50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Well, there is first for everything, and on Wednesday I had my first weight lifting injury. I was going for 210X6 on deadlift. I had done 210X5 the previous week, and the last week's plan was to do 210x6 on Wed and 215X5 (which would match the heaviest weight I had done so far) on Friday. When I did the fifth rep, I felt slight discomfort on my lower back, but then decided to do the sixth rep anyway (a big mistake), and felt serious pain when I tried to "lock" the bar.

M: off.

T: 7 miles.

W: 8 miles.

R: elliptical 30min.

F: elliptical 30min.

SA: elliptical 30min.

SU: 6.7 miles.

I could hardly walk on Thursday morning, and seriously considered taking a day off. But then I thought it would be better to promote blood circulation with exercise, and thought about the cardiovascular exercise that would give least stress on my lower back. And since I had not done elliptical for several months, I did not even realize that my gym had replaced most of the elliptical machines with a new model that I did not recognize. Getting used to a new machine was adjustment itself. I was able to finally resume running on Sunday, albeit very slowly.

To add insult to injury (literally), I had recorded Saturday's coverage of Pre Classic on my DVR. Then I discovered that I had 10 min of track & field followed by 1:50 of weather update (thunder storm /tornado warning which turned out to be nothing). My NBC affiliate made sure to end their weather update promptly at 5pm so that they could show the all-important "Jeopardy" episode in its entirety. I should have signed up for NBC Sports Gold. At least I could watch women's 5k and steeple on Friday night.

Mon. 3 x up Mt Ida "the hard way". That is a 600 metre long hill with about 160 metres of elevation on loose rock, it hits 48% gradient in a couple of spots. The first was fast hiking the second and third I ran as much as I could. Total distance of 7 kms and about 540 metres of elevation gain in 1 hr 38 mins.

Tue. Terrain run in the forests of the McIvor Ranges (my "backyard"). About 13 km in just under 2 hours. Much of it off trail just following my nose through dense scrub and forest good fun.

Wed. Half hour cold kayak session then half hour trail jog of 5 kms.

Thu. A strong 90 minute mountain bike ride on a good mix of trails for 30 kms.

Fri. A steady 5 km trail run on a few hills 28 mins then a fast half hour kayak session on the river.

Sat. Steep trail run, up Roo Hill then onto the top of the McIvor Range, down Pannells Hill then 5 x up steep Pannells Hill. Ran out of light so finished the running at the top of the last rep. 6 kms with 420 metres of elevation gain in 51 mins. Walked back off the ranges in the dark and then down to the supermarket and back home about 6 kms of walking.

Sun. 3 laps around Mt Piper with just one climb up to the top. All up 12 kms (360 m.) in 1 hr 24 mins.

The Hunger grows.

Found a story about Pre's Ghost which is something I believe haunts Hayward Field. He can't rest because he did not cross the finish line and he was not a quitter. Pre's ghost haunts harrier souls who toe the line at Hayward.

https://web.archive.org/web/20100625005328/http://masterstrack.com:80/2005/04/6568/

Page 46

Funny thing is I was in the same heat as this guy back in 2003

http://www.flashresults.com/2003_Meets/outdoor/usmasters/030807P584.htm

Bad ending again I never could comeback strong for the final. I had spent 6 months running 12 miles in 80 minutes 5 days a week with the last 3 months doing this barefoot on the Hayward infield with occasional laps to check my pace. Had a great aerobic base thin fast strong and farted out.

As I turn to page 61 it all seems to make more sense. The desire to train hard and compete comes from somewhere deep inside a person. When it erupts enjoy the moments.

Charlie,

Well one good point, at 60-64 it is unlikely you will have preliminaries.

I hated to double as a young man. As a master it didn't work on my head. At the 2006 Masters USATF Outdoors I ran the 5,000m, 10,000m and 1,500m in that order.

Igy

Amkelly, for what it is worth a buddy of mine manages his chronic achilles with downhill backwards jogging. It seems to be working ok as he is running well these days, 16s for 5 k in his 40s. He sticks to a low km plan only running about 30 km per week (trails/xc) with lots of uphill reps on his bike instead.

It might be necessary to cut back on both frequency and duration of running and sub in bike rides.

Good luck.

mo'pak wrote:

Amkelly, for what it is worth a buddy of mine manages his chronic achilles with downhill backwards jogging. It seems to be working ok as he is running well these days, 16s for 5 k in his 40s. He sticks to a low km plan only running about 30 km per week (trails/xc) with lots of uphill reps on his bike instead.

It might be necessary to cut back on both frequency and duration of running and sub in bike rides.

Good luck.

mo'pak, thanks for the suggestion. Do you know whether your buddy's Achilles trouble is insertional or higher up on the tendon? A lot of what I've read leads me to believe that it matters quite a lot. For example, the much-discussed eccentric heel drops are reported to be much less effective for insertional tendonosis, which mine is--and I found the heel drops did more harm than good.

Yes, I've spent an awful lot of time on the bike over the past two years. It's not bad in the summertime when there's plenty of daylight early in the morning and the weather is warm and dry. I don't mind running in cold, dark, and/or rain but I will not ride a bike on roads with traffic when it's dark and I hate riding in the cold or rain. The alternative stationary trainer in the garage is mind-numbingly tedious.

Igy,

It amazes me how some people have such durability. Craig McMicken M90 raced the 800,1500 and 3000 at Hayward .

I was actually feeling pretty good and felt like I could have raced again pretty well so maybe it has something to do with aging but yea come Spokane next August I am hoping there is just a final.

