50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

SCgal wrote:I'm so sad for our friend Spikez. I don't know if many of you are aware of her suspension but I just heard about it this evening.

It is sad. I know of at least a few of us have known for several weeks now. I don't have any first-hand knowledge about the situation, so as a scientist I choose to abstain from comment. I am saddened about her being forced to step off the track, but I also respect the parameters under which the entire process was conducted. I do wish Spikez well, regardless.

I guess that when I said "abstain from comment", I really meant "abstain from taking sides." Clearly, there are strong feelings on both sides, and I really have no interest in getting embroiled in all that innuendo. That's it from me.

I guess that when I said "I don't know what to think", I really meant "I don't know what to say." I am one of those with a strong opinion, but the world will be just fine if I keep it to myself.

lucKY2b wrote:

I really meant "abstain from taking sides." Clearly, there are strong feelings on both sides, and I really have no interest in getting embroiled in all that innuendo. That's it from me.

Alan Bennet wrote:

I guess that when I said "I don't know what to think", I really meant "I don't know what to say." I am one of those with a strong opinion, but the world will be just fine if I keep it to myself.

Yep, that's me too. Although she's doing what what any of us would do if put in that situation... Deny, deny, deny!

I guess the moral to the story is 'Don't put yourself in that situation'. She is probably the only one that knows the truth.

Dave

Published in Runner's World. Certainly relevant for this thread. Thoughts? Comments?

http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/do-older-runners-respond-to-interval-training-differently

lucKY2b wrote:

Published in Runner's World. Certainly relevant for this thread. Thoughts? Comments?

http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/do-older-runners-respond-to-interval-training-differently

Some thoughts...

1. VO2 max interval 3x a week? A horrible way to train anyone.

2. Less fit people tend to make bigger gains under any training program.

3. The fitter you are, the more important it is to optimize your training.

4. I suspect we would see the same pattern if all the subjects did tempos 3x a week. Or long steady runs 3x a week.

Having said that, the typical "run-walk" program that many beginners do is a form of interval training. I bet their HR is very high at the end of each bout of "run" section. I once saw a young woman on a treadmill (next to mine) getting her HR up to 190s on one of those "run-walk" sessions. (No more than 90-120 sec @ 6mph for each "run.") So maybe it is a good way to train unfit people.

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Week 274

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Happy Labor Day weekend, 50+ers! September arrived Thursday, and on cue so did some nicer weather! Though, this coming week it is supposed to creep back into the hot-and-muggies. Managed just 26 miles on 5-days (and 6 runs) this week. Log reads as such:

Sun: 6.2 easy for the first 4, then picked it up, last mile was 6:40.

Mon: Off (long day of classes)

Tues: 4.6 easy (7:55 pace) just felt tired

Wed: Off (another long day of classes)

Thur: 5.1 variable (7:22 avg pace) w/2 miles at just under 14:00

Fri: 6.0 in 2 short easy runs--2.75 am (7:40 pace)+3.25 pm (8:10 pace)

Sat: 4.1 accel. through 2.6, then easy-ish (7:09 avg pace)

Not really much to say this week, except that I've felt sluggish---mustering up the energy to push the pace has been hard. You'll notice I didn't do running drills, intervals, or a long run, but about 5 of the 26 miles run this week were sub-7 pace, so that's at least something. Also, my right hip and arthritic toes have been acting up a bit. On Sunday, I ran from home (1.2 miles) to our Sunday Club Run, but by the end of the club run, my left toe was throbbing to the point where I opted to get a lift home. My whole right side has been a little stiff this week. I've tried to roll it out, but it's not really responding; typically this'll last for a week or two and will work itself out, getting better sleep would probably help.

That's all I've got this week. We've got a lot going on today, including the fact that it's our 34th wedding anniversary; not sure I'll be able to squeeze a run in.....hope I can. What's happening in your neck of the woods? Hope you all on the east coast are surviving the deluge OK..

All the Best!

happy anniversary! Hope your aches and pains take a turn for the better.

Hermine has bypassed DC area thus far -- a little breezy and mercifully cooler than it has been lately, but that's all.

fun week with season-best 5k, as follows:

Mon. 5

tues. 20 with 4 miles at goal marathon pace (26:38)

Weds. 5

thurs. 9

Fri. 6

Sat. 7 with rolling road 5k in 18:04 (15th OA, 1st M55-59, 2nd 50+ so Maryland Senior Olympics silver medal, outleaned at the tape by my friend Mark Neff for the gold.....by 31 seconds)

Sun. 9

Bill Rodgers ran this same race, Kentlands 5k in Gaithersburg MD, at age 54 in 2002 in 18:09, but as I recall there was much more of a crowd wanting to talk to him after the race. Maybe if I'd mimicked the rest of his racing career a little more closely.....

have a great week,

Dave

Howdy and happy Labor Day weekend!

