50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Very sorry about your DX Iggy. My co-workers husband got that diagnosed about 5 years ago with very few symptoms. The hardest part for them has been the frustrating shoulder-shrug from the docs who have not been very clear on the treatment plan. He’s doing well though. For that reason, I’d never trust the word of one doc, get multiple opinions and question everything they say.

Congrats KP and Cush! Damn!

lucKY: I’ve used my injury time to work on something I consider every bit as important as training: diet. It’s at LEAST 50% of it, probably more.

Slow running progress continues: Tu, Th, Sa, Su: 11, 12, 13, and 14 min of running respectively on those days with 50 pushups/crunches. Treadmill today as we are In the middle of a brewing ice-storm here in good old SW VA. A little over a month ago I started taking the Gluco/chron/msm combo and went off my statin. Coincidence my heel is less sore?? Or did I simply give it enough time to heal? Or did the weight loss help? Also, I stopped stretching and stopped generally messing with my foot period. More than a few times I’ve taken the sage advice I received many years ago from my coach: “Stop f*cking with it and just run!”.

Have a good week folks and hope I still have power by Superbowl time!

Prays for all especially those dealing with illness.

What a day in Tallahassee, beautiful weather but the challenge was the course very tough.

I managed to finished 2nd in 55-59 AG and kudos to Nate Larson who was untouchable in that AG with a

27:39 and 3rd overall & AG 90.23 %. Could not achieve sub 30 goal but grinded out a 30:18 for 28th overall and

85.20% For 9th in that category.

Our 50+ team made the podium with 3rd overall kudos to Greater Springfield 1st team & Cal Coast

2nd team lead by Cushing- Murray 27:51 who is on his way back up to par.

Blessings to all & have good recovery week from the hard race effort.

http://pttiming.com/events/87930534

KP wrote:

Really good when Cush honored me with a local beer from Proof Brew Co. on the spot near the podium.

Thats the first thing I noticed on your FB pic. KP cracking a cold one at the finish line! Enjoyed all the race reports and pic's from everyone on FB. Almost... made me wish I was there.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I should have a treatment plan in place within the next couple of weeks. Chemo therapy will be at the center and I will make adjustments to work, coaching and running as tolerated.

I know you wish me well and I plan to continue to post my training and relevant news. I have no intention of making my posts a personal cancer blog.

Igy, Sorry to hear you are going thru this. Do keep us updated. Kick. It's. @ss!

Week one of my Tinman plan is in the books. Same plan I did the past two years that got me to a pretty good place. I think things went well. Gaining some hope and confidence as the runs are going better and the pains are being kept to a minimum. About 47 miles with a tempo, strides and a nice longer run.

6 miles @ 7:46/mi 24 deg/wc 16. Didn't feel too bad.

8 miles @ 7:24/mi: 4 miles @8:00 + 3 miles @ Tempo Pace (19:44;641,634,629)+ 1 mile 7:30. TM.

5.1 miles @ 8:20/mi. 36deg/breezy. Didn't feel very easy.

8 miles @ 7:46/mi: 6.5 miles steady 8:00's then 8 x 15 seconds @ 5:36 pace last 1.5. TM.

5 miles @ 7:52/mi. AM. Got it done early with a busy day ahead. TM.

10.5 miles @ 7:33/mi. A pretty good run. First 1/2 into a cold headwind. Last 3 723,721,716. 20deg/wc9

4.5 miles @ 7:56/mi. Treadmilled it. Cold, windy, icy & snow outside.

This weeks plan calls 49 miles with some tempo miles on Tues, strides on Thurs then my long run goes up to 11 miles on Saturday.

Have a good week,

Dave

Igy, getting older seems to always bring new and unexpected challenges. As others have said, I'm sure you will deal with this in the best possible way, and have prayers and positive thoughts for you from all of us.

Congratulations to all the people who ran the XC Champs. It looks like their were a lot of impressive performances.

I had a very good training week with an excellent work out yesterday with a group of the local old guys. 50 miles for the week.

M- 9 hills 10:10/mi ave

T- 9 hills 10:02/mi ave

W- 7 walk

Th- 4 recovery 9:54/mi ave

F- 4 recovery 9:48/mi ave

S- 10 with 2 w.u., 5x mile with 1/2 mile recover 6:36/mi ave, 1 w.d.

Su- 7 walk

Dardee... you ran great man. I never saw ya. Glad to meet a few good ATC folks from my old CLUB from way back Tucker Ga days. Let's get a West-Coast East-Coast something going for Spokane Dec 18 & Tallahassee Feb 19.