Nice article Ed vs Earl HIIT vs LSD my preference is BiPolar or is it Polorized training anyhow at the end of the day they say it is all good.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/running/running-ed-whitlock-and-earl-fee-compared/article34897068/

Amkelly I will chase him up and find out about his Achilles.

I agree on the road riding and the stat bike. Hate both.

Even without the bike I wonder whether you would be better off for the moment doing something like 2d daily 10 km runs rather than almost daily 16 plus. You might find that with less continual stress on your achilles that you can run more freely.

It might not work well for HM races but you might actually free the legs up to run faster at 5 kms.

amkalley,

worked for me:

ointmend dressing with ammoniabitumosulfonate 85% before running.

then rubbing and massage with ointmned arnica montana 30% oil based.

plus excentric heal drops after training

reduced mileage to one day 7 miles, other day low mileage with jumps, sprints etc. rebuild all stuff degenerated running "high" mileage for years.

my hint for arnica ointment. look for a high quality oil based causing no skin irritation if using frequently.

i never went to surgery, too. my gut feeling is that more injuries can heal than the doctors are telling if you find the right therapy.

I am not a native speaker, if you wonder my writing 😀

forgot to mention:

rubbing, applying really regularly and daily was key. things on both archilles (each some years apart) kept inflamed for a lomg time despite treatment. careful running was possible if treating the achilles. no healing for long time. was thinking this therapy provides no healing. however, after treating about 3 months by this regularly and consistently, then the inflamation started to diappear like magic. like a healing no doctor can prognose. however, after the archilles had this serious problem it needed careful running (high mileage is tricky to do) even 10 years later. but i doubt surgery will give me a new tendon.

good luck.

I wish Gerry Lindgren would come back, he was so inspiring.

Gerry please come back.

Back to the path of well trodden joggers and

the stragglers who chug, chug, a lug

lookin' down on the ground and whipping

their feet, hearts a beating quick, and

the shadow knows, that one day Gerry

will emerge on this thread, because the internet

is like a bow wave and only the feet of a Gerry Lindgren,

could cause the Pacific Ocean's wave to wave back on

the joggers on the beaches of the world and nod back

for Gerry to come back home to letsrun.

Aloha!

Charlie,

I am an old draft horse once in shape. No thoroughbred here. The flubber fas to come off first before I can be effective at more than one race. As far as training goes the road is a little hard on my joints. The Boise High track was resurfaced a couple of years ago. Seems to be a more forgiving.

Are you planning to race the Portland Masters meet?

Igy

Did Bolder Boulder the other day, 84% age grade and was 2nd oldest to break 40 on this course that is notoriously not so fast due to altitude and hills--uphill finish into the stadium to kick you in the gut. It's a great event though, the logistics of getting 55,000 people out on the streets and into the stadium are a marvel.

50 last week, and 98-99% recovered from the marathon. Sea level 10K in 3 weeks, so gotta sharpen up for that.

Congratulations on your run Coyote!

Igy,

Pretty fast for a draft horse;)

Looking at the PMC but only as a workout no time goal.

Onward!

SCgal wrote:

Congratulations on your run Coyote!

Ditto!

I've struggled with achilles issues the past few years. Pretty much back to good right now. The only difference in my routine was the purchase of a wobble board so I'll be an advocate for trying that!

Had another nice week last week. Right at 60 miles. Happy with where I'm at these days. I did come down with a bit of a cold after our long weekend in Northern MI. Its not too bad so I'm hopeful this will run its course this week and be gone.

M: am: 5.1 Miles in 36:54 [7:14 per mile] pm: 5 Miles in 37:10 [7:26 per mile] w/6x20 sec strides around 4:55 pace

T: 8.94 Miles in 1:08:47 [7:41 per mile]

W: 7 Miles in 50:12 [7:10 per mile]

T: 8.2 Miles w/10x400 w/400 rest. 79.4,79.4,79.5,79.0,78.8,77.7,77.2,76.1,74.4,72.2

F: 6.67 Miles in 53:09 [7:58 per mile]

S: 12 Miles in 1:28:24 [7:22 per mile] Hilly, last few miles just under 7:00

S: 7.42 Miles in 58:15 [7:51 per mile]

I'll lower the miles a tad this week. Do something on the track tomorrow. Spring goal race in 10 days.

Have a good week,

Dave

Charlie,

Thanks for posting the Ed and Earl article. I would say I am doing a modified Jack Daniels approach, with easy days modeled after the FIRST program. I seem to stay healthy doing this, and making progress.

I thought about driving over to Portland, but my condition does not justify the time or expense.

Igy

amkelley, as to cross-training, have you considered the Elliptigo as an option to cycling? I don't have one, so don't know how it'd feel on your Achilles, but just a thought. Perhaps some walk/runs, too, even if the runs are so short to almost feel meaningless, like 30 sec/1 min, to keep your leg/mitochondrial fitness.

It does seem like going for shorter doubles might be an option, but also some deep massage/ART/graston if possible. I have been lucky, but my wife's legs seem to always need some cross-training and therapy/strengthening. Just a thought or two.

Six more days until the KCCC 1 mile on the track. She did her first intervals since the hamstrings flared up, and ran a 3:31.5 800, then two 300's and a 200 with long recoveries, all under 7 minute pace. The shorter ones were in spikes, and she felt the "Pre" magic. However, I hope she's going to buy some new spikes (Nike Distance) that have seamless uppers and a wider toe-box. I just hope that I recover from my near-10 mile race of 10 days ago, legs are still sluggish.