[Sun: 16 miles with 10 at marathon pace]

Mon: 5 very easy, plus some afternoon indoor rock climbing and weights

Tues: 7.5 at 7:30 pace -- felt good, but had to push

Weds: Rest

Thurs: 8.5 at 7:55 pace

Fri: 5 easy, plus weights

Sat: 9.5 at 8:15 pace

Sun: 9.5 at 8:10 pace

One more week of full intensity marathon training, including a final 16 miler. Then a moderate week with some speed, and then fully taper for 26.2 on Oct. 2.

Have fun and be healthy!

I didn't post my CRIM report last week so this will be a two-week report. The racing conditions in Michigan were great; low 80s with low humidity and no wind. The mile course is basically a rectangle through the Univ. of MI Flint campus. There is a slight rise at the start and a steady uphill in the 3rd quarter. There were only about 8 women's teams. The Impala team from CA was my team's competition with three women racing.

The gun went off and, as usual, I was left in the dust by the 40's and 50's women. I felt good through the half mile and was running well but then my lack of training hit - I really was struggling to get up the last hill when Impala's second runner surged past me. I had nothing to give and she passed me. Fortunately, there were lots of spectators cheering to keep me going. Somehow, I made the turn to the final 400 and finished 5th in the 60s in 7:23. My track PR is 6:59 so normally I would be disappointed but given my low miles and lack of speed work, I was OK with it. Thanks to my three fast teammates, we placed first and are the USATF W60+ Mile Champions. The other good news is my leg felt fine so I can start to do some workouts instead of just easy runs. CRIM was well organized and fun and I'd like to return next year and run the mile on Friday and the 10 miler the next day.

I got back to work this week with 31.7 miles and 1hr. of hard biking. I did my first tempo run and bumped up to 5 days of running so I'm moving forward.

Mon: 5E

Tue: 6.45 Track - 2 mile tempo in 15:35 (7:56,7:49)

Weds: XT - 1:00 biking - 10 x 3H/1E

Thu: Off

Fri: 5E

Sat 6.8 XC

Sun: 8.4E

My plan is to stay with one rest day and one day of XT. I'd like to to push the miles but my body just can't take it any more. Hope you all have a great week!

lucky2b, congrats on 34 years, we are just one behind you! :)

Have you tried any dietary changes for your arthritis? Possibly avoiding pro-inflammatory foods like high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, or wheat products? Also, perhaps a stiffer shoe in the toe box, like a Hoka?

Alan, thanks for the shout out on the 5 km, seems like yesterday that I was aiming for sub 20 rather than sub 25 (actually was 15 years ago!).

Seems odd that my wife and I do not have a Labor Day race planned, but I do hope to run long today, since I work 10-6 tomorrow. Hope all enjoy the fruits of your Labors today and this weekend.

L2b: Congrats on the 34 years!

SCgal: The general consensus is the course is also about .03 long...6-7 seconds. The little rolling to the course sure does make it difficult!

Decent week here...67 miles, 1 workout and a real nice long run. Still feeling 100% healthy.

Mon: 11.75 miles @ 7:43

Tue: 9.04 miles @ 7:45 with 10x20 sec @ 5k pace

Wed: 9.85 miles @ 7:07 w/4 mile tempo in 24:48 (612.9,614.2,610.9,609.0) then 4x30 sec strides @ 5k pace

Thu: 8.05 miles @ 7:44

Fri: 5.06 miles @ 7:55

Sat: 15.5 miles @ 7:23 Steady progressive 7:45>7:10

Sun: 7.69 miles @ 8:05

This weeks schedule shows 4x threshold miles on wed, strides on M-W-F and a 5 mile race on Saturday.

Have a good week,

Dave

L2b, more congrats on the 34 years. We're at 44, which means I must have been a mere child when we got married. I had an easy week by necessity rather than choice with a decent 4 mile XC race yesterday. This week I definitely was feeling the effects of the prior week's mileage increase. 24 miles total:

M - rest

T - 4 easy

W - 4 easy

Th - rest

F - 5 easy

S - 7 with 2 w.u., 4 race (6:50, 7:31, 7:38, 7:56 - the first mile was fairly flat with a small elevation gain. It was my first sub-7 mile since my April knee injury. The next 3 miles all had a fairly steep 125+ft hill in them. So, 29:55 for 2nd 65-69) A good but not great race effort. 1 mi w.d.

Su - 4 easy

I now have 3 weeks until the next XC race. I hope to get in 2 hard weeks and a recovery week before then.

Good running and stay healthy to all!

Just a bit of a drive-by/update, former Co58 (and AK series 47 to 56 for those that have been here a while).

