50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

I see some good running recently. Time seems to pass too quickly at present and it's been a coupl of weeks since I last posted.

25 April - 1 May

Mon - am 45min, pm 30min

Tues - 25min (inc 4x150m accelerations)

Wed - warmup plus M60 mile race in our Masters League - 5:49.5 at 9:00pm in cold, windy conditions

Thurs - am 50min, pm track 10x200m with 200m jog

Fri - no running - travelling

Sat - warmup plus parkrun (19:45)

Sun - no running

Total - 48km/30miles

2 - 8 May

Mon - no running - travelling

Tues - am 45min including 8x10sec hills, pm 5x800m on grass

Wed - 30min

Thurs - am 30min, pm track 4x200m

Fri - 30min

Sat - track 600m time trial 1:53.8 (acting as a rabbit for a younger club member who gave me more than 100m start and still caught me before the line)

Sun - local 10k race 39:23 for 15th place (and very sore calves)

Total 58km/36miles

Everything is good at present, but I feel like I'm on the edge of overdoing it. This week should be relatively easy with a 3000m race at the weekend.

Best to all.

ATP - Isn't that 10k only ~20 seconds off your over 70 PR? Might be time to slow down for a month or two before breaking some more records. Hard to take a break when when running so fast.

Have you crossed paths with Johnathan Walton (Leeds, England) ? Thought maybe, you being an elite master runner, the two of you might have met. I experimented with MAF training and he was only fast master that I found that had success. Lots of fast runners claiming to follow MAF training but in reality the training was traditional with a base and speed work ( e.g., weekly races). All his runs for months consistently on Strava were very low HR but he would be able to run incredibly fast every few months. Amazing runner and would be interesting to talk to about training.

27 miles, 5 days.

First race next Sunday also volunteering again. 11th year of volunteering after the race cleaning up then off to post race breakfast which has been a tradition since 1977.

The emphasis used to be on racing nowadays after a third knee surgery and prostate cancer and a colectomy in 2013, the emphasis is on getting there, getting through the race, putting my back brace on and lifting the tables, chairs and starting line arch back into the truck and getting to post race breakfast feeling ok.

My gosh, terrifying... glad youre on the mend.

My weeks have been pretty steady:

m - squat focused weights and rucking (3-5 miles with 20-30 lbs backpack)

t - bench focused weights and EIM workout: 1 min on/2 min @ roughly 3K effort

w - EIM workout: 4 x 5 min on/ 5 min off in Zone 4

t - deadlift focused weights and rucking

f - overhead focused weights

s - EIM workout: 4 x5 min again

s - 30-45 easy run

Not sure it's the training I would have used in my prime but I am beginning to feel stronger and staying healthy so that's a win.

Your 3000m race.

haywardclassic.runnerspace.com

Hayward Classic - Videos - Men's 30-69 3000m - Hayward Classic 2022

Hayward Classic 2022

Link:haywardclassic.runnerspace.com/eprofil...

The video mostly focuses on the leader, Greg Mitchell, but it focuses on you guys more around the 11 minute mark. I was over the javelin area and didn't get to see the race as much as I wanted to.

Fidel B.

Hi BM, looking back it was only a very few seconds slower so I'm very pleased with the result. I try to be careful about not overdoing the training and racing and often cut back on my intended runs. A couple of the upcoming races are not that important and much of June will be training only. My calves are sore after Sunday so most of this week will be relativly short and easy.

I haven't met Jonathan Walton, but he appears to be a rather good M50 running for Leeds City and concentrating on longer distances. I have considered adopting the methods of the late great Ed Whitlock, but I don't have the patience and think they may not work for me.

Look after those feet.

Allen just read your half recap. Nice Job! Nice recap. Here is a link to the other weekly for the recap of Allen's half. Gotta ask , if you had known there was a M60 18 seconds up would you have caught him?

Dhaaga running goes from hard to brutal as we age. Get after that hammy just like you would a race.

Mike F The new Hayward Field is really nice. They did a great job. Hope to see you at 2023 Hayward Classic.

