50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

amkelley,

Start by balancing inside a door frame or squat rack, and add progression from there. You could do it overtime.

Igy

amkelley wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Bosu ball:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iwnNQOIKIZc

They've got to be kidding. I can't even balance on one leg reliably on solid ground, much less on a bosu ball.

Balance work is best done barefoot. Relax your foot and let the toes spread out for stability. If still unstable, do foot circles and massage calves to loosen up the ankle.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Outdoor training is getting challenging with morning temperatures in the lows 20s and late in the week a dusting of snow.

Igy

Sounds downright balmy. It would have to get a lot worse before I’d move indoors. I guess it all depends on what you’re used to.

I am racing 800m in four weeks, sounds downright smart.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I am racing 800m in four weeks, sounds downright smart.

Each to his own. Coming from someone with tons of indoor experience, I’d train outside as long as it’s available. Most agree it’s much healthier, assuming you don’t have any underlying conditions.

Syracuse,

I believe a fall on the ice is a far greater threat to my health than the banked turns. Likewise confident of my experience.

Igy

Igy and Syracuse,

I lived in Rochester, NY for 12 years and I ran outdoors every day of the year for about nine years--until the day I slipped on an unseen patch of ice and crashed. I was knocked out cold with a concussion and suffered a fractured humerus and two broken fingers. After that I used the indoor track quite a lot. I hated running indoors but figured doing so was better training than sitting on the sofa recovering from an injury after a crash.

amkelley,

Thanks. Some one fell about five minutes before us on a Boise bridge ten years ago. Compound fracture. Last winter was rather severe here, the surgeons were busy with ice falls. I understand both the benefits and risks of the banked track and I am doing my best to balance, and will accept the results if I make a training mistake. Besides it is pretty nice to run in a t-shirt and shorts for a couple of hours in the middle of an Idaho winter. I downhill ski as well, with that and racing makes the winter pass quickly.

Igy

In regards to falls, one of the bigger risks running trails in winter is tripping on frozen dirt or ice. The translucent color make it hard to see and on the downhill especially hazardous.

KP wrote:

Happy Holidays Ye Old Masters Friends.

If you wish for one gift to keep you motivated and inspired for a happy new running year do ask Santa to get you Jonathan Beverly's latest book Run Strong Stay Hungry. Features Mike F, Pete Magill, KP, and truly each and every one of us.

Here's a few links. If you listen to the podcast go to Episode 41.

https://www.velopress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/RSSH_400x600.jpghttps://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strength-running-podcast/id1170932252?mt=2

Like you KP, I am flattered to have some of my lifelong running experience included in Run Strong Stay Hungry...a fabulously constructed and easy to read tome specifically directed to us 40/50/60 plus-ers

I got nothing fancy to report from the week past...ran 40 miles with two anaerobic threshold-esque sessions...one 7 miles, another 8 miles...both on the high school track

Rapidly closing in on 1,900 old guy miles for the year...mostly just grateful to be in motion...sloth-like though it may be.

Train don't strain ;)

MF

Allen1959 wrote:

RE: introducing squats.

I am so weak, and my knees so sore, my PT suggested this to start: Back against a door, feet shoulder-width apart and about 18 inches out. Slowly slide your back down the door as your thighs approach parallel to the floor, then use your quads to straighten your legs to a standing position, with some of your weight still against the door. Ten reps twice a day.

An actual squat remains a fantasy for now. As is rising from a chair unassisted. Hope to see some improvement soon.

Last time I did squats a few years ago I strained my knee and couldn't run let alone walk right for a few weeks. Since aging into my late 50s, I've had to virtually cut out almost all free weights and use machines so I don't get hurt. And with machines I have make sure I sit firmly on the seat so I don't fall out! And just the other day I was doing some leg curls (high reps/low weight) and strained my hamstring. A couple of young HS girls using another machine next to me starting laughing their "you know what" off at me. ?

It's far cry from 30 or so years ago when I was a young cat and could lift free weights with the best of them. It's amazing what this aging crap can do to you. Mentally, I feel 25 with a ton of energy & motivation, but the body doesn't cooperate and rudely reminds me of just how old I'm getting. And God forbid when you do get hurt with strains, sprains, etc, what would take days or a week or two at most to fully heal up in our youth now can take several weeks or even months to get back in the saddle.

