50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Allen,

Race with about 2000 runners. Finished 2nd overall to a guy I beat last year on a flat course. Not a good climber but was happy with the effort. As for the injuries, I'm always slightly injured but have somehow managed them well the last 2 years. Can't remember how it felt to run injury free. Ran a sub 1.16 half last year with a messed up hamstring. Doubt I would have run any faster if healthy. The hamstring really made me focus on good form.

Allen,

Lots of races the next 2 months but all are more or less training runs. Too hot to have good times but they are still fun events. Usually take it easy the first half and push hard the second. Want to sub 1.16 a HM sometime during the end of the year is my only goal. Did it last year(

https://my4.raceresult.com/87514/?lang=en#2_5147DC

- First 5 were Kenyans and I was tied for 11 ) when temps dropped below 72 F on race day. If I can find a couple races in December and I get lucky with temps, I'll have a decent chance.

Hope Your achilles has improved.

Big Mango, I was impressed with your 1:22 but sub 1:16 is remarkable under the conditions you're facing. For what it's worth, my HM PR was 1:18:59 at age 33 on a fast course under pretty good conditions. I hope you can get what passes for decent weather in your part of the world and have another shot at it!

*Week 364*

Greetings, 50+ers! As we embark on the 8th year of this thread (and a few more from its predecessor), I'm always thankful for the good discussion week-to-week; last week was no exception. Props on the impressive Bolder Boulder results from last week. Welcome Arthritic Old Runner, I'll add to the unanimity that there is no threshold for posting; that's not what this is about. There's a broad spectrum of abilities both among the regular posters and even more so among those infrequent posters. The broader the representation of experiences of racing and training as we age, the better, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm inching my miles back up slowly as I incorporate some deliberate walking, as well. With 23.1 miles of running on 5 days, the log reads as such:

Sun: Off

Mon: 5.0 easy (8:21/mi)

Tue: 4.5 easy-to-moderate (7:48/mi avg)

Wed: 3.1 easy-to-moderate (7:51/mi) got caught in a soaker

Thu: Off

Fri: 5.2 easy-to-moderate (8:09/mi avg) 99% humidity

Sat: 5.2 easyish (8:08/mi avg)

Also continued adding deliberate walking on Sun, Tue, Thur, & Fri for a total of about another 12 miles. It's been a warm, muggy, stormy week, and I really had no desire to do any speed work, hence a lot of easy or easy-to-moderate running this week. There were a couple of 7:00 miles in there, but really nothing to comment on. Knee is still a little suspect, but I'm encouraged that adding the walking is making a difference (sadly, the scale isn't reflecting any changes yet.) We're supposed to get a break from this oppressive humidity this week, so I'm hoping to add a bit of speed once the weather improves. Incidently, we had the warmest May on record, registering a high of at least 80 on 24-of-31 days.....and oh the humidity!

USATF Masters HM Championships are today. Good luck to any here that are racing (Coyote Montane, others?), and also to a couple of my teammates from Club XC.

OK, that's it from the Bluegrass. How are things in your neck of the woods? Any other races to report?

All the Best!

Mon. 9 km hike with 3 x 1 km easy jogging.

46 minutes kayak.

Tue. 25 km night time hilly mountain bike ride 1 hour 31 minutes.

Wed. 9 km slow run with 335 metres elevation gain in 1 hour 9 minutes.

Thu. 35 minutes kayak.

Fri. 24 km hilly mountain bike ride 1 hour 32 minutes.

Sat. 6.5 km hilly hike 1 hour 15 minutes.

10 km slow run with 250 metres elevation gain in 1 hour 6 minutes.

Sun. 20 km mountain bike ride 1 hour 12 minutes.

Making progress towards getting back to real running.

A beautiful moonlight forest ride on a damp Tuesday evening was a bit of a highlight.

I was down in the big smoke on Wednesday taking my 92 yo. mother to a docs appt.

I managed to get out to one of my old haunts for a lovely forest run.

My general fitness is pretty good. The left hammy is ok but I am not prepared to test it too much just yet.

Winter has arrived well and truly and the days are all too short hence the occassional night rides.

Sixth weeks of Sinus infection after a cold and allergies is about cleared.

I had a solid run June 1 st that indicates I am where I was at last summer guessing 5 flat 1500. Difference is I am not at my peak so this is promising.

Weight 135.4 after treadmill workout . Intermittent fasting gets the nod on this . 19/5

Week 4 of 10 buildup for USATF 1500 in Spokane Wa. July 29th

Week 4 May 27 LT focus 30 minutes on 2 runs. Weight 135.4 after treadmill workout on June 1st.

