50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

SCgal wrote:

I have three breaks in my ankle and torn ligaments. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. His preliminary assessment is no weight bearing for about 8 weeks. At least 6 months to be back running, no time frame yet for racing.

Best wishes for your surgery today. May the healing be swift and total! In the meantime, your contributions here will be missed.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Idaho Senior Games 5k on the 19th. After that a two week break which includes backpacking. Then I plan a build-up for Spokane. A couple of fall road races, BSU indoor meets this winter. Mostly an extension of what I have been doing. I would like to get my Igy miles to 70, and drop the weight to the low 150s (165 now).

Igy, what events are you racing on the 19th? All this "track talk," and watching the the World Championships, has me missing the ol' oval! Congrats on your races last week, BTW! Your workouts seem to be working well for you.

Regarding weight, when I was seriously competing in my 40s, my weight was 164. It's 155 now, and my age-graded race times are better than ever. Wish I had been this light back in 2003.

Allen1959,

Thanks much appreciated. Your training is working well for you too. I think the way you structured your training micro-cycles and meso-cycles is well thought out.

I am racing the 5k road on August 19th. I was competitive in my age group about a decade ago when my weight was in the low 150s, usually 152-155. So I have 10-15 pounds to get to optimal masters weight, which would still be 10 pounds over my young man racing weight, but a sufficient compromise to age.

Life priorities got in the way of my "athletic career" in my early 60s, that and the aging process caused me to revamp my program. Hard or uneven surfaces seem to exacerbate any biomechanical deficiencies. The Boise High track is soft and accessible. I also seem to thrive on the type of training I did as a young man. I warm-up, recover, and cool-down running in the opposite direction to manage the curve discrepancies. On recovery days cross training seems to work better than easy running.

Igy

SCgal wrote:

I post on this forum to share the joys and sorrows of being an aging runner. Life is too short and difficult to waste time being negative and none of us has to read what is written here. I hope we can continue to encourage and support each other and leave petty disagreements off this forum. I may be more of a lurker for a while but I'll be keeping up with your posts so keep up the good work. Maybe I'll see you at US XC in Tallahasse?

SC Gal, those are my thoughts exactly. I started posting to leave negativity behind and enjoy the positive thoughts and encouragement. I have scrolled way back to previous posts and found a few bits of nastiness but since the positive is about 95% of the posts, I'm here. I hope you heal up as quickly as possible.

Coyote, I tried to make it clear that I support each person's choice. For some reason, you edited out the part where I voiced support for those who continue competing. I'm not sure why you did that. My comments were simply a reflection of the recent tone of the thread as it pertained to injuries.

Each of us is an experiment of one. Though I am healthy and presumably capable, I have made the conscious decision to forgoe the training I would require to be competitive again. Though I've competed in countless races in my lifetime, I've always been someone who enjoyed running for the sheer joy of it. I'm a "run for fun" guy.

I understand others have a different philosophy about their running and I completely support that. There is a certainty that comes from challenging the stopwatch at any age. I get that and I do enjoy reading about the race results of my fellow 50+ers. Those represent hard and fast empirical data that can be objectively compared, unlike medals earned in Turkey Trots or the Podunk State Championships.

I hope you continue to enjoy your training and racing, even when you get to be my age. All the best to you.

^ Guess who?

@Allen Nice 15k really supports your 5k and your sub 3 goal. Also low weight is tough as we get older. You on a special diet or ?

@Igy way to rock those 1200s

I think the common link besides age is we all identify with still wanting to crank it up. This is my best come back yet. Not so much in terms of age graded performance but pure enjoyment of being fit again and being able to do hard workouts.

Charlie wrote:

Nice 15k really supports your 5k and your sub 3 goal. Also low weight is tough as we get older. You on a special diet or ?

Thanks, Charlie. If knee and achilles issues weren't limiting my mileage, I would definitely be aiming for sub-3, but, realistically, my revised goal of 3:05 will be a huge challenge.

I have no special diet, but in my 40s I was still working a desk job. Now I do hands-on architectural restoration work, so I am active all day long. Lots of really hard physical labor. My caloric intake barely keeps up, especially with daily running/biking. I have also reintroduced some limited weight training.

Perhaps the only thing unusual about my diet are the five eggs I eat daily. Our chickens lay six eggs, and my wife usually just eats one. My cholesterol levels are stellar ... the old rap on eggs simply wasn't accurate. Also, my wife makes a gallon of yogurt every weekend ... super tasty, but I am liberal at adding homemade preserves or local maple syrup to it, so lots of calories there.

Yes, I agree that beyond the challenges of goal-setting and age-group competition, that feeling of fitness and health is the best thing about running. And cycling, too, which I may be prioritizing as I heal up after the marathon!

