up to 172 lbs!

On the flip-side, my 5k yesterday was about 30-40s faster than my current expectations. Last year, I ran the same race in 19:39, so only losing 12s after the anemic spring of training (and the weight gain) leaves me hopeful that this season can be resurrected. Not much to report on the race itself. There were about 750 finishers. I finished 21st overall and 1st age-group. Splits were (6:14,6:33,6:30,:34) as compared to last year (5:54,6:29,6:43,:33). After the 1st 1/2-mile, I wasn't passed for the rest of the race, so that was reassuring. They offered some big prize money for the top 3 M/3 F finishers, which brought in a couple of mid-14 runners, and quite a few fast ladies (the 6th place woman was under 18:30.)

I think that things are finally settling down around here. Hopefully, I'll get a good amount of training in in the coming weeks. I'll try to interact more with the thread, too; I've been pretty non-responsive lately.

How are things in your corner of the world? Any races to report? Anyone running the Masters HM Championships in San Diego? How about Masters T&F in Grand Rapids? (Side note: Dave, I think you would have won the M55 @ the 25K Championships in GR yesterday.)

All the Best!

Congrats on your race lucKY. I empathize with the weight gain as I have paradoxically gained since increasing my running time...and NO its not muscle!

Mon = 75 min hard, mostly trail (really tired and sore)

Tue = Rest

Wed = 76 min easy, mostly trail (much better)

Thu = 77 min easy, road

Fri = Rest

Sat = 45 min medium with youngest son, road

Sun = 79 min medium, road

A good week but the legs are feeling a little beat up. Monday was a real slog. Several times I wanted to cut it short or just walk but I just trudged ahead.

It's been a long time since I've had that dead-leg feeling in a long run. I can tolerate quite a bit of short-term pain but that low level discomfort over an extended period is a different beast.

The rest of the week I improved in that I was no longer sore but I definitely feel tired. Next week will be a down-ish week where I go on vacation and hike and kayak more than run.

Have a great week everyone.

More congratulations on your race lucKY. Your splits look pretty even. It was another low mileage week for me as I work through my runner's knee rehab. However, I already can tell that I have gained some strength back in my right leg. 18 miles total.

M- rest

T- walk 4 mi. and strength exercises

W- rest

Th- walk 4 mi. and strength exercises

F- rest

S- run 1 mile w/ my son, walk 4 miles with 20-30 sec. strides every 3:30 and strength exercises

S- walk 5 mi.

Week 3 of.my 8 weeks of aerobic base didn't go so well.

Missed 3 days because of start of a new job in New York. At least I only ate appetizers when everybody else was consuming mega calories.

So 4 days of running and the last two I completely abandoned my aerobic zone under 145 heart rate plan.

Yesterday 5 miles at a brisk pace. My rationalization is that I was under a time pressure to get back home and out the door to daughters soccer game.

Today no such excuse. At two miles I was way over goal heart rate but moving at a pretty comfortable pace and feeling good. I just went with it and ended up running 8 miles in an 8:20 average. Surprised myself.

Felt like a runner. Oh what a great feeling.

Will try to get back on track tomorrow.

Week 258: 2 hours 30 minutes in 4 runs.

Tue - 30 min

Thu - 30 min

Sat - 1 hr

Sun - 30 min

It's hard to describe the pace. A little faster than easy? For example when I was running every day I was hitting a certain turn (don't know the distance) anywhere between 30:30 (evening runs) and 32:30 (morning runs). Saturday afternoon I was surprised to get there in 29:05!?

The healing rib is in a 90% limbo. Running easy is not hurting it, but I want to start back at yoga and TKD and some faster running. Oh well, more patience I guess.

@lucKY2b - I believe the difference in your 5K was not going out so fast.

@Rtype - Agree about the weight. I actually lost a couple pounds doing nothing. But after starting up walking 2 weeks ago my appetite went through the roof and I put three pounds back on since then. I think just a little bit of exercise stimulates the appetite way more than the calories needed. To lose weight I need to be doing so much exercise that it's hard to force down enough calories. Say 12 hours per week.

@old guy II - Hang in there brother. You will be back on the trails soon.

Mon. Wet muddy 24 km mountain bike ride up and down Mt Ida.

Tue. 4.3 km, 4 x up and down the steep trail 310 metres elevation gain, 45 mins. Then 3 km steady run on the railtrail in 15. 30.

Wed. 53 min. kayak session on the Campaspe River.

Thu. 1 km easy run, 6 km steep trail running, 470 metres of elevation gain 1 hr 2 min.1 .5 km easy walk down off the range then 1 km easy run.

Fri. 27 km mountain bike ride with 300 metres of elevation gain 1 h 35 m.

Sat. 46 min. kayak session on the river.

5 km run in the forest, 26 mins. 4 th km in 4.19.

Sun. 2 km warmup then 5 km club race on trails a few solid hills 22.20, 2 km warmdown.

3.9 km, 3 x steep trail, 240 m. of elevation gain, 42 mins.

Trying to get sub-20:00 for 5k by the fall, at the age of 53. Lifetime bests of 4:01 for 1500m and 31:00 for 10k when I was 19. A lot of living since then but I'm at 5' 11" and 170 pounds now. Healthy although hamstrings are always tight. Hope to work my way down to ~160 pounds and maintain there. Early college I raced at ~140 pounds.

