50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Let me add my congrats to SCgal and Ms. Rohl. I just got back from a weekend in Phoenix where my wife had a conference. A solid 57 mile week for me with a bit of up and down on energy level.

M- 7 walk with stride every 1/2 mile

T- 8 hills 8:20/mi ave

W- 7 walk with stride every 1/2 mile

Th- 6 easy (tired and high HR on run)

F- 7 walk with stride every 1/2 mile (HR still high)

S- 15 easy 9:11/mi ave

Su- 7 easy 9:18/mi ave

Thanks everyone for the congratulations! I was totally surprised to win the mile and 3,000 since I'm not much of a track runner. If you haven't ever run track, you might not know that the age groups are combined so it's difficult to tell who is winning each age group. My age group for the mile was 65-94 so I looked like a star flying past the older women even though I ran a time I wasn't too excited about. I had people I didn't even know congratulating me afterwards and giving me high fives. One young woman even said to me "You're such an inspiration!". I'm sure not used to that...

My club was trying to win the team title so most of us had registered for events we might normally do. I tried the pole vault for the first time ever and failed to make a legal height...then I tried the throws. It was obvious I had no idea what I was doing but the other competitors and the officials were so kind and cheered me on. I placed 6th out of 6 in the shot put and 4th out of 4 in the weight throw but I got a few points for the team. I also ran on three relays, which I love. My team's 4x800 and 4x400 set world records and my 4x200 set an American record. This was the first year for 5-year age group divisions in the relays so just about every age group set new records.

The best part of the weekend for me was my team winning the national title. It takes such a group effort to accomplish this and it's so much fun to all work towards a common goal. I'm captain of the woman's team so, for me, the team win means much more than the individual titles. Now it's on to a triathlon next weekend!

lucKY2b wrote:

....my Fitbit tells me I walked 21,000+ steps and climbed 46 flights of stairs (I ran up every time.)

Well that sounds like a harder workout than running!

Rtype wrote:

....with so few miles I’d need to make them count.

Over the years I've determined that everything counts. Seems like I didn't lose a whole lot last year with just walking for 4 months.

dhaaga: I've think I've mentioned it before but you seem to put in a lot of miles! Hour long doubles during the week would be tough in my world... physically and just finding the time and desire. Nice job!

Congrats to our National Champions!

CM: I'm sure I would have opted for the TM. I just don't care for the freezing cold anymore. 25-30 deg for a long run is about my limit. KCGeezer has the TM figured out. To make the time pass I nearly always cover the console and mix things up with random progressions.

My running has been solid, moderate and consistent. Getting in my strides, tempo or CV and a long run. Miles are up close to 60. Things are looking up.

First race of the year is next Saturday. Its the 6th annual and I've won the 4 times I've run it. Not sure what to expect this year. My workouts indicate I could sneak under 18:00 which would put me just over 88% on the AG charts. So I guess that's my goal! Just checked my records and my last sub 18 was early Aug of 2017. I was actually in pretty good shape then as I ran a 5:00 mile just two weeks later. We'll see....

Have a good one,

Dave

Speaking of “everything counts”, I’ve noticed that some of you include walking as part of your weekly mileage reports. I’ve alsways considered weekly mileage numbers to be exclusively running. Is the inclusion of walking mileage a lifelong routine for you, or is it something you embraced later? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

syracuse wrote:

Speaking of “everything counts”, I’ve noticed that some of you include walking as part of your weekly mileage reports. I’ve always considered weekly mileage numbers to be exclusively running. Is the inclusion of walking mileage a lifelong routine for you, or is it something you embraced later? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I had this discussion with my training partner. I don't make a habit of walking during runs but on occasion I will on some of my untimed easy days. I don't deduct my walking from my mileage. I told him if you walk during a marathon you're going to write 26.2 in your log, right? He agreed with me. I would bet if everyone wore their Garmins or Fitbits all day, we would log many additional miles each week! What 10-15-20 additional miles? Does it count? I guess its to each their own as to how its recorded.

Interesting though...

Dave

NOP speaks about equivalent miles when including swimming, underwater treadmill, spin bike, aqua jogging or Alter G. My view is it is all about periodization of your training; tracking the volume, intensity and number of sessions. Several months ago my track sessions topped out at 6 miles with about four miles running and two walking. Progression today to seven miles all running. Mileage then is just a measurement of volume same as tracking your workout intensity.

In regards to walking as an exercise Roger Bannister did it as a manner of training. Toshiko Seko walked up to six hours a session when injured. Yesterday I walked 1 hour 45 minutes at 17:30 pace and my legs were a little heavy this morning. In the past I may have biked or swam an hour in it’s place and I would have logged it as 6 equivalent miles. However, since walking is weight bearing I think it is more specific to running easy.

Igy

syracuse wrote:

Speaking of “everything counts”, I’ve noticed that some of you include walking as part of your weekly mileage reports. I’ve alsways considered weekly mileage numbers to be exclusively running. Is the inclusion of walking mileage a lifelong routine for you, or is it something you embraced later? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

My logs are indecipherable gibberish!

My goals change frequently!

What I call running is evolving!

Ten years ago Niko Niko pace would not have been running now that slow stuff is my mainstay. The older I get the more the other stuff counts.

A great weekend at Masters Indoors in Winston Salem. A little more than a year after being revived due to cardiac arrest after a race with quintuple bypass surgery as the remedy, getting back on the track to go all out in the mile, the 800 and several relays was a bit unnerving. Doctors said it will take time, and running a 6:20 mile, and 2:55 800 made reality set in on how long the recovery will take.