KP

Good luck with your treatment and path ahead Igy. Sorry to hear about the diagnosis, but sounds like you and the doctors are on it.

Nice job Socal Cush, Dardee, and KP at USATF Nats. Hope to be on hand next year--with the BRR 60+. Crikes getting old!

Have had consecutive weeks of 71, 75, and 79 (with volume over 10 hr this week). Missing out on some skiing this winter but the running is going well. Going to cut back a bit next week and also kick off my 2018 racing with a tune up 4 miler on the weekend.

Only did one true recovery run (a little under 7 on Monday), but did run easy a couple days--just a few extra miles. Did 6.5 mile tempo on Wednesday that indicated my pace is just where it was late summer and fall when I had a solid string of races. Ran some 800 m reps on the track yesterday at a sort of hard but not too hard effort and closed with a couple 300s (dodging the wind, had planned on 400s but 15 mph headwind kicked up so I did 300s instead). And long run of 30 km today in cold (18F with some ice and fog)--I didn't particularly enjoy it but it wasn't torture either.

Igy, any cancer diagnosis is scary bad news, but as you and others have pointed out, some forms of cancer are now highly treatable and it sounds like yours is one of them. The treatment may be unpleasant but keep in mind that there are better days ahead.

SoCal Cush, Dardee, and KP, congrats on some fine running at XC. And Coyote, you’re really putting up some impressive mileage!

I had a good news/bad news week, limited to five days of running by my chronically injured, fragile Achilles heel. I did, however, manage to pack 61 miles into those five days including the longest single run since last spring (18.0 miles). Also, all five runs were done at slightly better than 9-minute mile pace, the first time I’ve managed that in a long while. There were times long in the past when I would have found it impossibly awkward to slow down to 9-minute mile pace, but hey, you live in the present and move forward as best you can.

Monday: 11.0 miles at 8:58 pace.

Tues: 10.9 miles at 8:53 pace.

Weds: 90 minutes on bike trainer after tweaking heel at gym in some unknown way.

Thurs: 11.0 miles at 8:48 pace.

Friday: 10.2 miles at 8:49 pace.

Sat: 18.0 miles at 8:58 pace. Finished strong and felt I could have kept going. Perfect weather, 42-44 degrees with little wind. Cool enough that I could easily go 18 miles without having to mess around with getting water, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable.

Sun: Heel rather unhappy after yesterday’s mileage, so bagged the idea of an easy recovery jog and did an easy 32 miles on road bike. First time since fall that it was almost warmer than desirable by the end of the ride. Spring is just around the corner, at least in my neck of the woods.

My recent training logs read like half-assed marathon training. My long runs are longer than necessary for half-marathons, but my weekly mileage is inadequate and my long runs are not quite long enough if I’m shooting for a full marathon. I think the reality is I’m just too fragile to run a marathon, but I continue to have hopes.

Half-marathon next Saturday, if my heel cooperates. I feel I have improved some since the start of the year, so it will be interesting to compare this to my New Year’s Even HM.

Go Eagles!

I just got back from Tallahassee after spending the night in ATL with a teammate. We stayed to watch the senior races and didn't get to ATL until after dark last evening. I don't like driving at night any more since I don't see very well in the dark (ugh) so I decided to crash with her. We had great time singing along to a video-promo for Time-Life 60s music CDs and watching SNL re-runs. Pretty sorry, huh?

I can't say that Tallahassee was my finest race, unlike KP, SoCal, and others. I had been limping around all week with sharp pain in the ball of my left foot. I couldn't push off at all. I took Tues-Thurs off and got a massage and PT, hoping to figure out what was going on. I thought I might have to scratch because I just couldn't run. As we stood in line waiting to check in to the hotel, I stretched my foot and felt a sharp pain and a crack. Something must have gone back into place because I could walk again. It was a miracle!

My foot was sore in the morning but wasn't a factor at all in the race. I'm just not in good racing shape yet. My AG was competitive with 3 teams vying for the Grand Prix title. My team finished 2nd based on a tie breaker based on our 4th runner. The 3rd place team didn't have one so we beat them. I was 2nd runner on my team but was 2 minutes slower than my time at Club Cross in '16 so I'm still a long way from where I want to be. I ran an 8:06 pace vs. the 8:30 that was my goal so I'm OK with my progress but I'm certainly not satisfied. I've got lots more work to do to be racing instead of just running...

Congratulations to all of you who toed the line and ran the 5-hump "hill" multiple times!

Thanks all.