Age-related degenerative changes in the musculoskeletal system is what science calls it

?

I think I need to re-think my beginning squat routine! I started with 2 sets/8 with 60# on a bar. It felt kind of hard. I like the idea of starting off with just body weight or a very light bar!

A very easy week here. 31.5 miles of easier steady runs with M-T off. My only goal for the rest of the year is to get to 2400 miles for my yearly total. I'm sitting at 2313 right now so I just need to avg 6.2/day for the next 2 weeks. I'll have a few long driving days down south next week so I might try to load up this week and get ahead a bit. 2400 will tie my lowest yearly total since 2002 when I began my comeback of sorts. I would like to get the miles back up closer to 2800-3000 next year. I've got a feeling all of those 40'ish mile weeks I've been doing since July haven't done anything for my racing results! I might have gotten one decent mile race out of it but the low miles hurt everything else. The first 6 months of the year were all in the 240's which got me to a pretty good place. Its all about the miles!

M: Off

T: Off

W: 4 Miles in 32:02 [8:00 per mile]

T: 5 Miles in 39:00 [7:48 per mile]

F: 7.5 Miles in 58:35 [7:48 per mile]

S: 8 Miles in 1:02:40 [7:50 per mile]

S: 5 Miles in 39:08 [7:49 per mile]

Thats it from here. Have a good week!

Dave

One thing about living in Arizona and being a road racer, the weather channel is hardly ever needed. The 30-35 years that I ran and raced in Indiana, in the days leading up to any race, the weather channel was my constant companion.

I volunteer 10 or 12 races a year and race at the Arizona Road Racers events and for the first time in the 6 years that I have lived here, I found myself watching the weather channel.

Sunshine on either side of the week but this little 3 hour period...just at the right time.

5 in the morning to 8 in the morning it was going to rain.....one of those cold rains.

I have this theory that if you live in Arizona long enough, your blood thins and what would be balmy to most experienced road runners is Antarctic to the Arizonian...non-scoentific to be sure.

I nearly froze to death in that 3 hour period setting up the registration area and aid stations in that cold 50 degree rain...

Illuminated by the headlights of the equipment truck I put the table, chairs, water, gatorade out at the aid stations.....

I can remember being a race director for many winter events back home where it was much much colder, but you get so use to heavenly weather out west that any little disturbance seems like a blizzard.

In the ARR the volunteers can race to, they wait and give the volunteers minus the aid station folks a chance to register and run...thats how I finally got warm.

Over 1600 miles for the year too..so ..good year

Hope to be a ARR volunteer for the summer series and races all next year too.....

Mon. My wife dropped me off at the lake after work and I footed it home, 10.7 km in 1 h 17 m with an easy 3 km jog and another easy 1.5 km jog included.

Tue. am. 29 min. kayak session on the lake.

lunchtime. Stopped in Tooborac on the way down to Melbourne to visit my mum.

I hiked a brisk 6 km downhill then turned and ran 3.6 km solid uphill, 400 m downhill walk recovery then a solid 2 km uphill finishing with a 1 km barefoot stroll. Total session 1 h 37 m for 12 km. 400 metres elevation gain on the return leg.

Wed. am. 34 min mountain bike ride.

lunchtime. 1 h 9 m mountain bike ride. 39 deg C by the end.

evening. Social run in Bendigo before starting my night shift. 9 km in 50 min finished with a couple of laps of barefoot jog and backward jog on the grass infield of the velodrome. 37 C when we started 35 when we finished.

Thu. pm. 39 min mountain bike ride. 1 h 28 m, 9.7 km hiking up and down the Mc Ivor Range, steep and rocky. Included a 1 km uphill jog uphill and a 3 km downhill run. 350 metres elevation gain.

Fri. pm. 40 min kayak session on the lake then I hiked home including a 3 km jog, 8.4 km in 1 h 5 m. I planned to ride back to pick up the car but my wife had arranged for us to meet friends at the pub so got a lift down there later on.

Sat. My UK friend Fiona and her Aussie hubby Chris were joining me in a trail race not too far from my place.

13.3 km, hilly with lots of single track a few creek crossings, sections of man made stairs, tree roots, rocks. 29 C at race start time and about 32 C at the end.

