50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Inspirational lyric: “‘n I look like a bum, ‘n I crawl like snail.”

Back in December, I was really proud to get under 14 minutes on my mile pace, and I went on the main forums to see if there was any good advice on walk/run routines in terms of alternating easy and tempo paces or adding mileage. I found one by someone doing 12 minute miles using the walk/run method. One of the first responses was that the original poster should be able to walk miles around 10-11 minutes per mile, so 12 minutes was an obvious lack of effort and a waste of time. A few others supported this opinion. Note to self, never read the main forums.

I’m currently reading “Run Less, Run Faster.” I read about a quarter of it a year ago. I still am resistant to it’s proclamations about how scientific it is. It seems like the sample sizes are too small, and the anecdotes are cherry picked. It seems to work well for short term improvement in a specific race, but what are the long term results in terms of performance and health over 5-10 years? I have been skimming over plans and programs from Galloway, Hansen, Higdon, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, and Captain Morgan. I have Capt. Morgan’s best-selling how to book “You’re the Captain Now!” on request at the library. Looking forward to testing out his controversial rum runs.

Last week I finished up my second week of walking 5 minutes followed up by 2 minutes of jogging. I added a minute of jogging on Friday. Going forward, I am going to push my last jogs of the 2nd week a bit if I feel healthy. Today, I started walking 4 minutes followed up by 2 minutes of jogging. It seemed a little fast, but I was pretty comfortable. Will see tomorrow and Wednesday if I ran too hard.

Monday - Lighter jog 1.65 miles 3.5/5 13’ 26” ( 7 minutes jogging)

Tuesday - Walk 2.45 miles

Wednesday - 5.56 miles 2/5 13’ 19” (19 minutes jogging)

Thursday - Walk 1.95 miles

Friday - 5.94 miles 2/5 12’36” ( 20 minutes jogging)

Sunday - Walk 2.56 miles

Monday - 5.37 miles 2/4 12’ 19” (20 minutes jogging), walk 1.4 miles

Everyone seems upbeat if not at the absolute peak of health, with back issues being a major issue atm. Did anyone else have a sizable drop in their heart rates this past week? On Wednesday, my heart rate was 4-5 beats lower than it has been the past 2 years when I did any jogging or running. It was lower today, than it was last Monday, and I did a much longer and faster work out. I’m tentatively calling it the Biden Effect.

Old Fat n Stoopid wrote:

Did anyone else have a sizable drop in their heart rates this past week? On Wednesday, my heart rate was 4-5 beats lower than it has been the past 2 years when I did any jogging or running. It was lower today, than it was last Monday, and I did a much longer and faster work out. I’m tentatively calling it the Biden Effect.

When I checked my HR last week, it was 4 bpm lower than average. At the time, I didn't think too much of it, but you may be on to something there.

Mon. Afternoon. 4 km hilly run (110 m) 23 min. Pretty hard last 3 km.

Evening. Out for a kayak on the lake about 8 pm. Solid 49 mins in windy conditions.

Tue. Morning. 4.5 km hike on steep trails (160 m). 56 min.

Afternoon. Hilly 31 km mountain bike ride in the forest in 89 mins and a gentle 3 km shuffle in 18 mins.

Wed. Morning. 5 km hike on steep trails (170 m). 56 min.

Afternoon. 29 min kayak on the waterhole.

Evening. 11.9 km hard hilly (350 m ) hot run , pushed 11th km out in 4.06.

Thu. Afternoon. 31 km mountain bike ride in the forest in 91 mins.

Fri. Morning. 4.6 km hike on steep trails (160 m) 52 min.

49 min kayak on the lake.

After work (10.30 pm.) 3 km barefoot on the inside of the velodrome 15 min.

Sat. Morning. 8 km hike on steep trails (180 m) in 90 min.

Afternoon. 6 2 km run in the forest 36 min. I was going to do a virtual Park Run but it was too hot to go flat out, (sunny 34 deg C) so I ran a steady 12.40 for 2.5 then a sharper 11.15 for the next 2.5.

Jumped on the mountain bike and rode 20 km through the forest in an hour.

