50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

dhaaga, exact same day, Tuesday (June 7th) was our 25th wedding anniversary...looks like you got me by two full AGs ;} ...seriously though, congratulations.

Greetings!

Allen, you have all my sympathy. Sure your current state will improve. I think that the US medicine is quite good nowadays in treating and 100% healing the prostate cancer. As for consequences of your fall in the end of the race, hope it's a matter of time and patience. Good luck with all the challenges you are facing!

This week was decisive for me with respect to the upcoming 10 km road on Sat. June 18. After a very poor month of May (92 miles only for the whole month, the second worst in
4 years) I thought there was a chance to pick up in two hard weeks. Not sure whether I succeeded or not, but I tried, at least. And intervals on a trail yielded even slightly better times than a year ago (did it exactly 8 days before the race, like this week).

Mon – off
Tue – 7 miles. Hard intervals on a trail: 4 x 4:34-4:39 (equivalent to 3:45-3:50/km on a road).
Wed – off
Thu – 9 miles. 5 miles easy, then 4 x 50 sec uphill hard, then 5’ easy, then about 1 mile moderate, then cool down.
Fri – 7 miles. In the middle, 2x3 km (4 min jog in between), 12:09 and 12:13, respectively.
Sat – 45 min elliptical easy/moderate.
Sun – 11 km easy/moderate.

So, the plan for the next week is one hard workout and then easy/tapering. Psychological focusing, adrenaline generation and its optimal control prior to the race. Also, weight control.

Happy and injury-free running to all!

Agreed! I didn't see any of Portland but did watch Rome and a lot of the NCAAs. Some great performances.

I'm making only marginal progress, but I guess it beats regressing. My walking speed continues to improve and I'm usually walking at better than 15 min/mile on roads for 6-7 miles per day. I continue to try throwing in periods of jogging but can't sustain it for long before my bad leg starts to drop and scuff the ground and I shut down before falling. I did manage to average under 13 min/mile for 6.6 miles of walking and jogging this morning, which was pretty good. I also went on a 10-mile hike mid-week that started by gaining 1800 feet of elevation, up to 8900 feet, where there were still a few patches of snow. Coming down was quite the quad-buster but I managed it all just fine and wasn't sore the next day. I really don't know what to do to get the running back, though.

Onward...

25 miles and a race.

5k today. Did ok but it was hot here in AZ.

Its hard to race when I volunteer too. This morning, I set up, then after the race was over, I helped clean up and load the trucks back up.

volunteering, even though it sure loosens me up when I’m handling dollies stacked with water. But it ruins a runners race which may be why it’s been the same volunteers 6 to 10 races a year, every tear the past 10 anyway.

I’m skipping a race this coming Saturday. Just too far away. So, I’m going back to a “ base” week… 40-50 miles.

Hi alltogether,

Smooth training this week. Avoided track to safe my ankles. Hope to be back on track soon (want to crack 6x200m in 30s with 200m walk).

Mo 7 miles easy

Tu 30 min jumps and drills uphill, 6x60m uphill

We 7 miles easy

Th 5x100m with walk back, 10x30s/30s run/walk

Fr 7 miles recovery

Sa 7.5 miles hilly with 4 miles tempo, 4x30s uphill fast with full recovery

Su off, dare to recover and to accomodate to 3 workouts per week

Have a pleasant week!

Greetings fellow 50+ers and an early Happy Flag Day! 🇺🇸

The recovery continues in a positive direction with a solid 20.2 miles of actual running this week. This was my first 20+ mile week since the first week of the new year! Now that the volume is back, the intensity can’t be too far behind…can it? To that end, I touched (barely) on some “speed” a couple of times this week. The legs are a bit weary, but the heart and will are strong. Speaking of the legs, the calf seems to be completely healed (knock on wood) and the knee seems a bit better each day. Getting closer to that “old man 100%”. With the continued support of this group, I am optimistic about the future.

Sun: off

Mon: 55’ CR w/ utility pole fartlek (9 x 1 on / 3 off); body wt ex + med ball routine

Tue: off

Wed: 56’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

Thu: off

Fri: 54’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

Sat: off

Sun: 52’ CR w/ utility pole fartlek (9 x 1 on / 3 off); body wt ex + med ball routine

All the best!

The four things that keep one honest: the track, the stopwatch, the training log, and Sunday mornings Masters 50+ training and racing posts ;}
Mike F. Is spot on

M: 6M with 10(300/200) @ 1:27/1:31

T: 52:00 treadmill @ 12:30 pace

W: 6M @ 10:13 pace with 1.5M tempo end of run - 5 x strides

Th: 52:00 treadmill @ 12:14 pace

F: 6M with 6(200 on/100 off/100 on/100 off) @ :57/:43

Sat: 11M @ 10:01 pace

I want a race finish like Kristie Scoffield earned in the NCAA 800m.
enjoy the week

Schoffield

I need to do better about checking in!

