50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

I think cycling is a great way for us older runners to keep active as running high mileage (or eventually, any mileage) isn't possible. I'm 71 and still run 28-35 miles a week. The other days (usually three of the days) I cycle 22-40 miles, weather permitting. If the weather doesn't permit, I'll ride a bike mounted on an indoor trainer, although I usually can't manage more than 70 minutes until boredom forces a stop.

I remember following your story. All those doctor's visits & scans - it sounded arduous & frustrating...to say the least. Same with Allen1959 - I eagerly awaited his weekend summary posts as he would give updates on his training & status of his injuries (I see he's back posting today).

Any chance do you see those "long fast walks" eventuly turning into an easy jog? - or is jogging/running not an option?

Like I mentioned, I'm fortunate to get one precious run in per week. I call it my Sunday Special. Lol. 6 days I hit the gym alternating between strength training & spin biking. Plus tons of rehab excercises just for the Sunday Special.

Today's run was an easy 3 miles followed by 4x400m all out effort with a small recovery. It's was euphoric & very fulfilling - and beat my spin bike workouts any time of day. I finished it off with a nice half-mile walk recovery watching a beautiful Colorado sunset 😌

But I'll pay a dear price for that one run. As I sit here typing this post, I'm in ice & I'll being taking my tylenol shortly (I also have a Rx painkiller med in reserve). The next 24-36 hrs will be rough - and I'll be lucky to get 3 or 4 hrs of sleep tonight Tomorrow's work out at the gym will also be a challenge as my bad back, hip & arthritic ankle will be killing me. 😬

My son, my friends & my primary care doctor all question why I would put myself through this kind of agony for just one run per week. My response to them is that there are addictions in life other than drugs, alcohol, gambling, porn, etc. That & I'm not the brightest candle on the cake. 🤣

Good luck with your workouts & pursuit of health & fitness. 🙌

Well Hey Y'all! Dang it has been awhile. Since recent posts are talking about injury I thought I'd explain my MIA. Diagnosed a partial hamstring tear in early January. I believe this has been chronic for a few years. And the "violent 800m" training and racing hasn't helped. Tried Rest and PRP. Didn't take. Restarted training in March. Every run felt like dog doo. April Fools Day did a mild 3 mile tempo run at 7:15pace that ended short with a dramatic painful forced to the ground major league oweee! Took me about five minutes to straighten my leg to hobble home. Needless to say, the next 24hrs were painful enough that I was throwing up. This old fool still got on the plane the next morning for the Spring Break Week to The Grand Canyon. Managed to walk and hike as long as it was forward motion. Got back for MRI that looked like a Cat5 Hurricane compared to January image. Diagnosis? Tore two of the three hammies right off my hip bone. Went into major surgery April 28th. The next 3 months was psychologically challenging ZERO RUNNING Rehab. Became a walker. Rekindled some of my teenage competitive swimmer days by TRYING to learn how to swim a mile without drowning. My surgeon (and good friend) cleared me a month early to begin a slow return to jogging. Talking 12min per mile pace. Well you know what happens next... 30 days into it and way too much way too soon I ran a strava course at 7:55 pace only to wake up two days later so stiff I couldn't walk the dog. Damnit! Not sure what it is but feels like the TFL area. I will see my surgeon Wednesday morning. Pray for me that I did NOT screw up the hammie surgery or the 3 kevlar screws. Pray that it's just a classic M63+ 800/1500m Old Fool Set-Back.

Hope all y'all are well and able to honor workers today by a great run.

KP

Perhaps. I actually had started jogging a little last spring, and worked up to about 2 miles of torturously slow continuous jogging, then something in the back of my knee went "sproing!" and I was crippled for about six weeks. I've decided not to try jogging again until hiking/backpacking season is over, which should be around the end of September. Then if I injure myself again trying to jog, I don't wipe out my second favorite activity.

Wow, looks like quite a team I have joined! My wife and I are walking a LOT (40-45 miles weekly) and two weight sessions in the gym also. We are sometimes running short bursts of anywhere from 0.1 to 0.5 miles at a time, but probably not over 10% of our total week. Been so hot this summer it doesn't help either. Had hoped to gently run the Butte to Butte 5 km on July 4 in Eugene, but she badly strained her back a couple days before so had to go to Urgent Care instead and get on meds. I made my trip to UC yesterday because of multiple hornet/wasp/bee stings on my face that led to swelling inside and outside my mouth. So better not race or I will be tested positive for prednisone :) plus an antiviral. This came from mowing my back yard and stirring up a nest that was underground!

Hard to get the same buzz walking but some runs, however short, do feel good. Trying to run much seems very tiring in the heat so maybe the fall weather will help. But it gives us time to reflect on what we want to do with our later years, connecting more with family, traveling (maybe Paris? maybe Tokyo? more trips to Eugene!). And supporting our local running club/running store as parttime employees/cheering on the runners we know locally, and just trying to be decent citizens of our great democratic experiment. All the healthiest best to all, esp. to KP and Amkelley and all you others in the midst of rehab/repair.