Sun. Afternoon. Hilly running loops in the forest sunny 36 deg C. 12 km (240 m) in 1.20. I parked the car so as to be able to grab a drink every 10 to 15 mins.

A solid enough week.

Thanks for all the advice last week.

M - 5x5 Squat/Overhead/Deadlift

T - 30:00 easy run on dirt

W - Unplanned day off - work commitment

T - 30:00 progression run

F - 5x5 Squat/Bench/Rows

S - 23:00 easy run on dirt. felt awful

S - 50:00 easy on dirt.

Continue to feel crummy. Not injured. No exhausted.

Goal this week:

M - weights

T - 30 min

W - 45 min

T - 30 min

F - weights

S - off

S - 50-60 min

Hope you all have a good week.

Great week! Impressive with double sessions.

Believe it or not, I got the first dose of Moderna vaccine last Friday. I got an email on Tuesday from my supervisor who was forwarding a message from one of my coworkers who got the news about this opportunity. The County health department was giving our free vaccine to any adult who lived in the county. That's correct. I was not on any one's priority list, but was able to book my appointment. When I got there about 10 min before the appointment, there was already a long line at the registration table. I ended up waiting about 20 min in total to get registered, and then to be called up. And I had to wait there for 15 min after the shot for observation. My arm was sore until last night, but I was otherwise fine. (I was able to run a few hours after the shot.) The side effect is presumably worse after the second shot, so I should expect a sore arm for a few days again if I can get the second dose in four weeks.

M: off.

T-W: 10.7km.

R: 12.5km. (9:54-9:34-9:21-9:13-9:02-8:54-8:32)

F-SA: 10.7km.

SU: 21.3km. (10:42-10:30-10:21-10:10-10:01-9:50-9:41-9:30-9:23-9:16-9:05-8:43)

I was finally able to to a "long run" that is longer than a half marathon distance. (The first time since Mar. 15 of last year.) I was not thinking about racing any time soon, but if I can get my second dose next month, I may try to run a half later in spring. (There is a brand new local race scheduled on May 1.) I still have more than three months, and I should be able to get into a decent shape unless I suffer from another injury.

Thanks Uncle P.

I hadn't been garmin/ strava recording my fairly regular hikes until recently. They usually involve some 12 to 20 % gradient rocky single track where the heart rate nudges 60 to 70 % of max.

*Week 505*

Salutations, 50+ers! We've made it through (limped through?) the first month of 2021! Sorry to see so many people with nagging issues; I can certainly empathize. My week was shot once again. Got a walk in Sunday, but Monday I was fasting for the colonoscopy Tuesday. Then I was playing catchup the rest of the week after being pretty loopy all day Tuesday after the procedure. Probably could've gotten out yesterday, but I was just burned out from the week. My one good news piece for the week is that the results from my colonoscopy came back fairly clean; they removed one non-cancerous polyp...this is after 11 years since my previous procedure.

I should add that since the beginning of the year, my boss and two of my colleagues are choosing to step down from their Dean positions after this semester to go back to regular teaching faculty. They've all said that the recent increased load just isn't what they bargained for...I concur. I'll ride it out a little longer, but something's got to give.

Good luck with the streak, cush. Cool to see the old-school newspaper results clip, Igy.

amkelley, I really hope that you can find a workable medical solution.

Keep the faith the rest of y'all, but stay safe out there, still a ways to go! As a group 1C, I have no idea when the vaccine will be available for us.

All the Best!

Happy (almost) February, 50+ers! This week’s news is pretty good from this front. The back strain I mentioned last week cleared up after a couple of days and I was able to resume running with no limitations. My weekly mileage was down to 19.5 actual running miles, but that was because I was experimenting with a different schedule/plan. Instead of doing 4 days of 50-55 minutes, I tried 3 days of 60-70 minutes. This allowed for an extra day off which seems to have had a positive effect on my tired legs. It also allowed me to work around some of the weather challenges such as the subzero wind chill we had on one day. It was cold enough on yesterday’s run that my mustache became ice covered, but it wasn’t dangerously cold and I was able to complete my longest run in quite some time (my Garmin even gave me an ‘attaboy’). I expect to continue this new plan in the coming week as there’s a multi-day storm on the horizon as well as some outpatient surgery and an emergency management drill. Busy times!