Big Mango good idea know steep mill works for you. But I really do prefer poweroff . Excited to try and rehab my calfs and actually do tempos on the roads or at least firm sand. Hope the toes are healing well.

Already feeling good next planned race will be a TT shooting for a sub 6 mile in Sept. Until then I am excited to work on bullet proofing my lower legs and refining my experiment of One.

Onward!

Thanks, Charlie. I'm not racing on the national stage, but still enjoy competing in my little world, ha!

In the final mile, I don't think I could have made up 18 seconds; I ran the last mile about as hard as I could.

But I had slowed at mile 9 or 10 to run very easy alongside the old man I thought was my only competition (I wanted to be sure I had a kick if needed). The eventual winner passed us when I slowed down, and I'm sure I could have stayed with him. Of course, I don't know what his potential might have been had it come down to the last mile or less.

He looked about 38! I absolutely thought there was no chance he was M60. Aargh. Lesson learned. Should have just maintained a hard pace. My racing skills and confidence levels have waned!

Pre-race botox.

Good job Allen1959.

Massive Respect for you two (Cav & Charlie) toeing the line at Hayward. Well done!

Congrats to Cavorty and Charlie! Unable to watch the video (no subscription) but according to split times in the protocol the race was interesting and even dramatic.

AtP, you are great, as usual! Unimaginable (for me) to plan a 3K race just after so fast 10K. All the best to you!

ha. M60 who looked 38 should be disqualified for deception. Roughly 10 years ago I ran x-c national championships when our club (montgomery county [MD] road runners) was the host and appreciated how the back of one's bib listed 5-year AG. Being a poor judge of age, I'd like every race to do that. While I'm at it, I want everyone I've met before to wear a huge name tag in front so I can quit worrying about forgetting names.

ok week as humidity made its seasonal appearance -- thankfully, not too hot yet.

M 1:15 + 1:00 x-t

Tu 1:30 double

W 1:15 with 2 X 10:00 (2:00) at half-marathon effort (ave. = 6:51/mile)

Th 1:10

F 1:10 with drills/strides

Sa 45:00 + 30:00 x-t

Su 1:05 with 4 X 5:00 hard (3:00 jog) + 1:00 x-t

off to get my mind right for Celtics/Bucks game 7. great series.

have a great week,

Dave

Hi all,

Real runner's week from Dave as so many before. Happy about my week as well. It's a pleasure to live the rythm during the workouts and from workout to workout. After long time building up, it is now well-being.

Mo 7 miles recovery

Tu 30 min jumps and drills uphill, 6x60m uphill

We 7 miles recovery, 5x100m with jog back

Th 6 miles with 12x1min on/off

Fr 8.2 miles easy

Sa 4x100m buildups with walk back, 6x200m in 31s flat with 200m slow walk

Su 1.5 h recovery in the hills

Next goal is to run those 200ers in 30s. Then, I want to introduce little specific 800m stuff.

All the best, stay safe!

dhaaga, RE: age group bibs, large font name tags and Bucks / Celtics, I vote your missive ‘post of the week’
These past 7 days, I had more highlights than lowlights. There’s even a chance that I may be coming off the ‘injured reserve’ list soon, and back into the major leagues.

In the meantime, they’ve got me slogging about in the minors, where I managed to scratch out a full 30 mile week for the first time since late March🤞🏻

Hit 500 miles ‘year to date’ on this morning’s active recovery session…almost 4 months earlier than my surgery infested year of 2021.

Improved upon last week’s 8 miler (on the same course) by 90 seconds per mile yesterday.

Hell, who knows, I might get to finally join you guys on an actual starting line by mid-summer, or if nothing else, when our Pacific Association of USATF hosts Cross Country Club Nationals in Golden Gate Park at year’s end.

On the hoops front, as the Dallas Mavericks MAY prove a touch less lethal to the Warriors team that I root for, I’ll probably be pulling for them later this afternoon.

If I had my druthers, a Celtics vs Warriors finals would be pretty awesome.

