ATP - Great race and think I remember you even having a faster 10k this year. Looks like you are stepping down the volume. Look forward seeing your times next year.
ATP - Great race and think I remember you even having a faster 10k this year. Looks like you are stepping down the volume. Look forward seeing your times next year.
OG II: I see about the course, thanks.
Coyote Montane: congrats on your podium and the victory of your team! Noticed a tough competition behind your back: while you were a way ahead of the 4th guy, the other 10 were within 30 seconds. Looks like it does not happen often, and the runners in older age groups are usually more dispersed.
Robert E. Lee: I wish it’s just a temporary difficulty with your leg, not a big problem. With your fantastic record of running your body will hopefully find the resources to overcome it. Hold on and good luck!
Amkelley: good to see your jogging mileage is increasing.
ATP: one more fantastic run from you. 39:58/10K on a narrow and slow course is outstanding for your AG.
BigMango: thanks for your info about diclofenac. As my knee is not getting better for about 2 months, I decided to take these pills (in spite of being quite reluctant to any drugs in general). Started just 2 days ago, but already clearly feel a sort of nausea (as a side effect). Will continue though…
Great XC Nats Racing Y'all!
And now a word from the whiner of the group who knows and respects just how hard cross-country is - particularly with a Dew Point of 70! The 100% humidity and 70F was such a zapper. I haven't seen such carnage crawling, rolling, backward leaning like the Keep On Trucking guy, just trying to get over the line in any race ever. For those who watched NCAAs a few weeks ago when Cooper Teare's body shut down to near zero mechanical ability, there were dozens and dozens of this at Club Nats - mostly for ALL of the men's races (maybe since women only went 6k?). It was brutal. Or that women endure discomfort way more than men. Clearly, I'm not tough enough to do this to my body but I sure suffered. Managed only 26th (I think) in M60-64 and a slow slow slow time of 34:41 for 8k. That's more than 2 mins slower than the same course 4 years ago 32:29 - when it was an awesome 40F.
XC is THE toughest honest sport. I therefore always tip my hat to ALL the women and men who ran as hard as they could for their team. Reckon that covers 100% of the Masters Athletes who toed the starting line and crossed that finish line any way they could.
And now for my typical statement soon after the dry-heaving ended and the medical volunteers get some kind of a response, from this here old fool to their simple question "are you alright?".... "BRING ON THE 800!"
Orient,
Tablets? Is it helping? It amazes me how all of us react to drugs, diet, etc so differently. I have had bad diarrhea a few times but I live in a developing nation and eat street food . Diarrhea is something I experience regularly.
For me, I almost have an immediate (3-6 hours) reaction to diclofenac. Now when injured, I don't worry about the injury until taking 100 grams for a few days. Most my injuries are nerve/tendon issues and it has been hard to not use diclofenac as a crutch in the past. Think I probably take it for 2-3 days now once every few months but would be cool with taking it for a month if needed. Just me and I get the worry others have.
My last add on the Club XC race is that I have decided that It's time for me to join the world of modern running shoe technology. The 70-74 guy who beat me by 4 seconds for 2nd was wearing Nike ZoomX Next %s, and I was wearing my 3 year old New Balance XC5000 v2s. While Rick might have beaten me even if I'd had super shoes, I don't want to be wondering if better shoe technology made the difference in where I place in a race. After I get my new shoes and put some miles on them I'll give my impressions of how much they affect the running of those of us who mostly run on the high side of 7:00/mile.
OG II,
You are perfectly right. My own experience: until this spring I was sure that my Pegs Turbo 2 were good enough and I should not waste time analyzing all this hype about super shoes. But during a regular visit to a "running stuff store" I saw Asics MetaSpeed .... (they just rolled them out) and they fit me so nicely that I bought a pair without hesitation. I assume they are not as good as Nike ... Next% 2, but anyway take 2 sec/km down vs. Pegs turbo 2.
Congrats again and good luck!
Greetings, fellow 50+ers! Happy Christmas week to those celebrating. And let’s not forget the Solstice is this week, too. The gradual loss of daylight hours will now reverse and daylight hours will continue to grow well into June. 🌞
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the local weather continued its roller coaster ride this week. For example, we went from temps in the 60s on Friday to 30s and several inches of snow nearby on Saturday. My guess is this strange pattern is related to climate change. Unfortunately we have all recently seen how deadly and destructive the weather has become, but these warm days are a silver lining that I am enjoying. Still I obviously wouldn’t mind returning to a more typical pattern, if it means reducing the amount of weather related heartache so many are experiencing.
Anyway, it was a good week for me with about 21.5 miles of actual running. I did have some occasional mild ankle soreness early that blossomed into a full time niggle by late week. At the moment, it is tolerable and has been static over the last few days. I have a 2+ week break planned for early in the new year, so my hope is that this ankle thingy does not get any worse in the near term and the eventual down time will help the ankle to fully recover. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I am laying off the “speed” in the hope of not making things worse.