While the length of the runs has increased, the post-run exercises have been scaled back a bit to protect the back and (still) sore shoulder.

Sun: off

Mon: 65’ CR; body wt ex

Tues: walk

Wed: 64’ CR; body wt ex

Thu: off

Fri: walk

Sat: 70’ CR; body wt ex

Best to most!

I survived the first week of classes but was disappointed to have my vaccination appointment postponed due to lack of supply. If I'm not going to get the vaccine in the near future, I'm reconsidering a few of my upcoming races. I'm not excited about standing crammed in with hundreds of runners at the start. Despite the uncertain schedule and in spite of my aching hip, I kept training because hope springs eternal...

Sun: 9.0 @ 9:07

Mon: off - classes started

Tue: 20.4 bike

Wed: 7.0 fartlek 4 x (5 @ 8:30/2E)

Thu: 5.0 E, 20.2 bike, 2700 yds swim, PT

Fri: 6.2 E

Sat: 10.1 E

Now it's back to a Sunday of converting 32 years of in-person classes to an online format. After doing that, training feels like recess.

Long May You Run!

Some bad weather and lack of motivation early in the week made this a low mileage 15 mile week. However, the days off also left me feeling like my hamstring is back to 100% in my runs yesterday and today. I plan to stay away from higher intensity efforts for another week or two while building back up to my usual mid-40s mpw.

M- rest

T- 4mi very easy

W- 2mi walk

Th- rest

Fri- rest

Sat- 4mi trails with my son 8:36/mi

Sun- 5mi hills 9:36/mi

Good running to all!

The weather in the Treasure Valley was spring like, while the mountains in some places had record snow fall. My week started with plans for higher volume, but a strong front on Wednesday put a headwind in front of my sail. Still trying to find balance in my training, best idea I can come up with is to make the hard days more challenging, and the easy days less so. Managed 36 slow running miles, and another 25 cross training equivalent miles. Friday was my first day completely off since Thanksgiving; more lack of motivation than necessity. OK week I suppose.

Sunday: 1.5 miles easy/walk; 60:00 spin; 1.5 miles easy/walk

Monday: AM- 2 miles E; 2 x ( 8 x 200m good speed / 100m easy; 400m easy; 4 x 400m good swing / 200m easy) 400m btw sets; mile easy; core exercises; weights; PM- 6 miles E

Tuesday: AM- 3 miles easy/walk; 2,000 yard swim; PM- 3 mile walk

Wednesday: 2 miles easy; 5 x mile tempo / 100m walk; mile easy

Thursday: 60:00 spin

Friday: off

Saturday: 10.5 miles run on Greenbelt @ 11:13/mile +.25 walk

Have a good week.

Igy

I still had serious problems with insomnia this week although I did manage three out of seven nearly normal nights. After two full weeks of not running a step I resumed jogging a bit Thursday through Saturday, taking today off again when my heel didn’t feel so good upon awakening. I ended the week with a whopping 8 miles of jogging, 6.5 hours on the indoor bike trainer (it rained cats and dogs this week), and 28 miles on the outdoor bike so far, and am still hoping to get outside on the bike later today.

I got my first dose of the Moderna vaccine yesterday. Out of the blue, the office of my primary care physician called me Friday afternoon asking if I wanted to be vaccinated. Supposedly California is only vaccinating 65+ at this time but I said sure, and the following morning the deed was done. 24 hours later I have no effects from the first dose except a sore shoulder, but I understand the second dose often provokes a stronger response.

RF reader, I’ll be interested to know how you feel after your second shot, which you should be getting shortly before I get mine. Good job on getting the “long run” done, and good luck on doing a real half-marathon this spring!

Igy, it looks like half-marathon training is going well.