Don't consider myself that accident prone or clumsy but then again, things happen. This time an upper body running injury. Ran 37:27 in C. Springs in July, best effort of the year on a fast course and was gearing up for an early fall marathon and USATF Club XC in December. It was all there and had it all mapped out.

Early last month doing a mile in to an easy run tripped on a rock, while trying to avoid a puddle on a flat section of single track trail, and fell face first into said puddle and ripped my arm off the socket. Most painful thing I've experienced. Ended up with some tears (not crying but I sure did want to) in my shoulder and had surgery last week. I'm out for months! Pretty much the rest of the year because the first month will be just easy jogging.

Back on the bike in the meantime but keeping that pretty light for the first 5 weeks until I'm out of the sling.

Hate getting older and shuffling and falling and breaking apart like that!

Will be back in 2017.

Good luck for the rest of the year to 50+ masters, and stay healthy.

Co58, so sorry to hear about your injury! You were in such great shape before your accident - what a bummer. I wish you the best in your recovery and can sympathize with you for your weeks on the bike. Keep us updated on your progress!

Billy,

Best on the recovery. One of my running mates fell in the middle of a 16 mile trail run. Hobbled home with several broken ribs and out for several months. As I get older I try to say closer to home base for safety sake.

Igy

I’m not a regular on this thread, but I like the attitude of most of the folks who post here so it seems worth tossing this question out.

Two weeks ago I saw an orthopedist for a chronic Achilles tendon issue that has prevented me from doing much running, or anything hard, since May. This was the guy the HMO/insurance company would let me see, although I had no reason to believe he knew anything about treating runners. He obviously does not, and told me immediately that I needed surgery without even considering any of the nonsurgical interventions that are usually tried first. He also made it clear that his attitude toward runners is very hostile. Needless to say I am not going to see this guy again and will not have surgery unless it is recommended by another orthopedist whose judgment I might trust.

Now to the point: during the exam this orthopedist asked me to walk normally, then to walk one foot in front of the other as on a tightrope, and then to stand on one leg at a time, both flat-footed and on my toes. He then told me that I should see a neurologist about my very poor balance and should start using a cane to avoid falling! I found this laughable given that I currently ride my bike 100-150 miles/week, run 20-30 miles/week, and regularly go hiking on steep uneven trails—and have crashed only once in the past five years, on my bike and because of lack of attention, not lack of balance. All the same, for most of my adult life (I am now 58) I have been aware that I am very clumsy and have poor balance. When hiking I have a hard time crossing streams that require walking on a log or hopping between boulders, and back in my early 30s I gave up running singletrack trails because I would fall and hurt myself. I am also barely able to run on any treadmill because I fall off unless I concentrate very hard. And I find it difficult to stand on one foot reliably, for example when getting dressed.

I do not intend to submit to a bunch of neurological tests because of the significant likelihood of false positives. If there is something organically wrong with me, it has progressed minimally in the past 25 years and it appears I will die of something else before it becomes a serious problem. At the same time, I would really like to do something to improve my balance. I have started doing squats on a stability ball at the gym and I made huge improvement from Day 1 to Day 2, but apparently none since. (Probably unrealistic to see improvement in two weeks.) Have any of you experienced similar issues with balance and do you have any good exercises to improve that aspect of your fitness?

I went into the orthopedist’s office thinking of myself as a strong, fit, healthy middle-aged person with an athletic injury, and the guy saw me as a weak, frail, elderly woman. I am pissed off but I am also rattled, because the issue he raised about my balance is one I recognize as valid.

Had to take the first 3 days of the week off to get ready for a PSA blood test.

On the active surveillance program for prostate cancer. It came back 10.8.

Still steady from 8 last time but 36 the time before that becauseI didn't take any time off before the blood test. I even ran the morning of.

Almost had me on the surgeons table. PSA is a squirrily thing, Ive learned that.

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: 10K

Saturday: 10K

Sunday : 9 miles in 1:19.01

Last race before thanksgiving next Sunday. Volunteering too. This will be the 11th race that I have volunteered and raced this year.

My job is to unload the trucks, set up the start/finish and registration areas and set up the finish line arch.

Then, clean up afterwards.

I guess one thing that bothers me is that Ive become that guy...you remember....that old guy at races that talks glory days stuff.

Funny. Picking up trash now.

I used to coach high school XC, captained a team, trained like an animal, RD a half marathon for 10 years,wrote a column about running in a major newspaper and now runners going home zoom by me with my reflector vest on as Im picking up trash...

A promotion

M- 4 miles

T-5 miles

W-5 miles

Th-8 miles 9 min pace

F-bike

S-5 miles

Sun-5 miles

Labor Day 5K

Trying to increase endurance for Half Marathon Sept 25th.