Fine racing and looks as if better conditions than Club Nationals.

Weather spring like with temperatures in the upper 50s. Managed 14.5 miles mostly walking last week. Got off my new week (starts Sunday) with a six mile walk with the son on the Eagle Greenbelt. I should be able to get in over 20 miles this week.

Igy

Let me add my congrats on the excellent performances yesterday (and Condolences to my fellow 55-59ers who have Mr Larsen in our ag).

More progress for me this week. 4 mos of PT and the Achilles continues to improve. It’s all coming together so I hope to return to form again.

4 runs, 27 miles with 11 yesterday at 6:59 in 10 hideous degrees

3 swims totaling 4.75 miles with 2 today in sub 63

3 spins totaling 2.5 hrs

3 lifting sessions with 800 total sit-ups.

Have a good week everyone.

Greetings, friends. I had to quickly post my week's stats before heading out the door earlier, but wanted to log back on and share some thoughts.

My week was encouraging, logging nearly 24 miles in four runs, with the other three days on the elliptical. Yesterday my knee was quite painful again, so maybe I should back off a bit this week. But I did finish Saturday's run with a 7:56 mile, the first sub-8 in a long while. And today, my knee felt much better, and I finished with a 7:00-mile -- net downhill with a tailwind, but I will take it!

Igy -- Thoughts and prayers to you.

KP -- Congratulations on your AG podium in Tallahassee. Very impressive run. Every time I read these team-race reports I get fired up and wonder about hooking up with the GVH folks. Maybe when I'm M60.

MikeF -- Your 25 x 100 is intriguing. It's been decades since I ran repeats shorter than 800m, not counting short hills and strides. I'm debating whether to go back to what's worked recently, or shaking things up this go 'round.

Charlie -- How long have you been taking the Glucosamine Sulfate/D3 combo? I tried glucosamine for a few months with no joint improvement, but maybe it was the wrong stuff.

dhaaga -- You racked up some serious mileage this past week. What kind of hill repeats were those? In my 40s, very short and very steep hills with near-complete recovery I think really helped my strength and turnover. Last year, 3-minute gradual hills at vo2max were brutal, but a nice break from mile repeats.

Rtype -- Keep moving forward. Progress is good.

Dardee -- Congratulations on your great racing in Tallahassee. That is some fast running on a challenging course! Beyond my comprehension, really. And thanks for posting the results link.

Racerdb -- Looks like your rebuilding is going well. For the first week in February, especially!

old guy II -- That Saturday mile-repeat workout is really impressive. Good to have a training group for days like that. The last time I ran mile repeats with a group was 1981. So much better than all the solo miles since then.

Coyote -- That mileage is setting you up for a killer M60 year! I am looking to emulate you next year ... well, maybe not 79 mpw, but 60 would be nice.

amkelley -- As always, your overall volume is impressive, especially dealing with the achilles issues. I had to chuckle when you recalled 9-minute miles as once being "impossibly awkward," as I NEVER had that problem. I have always included a lot of very, very slow miles. Even in high school I would start my warmup a half hour before the rest of the team because I needed to start out so slowly. Looking forward to you half marathon report.

SCgal -- Your return to racing is remarkable. Congrats on your finishing place, and beating your goal.

not half fast -- Kudos for doing so well with the cross-training/ And sub-7 for 11 miles is not a bad place to be.

Well, I guess I'll turn on the Super Bowl. My wife has some money riding on the quarterly scoring, and that's about the extent of my interest in it! Be well, get well and stay well.

Allen1959, hope you have a good week.

Igy sorry to hear that news. Congrats on those who raced XC. I am not sure I'll ever get to do that as long as I coach.

I had a solid week here 40 miles running, 73 on the bike. Have kind of fallen into a pattern of running fast and recovering by racewalking. Since I am a skilled walker it works well. Most of the week was on TM. Walking in snow does not work and the track was not clear

Mon 4 miles RW 42:00

Tue 2-4-1 4@7:05 +15 bike

Wed 4 miles RW 42:00 +17 bike

Thu 8*600 @6:40 pace 2:00 rest

Fri 4 miles RW 42:00 +16 Bike

Sat 10 miles 75:23 16 degrees out and back 2nd have avg 7:22. Have not run a long run this fast in 51 weeks

Sun 25 miles on the trainer on my new Tarmac - hit a max of 500 watts for 10 seconds as well as a max of 590 when I got done my FTP was rest 15 points higher PM 4 miles RW 42:00

9 weeks until national duathlon at 190 need to keep dropping

I take Schiff Glucosamine 2000 mg Plus Vitamin D3 Coated Tablet but I really can't say if it is better or worse than other brands.