Take care Allen. Wishing you the best and hopeful of a full recovery. That sounds like some serious stuff you're dealing with.

After a lousy April and May dealing with my sore shin, just like that it's gone. I had a decent two weeks post HM with just running, logging 45 & 44 miles. Noting everyday 'Physically 100%'. I did add some weekly strides. 5x30 sec around 5:30 pace. I planned out a more structured 5k schedule for the rest of the summer. I'm probably going to stick with mostly tempos and strides with a Saturday long run. Every 3rd week some longer Threshold intervals. Miles topping out at 60mpw. With a goal of remaining healthy at all costs!

I ran my first 5k of the year on Saturday. I'm mostly happy with the 18:37 time. Though we always wish to be faster, this was everything I had on this day. Splits weren't bad at 6:01,6:08,6:04 to win the 60-64 by about 2 minutes. (Kinda cool to see an Olympic Bronze medalist in 2nd!) Age grades to a 87.29% at 62.06 years old, which I'll gladly take at this point! As long as I can remain healthy I'm certain I can get over 90% later this year.

I wore a chest strap to monitor my HR data. I max'd out at 167. I was redlining way too early hitting 160 just 2:30 into the race. HR steadily rose from 160 to 167 the rest of the way. It's safe to say 167 is my new MAX heart rate!

That's it from here. I always enjoy keeping up on everyone's posts regardless if I'm posting or not.

Have A Good Run,

Dave

Orient: lots a similarities with what we do (this week with 4 min reps) and also the need to manage the adrenaline.

Amkelley: It has to be frustrating, but it looks like the trend although slow, is actually in the right direction. Could it be some sort of nerve damage that is slowly repairing?

Latest week:

Last Sun - 6.81 miles, including track session - 6x800m with 200m/2 min
jog/walk recovery - 3:09, 3:06, 3:07, 3:06, 3:05, 3:04.

Mon - 5 miles in 39:35 (7:55)

Tue - 8 miles in 57:13 (7:09) including 6x4 minutes at around 10k to 10 mile pace with 4 minutes steady (around 7:45 per mile pace) recovery.

Wed - 4 miles in 31:49 (7:57 pace)

Thur - 5 miles in 37:13 (7:26 pace), including 15x20 sec strides with 1 min steady recovery.

Fri - 3 miles recovery jog - 26:58 (8:42 per mile)

Sat - 4 miles easy in 31:30 (7:52 per mile) - was going to do track, but felt like I needed another easy day.

Sun - 7.01 miles in 52:09 (7:27 pace) including 5x4 min at 5k effort with 2 min slow recovery. Was going to do 5x1000m (target around 3:55) with 2 min/200m recovery, but track waterlogged, so did the 4 min efforts on road instead (not a bad thing, as I'm getting ready for a July 4 road race).

Calculated that for the total of 20 min at 5k effort I ran 3.18 miles or 5120m, average of 6:17 per mile or 3:54 per 1000m, so about 19:30 5k pace.

Interesting that max HR is 165 (which I saw up a long incline in a mountain race in November) and that on the first four the highest my HR reached was 149 (it did hit 152 briefly at the end of the last one pushing on a slight incline into 8mph wind). That would seem to indicate that leg fatigue residual training fatigue) was more a limiting factor than anything cardio-vascular.

Goal is a sub 20:00 in the Butte-to-Butte at Eugene on July 4.

One more hard week, and then start to consolidate..

I seemed to have tired myself somewhat with hard running last week and the first part of this week. I'm happy with my training and fitness though at 3 weeks out from a July 4th 10k. 43 miles this week.

M- 6mi of 400 walk/ 400 run

T- 8mi hills 9:36/mi

W- 6mi of 400 walk/ 400 run

Th- 6mi hills 9:24/mi

F- 6mi of 400 walk/ 400 run

S- 8mi trails with my son 9:24/mi

Su- 3mi easy 10:20/mi (followed by a trip to the zoo with my 2-1/2yr old granddaughter, which included a couple of miles carrying an ~25lb chatterbox).

Good running to all!

Recovery week4 Base Speed Race

Daily 1min run 1min walk for 30 minutes

1,2,3,4 minutes with equal rest walking progression 8min mile down to 4 minutes at 6:20

4x22 seconds hill hard r 4 minutes

LT + 10bpm on my sand out and back x 5 3:35 down to 3:22 pretty happy with this

20 minutes a day power off treadmill easy

various walks , bike rides, 20 minutes a day of squats pullups old man burpees ect.