I've been reading this thread for a couple of years now, one of the better ones on LETSRUN because there are a lot more positive stories and a lot less insulting and arguing. I'm impressed with what some of us old runners can do, and I can feel the pain of those that are injured or wearing out. I will give a brief start to my story, maybe add some later. I was not a runner when I was young. I ran a little, not much, never stayed with it for long. I lifted weights, walked, and did hard physical work to stay in shape. In 2007 some health issues turned out to be metastatic prostate cancer. For those that know what it means PSA was 250. Not good, started hormone treatment and have been on it ever since. PSA went down for several years, with a few ups and downs since, but mostly very low. Lost a little weight with better eating habits, got older, and lost a little strength with the low testosterone from hormone treatments. It kind of sucked to be taking weight off the bars, so one day in 2010, out of the blue I decided to get into running. To say I got carried away would be an understatement. Lots of races including 38 marathons later still going. More to come sometime.

Welcome to the thread, KoO. Like you, I mostly have lingered in the background, but very much enjoy reading the weekly updates and more. It has been a very positive place in recent weeks. Here’s hoping it stays that way.

As you likely know, there are other cancer survivors/patients here. Hopefully they can offer you advice regarding running with that dreaded disease. I look forward to reading your exchanges with them.

Thought I would add a little to my story. I'm very lucky to be alive and doing as well as I am after 16 years of cancer treatment. My running was going very well last fall, with a couple of my fastest marathons in a few years. My last marathon in December started OK, but I started to struggle late. No endurance and my balance felt off. I had a very good time, but I expected better and didn't know what was wrong. 3 days later I went for a run and didn't feel right again. I also felt a little tightness in my back and shoulders. Went to the hospital to find out I was having a heart attack. Hardly any risk factors, but still happened. Had one stent put in, and also found out I had an aortic root aneurysm. So in February I had open heart surgery for aortic root replacement and a new valve. 7 weeks later, with my doctors OK, I started just a little running again. Slowly added a little, just did my first run over 10 miles last week. I'm running much better than I expected at this point, so planning a half marathon at less than all out effort soon.

It's both relatable and sad to read of so many of us 60+ runner dealing with injuries and cancer. I heard a story on NPR and a guy was telling about how he motivates himself to exercise (the story was about something else, but I caught this bit) - when facing a hot, humid run, he tells himself to remember a time when he was injured and would have done anything to be able to run. And to think of in the future, when he is unable to run, perhaps in a nursing home and would give anything to go back in time to run one more time. It makes him feel grateful for being able to do it at all.

At 63, I am profoundly grateful to still be able to run (especially after a sprained an ankle in mid-June) and in general, to exercise, to deal with the incredible amount of stress facing my family this summer and fall as well as the stress and trauma that comes from my job. I realize how important it is to my mental health.

I'm skipping my annual national club xc trip this year, so finding it hard to pick goals. But most of all, I am happy to be able to run at all and enjoy being outside and on the trails to help with my mental health in this scary time. I hope all of the injured and hurting at least find some solace in whatever exercise you can do. As you posts prove - you are not alone.

Hang in there - MG

Mon- 25 steady

Tue- off

Wed- 32 closed in 7.19

Thur- 10

Fr- 15

Sat- 35 w/ half of it at tempo

Sun- 15 easy

Trying to do something along the lines of Kenny Moore training. E/E/workout.

Nice to see the updates.

“Getting old isn't for the faint of heart”

My running is "deja vu all over again"

Call me Charlie Brown;)

Enjoying a break.

Hi runners,

Summer has a strong final here. Happy to have the habit running in the early morning. Doing my faster stuff under threshold pace makes me feel good doing some miles. Here is the last week:

Mo 15 km easy

Tue 11 km with 12x1min on/off

We 11 km easy

Th 11 km with 3x1600m in 6:50-7:00 min with 400 m jog

Fr 11 km with 10km steady (8 min per mile)

Sa 17 km very easy in the hills

Su A couple of short sprints and exercises on track with my youngest

Have a good week. Enjoy life! CU

Greetings!

Newbi, sounds like a good training week!

My week:
Mon – off
Tue – morning flight to Sochi (Black Sea) for a 2-week vacation. In the afternoon, 7 miles
including 2x1.25 miles uphill at the LT effort (by HR). Hot (about 90F) and humid. Seawater temp +28C (82F).
Wed – same as Tue
Thu – 4 miles easy
Fri – rest
Sat – mountain trail, 7 miles. Total run time 1:45 including w/u
Sun – 5 miles easy

The mountain trail on Sat. had total climb of 850 m (2700+ ft) and was 12+ km long. I signed for it 1.5 months ago in order to get motivation for more hard training (uphill) before the autumn race season. Logged in total of 5.5 hrs of 15% uphill running on a treadmill (30-40 min of continuous run each session) in August. Training was more important than the event itself, as I do not consider myself as a trail or mountain runner. Planned it just as a long hilly weekend run. The goal was not to get cooked or injured shortly before the national masters 10K on road on Sep. 24. This goal was achieved.