Bone broth I am pretty enthused about. Bio availability man it is all about Bio availability

After posting my week I went and crushed 2 x the lighthouse 2:41,2:51 which means nothing to anyone besides me ;) I think it is like doing 800s on the track shorter but steeper with some nice views

http://www.obec.com/survey/heceta-head-lighthouse.html

Phoenix Rising wrote:

Allen1959, hope you have a good week.

And you as well! I actually meant to ask you about the stair machine. I stepped on one, briefly, at the YMCA, and couldn't figure it out. The pedals seem to depress in slow motion, like the maximum speed would be 10 steps per minute. Obviously I'm not very bright!

Michael Rohl -- nice week. 500 watts?! I don't know how accurate the YMCA machines are, but I max at 200. Good luck with the weight loss. It will make a big difference, for sure.

Allen1959 wrote:

I had to chuckle when you recalled 9-minute miles as once being "impossibly awkward," as I NEVER had that problem. I have always included a lot of very, very slow miles. Even in high school I would start my warmup a half hour before the rest of the team because I needed to start out so slowly.

This is why my husband calls me "one-speed Annie". It doesn't matter whether it's running, cycling, swimming, walking, or hiking, I have basically one speed that I can maintain pretty much all day but have a very hard time varying in either direction. We don't run together but we walk and hike a lot and sometimes cycle, and he is often bemused at my inability to either speed up or slow down. Currently in training runs, I have to just about kill myself to get down to 8:40 per mile while 9:20 per mile feels very slow. Thank goodness I do race somewhat faster than I train--racing and training seem almost like two separate activities. However, my half-marathon race pace is not much different from my pace in a flat-out one-mile race!

Allen1959 wrote:

Phoenix Rising wrote:

Allen1959, hope you have a good week.

And you as well! I actually meant to ask you about the stair machine. I stepped on one, briefly, at the YMCA, and couldn't figure it out. The pedals seem to depress in slow motion, like the maximum speed would be 10 steps per minute. Obviously I'm not very bright!

Michael Rohl -- nice week. 500 watts?! I don't know how accurate the YMCA machines are, but I max at 200. Good luck with the weight loss. It will make a big difference, for sure.

I adjusted the speed to 66 steps per minute, or a little over a step per second. That started out as a comfortable pace but after awhile became tiring, then exhausting. Too many people grip on to the handles and hold on for dear life. I make myself do it with no handles. I'll admit close to the end (the last 200 steps) I'm holding on for support. At first I didn't really think it was going to be much of a workout. I have changed my mind - the stair mill is for real. I plan on keeping it in my workout plan when I'm feeling a bit achy after high impact. 2000 steps is a killer.

igy, best of luck with the new challenge--hope it doesn't interfere with your hopes to run carlsbad and venture down here to socal and visit joe.

a beautiful day in tallahassee, even though i came up slightly short of overall goal. can't tell you how much fun it was to be in a pack of guys near the overall lead--castille was running his own race, of course--and to see the pack predominated by 50+ dudes. in fact, the first to drop from our pack of around 5-7 were the 40s guys, i think from new jersey. teammates nat larson (55), kent lemme (52), and mark hixson really put me in distress, even though i was able to match their first couple of moves over the last mile, but their third move was the charm. felt like i had them where i wanted, but i couldn't close the deal like my 40 year old self. getting closer though. impressive running by the 50s though as we filled up 4 of the top 6 spots overall!

enjoyed a beer with kp afterwards at the course, and hung out with the genessee valley harriers later in the evening, and late into the evening. these trips never get old, even though i am....

carpe crepusculem,

cush

hi Allen. i almost always do hills on treadmill so i can control recovery time and/or mess around with things like making the hill steeper as the workout goes along.

anyway, last week it was a workout i poached from a master [sorry, name not handy] from Florida who used it in prepping for Boston marathon despite living in flat area himself:

"6's/7"s"

i., e., one set is

90 seconds at marathon pace at 6% grade

60 seconds recover

60 seconds at marathon pace at 7% grade

2:00 recover

last week I did 10 sets, which is i think tied for the most i've done on this one. usually if I haven't done it in a while I start with 5

cheers,

Dave

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dhaaga -- You racked up some serious mileage this past week. What kind of hill repeats were those? In my 40s, very short and very steep hills with near-complete recovery I think really helped my strength and turnover. Last year, 3-minute gradual hills at vo2max were brutal, but a nice break from mile repeats.