Plans Recovery , Base till Sept then sub 6 mile at 66 , maybe do something different like a 6 hour run walk marathon;) 1/1

Last Monday, prior to the worst of the heat wave moving in (only 80 degrees and moderate humidity, but still more difficult than cool and dry spring weather we've had) was our KC Corporate Challenge track 1 mile (fully a mile). My wife, Jane, ran in the 65-69 category, but they ran her age group along with the 50's, 55's, 60's, and 70's, so it was impossible to determine where she was relative to anyone looking close to her age. So there were 7 women who finished in front of her, but all being in younger age groups. Struggling with the warmer weather, she ran 7:46.15 to break the 65-69 record by 2.76 seconds, and felt it wasn't her best, just best for the day. She came back the next night to take 2nd in the 400 in 1:38+, behind a 1:29.8 to a lovely lady who'd recovered from a hamstring avulsion and surgery. That lady had not been informed of the mile by her business, bringing Jane her good fortune and a gold medal in the mile. She age-graded 78% in the mile, 79.4% if put in age 65 that she'll be a month and a half. Despite her nervousness, she did spike up for the run.

Myself, I ran 8:30.7 as a 71 year old, with each 400 getting faster. Trying to get my wheels rolling after that 1/2 marathon in mid-May is always a tough go, felt strong but she would love to be sharper and faster, ah well. Age graded for me, not so hot! I wore racing flats, but not spikes. Placed 5th of 8 in my age group, and did not run the 400 the next night.

Greetings!

Mike L: congratulation to you and your wife on good results!

I ran national masters 10K road championship this morning. Will be resting tomorrow, so the weekly report is ready.

Mon: 7 miles. In the middle, 11 min at the 10K race pace (by effort), 2’ jog and then 10:45 back on the same segment. Felt a little bit upset because the pace was about 4:10 min/km and was uneasy to maintain. "Race magic" was the only hope in the 5 day perspective.

Tue and Thu: off, with a typical evening cross-training for a nearly M64: “doing the garden, digging the weeds”.

Wed: 6 miles easy/moderate.

Fri: 3 miles easy, some strides in the end.

Sat: approx. 10 miles incl. 2.5 miles warm-up, 10K race and 1.5 miles cool-down.

Now, a more detailed report about the race.

Course: hilly, with a total elevation gain about 90 m. A relatively steep climb beginning at 800 m from the start, then a more shallow one up to about 2.5 km mark, then down/flat/down until the U-turn at 5 km and then back along the same road. It’s a common feeling among several experienced guys that some 45-60 sec should be added to a fast flat course result.

Weather: nothing to complain about. It was about 62-63 F during the race, cloudy, moderate wind.

Shoes: Asics MetaSpeed Sky. They definitely fit my feet better than VFs.

(My) health status: not so much to complain, either. Among several long lasting injuries/troubles, none had a considerable impact on running (at least as I felt it). The only one that brought some inconvenience was metatarsal on the right foot, but the pain
was tolerable.

(My) current form: though May was a total failure as far as the training was concerned, two weeks in June were good and I picked up a little bit. Interval testing a week ago showed that I was faster than a year ago when I ran 10K at 39:45 on a flat course. Tapering was OK this week, the same about adrenaline control. I feel quite confident on climbs, so the course was OK for me, and I knew that many were somewhat scared that gave me certain advantage (and it was so indeed).

The race: started moderately and though passed many on the first climb, having seen 8:15 at the 2 km mark understood that breaking 40 min was not possible and relaxed about the result. 20:11 at the 5 km mark looked better but a negative split was never my strong point, so I just concentrated on the long shallow 2 km climb – to secure enough fuel for the final quarter of the race. It went well indeed, but near the top I saw a girl (well, a 51 y.o. lady) who caught up with me on the left. In 2000’s (in her 30’s) she was once the 3rd at the Boston marathon and also won some full M’s across the world (Honolulu, Nagoya/Japan, Rotterdam, Toronto). In the previous season, I finished 2 times some 20-30 seconds behind her, so I thought she would be a good company for the final 2.5 km. Even had some chat with her cheering her up saying that probably she would eat me up at the final kick, but I would not mind (as I have no kick at all). She replied that she was not in a good form today, but indeed accelerated a bit after 8.5 km. Surprisingly, running shoulder-to-shoulder was not a problem for me and we were slowly but surely approaching a group of guys some 20-25 m ahead of us. Moreover, when I looked at my watch at 9.5 km I understood that breaking 40 was doable and invited her to attempt it, but she waved that she did not care. I did not kicked but pressed a little bit and reached that group of guys (that dispersed on that last 150-200 m). I finished at 39:58 and she at 40:03. Only after the finish, having looked at the results, I understood how stupid and lazy was I. In that group of guys there were three of my age group (60-64), but I did not know that. So, I was 6th in my AG while the 4th and 5th were only 2 and 1 sec faster, respectively. The 7th was given the same time as me but I passed him in the finish corridor. So, it seemed doable to be the 4th, but anyway the time would be far away from the podium. The winner in AG 60-64 showed 37:37 (had 35:37 a year ago on a flat course), the second finished at 38:08, and the third at 38:50.

