MASTERS WEEKEND RUNS AND RACES

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I know there are other places to get answers, but this such a level-headed, inspirational group here. It seemed like a good place to start. Mrs. ExCoastRanger and I have nothing formal to report yet but, if you'll pardon a bad pun, I'll keep you posted.

citius99 wrote:

SoCal Pete,

I'm not a master but i read this thread often. Am I correct that you had been using joe rubio's training philosophy in the past? What made you tinker with it?

I've never used Joe's training philosophy. Given that I don't wear a watch (except for some interval sessions on the track - and not all of those either!) and don't keep track of mileage (not weekly, not daily), I'd have a hard time staying in sync with one of Joe's training schedules.

On the other hand, I share Joe's racing philosophy: race at lots of different distances to get stronger at any and all of them.

And we both like beer. A lot.

Had an Aunt that got Pregnant at age 46, delivered at age 47. This was 40 years ago. Healthy baby.

Next April my wife will be 42, which is the earliest we plan on becoming parents. The medical proffesion makes huge money playing off the fears of 40+ pregnancy's

Pregnancy is always a risk even at age 20, what happens happens I'm not worried.

Skate -

My wife delivered our first baby at age 45.5 years. He's a healthy 5 month old now.

Perhapos it is a mom's lifestyle that greatly influences a baby's health at birth?

Tinman

runfastcoach@gmail.com

I think your right. Healthy BMI, lifestyle, attitude that makes a huge difference. 45.5! That is wonderul.

Perhaps next year I'll be reporting some good news.

Thanks

Kristian,

I hope you are able to check this thread during the week. One other option you may have was suggested by one of our regional USATF guys who also coordinates many of the track meets. He said that it is perfectly legit to get your qualifier by running a FAT 5k on the track and stepping out of the race at the 3k mark. You would have to get the officials to record your 3k split, and it would also be good to check this with Mark Cleary, but the 3k split in a 5k race is often tracks in world record attempts and should be legit as a qualifier.

nyloco

Nyloco,

Thanks for the suggestion! That hadn't occurred to me. It so happens that the GA Tech Invitational is scheduled for this Friday night, so I'll see if I can still get in.

Thanks again,

Kristian

Kristian - Make SURE to check with Mark Cleary before doing this. Mark is super-picky when it comes to qualifying for these things. Sometimes, you'd almost think he was trying to make sure guys don't show up. I tried to get him to let some guys in the race who weren't going to be able to run 3000s by letting them use conversions from their 5000 times, and he nixed it. Now, hold on, I wasn't asking him to convert their 5000 time to a faster-paced 3000. I was just asking him to take 3/5 of their 5000 time and count that as qualifying, since they were sub-15 minute 5000 guys. He said no. So check with him. You don't want to get what you think is a qualifying time, and then discover that Mark won't accept it.

this is a great site for info

Greetings from Milano, northern Italy!

I've been on a field trip through Italy, France, Switzerland and Austria looking at significant geological hazards and challenges (landslides, tunnels, etc) for the last 1.5 weeks or so. A lot of the running has been at 3000-4500 ft, in beautiful surroundings. I managed 95-96 miles the week before last, and 65-66 last week.

Last week I stumbled across a rubberized track in Aosta, Italy and couldn't believe my luck, but I managed to trip over a concrete block and wound myself, nicking a fairly large blood vessel on my shin. That caused me to shit-can my workout plans (I continued to try after finding a bandage, but it bled too much). Earlier this week Ifound another track in Longarone, Italy, but it was locked up tight as a drum, with two (TWO!) security fences, so I did some speed work on the road instead.

Last night I discovered that the big park in Milano near my hotel has beautiful track inside an ancient stone and brick arena. I started a session but the place closed after my warmup. Tonight I'll go a little earlier.

Next weekend (1.5 weeks) I'll race 10k Saturday and then pace someone in the marathon Sunday (maybe halfway or more, depending on the requested pace). Hopefully I'll be over any jetlag (I get home tomorrow late).

Have a great week, everyone!

Wow, that's pretty harsh to not allow the 3/5 conversion!

The Boston High Performance series might be easier for Kristian to travel to from Atlanta. They will have a 3k on May 18th, and at least one good master (Chris Mattingly) will be running it in addition to a bunch of college and club guys. Nate Jenkins is even running, so there should be some fast times. They don't offer the 3k at the May 24th meet, but they will have it again at the 3rd meet on June 7th, which is pretty much the last minute for the Trials entries. I was thinking about running, but I think I'm doing a local 5k with my 8 year old daughter, who told me she wants to try a 5k after beating the fastest boy in her grade in a mile run this week.

It you do the last minute thing at Boston, I would go ahead and enter with your current time (which you don't feel is fast enough) to get most of the paperwork taken care of, and then FAX Mark an updated time from this meet.

http://www.bostonhighperformanceseries.com/

Thanks for the heads-up, SoCal Pete. You were right on. After I emailed him yesterday, Mark replied saying that he didn't want to "open Pandora's box" by letting me do that. Looks like I'll need to run another 3000 after all.

And thanks for the tip on the Boston meets, nyloco. I probably won't be able to make it to Boston this weekend, but may consider the June 7 meet.

Must be some great running indeed in all those mountainous areas. The views must be stunning.

It is starting to look as if the Cerritos 3K is going to be one for the ages.

I believe that Danny Gonzalez was allowed to use his 3K split in the 5K at the Boxer Invitational on May 2nd. Again, I stress I believe, but the split is the same.

From a local (Portland) message board -

"Chuck and Danny ran the 5000m and I believe they included their times for the 3000m enroute to the 5000.

3000m

1 Gonzalez, Daniel Unattached 9:09.49

2 Coats, Chuck Complete Running 9:30.72 "

If you look at the status of the entries on the USATF website Danny's time is the same.

I've got a little problem if on one hand he does not want to open "Pandora's Box" and on the other hand he has allowed at least one entrant on the list to do that. Just apply the standards equally.

For those in the NW looking for an opportunity there will be a 3K at the Portland Track Festival on May 31st. Scheduled for 4:00pm.

Kristian,New York Road Runners has a 3K in each of its Tuesday-night summer series at Icahn.

Tuesday, May 20 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay

Tuesday, June 3 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay

Tuesday, June 10 - 1500m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4 x 400m relay

These are hand-timed affairs, but if you contacted NYRR and maybe some other locals from, say NYAC, Central Park, and Westchester, perhaps a fast, FAT thing could be set up.

Masters Friends,

Can anyone tell me what the normal age verification process is for elite level masters competition in the U.S.

Mainly I am talking about the masters division in road races such as the Boston Marathon, Twin Cites, Falmouth, Peachtree, etc. Several of these race have significant masters prize money.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject.

Mark

I agree with Boy Wonder. The rules under Qualifying Standards state that:

"To apply for entry into masters invitational events, you must have met the following standards in 2007 or 2008 (priority will be given to times run in 2008). Fully automatic timing (F.A.T.) is the only method of timing acceptable for qualifying marks." Relay splits may not be used for qualifying.

Event Standard Field Size

Masters Men's 3,000m 9:35.00 12 with 3 alternates"

The rule does not require the 3k standard be met in a 3k race, and as my USATF official contact said, using a 3k split in a 5k race is perfectly legitimate as long as the race is FAT and the split is properly recorded. So to me, it's not just a question of applying the standards equally, it's a matter of creating an additional rule that goes beyond the USATF rulebook.

[quote]Boy Wonder wrote:

I've got a little problem if on one hand he does not want to open "Pandora's Box" and on the other hand he has allowed at least one entrant on the list to do that. Just apply the standards equally. [quote]