On the competition side, it worked surprisingly good uphill (thanks to the treadmill stuff). Was at the 11-12th place after the first continuous 3.4+ km (2.1 miles) uphill segment with about 500 m elevation gain. Then 4-5 guys passed me by on a downhill section, but I gained everything back by the summit of the course (6+ km). And felt quite OK running uphill. Was only controlling the HR trying not to exceed (considerably) the LT level (142-145 as I think it is now). Was switching to brisk walking (like all others) when the gradient was too high (20+ % often and sometimes even 30+%). It was a mix of a stony path and total off-road, sometimes in the mud along small creeks.

Unfortunately, the game seemed over for me after I saw a terrific downhill section after the
summit (middle of the race). Elevation loss of 400 m in just 1.5 km. No road, no paths, just a stony muddy steep slope with wet slippery grass. It is part of the Olympic alpine ski downhill course. All the plans vanished in the haze and the only goal was not to break my neck there. My thought was “I did not sign for the rocky-mountain goat jumping show, and do not participate in it” (in very bad words) when many guys (and a couple of girls) were passing me by as if I was standing still. Looking at the split times later I estimate that I lost about 7-8 minutes on two steep downhill sections to those who could run them "professionally". Gained back some 5-6 places on the final 3 km with a shallow sinusoid-like profile and felt that the tanks were not empty at all at the finish.

Was the 18th overall of 230+, and 3rd in the 45+ category (it was the only one for masters) with my 65+. Time: 1:31 (4 min slower than my HM time in May when I was not in a better form). But the most important is that there is nothing wrong with the legs the day after (i.e. today). Ran 5 miles today. Outer parts of the hips are sore (do not know how these muscles or tendons are called) and hurt when running downhill, but this seems to be inevitable and hopefully will recover in a few days. Running flat or uphill is OK.

Now switching to training for a flat 10K course.

Happy and injury-free running to all!

Tough going Orient. Will follow your 10k training... Have a nice vacation. BR

Congratulations Orient on a solid and intelligent race effort. I took an adaptation/recovery week, because that sounds better than saying I was feeling lazy and unmotivated this past week, although I was busy a couple of days with some home maintenance projects that had me up and down a ladder for a few hours. My legs felt fresh and bouncy for this morning's run which is a good sign. 23 miles in 3 runs for the week -

M- rest

T- 7mi heart rate run/walk (run from HR 120-135, walk until HR back at 120)

W- rest

Th- rest

F- rest

S- 8mi moderate effort 9:35/mi

Su- 8mi trails 8:22/mi

Good running to all!

Greetings, fellow 50+ers! Happy belated Grandparents Day to those who celebrated.

Thanks to the weather, this turned into an unplanned recovery week. The HHH weather returned in force which forced me to the sideline more than I wanted. I gave it a go on Tuesday, but after the first two miles that expedition turned into a walk/run slog. Unfun. Temperatures actually rose over the next three days and my running shoes stayed in the closet. The weather was a bit cooler, but still heavy, on Saturday when I finally got in a short and slow CR. So put me down for 7+ miles of actual running for the week. Ouch.

Sun-Mon: off

Tue: 41’ running (4); body wt ex

Wed-Fri: off

Sat: 46’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

All the best!

Greetings!

After a hard mountain race a week ago was afraid of getting this important week ruined as it should be the last (and hard) one before the tapering in front of the 10K race on Sep. 24. Fortunately, it was not ruined (mostly because I did not run the mountain race all out) but clearly affected and, to some extent, damaged. E.g., was not able to complete the tempo, felt exhausted and muscles/tendons started hurting.

Here is the week. All the runs were in a rather hot weather (80-85F) and along hilly roads (about 200+m or 700 ft elevation gain every day).

Mon – 6.5 miles easy
Tue – 6.5 miles including 5 and 8 min uphill segments at the LT HR effort
Wed – 7 miles incl. 5x3:30 intervals uphill, hard (up to 95% of HR max)
Thu – 6 miles easy
Fri – 6 miles with approx. 2.5 miles tempo at the LT pace. Decided to slow down (planned to make 5 miles) because the right hip “waved a yellow flag” and also the HR got higher than LT. Felt overloaded.
Sat – 4 miles easy, still had a feeling of overloading (afraid to say “overtraining”)
Sun – 9.5 miles quasi-long run. Total climb some 320 m (1 Kft). Mostly easy, but the HR raised nearly up to LT in the end of uphill segments (20-25 min in total).

Totally 45.5 miles (a good number for me).

Now switching to tapering.

Happy and injury-free running/training to all!

I learned this week in discussions regarding my running is no longer geared toward marathons that my running group only race marathons cuz anything shorter like I am planning hurts. Go figure.
M-treadmill 5M

T-11(1:30@8:15 pace/1:30 walk); treadmill 3M

W-7M @ 11:21 pace following dental surgery

Th-treadmill 5M; treadmill 3M

F: 10(:35uphill/1:30 recovery) - the dog at the house at the bottom has stopped barking at me and now watched me with a wary eye . . . and a wagging tail

Sat-10M @ 10:55 pace in wet, humid conditions on hilliest course I run

40 miles for the week

Enjoy the week