Sun: 65’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine
Mon: off
Tue: 54’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine
Wed: off
Thu: 54’ running (3); 16 oz curls
Fri: off
Sat: 53’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine
Best to most!
Greetings to all!
Weather had mercy on my area this week with temperatures up to comfortable 25-30F after some days with 1-digit numbers. Plenty of fresh snow, good for XC skiing.
So, my week was as follows (skiing only, no running, thus only minutes registered):
Mon – (planned) off
Tue – 71 min (25 @LT effort by feel)
Wed – (unexpected) off
Thu – 84 min (25 @ LT and 10 above LT)
Fri - 65 min (27 @LT)
Sat - 72 min (24 @LT)
Sun - 75 min (20 @LT)
Subtotal 367 min incl. 130 at LT and above
As Santa is already on his way, it’s time to take stock on this year.
M63, 5’6”, 137-139 lbs.
Total mileage from mid March through Dec. 3 (was skiing the rest of the year): 1677 km / 1042 miles
9 races from late April through late Oct.: four 5Ks, four 10Ks and one 12+ km trail.
Season bests: 18:53/5K and 39:34/10K.
I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas, happy and prosperous New Year and injury-free running!
Holiday greetings one and all.
I had a totally unremarkable week, 'highlighted' only by surpassing 113,400 lifetime miles.
You know how in the marathon, early on your benchmarks come in 5 mile chunks...then later you're just running mile to mile...and it eventually devolves into a slow march from lightpole to lightpole? Well, that's like my lifetime miles count.
I used to revel in 10,000 mile markers...then for years, every 1,000 miles...well, now I take solace in every additional mere 100 miles ;}
At any rate, hoping that your week was swell and that Santa brings you something very cool.
Your pal,
MF
In a nod to Orient, last night I watched the 1983 murder mystery Gorky Park. William Hirt makes a perfect hero and the dastardly Lee Marvin the archetype villain.
The thread year 2021 was great as usual for many here. Inspiring to read about many of the best masters runners in the World. As for myself, I suppose the only somewhat blessed notion is that I can still manage a run. The large field competing at the USATF Club Nationals in the M70 age group shows it is not that unusual. Still, I feel fortunate to be able to still enjoy the sport.
As for this week, I decided to take some down time away from our local running group. A biomechanical imbalance has plagued me at several points this past year. Until the New Year I plan to cross train and see if that addresses the problem. If not, see my PT who has been my go to problem solver in the past. Anyway this week, 2 hours spin bike, 2,000 yards swimming, and 6 miles walking.
Merry Christmas, and to all a good running week.
Igy
happy (almost) solstice! another easy week on my end. Tentatively targeting Jan. 1 for getting back into organized training with a goal race in mind:
M 1:00
tu 1:15 double + 1:00 x-t
W 1:15 with drills and strides
Th 1:30 double
F 1:00 + 1:00 x-t
Sa 1:35 + 1:00 x-t
Su 45:00
have a great week,
Dave
M61, 5'11", 180 lbs
M -- 7.4 miles @ 10:11/mi
T --- Off
W -- 5.0 miles @ 9:30/mi
T --- Off
F --- 5.0 miles @ 10:05/mi out, 8:43 back
S --- Off
S --- 6.0 miles (10:49, 10:00, 9:58, 9:19, 8:39, 7:50)
TOTAL: 23.4 MILES
I took a few weeks off to heal my hamstring. It's still a bit tender, but much improved. Meanwhile, I've been enjoying this thread. Fantastic results at Club Nats. Congrats to Coyote Montane, OG II, KP. Also nice racing by ATP, wow!
A few years back when I was running well ( ... umm, 83% AG, not the 90+ that many here achieve!), I had aspirations of running with Checkers AC (Buffalo) or GVH (Rochester), but, alas, the knees said "no."
Looking forward to BigMango's results! Sub 2:45? That would be incredible. By comparison, of my 26 marathons, exactly ONE was sub-2:45. That was 39 years ago!
Happy Holidays.
Hello 50+ gang, and Holiday Greetings.
It's been 19 months since I've been able to train. My pesky Achilles tendon problem is behind me now, finally.
I ran 22.1 miles this week. It's a start.
Actually I've been doing 15mpw for a couple months, but now that I can run 20 without problems I'm back in the mental framework of training.
I look forward to catching up with posters -- first I'll say to old guy II. Yes, it's worth the fast fancy shoes even at slower paces. My last race, in March 2020 was a marathon in Next %, and they helped a lot. But I can't compare times as I've only ever run 2 marathons and both in the fancy shoes. But tempo runs suggest they knock off a good chunk. Sorry for lack of deets -- I didn't dig through training journals for the answer.
Some numbers on Next% in a race situation.
