50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

ATP - I am also into my second month of an experiment of one with slightly lower mileage and increased speed session (balanced with rest:easy on easy days). So far so good!

45 miles for the week with three harder sessions ( 18% of total mileage):

-Monday -6 x400m+ long steep hills in the U.P. of Michigan and some decent 150 strides at the end

-Wednesday - Back in Southern Michigan early evening track session on our local 440 yard dirt (mud) track. Both curves were slick and muddy and we were forced into lanes 2-3 the whole way. Definitely an 'effort based" workout as the the 400 times were off by about 00:03 per lap. The primary goal was to remain upright. 4x200 2x400 1x800 2x400 4x200 (1/2 jog recovery) Likely the last of these sessions for the year. (due to darkness and significant standing water from the last couple of days at both ends of the track)

-Saturday - A harder temp run at my fourth Park Run at a nearby nature trail. Again a slick wet mess. Kept each loop pretty even, and not horribly disappointed :35-45 off my road 5K pace.

LucKY2b - I haven't seen a post from you in a bit. Hope all is well. We are venturing down your way to Lexington again on Thanksgiving for your race. (just missed the free socks for the first 1,000 entrants, ugh) It will be my last race before turning 65 in December and am aiming (hoping) for a decent finish. Please let me know if you will be at the Pivot Brewery for number pick-up on Wednesday.

I have one other race between now and Lexington : The regional USATF X/C race. At least it is nearby. Due to a few scheduling conflicts this year, it is my only X/C race of the season (not counting the weekly Park Runs which are more like easy X/C races on dirt paths.

Happy and safe runs to all until next time....

ATP - great info and thanks for taking the time to share. Few runners are at your level and it it nice to get first hand knowledge.

Owain - No problem but like yourself, I am here to learn. My training is all over the place and non-traditional. If you want advice on how to be inconsistent, I'm your man.

Amkelley: good to know that you are progressing. 28 mpw (no matter what was the pace) is already quite something. Wish your progress is steady and you are back to normal soon!

Dhaaga: good luck with your upcoming 10K. With your volume/mileage I assume it should not be a problem, rather a precursor to the marathon?

BigMango: your “struggling to hold 6:00/mi for a couple miles” sounds quite impressive! I wish I could reach this level of struggling :-)

ATP: good workouts, in spite of a bad weather. By the way, I am very interested in your observation and remark about brisk walking. Some gentlemen already raised this point here, and then I noticed that I often do it too, about 3 hours/week on average. Never thought that it should count.

Owain: welcome!

NDJY: dragging through muddy roads is quite familiar for me. I try to minimize miles run on the pavement. However, it’s sometimes difficult to translate mi or km per min into the road speed.

My week was not impressive, 27 miles only. And only a single good workout – about 6.5 km (4 miles) tempo on a trail in the forest. Started as a 15K pace feel, but finally unintentionally ran the last 2 km at a 10k pace.

Nice and injury-free run to all !

Thank you so much Big Mango

Cheers Orient. So nice to have a thread with great discussion.

Been away for a while, not much to post. Turning 70 and 1/2 tomorrow. Still doing a walk/run routine and cannot seem to shake it, but it does give me more miles weekly, though takes longer, of course. So weekly mileage is usually over 40 now, and less that half of that is running, and the runs go from 0.1 to 1.0 miles, randomly. I keep a log on all of it. I usually get in about 12 to 20 of those being running miles, last week was a great week at 25 out of the 45.

Anyhow, ran a 5 km last weekend in 28:39 for 4th of 10 in age, and 3rd was 2 seconds in front, though chip timed, so don't know where he really was. No big deal when that feels like a slow time.

This Sunday, hope to run a 10 km, non-stop, which will be mentally hard I suspect. Would love to hold that 5 km pace, given it's an easier course, we'll see! Don't think that pace qualifies for me to invest in a pair of VaporFly's yet! :)

If I ran it in 57:00 or better, I would be put into the KS state records listing (sounds impressive, until looking at the record leader, who ran 46:xx!!!! I think)

AMK, so glad that you are running again, what meds helped you? At our age, we're talking more about our medications than our times and race results!

Happy Birthday Mike,

Well done in your 5km. Hey why not treat yourself to a pair of VaporFlys. In fact I have rad that these new "super shoes" and " super spikes" with heir carbon plated an cushioning can actually be of great benefit to older runners' lower limbs.

I guess for the first time in... well, my memory anyway, I think I’ll Dutch racing flats and just wear my more cushiony Hokas in Sunday’s 10k

I’m not sure flats are any advantage when you get to a certain time in your career and wearing training shoes may do more to prevent injury.