Still, a great time being with my teammates, seeing old faces and meeting new ones. Could not fathom being anywhere else for such a great time, whether participating or not. Will keep the head down and push forward on the training. Some doctors have said give it up, while others are behind me all the way.

Monday: Gym circuit work plus 2 miles

Tuesday: 2 mile warm up, with 200M repeats and 2 mile cool down for a total 7.

Wednesday: 5 miles easy

Thursday: 6 mile fartlek

Friday: 4 miles easy

Saturday: 8 miles easy

Sunday: 5 miles, alternating pace

Congrats to SCgal! A great inspiration that keeps me moving forward. She had a great meet, setting many standards for others to try and catch.

Amazing performances in my book.

wreg14,

Did you run that kind of mileage listed with your races? If so, that seems like quite a bit to me.

Igy

syracuse wrote:

Speaking of “everything counts”, I’ve noticed that some of you include walking as part of your weekly mileage reports. I’ve alsways considered weekly mileage numbers to be exclusively running. Is the inclusion of walking mileage a lifelong routine for you, or is it something you embraced later? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I don't count walking as part of "weekly mileage" because the reason I keep track of my mileage is to protect my legs from too much stress. (And I don't think walking puts much stress on my legs.) I walk 12,000-15,000 steps on my "off" days, including a 3,000+ step walk that covers about 1 1/4 mile. So I guess I am walking 9,000-12,000 steps on most days in addition to running. If I want to keep track of how much cardio exercise I am doing, I'd rather go by time. (xx minutes of cardio works a day / week.) But I think every person should do whatever they feel most comfortable.

Here is my week.

M: off.

T-F: 7 miles.

SA: 12.2 miles.

SU: 7 miles.

The weather forecast for Sunday was 2-3 inches of snow/ice. So I decided to move my "long" run to Saturday to avoid running 12 miles on a treadmill. It turned out that we only had a trace of snow, and I could have run outdoor on Sunday. The new route in a park is measured at 1.64km. So 12 laps of that roughly equal 11 laps of my old route. Saturday;s run started with 9:06 for the first lap and ended with 7:58 for the last lap. A bit slower finish than I had hoped, but that's okay. I will try to do 13 laps next weekend and see how it goes.

I agree with RF reader in that mileage is a measure of stress on the body. I don’t consider walking to be stressful, so it is not included in my weekly mileage...never has been. It’s not really practical, in my opinion, to include walking mileage as much of my day is spent on my feet. Am I supposed to include every trip to the fridge in my mileage? Keep it simple and keep it focused. Mileage is running or jogging.

Igy,

My mileage leading up to the race averaged 28 miles a week. The week of Indoors was a quite a bit less as I wanted to save my legs.

Several people have spoken of walking during their easy days, of which I do at this point. I don't stop my watch during the walk, so it gets factored in the overall pace. I'm not back 100% and have issues that the doctors are trying to understand the cause. My intervals will require some walking at times during the recovery segments.

The workout I posted is for this week, which increases my average mileage a bit more than the suggested 10% increase. I'll drop back next week to 24-25 miles then increase again as I'm also dealing with lower glute and achilles tendon issues.

Both RF and old guy have very valid points regarding walking as part of their mileage. Walking is not stressful, and counting every trip to fridge or mailbox on your recording device should not be factored into the overall mileage for the week. Leading an active lifestyle is part of getting up off the couch to either work in the yard or take the dog for a short walk. My weekly mileage includes my "walk breaks" as the walking part of a long run or recovery segment is just part of my overall level of fitness at this point and those breaks do not last long. As part of my cardiac rehab, the overall workout is a factor of miles completed, average pace and heartrate, both max and average.

oId guy wrote:

I agree with RF reader in that mileage is a measure of stress on the body. I don’t consider walking to be stressful, so it is not included in my weekly mileage...never has been. It’s not really practical, in my opinion, to include walking mileage as much of my day is spent on my feet. Am I supposed to include every trip to the fridge in my mileage? Keep it simple and keep it focused. Mileage is running or jogging.

Of course I don’t include routine walking as part of training. I cover five to ten miles each week on my walk in to work. During my treatment I would count this as mileage and at the time it was exhausting. I don’t count this as mileage today not based on principle but because it does not fall under training.

I have found running mileage to sometimes be a crutch to those unwilling to face to discomfort and challenge of hard interval training. Mileage is just one component of a well balanced training program.

Igy

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I have found running mileage to sometimes be a crutch to those unwilling to face to discomfort and challenge of hard interval training.

Running is not a crutch. There are different training philosophies - emphasis on high mileage vs. shorter interval work, for example - but all are valid. They each have their own set of challenges.

AK-67 wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I have found running mileage to sometimes be a crutch to those unwilling to face to discomfort and challenge of hard interval training.

Running is not a crutch. There are different training philosophies - emphasis on high mileage vs. shorter interval work, for example - but all are valid. They each have their own set of challenges.

Oh, but walking can’t be training.

SCgal, I really admire your guts. No way in bloody heck would I consider attempting the pole vault! Or the high jump. You could really get hurt that way. I wouldn't be as worried about the throws--I'd figure it's more the officials and spectators who are in danger, not me! Anyway, kudos to you for stepping up and trying these other events, and again, congratulations on fine performances in the distance runs.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

AK-67 wrote:

Running is not a crutch. There are different training philosophies - emphasis on high mileage vs. shorter interval work, for example - but all are valid. They each have their own set of challenges.

Oh, but walking can’t be training.

Why not?