Charlie,

Thanks. I have to get ready for another Podunk State Championsips! LOL.

Igy

icars wrote:

^ Guess who?

Yes, that is Mr. Mike Long. He competed on the same national championship cross country team as Steve Prefontaine at UO. You should ask him about his Pre stories, bet he has some good ones.

Igy

icars,

Here is Mike, kneeling lower right, with some Oregon track legends.

http://www.google.com/search?q=mike+long+steve+prefontaine&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#imgrc=iFv9J4rieK2GMM:&spf=1502409005757

Mike was good in the track steeplechase and 5k.

Hey Mike Long what were your best times? Give us some Pre stories.

Igy

Felt that one paragraph wasn't relevant, not attempting to misconstrue your earlier statement. I like this thread because it is supportive of masters runners of a wide range of fitness and ability. It has had its ups and downs in its years here and we've been in sort of a funk as of late but I hope the positive nature here continues. At some point I'll no doubt out there running just to run and actually look forward to that.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

icars wrote:

^ Guess who?

Yes, that is Mr. Mike Long. He competed on the same national championship cross country team as Steve Prefontaine at UO. You should ask him about his Pre stories, bet he has some good ones.

Igy

It's not the same Mike Long. Just as you're not Mihály Iglói. I don't think he made that claim.

Surely you knew that. What's your point?

icars wrote:

What is your problem? I've looked back through this thread and never found a post where Mike Long said anything to you to deserve this vitriol. What am I missing? Is it true that you're still peeved because he beat you in a race once? What do you have against him? I'd honestly like to know so that I can perhaps understand your behavior towards him.

So you're rude to this fellow because he has the same name as someone who once beat you in a race?

no longer stressed wrote:

So you're rude to this fellow because he has the same name as someone who once beat you in a race?

no longer stressed,

Your feeble attempt at trolling makes a lazy summer day so enjoyable. I really should not enjoy messing with you and your alter ego Mike Long so much. Unfortunately many on this thread take you far too seriously, and are far too polite. I trust this post will not make this a "stressed" three day weekend.

Igy

Guys, can we get back to talking about training and racing, and not who said what to whom that got stirred up about whatever. It becomes too much of a chicken vs. egg thing of when it started and who's to finish.

That said, SCgal, sad about your surgery, but hope it's going great today, sounds like the surgeon could see all the issues up front and won't be missing anything. Hope you can find some stationary exercise device for your upper body (the old Schwinn Air-Dynes or arm cranking cycles?).

Allen1959, are your chickens free-range and fed without antibiotics and growth steroids? I'd think that can be part of how it keeps your blood cholesterol in great shape, too, plus maybe you aren't frying them in lard or bacon grease? Great race, too, BTW.

KP, all the best this weekend and hope there's no injuries to limit you.

Mike Long, I know at one time I thought I was tired of the injury cycle so would just run "easy" but that didn't make me feel truly and fully alive. By running fast or running long or racing, it just added so much more enjoyment to the act of running. Just my take, anyhow. And for me, who struggles to hit 70% age graded, just racing against other locals in my age group helps keep it all fun, too, since I'll never set any national, or state records. I do feel I gain from running when I give back, thus keeping the state records for Missouri (not to brag).

Igy, sounds like you have run and raced for years, and just wondered, do you find that doing the longer track workouts (800 and longer) help you more nowadays, than the 200-400's? I have a hard time getting motivated to do the longer ones, though I understand that they have the greater aerobic benefits for races longer than a mile.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

no longer stressed wrote:

So you're rude to this fellow because he has the same name as someone who once beat you in a race?

no longer stressed,

Your feeble attempt at trolling makes a lazy summer day so enjoyable. I really should not enjoy messing with you and your alter ego Mike Long so much. Unfortunately many on this thread take you far too seriously, and are far too polite. I trust this post will not make this a "stressed" three day weekend.

Igy

So now all of a sudden, I'm the cause of your bad behavior? It's time you took a long hard look in the mirror.

Mike Lundgren,

Yes, I started competitive running at Paul Revere Junior High on a track marked off on a grass field. It was 1965 and a 600 yard race. I believe I started way too fast and rigor mortis set in shortly thereafter.

I find the 800m-1,200m at 1,600m-5,000m race pace more beneficial. Last week I believe, there was a discussion concerning acquisition of anaerobic lactate endurance. My view is it simply takes more specific training and concentration to properly absorb the training. I find the shorter repetition 200m-500m, and short tempo runs of 800m-2,000m all building blocks to get there. At least this is a summary of what I think will work for me.

Igy