I can remember back in the early 80’s a guy telling me “ flats are useless unless you can break 6 minute pace”

I do t know about that but you know what bothers me most?

I don’t think I’ve ever worn socks in a race.

What I used to think was old school I guess.. since 1977. No socks.

It’ll psyche me right out ha

As long as the shoes don't give me blisters, I don't wear socks

Gives you that feeling of your feet feel ready to run fast!

Robert E . Lee wrote:

I guess for the first time in... well, my memory anyway, I think I’ll Dutch racing flats and just wear my more cushiony Hokas in Sunday’s 10k

I’m not sure flats are any advantage when you get to a certain time in your career and wearing training shoes may do more to prevent injury.

I can remember back in the early 80’s a guy telling me “ flats are useless unless you can break 6 minute pace”

I do t know about that but you know what bothers me most?

I don’t think I’ve ever worn socks in a race.

What I used to think was old school I guess.. since 1977. No socks.

It’ll psyche me right out ha

You can have your cake and eat it too!

The super shoes, including the super spikes, make you faster and reduce impact injuries!

IMO the shoe companies should put more focus on reducing injuries than shaving 10 seconds a mile off your race times. They will ketchup or get mustard . Exciting times in the shoe designs.

Good luck with your 10K

I do believe standard racing flats for faster running helps maintain foot flexibility and strength. On faster running days I warm-up and cool-down in beefier running flats.

FWIW, I have done much of my run/walks lately in a pair of NIKE Invinsibles, with ZoomX midsole, still very bouncy after over 400 miles. What I did not say earlier is that I ran/walked a 1/2 marathon on my own, 3 weeks ago, in a pair of new Brooks Glycerins, and felt great. My race Sunday will probably be in the Brooks Hyperion Tempo, which I wore for the 5 km. Not ready to try the SuperShoes, when I have not even run in them more than the length of our shoe store. I have the original Zoom Fly and several pairs of LunaRacers (both Nike products), but have not used them of late, and the Tempo are new and fresh. So many choices, it's a luxury of confusion! :)

One day early everybody knows the rules;)

Great Week switched to run xtrn xtrn with the run 40 ez 20 hard and the xtrn all kinds of stuff today I did 2 hours of mtn biking first mtn bike ride in years and it was a blast

hard run was in the sand on 2 courses

6:22 where 7 is good

3:09 pr is 3:08 the 3:09 was at 10bpm lower than the 3:08 which I did right before my 5:38 so I am still fit

3:09 course at 3:20 for 3 laps 10 minutes could have done 20 minutes . One of my main heuristics is to only do half the volume for a given effort so the effort is hard but the duration is cut in half like 800 at current mile pace 1500 at 3000 pace ect.

Onward!

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I do believe standard racing flats for faster running helps maintain foot flexibility and strength. On faster running days I warm-up and cool-down in beefier running flats.

You can improve - not just maintain - both with judicious bouts of barefoot running,

Good morning. We had nice weather this week, albeit with a few windy days. I was still in the unmotivated mood for running, so rather fighting it I put the effort into fall yard clean-up. A few chores left, but effectively completed until spring. I did manage to complete all of the alternative aerobic activity.

Sunday: Off

Monday: 60:00 spin bike

Tuesday: 2,000 yard swimming

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: 60:00 spin bike

Friday: 2,000 yard swim

Saturday: 2 miles easy; 2 miles striding and walking

Have a good week.

Igy

happy November and resumption of standard time. good week for me, fitting in two hard days in a row so i could get two easy days before race:

M 55:00

Tu 2:00 double

W 2:00 double with 16 X 45 sec hard (45 sec easy) simulating 200's with no track access

Th 2:00 double with 3 X 10:00 (3:00 jog) at half-marathon effort

F 1:10

Sa 40:00

Su 1:00 (1:00 x-t yet to come) with 10k race in 38:54 (5th OA, 1st master [several fast masters were in the 5k])

great weather for race today -- high 30's/low 40's, sunny, no wind to speak of. Rolling but pretty fast course. I thought I'd likely be under 40:00, some chance under 39:00. Hit the mile in 5:46 and thought about declaring victory and calling it a day, but then I realized the marker was probably in the wrong place. Indeed, without seeming to slow down or get passed by anyone I hit more believable marks later (19:00 at 3 miles, 18:38 for next 3, 1:16 to the finish)

have a great week,

Dave

Fast running dhaaga.