Brazen New Years Eve Half Marathon 2018, 1:40:04. Shoe, Brooks PureFlow 7 - age 61
Brazen New Years Eve Half Marathon 2019, 1:36:47. Shoe, Nike Next% - age 62
the training was a bit better in the 2nd race.
2018, 45mpw (half marathon build cycle)
2019, 55mpw (marathon build cycle)
Big Red, thanks for the thoughts on super shoes. I now am the poorer but happy owner of a pair of New Balance RC Elite v2s. I did lots of internet research, and there was agreement that the the Nike VF Next % is a slightly faster shoe than the NB, but the NB is a more comfortable shoe. For quite a few years I have been training and racing in NBs and I know they have a good last shape for my foot which is wider than average for my size. The shoe reviews all talked about the wide toe box of the NB. Also, I have been a friend and team mate of a couple of the senior NB shoe reps out West and have frequently gotten a modest discount for racing in their shoes. However, my NB friend said no one was getting a discount on this model, not even him. Only the pros with NB contracts were getting the shoes. Everybody else pays full price if you want them.
I have done two runs in them, one on the roads and one on trails. I don't know yet if they are faster, but they are one of the most comfortable shoes I have run in. My legs definitely feel less beat up after a workout in them. This was a good first week for my 4-week recover but stay fit plan before USATF XC. 46 miles for the week -
M- 6mi walk
T- 6mi of 2mi w.u. 6x800 with 400 recover (I ran them back and forth on a straight road with a solid headwind, the 3 into the wind at 3:50 and the 3 with a tailwind at 3:35)
W- 8mi walk
Th- 7mi progressive in the new shoes 10:55, 8:35, 8:35, 8:05, 7:50, 7:39, 7:29.
F- 6mi walk
S- 7mi trails with my son, moderate effort 8:06/mi
Su- 6mi walk
Happy holidays and good running to all!
Next 8 weeks is all about the base
M65 2021 Highlight M60+ Mile PR (M60 5:51 M65 5:38) by M70 I should be sub 5! and clean as a new borns rap sheet.
Feeling good did some super slow running a good sand dune sprint a monster mtn bike ride
Onward!
MikeF. wrote:
You know how in the marathon, early on your benchmarks come in 5 mile chunks...then later you're just running mile to mile...and it eventually devolves into a slow march from lightpole to lightpole? Well, that's like my lifetime miles count.
I used to revel in 10,000 mile markers...then for years, every 1,000 miles...well, now I take solace in every additional mere 100 miles ;}
Very well put!
Big Red, I’m happy to see you’re on the way back.
This was a tough week. My dystonia suddenly acted up at the start of the week and I didn’t even try to run on two days, and two other days I gave up after a mile. Cold, wind, and rain really limited outdoor cycling. It’s winter.
Mon: 1.1 mile very slow jog, 47 + 39 minutes on bike trainer, gym.
Tues: 1.1 mile slow jog, 40 min. bike trainer, gym, another 45 min. bike trainer.
Weds: 3.1 mile jog, 16 mile bike ride, gym.
Thurs: 78 min. on bike trainer, gym
Fri: 3.5 miles in 40 min, gym, 15 mile bike ride
Sat: 3.7 miles in 42 min, 18 mile bike ride, gym
Sun: 45 min. on bike trainer, gym including 30 min. on stair climber and 15 min. rowing. Hoped to get outdoors on bike, but this seems unlikely as it’s still 39 degrees with socked-in fog at noon. Perhaps I'll just grow roots into the couch and watch football.
Happy winter solstice and happy holidays to all!
Good to see folks back in training.
Base fun week:
Mo 7 miles easy
Tu 30 min jumps and drills uphill, 6x60m uphill, 2x150m uphill
We 7 miles easy, 5x100m with jog back
Th 9 miles easy in the hills with surges uphill
Fr 7 miles recovery pace, tired legs and no strides/buildups
Sa WU, 5x800m progressing from 3:15 to 3:00 min with 400m jog, CD, legs were good, stayed disciplined
Su 90 min recovery pace in the hills
Wishing a nice Xmas season!
Quick post - tired and sore from race. Went out at 2:42 pace and fell apart the last 12k. Finished 2:46:40 chip time. No idea what was going on the last 12k. Only three week prep probably contributed but it was something else. It has happened now during my last 2 marathons. I wasn't really tired and felt I was going fast but about 25 seconds slower per mile after mile 19. I only look at average pace on my watch face and saw it increasing every mile but every time I pick it up my HR would increase too much. I would slow down because I feared not finishing so close to the end.
I almost left Chiang Mai (race city) 2 days prior after falling out of a huge papaya tree and messing my hip up but after the seeing the strange looks from my partner (not a runner), calmed down and focused on relaxing. She also warned me that it wasn't a good idea. There is a reason we use a pole and basket at our home. To my wonderment, the hip was perfect at race start and never bothered me.
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Merry X-mass