May 28 Vo2 12 minutes: Sand Dunes 3 minutes hard 1 minute cruise x 3

June 1 LT 18 minutes 2 miles 10mph/12 minutes HR 169 treadmill 0 percent grade 10mph plus 6 minutes 2,2,2 R1

some pf pain in left foot used the jack hammer on pf no morning pain feels fine

The plan was:

Week 5 June 3 easy sharpen LT 2 x 1 mile cruise int Vo2 6 x 80 seconds fast with 40 seconds Recovery

Week 6 June 10 1200 meter time trial go out at 82 shooting for something in the range of 4:06 to 4:09 82-83 seconds 400

Revised because of pf pain after 2 mile run on treadmill . I am going to spend the next 2 weeks in the sand dunes with walking and running . This will strengthen my feet improving fine motor control and foot flexibility. Also I can hammer the dunes with very low impact forces and the 2 mile workout from last week gives me confidence in my fitness.

This should let the pf heal before it progresses into that morning pain and my fitness should also improve .

I still need to shock my system with a hard race. Probably late June all comers 1500 usually has a bunch of runners going out around 75. I will chase these guys until I rig up then struggle home that should do it!

Looking forward to Spokane;)

M58 -- 5'11" 164 lbs

Goal -- Defend M55-59 title in 15K (August)

Training -- 9-day cycle with Long Run, VO2max and LT workouts

May 28 - June 3, 2018

Easy - 5.1 miles @ 9:01/mi

Off

LR -- 12.2 miles @ 8:52/mi (am); 3.5 miles w/1200m @ 1-mi pace (pm)

Easy - 4.0 miles @ 9:53/mi w/2x1min @ 5K pace

Easy - 4.0 miles @ 8:38/mi w/2x1min @ 5K pace

VO2 -- 3.0-mi warmup; 5K race @ 6:13/mi (6:08, 6:15, 6:15, :39)

Off - (maybe easy run or bike later)

WEEK TOTAL: 34.8 MILES

My mileage was down a bit this week as work forced an unplanned day off on Tuesday, then I tapered a couple days prior to yesterday's 5K race.

I wasn't feeling great for the race, but went hard for the first mile, looking for at least a chance at 19-flat. I had to back off after that, but maintained a decent pace to finish in 19:17. Not quite what I wanted, but still an improvement from 19:35 two weeks ago. And a M55-59 age-group win in a 1,500-person race. M50-59 win if it were scored that way.

Next up: a 1-mile track race on Friday. Looking for 5:45. Hoping for 5:40. I haven't quite decided how to structure this week's training, with that race in mind. Meanwhile, both my achilles are tight and sore this morning after yesterday's race, but I'm not too worried.

Looking forward to the race reports! Go Coyote Montane! Have a great week, all.

Big volume week and body is holding up. Ditched my Garmin FR235 for the Polar m430 because of HR issues. The M430 so far is almost dead on compared to a chest strap even during intervals. Data is telling me I'm fitter than last year and just waiting for cooler temps to verify. Regardless, just happy to be having fun and avoiding major injuries.

Date Time of Day Acivity Duration AvgHR/Max Workout WO Duration Note

05-28 19:30 Run Incline TM 00:19 117/122 None 00:00

05-29 11:18 Bike 00:46 106/133 None 00:00 Spin class

05-29 11:19 Run Treadmill 00:25 140/ None 00:00

05-29 19:30 Run Treadmill 00:31 126/142 None 00:00

05-29 18:11 Run 00:33 121/142 None 00:00

05-30 12:26 Elliptical 00:18 104/110 None 00:00

05-30 18:27 Run 01:06 135/176 C-Int&TH 00:16 12 ints plus 4 TH. Tired legs and too hot

05-31 11:43 Run Treadmill 00:30 128/147 None 00:00 15.5kph

05-31 11:44 Run Incline TM 01:15 128/139 None 00:00

05-31 11:45 Walk Incline TM 00:10 128/130 None 00:00

05-31 18:09 Run 00:46 120/131 None 00:00

06-01 11:25 Run Treadmill 00:30 119/133 None 00:00

06-01 11:27 Run Incline TM 00:30 119/128 None 00:00

06-01 11:28 Walk Incline TM 00:28 119/125 None 00:00

06-01 16:29 Run Incline TM 00:32 124/129 None 00:00 Barefoot

06-02 10:28 Run Treadmill 00:50 144/164 Threshold 00:36 21 +10+5 minute at 5:31 pace

06-02 12:49 Run Incline TM 00:40 127/136 None 00:00

06-02 17:33 Run 00:24 117/130 None 00:00

06-03 17:51 Run Treadmill 00:26 124/140 None 00:00 last few mins at 16 kph

06-03 17:52 Walk Incline TM 01:22 126/131 None 00:00 10 min barefoot

Decent week...lots of numbers...33 miles...2 track workouts

#1 was 4 x 100, 3 x 200, 1 x 400, 3 x 200

#2 was 10 x 200 cut downs finishing in 39

logged mile 700 year to date this week

logged streak day 548 on Thursday (that's 1 1/2 years without a miss) at an average of just a tad over 5 miles per day

logged 109,200 lifetime miles this week...hoping to hit 110,000 around Thanksgiving

Headed to Eugene for NCAAs this week ...if you're in town, there'll be plenty of pints of IPA flowing at the Wild Duck ...stop by and say hi.