Wishing one and all an exceptional week of health and fitness.

Your pal,
MF

M62, 5'11", 173 lbs
Age 23: 16:05, 2:40:30
Age 43: 17:10, 2:56:03
Age 58: 18:58, 3:07:23

MAY 9-16, 2022
M - Off
Tu- 4.0 miles (9:20, 8:50, 7:58, 7:20)
W - Off
Th- 18.0 miles @ 8:40/mi avg
F -- Off
Sa- Off
Su- 4.0 miles (9:55, 9:16, 8:50, 7:37)
TOTAL: 26.0 MILES

Marathon is two weeks from today. Full taper mode now.

Thursday was a planned "depletion run," but, wow, I didn't expect to hit the wall at 14 miles! The run was after a 12-hour fast -- no food or liquids (except cup of coffee).
I averaged 8:22 pace through 14, then 10-minute miles for the last four.

I really wasn't yet recovered from the half marathon the previous Saturday, so shouldn't have been too surprised. Plus it was the first warm run this year (sunny, 70s), and I was no doubt very dehydrated (lost 10 pounds during the run -- 172 at start, 162 afterwards).

Happy with the effort, though, and looking forward to the race.

Run well.

Newbi: keep running , looks like you’re on pace.
Allen: reads like you’re ready for your 26.2. An off final run post half marathon is good for the racing soul during a marathon

My week:

M: 6M with 10(1:00@7:45/1:30@10:30)

T: 36:00 treadmill @ 13:30 pace

W: 6M @ 9:55 pace, progressive

Th: 36:00 @ 13:30 pace

F: 5.5M w/10:00 @ 8:20 pace and one mile @ 8:45 pace

Sat: drove wife to her place of employment for the last 17 years so we could box up her professional life and artwork. I brought large box of Kleenex for her; it’s all gone.
S: 10M on hilly Kohl’s course @ 10:15 pace. Lots and lots of ups and downs. And very surprised deer.
enjoy the week

Allen wrote

Thursday was a planned "depletion run," but, wow, I didn't expect to hit the wall at 14 miles! The run was after a 12-hour fast -- no food or liquids (except cup of coffee).
I averaged 8:22 pace through 14, then 10-minute miles for the last four.

Fasting to get faster!

Running is all about the base / Vivaldi / Sand Castles slogging in the dunes 20 minutes per day Love it. Maybe just for fun and a nice road trip club cross in Dec

Nice coverage from 2015

We have the opportunity to qualify to run in an England Masters team over 10k, HM or marathon by coming in the top 3 or 4 in age group in certain races that are open to all. This year we are being asked to pin our age group on the back of our vests. I think it is a good idea to help distinguish our competitors.

This has been a week of recovery for me prior to a 3000m race on Saturday.

Mon - 30min

Tues - am 30min, pm 45min including 6x800m on grass

Wed - rest

Thur - am 30min, pm 25min including 4x200m on the track

Fri - rest

Sat - 3000m in 10:58.07. I was aiming for 10:55 and was going well until the last lap when it all fell apart. On a positive note it was 7 secs faster than 5 weeks ago and my best time in 5 years.

Sun - 50min

Total 50km/31miles

Senior Nationals 800 Final yesterday here in Miramar Florida.

Love or Hate? I LOVE the 800!

Super tactical Heat 2. Was scared crapless of two 400/800 guys who had just raced 58pt and 61pt in previous day's 400 final. Thought they would blast out lap one with me having to hunt. Nope. They ran smart for a 71 to the bell where I was still in 3rd. All brakes were tapped for the next 200 before rounding the final turn. I went wide with 115 to go. Exciting dog fight all the way to the line with the British and Russian/Ukranian 4/8 guys. Forced to lane 2 and 3 with legs buckling to lean for the GOLD by only 0.08 seconds.

I preach to the high schoolers I coach over and over about their obsession in chasing PRs and clocks for Championship Racing... "What was Centro's time in the Rio Olympics?" Answer is GOLD!"

1500 manana.