Fiona managed a strong 3d woman (age 49!!) and 13th overall, Chris 15th. Me? I couldn't keep up with them and finished 3 min behind Chris in 25th place overall and 2d O55, O55 winner was 14th a bit over 3 mins in front of me.

My race felt pretty average. I seemed to struggle up the hills but maybe I am being hard on myself as I had no one pass me uphill. In fact from the 2 km mark I was not passed by anyone until just after 12 km. I had picked up a shadow who hung on from 3 km until 12.4. He took off on the downhill bitumen to the finish and left me for dead. A guy I passed at 11 km kicked back and beat me in a dash for the line.

Sun. A brief spin on the mountain bike (45 min) after our guests headed off and before heading to Melbourne for my grand daughter"s 12th birthday party,

I usually do 20 or so b/w squats and 10 each leg split squats before my runs, rides, paddles. I usually do the same after if my legs aren't trashed. I also do stepups a few box jumps, planks, pushups etc. It doesn't take long, it works as a good warmup and doesn't leave the legs / body sore.

Sad Old Cat wrote:

And just the other day I was doing some leg curls (high reps/low weight) and strained my hamstring.

In my humble opinion, a leg curl machine is very dangerous to runners. In your running motion, your muscles are contracted in an eccentric motion (when your knee is extended). If that does not make much sense, think of a dumbbell arm curl and see what happens to your biceps when you are extending your elbows.

A leg curl machine does not work the eccentric motion properly. A seated machine is especially bad, since it exclusively works on the concentric motion. I wish I had never touched that machine, since I suspect that working on that machine contributed to my chronic hamstring problems. A lying machine is a little better, but still should be handled with extreme caution. I raise the bar with both legs, and lower it with one leg, very slowly (2-3 seconds). I think this gives enough loading on the eccentric phase. A better way to do a leg curl is to use a Swiss ball. And a better way to use the leg curl machine is to do glute press.

As for squat, I have alternated #5 and #8 on this progression, using steppers instead of a box. I started with a platform and five risers (about knee high), and took off one riser after each month until I could do it with only the platform. (About 4" high.) I could do it on a floor only on my left side, since my right side is less flexible. That's something I should work on.

I have also been doing barbell back squats for about 2 1/2 years. I started with 95x5, focusing on the form. Initially, I could add 5lbs a week, and went up to 145x5 in three months. Of course, I had to slow down after a while, but I have now reached 180x5. My goal is to get up to 195x5, since that will get me to the status of "proficient" in this standard.

Okay. So much for the strength training.

M: off.

T: 6 miles.

W: 6 miles.

R: off.

F: 6 miles.

SA: off.

SU: 8.8 miles. (Last 1k @ 4:43.)

I ran four times as I planned, but I was too busy to do any cross training. And once again, I did some pickup at the end of my Sunday's run, and got 10 sec faster than last week. I plan to run 5 times this week, and hopefully one day of cross training.

Hi all,

This is my first post on the tread but I have dropped in now and again to see what folks are up to. Now I am posting because I have a marathon in a month and am obsessing a bit. More than a bit.

Training has gone well since I started back running at New Years, only missing six weeks due to a hamstring strain following a pretty good half marathon. But I've had a couple of good months since then and am feeling optimistic. I turned 60 this year and hope to sneak under 3 hours at the Houston Marathon. It's a nice round number, so that's good enough for me!

Anyhow, this is my last week of real training before a three week taper. I did a marathon of 8:45s today, so that's a good start for the week. I've tried to keep my weekly miles around 85-95 and have been mostly successful.

All right, that's enough bragging on my training. It does feel good to reach out to others that might appreciate what I am trying to do. Most folks just don't quite get it, and you can't really explain. If I hear, "Do you think you can get a Boston Qualifier?" one more time... :-)

Explain a marathon of 8:45s.

Old Walker wrote:

It does feel good to reach out to others that might appreciate what I am trying to do.

Yes, I think folks here can definitely appreciate what you're trying to do. There may be two or three of us with "sub-3 at 60" in mind.

Your mileage is impressive; I am curious about your background and how long a lay-off you had before January. Former race walker? How long did it take to build up to 90 mpw?

I am thinking I will need a consistent 60 mpw to have a shot at 3 hours (20 months from now). In 45 years of running I have never managed that for more than a few weeks. All-time high was 70 miles at age 23.