Have a fantabulous week if geezer training and racing

your pal,

MF

good rainy week of running, less successful in volunteering:

M 40:00 incl. 4-mile race in 24:47 [19th OA, 3rd AG] -- ran fairly evenly and thought the effort was decent, though I was dropped decisively by two guys on final uphill (ages 15 and 32 so it was a good multigenerational contest) + 30:00 x-t cooldown

tu 2:00 double

W 1:10

Th 1:45 double incl. treadmill hill repeats (10 X [1:30 9.0mph@6%, 60 recovery, 1:00 9.0@7%, 2:00 recovery])

F 2:10 double

Sa 1:10

Su 2:30 incl. pilgrimage to Montrose Christian HS [Kevin Durant alma mater] to bring the Warriors good luck tonight

Thursday's second run was jogging to/from a kids' track meet i was helping to time..........until lightning cut it short. I think we set a PR for rounding up cones, taking down tent, loading truck etc.

have a great week,

Dave

As previously reported, I took 5 days off over the long holiday weekend to give my right calf/Achilles a break. Returned to jogging on Tuesday with some lingering tightness. More of the same on Thursday. Not enough to shut things down, but enough to keep a lid on speed and volume. Dug out the calf sleeve for Saturday's jog with positive results. It’s still not quite 100%, but improving. No golf to report.

Sun-Mon: off

Tues: 48’ jog, body wt ex

Wed: off

Thu: 47’ jog, swim, body wt ex

Fri: off

Sat: 52’ jog, swim

Best to all!

Good week, starting with Monday's Bolder Boulder run. Felt pretty good about my 7:20 pace, though I wish it added up to something faster-sounding than 45 minutes!

Tues: Off

Weds: 6 miles at 7:45 pace, surprised myself with that one

Thurs: 4.5 at 8:15 pace midday

Fri: Off

Sat: 6 miles at 7:40 pace, pushing hard but felt good

Sun: Off

Mon: Planning on running 7 slowly after dropping truck for an oil change

I feel like I'm knocking on the door of a good step forward in fitness. Of course, we have a two-week family camping trip scheduled, strting next weekend, so unlikely that I'll get a lot of miles in ... but maybe that will keep me healthy, too.

Be well, all.

Good aerobic tank week.

Up The Lazy River 10k on Memorial Day.

5x Wild Cherry Hills yesterday... a killer 4:40-50ish 900m 11% grade where you definitely hit max HR. No watch nor monitor captures the real deal. My carodid artery pulse check hit 185 for #4 & #5. My glutes are sore this morning. A true testiment that I (we) need more hips & glute work.

KP

The agonizingly slow process of healing my calf continues. I “ran” one mile this week, which is one mile more than I ran last week. The calf felt fine during that one mile. In the meantime, the bike is getting lots of exercise. Log reads as follows:

Monday: 8 mile hike in the Sierras. At 7000 to 8000 feet of elevation but not very difficult terrain, easy pace. Not a tough hike. I did not feel a single peep out of my calf through the whole hike, including the few steep sections. That was encouraging, and getting out in the wilderness felt wonderful.

Tues: 32 mile bike ride with the last 12 at a fairly hard pace trying to not get caught by my husband, who had spotted me a considerable head start.

Weds: 32 mile bike ride, fairly easy.

Thurs: 31 miles on bike, somewhat hilly, at a fairly hard pace.

Fri: 1 mile jog followed by 80 minutes on bike trainer. Calf felt just fine while jogging, but decided not to push my luck.

Sat: 47 mile bike ride at a moderately brisk pace. Rolled in at 2:45 including a short comfort break, which is a good pace for me even on a totally flat course with almost no wind.

Sun: 39 mile bike ride with a few rolling hills. Legs felt pretty dead near the end after yesterday's effort.

I plan to try jogging 2-3 miles tomorrow and see how it goes.

Allen1959, nice job with the 5K! That has to be fairly encouraging.

dhaaga, I wouldn’t feel bad about getting dropped by the 32-year-old. The 15-year-old, now that’s another story…(just kidding…)

Wishing everyone a great week.