Week One 5/9/16

Monday 3 miles easy

Tuesday 32 mins tempo run including 24:09 5k en route. Poor pacing, 8:20 last of 4 miles.

Wednesday 3 miles easy

Thursday rest

Friday 75 minutes hockey hard

Saturday rest

Sunday 5.5 miles @ 8:37/mile easy.

Weekly miles: 17

Hey, you sound like me.

I'm 53 in June. Live in Minneapolis. Play in 2 hockey leagues in the winter and once a week pickup in spring/summer.

Working my way faster but keep losing fitness over the winters. Ran 22:08 last year, down from 24:41.

Had dreams of sub 21 this year. Right now not so sure if I can get there after a poor winter of mostly not running.

175 trying to get down to 160.

You were more than a bit faster than me at 19. 4:27/33:30.

Good luck

Ken

Time to check back in. My first race as a 65'er was OK, not great or bad. My time was 25:07, but the Garmin said 3.19 miles, which seemed about right. KC Corp Challenge is the toughest race to run, competition-wise. I was 9th in my age group, two of those guys were over 70. My legs felt good, just only had about 2 hours of sleep, and so my average HR was 141 (max of 150), just could not push any harder. We get scored by how we place in our company division's size, so I was 2nd, and could not have done better there. Plus, was only about 20 seconds slower than last year. Oh, and of over 3000 finishers, I was in the top 740! Talk about a swarm of runners coming out of the woodwork!

My wife was awesome in the same race, ran 23:28 (she'll be 59 in late July) and was faster than last year, cannot believe how great she did, we were so restless and sleep-deprived. She won her age group (though someone was placed in front of her, we suspect they wore the wrong chip) and was 70th female. How she can perform, I don't know, so amazing. She didn't want to get up, but the next day ran and won her age group in the local Mother's Day 5 km that features over 3000 women, too.

Since then, we traveled to Tucson for 4 days, and I have a sore left buttbone issue. Rolling, stretching, theraband, and it's slowly getting better, so I hope I can run the KCCC 1/2 marathon this Saturday morning. Temps here have been cool, so hope that stays, we have not had any heat here in KC to adapt to as yet. The buttbone is sore on the side of a weaker quad and where I had meniscus surgery 14 years ago, too.

My wife and I did go to the track yesterday, I cautiously ran 2x1000, 2x400, and 2x200, all around 7:30 pace. She did 6x200 and 2x400 and averaged 49 and 1:40 so is on track for a sub 7 mile with our KCCC track 1 mile in early June. No other races before then.

Painfree training to all, and happy Memorial Day, too!

Thanks, Ken. Good luck to you too. I'm in Columbus, OH. I'm playing drop-in Friday mornings. I keep toying with joining a league but our kids are young and I need to be wary of too much scheduled time.

I ran 22:54 last summer but I didn't follow any program at all and was only running a couple of times per week when I felt like it. I'm following a modified Hal Higdon program now which amounts to four runs per week: one long, one speed work, and two easy, plus one day of hockey and two days' rest. I'm probably deluding myself that I can get close to 20:00 without significantly more miles and weeks and weeks of training but we'll see.

Hamstrings are always a concern. I need to stretch more and get some exercises in more regularly, too.

Andy

lucKY2b wrote:

(Side note: Dave, I think you would have won the M55 @ the 25K Championships in GR yesterday.)

I don't know... 25k seems like a long way to run these days!

Two steps forward, one step back. That's the story of my life this year. Had a nice April but got a nasty cold two weeks ago. Decided on Thursday to go ahead and run the 10k I was entered in. Ended up right at 6:00 pace but felt a little weak and very unmotivated to race the 19 year old that blitzed me the last mile. And it was cold, windy and raining at the finish.

Positives that I came away are...

* I actually felt pretty good the first 3 miles.

* I had no signs of any previous running injuries.

* It was still about an 87% on the AG charts. Not too bad.

Feeling like I'm about back to normal today. Think I can get back into my training plan tonite. Hopeful of a decent next four weeks leading up to the Diemer 5k June 11. Moving on up to 56 in 3 days!

Keep on keepin' on!

Dave

Where can I play drop-in on Friday mornings?

That's hockey talk for open ice rat hockey. First 20 guys paying $15 and you get to play pickup hockey for an hour.

My buds rent the ice on Mondays and Thursday's at 9:15 to 10:30.

I'm not a huge fan of the pick up game but it helps to get ready for the season. Right now we've got the Third Annual Illinois Alumni tournament on June 3rd that I'm getting ready for. I'm the oldest guy registered. Potential for 5 games in just over 24 hours. Should be fun ... At least thru three of those games.

Anyway. Love your blogging Alan. I'm a big fan. Hope I answered your question.

Cheers

Ken

Unless you already knew that. In which case, taking you literally, you can get into a south Minneapolis pick up game on Mondays and Thursday's at 9:15 pm. Or you can go online at hockeyfinder.com to find a game.

OR, just drop into any police or fire department and ask when and where the Friday morning pickup game is.

Cheers

Good info, thanks. I may get to use it the next time I visit my brother in Minn. But I am in Columbus, so I was trying to get into a game with Hoser, eh.

So we have another 50+ hockey player. Awesome. I wasn't too sure you were serious.

I'm on one team with 8 guys over 50, one guy is 63. And we are competitive with guys in their early thirties. 'B' level.

But there aren't too many guys our age willing to wake up sore for the next two days after a game.

Ken