Happy running to all!

trying to keep track of runs for the year in a more regular format. i've never kept a log, so i'll have to see how disciplined i can be in keeping up with this, but i figure if i'm going to try to run 365 days in a row, may as well document it. haven't run today yet (i've got 10-11 on the docket), but when i do, that'll be 1 month down, 11 to go...

sun: 10 (first 2 with wife at 8:30 pace, last 8 @ 7 min pace)

mon: 8

tue: am--4

pm--6: 4x800 (248/244/238/238--3 min recovery?), 4x400 (74/74/72/72--2 min

recovery?)

wed: 7

thu: am--4

pm--9 @ 7 min pace

fri: 7

sat: 6 (5k on the track @ 18:00--helped pace some fast girls coached by a friend)

carpe crepusculum,

cush

A little bit better weather his weak alternating between snow and rain.

Mo 7 miles easy + 8x350 m with 50 m jog

Tu 45 min drills and jumps uphill

We 7 miles easy + 8 x100m strides with jog back

Th 7 miles easy + 10x200m with jog back

Fr off, too much work

Sa 7.5 miles medium pace in hills with uphills hard

Su 1:25 h easy in the hills

No watch, no gps, no measuring all week. just putting in my honest effort. Take care and have a good week!

if snow/rain alternation is better weather, I guess I shouldn't complain that we're having our first noteworthy snow of the winter in DC area today and (predicted) tomorrow. Barack Obama early in his Presidency learned that his daughters were off school on a day of, by his standards, modest snowfall and said we needed to get "some of that flinty Chicago toughness". Still waiting on my delivery....

M 1:10

Tu 1:15 with 10 X 2:00 moderately hard uphills (2:30 jog down)

W 1:30

Th 1:05 with 4 X 4:00 hard (2:00)

F 2:00

Sa 1:50 double

Su 1:40 -- debut of my yak trax for a slow slog mostly thru woods in the snow

have a great week,

Dave

41 miles

Weight lifting twice.

Gonna try for another 50 mile week next week

Supposed to this week but rare bad weather cut me short

Weather that would have been a joke back in Indiana caused me to flinch a bit. I think after living full time in Arizona since 2011, I’ve become spoiled.

When I was training in Indiana for those decades, the weather channel was always on the tv. There is no need for that in Arizona. When the weather does get bad it’s a traumatic experience ha

I really think a persons blood thins out when training so long in the heat. 50 degrees nowadays is freezing for me.

M - 35 min on bike trainer, tired from Sunday's effort.

T - 8 easy/moderate (snow and cold in the teens, had to watch footing on downhills)

W - 9.4

T - 8.1

F - 8.4 with ladder of 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1000, 800 with 1:00 to 1:30 recovery. Goal is tack on the 600 at the end (6000 m) and do all reps under 6:00 pace. Getting there.

S - 10.2

S - XC ski 2:24 (31 km) at 8600'-9200' and that felt pretty good.

8:55 total, 44 miles running. My knee and hip are bothersome (ITBS) but working on it.

Mon. 8.4 km slow hilly shuffle around Bendigo in 55 mins then finished with 4 barefoot laps on the grass in 7.40. 38 deg C. We had a dinner appointment so I had little wriggle room after work. I would've preferred to be out in the kayak that's for sure.

Tue. Steep hike, 3.8 km 200+ metres elev. gain. About 50 mins.

49 mins. kayak session.

After work at 10.30 pm. A gentle 3 km jog on the grass barefoot 15 mins.

Wed. 2 hours of hiking, 10 kms and about 360 metres elev. gain. Hot and windy.

A very windy road ride, 40 kms in 1hr 40m with some 2 km hill reps inc.

A late (9.40) 3 km shuffle around town in 19 mins.

Thu. A "getting blown sideways" 30 min kayak session on the lake.

3.7 km hike up the back to the top of the range and back down, 165 metres elev. gain. Straight into a 10 km forest run. First half of mostly gentle uphill trails in 29 mins. Rolled through 2d half on smoother trails in 24 mins.

Fri. Torrential rain all morning. 58 min kayak session on the lake before work, just me and the pelicans.

Sat. 3.2 km/160 m. hike in 44 mins and a 100 min mtn bike ride in the forest before work.

Sun. Club social run, a gentle 6 km in 36 mins chatting with the crew. Finished off with 10 laps/4k barefoot on the grass in 18.30 last km in 4.26. Then lunch at the pub.

Evening 30+km mtn bike ride in the forests in 90 mins.

Not too bad a week.