Another mixed week for me. I had 4 runs and took 3 days off. The runs went reasonably well, but I still seem to be a little short on motivation to really get going on Fall XC preparation. I also am going to blame my sons for at least one of those days off. My two sons both were supposed to be coming into town this afternoon for a week of business matters here. Then they called late Friday and said they would be a little earlier and arrive yesterday afternoon. Knowing that I would be running with them this morning, I skipped yesterday to rest up my legs for our run. My older son, who is living in New Zealand, won the NZ masters XC championship race last year, and his jet-lagged easy recovery pace is about my threshold pace these days. He did indeed drag me around 6 miles of trails this morning at 7:30/mi. pace which is some serious effort for me. Weekly total 25 miles.

M- 7 walk with 150m stride every 1/2 mile

T- rest

W- 4 easy 10:20/mi

Th- 8 hills 9:15/mi

F- rest

S- rest

Su- 6 trails 7:30/mi

Good running to all!

I'm still struggling with a hip issue that has kept me from running for almost three weeks. I have pain over my left hip bone and feel tight in my glute and above my waist. Last week when I tried to run, I got to 2 miles and had to walk home it hurt so much. I'm getting a massage tomorrow and seeing my PT on Tuesday to see if they can help. I'm sleeping with a pillow between my legs, foam rolling, and doing light stretching in hopes it will resolve itself.

The good news is I was able to run 2 miles today focusing on keeping my strides short and only felt the hip a little on uphills. I'm going to try running every other day this week and see if it holds up. I don't have any races planned until mid-July so I'm looking at this as a recovery time and will begin to build up for my fall race season once it's better.

My week:

Sun & Mon: "Off" (In England walking all over with my students)

Tue: 2400 yd swim, 45 min bike

Wed: 2600 yd swim, 55 min bike

Thu: Off - flying home

Fri: 2100 yd swim, 1:00 bike

Sat Volunteer at triathlon

MikeF - Congratulations on your impending 110,000 mi. milestone.

amkelley - Good luck with the heel healing. It sounds as if we're in a similar place...

Congratulations to all of you who raced at Ann Arbor this morning. I wish I could have been there with you!

Nice race Allen.

Congrats dhaaga, yeah, those kids need to stay off our lawns!

Good hill workout KP. When your can just about hear your carotid artery you know you are working hard.

Tue: 45 min rocky trail, 600 feet climbing

Thr: 45 min rainy rocky trail, 550 feet climbing

Sat: 38 min trail, 7:01 1600 push on the track

Sun: 45 min in Mountains, stayed above 4000 feet

An OK week. As far as I can tell last week’s 4 lapper in 7:18 did not hurt my heel. So I thought I’d do it again this week. I was pleased to go a little faster than last week. I’m guessing it’s a combination of remembering how to hurt a bit, some neuromuscular synchronization, and perhaps a bit of a training effect (although it’s hard to argue that a single mile once per week does much). Laps were: 1:45, 1:49, 1:51, and 1:36.

On today’s run, however, my right arch/heel area was a little sore. I’ll monitor it this week and if it does not improve than that’s the end of the 4 lappers for a while.

Have a good one folks!

Quick report from Ann Arbor. Ran 1:21:05 to place first in 55-59. Trying not to dwell on the fact that three 60 year olds ran faster. Great to meet CM. Congrats again to him on his tremendous performance. I watched him shift to another gear after a measured start.

I was thrilled with my time (wanted sub 1:23) since it’s been 10 months of battling a cranky Achilles. Now that it is substantially improved, the faster times are returning.

Big local race next Sunday — hopefully some recovery in coming days.

Allen1959 wrote:

Looks like I am the only one advocating a generous and fairly rapid ramp-up in mileage. There are a few reasons why I think it could work for you. You've been running injury-free for a couple years, demonstrating a overall healthy resilience. You're still relatively young, without a huge amount of lifetime miles. You obviously have a good deal of basic talent (aiming for 17's for 5K is impressive). And my own experience has been that jumps in overall mileage have resulted in significant and almost immediate performance gains. But there is no denying, of course, the added risk of injury.

Thanks to you, CM, BigMango, and Rtype for adding your views of the elephant. I'm going to take CM's suggestion, increase to 45 this week and stay there during the 12-week cycle I began today. It's a more conservative version of SoCalPete's "three week rule": try a step-up of up to 10% for three weeks before trying another. (Rtype, I'm not sure I'd notice +1%. I've gone as high as 42.3 in my latest cycle, so this will be +9%.) On the other hand, and to your point Allen, it's going to be a noticeable step up. Let's see how I do. I'm in no hurry this summer. Lawrence taught me the futility of going for PRs in the heat.

I've printed out your schedule and BigMango's for my planning file. It's helpful to have examples from real geezers like myself. And yes, I do want to max the improvement gains from added volume, so once it cools down I will probably be pushing the envelope more.

Took two days off while old friends came to town and we went to a music festival.

Monday - 18:58 5K (85F heat index)

Tuesday - 4.1 miles TM

Weds - 6.1 miles

Sunday - 7.6 miles through Mission Hills, because my mission was hills