Anyway, I am very satisfied. Do not feel exhausted (played then outdoors with my granddaughters for nearly half a day), and a good negative split (20:11 vs 19:47) showed that I was close to my current capabilities.

I wish everybody good races and injury-free training!

Congrats on the sub-40. That's a fine showing! Too bad about those two right ahead of you, but some consolation in 3rd place place being out of reach!

I'm still on the outside looking in -- can't believe tomorrow will be three weeks since I've run even a step. And still recuperating, ugh!

Congrats also to Mike L. and his wife. Nice!

Also, I saw that Coach Rohl's wife posted a stellar time at a recent road-mile race if I'm recalling correctly (brain is still fuzzy!).

And, good to see some hopeful signs for amkelley. Slow-going, though, which must be frustrating.

My son, fresh off his very first marathon, continues to train seriously. Doubles, long runs. As a proud dad, this is fun to see!

Run well, all!

Orient: nice sharing of your race. thanx for sharing.
As for me, the annual June dew point above 70, humidity above 80, and temps above 90 have arrived. ugh

M: 6M-12(200/200) @ 7:45/11:00

T: 56:00 treadmill @ 12:25 pace

W: 7M-12(0.1/200) @ 7:30 pace/11:30 pace

Th: 56:00 treadmill @ 12:15 pace

F: 8.25M @ 10:45 pace - heat was awful

Sat: 5km race in 25:15; 1st in 60-64; a delayed start to 5km season, but a good start on a rolling, sun-drenched course

next week’s weather threatens to be downright miserable: dew point in the high 70’s, higher humidity, and temps over 100. Thrills galore.
enjoy the week ahead

Orient: Congrats on the 10K!
Mike L and Jane: Congrats on the KC mile!
Allen: Continued healing!
MagicShoes: Agreed, the ‘feels-like’ temp has been off the charts!

Mon = 68 min easy, flat, paved greenway. Really hot, I had to hop in my car to cool off at 58 min in order to finish.
Tue = 68 min easy on flat, paved greenway, am. Too hot to run with evening group.
Wed = 68 min easy, flat, paved greenway, tired
Thr = 68 min easy, flat, paved greenway
Fri = Every Fri off
Sat = Hike up Mt Rogers (9 miles), Virginia’s highest peak at 5729 feet (1746 meters), with 1586 feet of climbing, very rocky, poor footing, unpleasant
Sun = 30 min easy, flat, paved greenway. Sore from Sat hike.

Like most of the US it was very hot here in Virginia this week. I felt kind of beat down and tired so I’m holding at 68 minutes next week to give my legs time to recover.

Sat I was looking forward to hiking Virginia’s highest peak. However, I had forgotten how rocky and tough the footing was. I’ve done shorter versions of this hike in the past. The long version is an all day effort. It hurt my feet and knees.

I’m pushing myself to ‘experiment’ with new things in retirement. My hypothesis that a long, hard, all day hike would be great was proven wrong.

Have a good one!

Greetings, fellow 50+ers! Happy Juneteenth to all and Happy Fathers Day to those celebrating! And a big congrats to all of you posting stellar racing results. You stories are very inspirational!

This was another positive week in my effort to build back better. There were no calf issues and the knee problem has been officially downgraded to a “niggle”. After last week’s buildup the legs were a bit weary, so I backed off on the volume a bit this week to a total slightly north of 17 miles. And there were positive signs that my pace is improving, so I’m hopeful of a return to late 2021 form in the near future. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Sun: 52’ CR w/ utility pole fartlek (9 x 1 on / 3 off); body wt ex + med ball routine

Mon: off

Tue: 34’ CR

Wed: off

Thu: 42’ running (2); 16 oz curls

Fri: off

Sat: 54’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

All the best!

Mon. 10 km hike up and down Mt Torbreck in the snow. Lots of scrambling on the climb, some long butt slides on the descent. Great fun, a thoroughly exhausting 4 hours.

Tue. 70 min mtb ride into the night then a slow 15 min jog.

Wed. 6 deg C 25 kph wind torrential rain mtb ride of 1 hour. After work at 10.30pm a cold and wet 7 lap barefoot run on the grass track inside the velodrome in 15 mins

Thu. 70 min mtb ride. Again a 7 lap barefoot run in 15 mins at 10.30pm after work.

Fri. 3 plus hours of driving to sort out some stuff for 96 yo mum. Home in time to roll the arms over for 45 mins in the kayak. Jogged 15 mins 2.4 km along the railtrail in the dark.

Sat. 10 km easy trail run in an hour.

Sun. Long drive to catch up with son and youngest daughter. Got home late so just did a brisk 5 km walk with my wife.

Baby steps after lots of hip butt hamstring issues in last 6 weeks, although they have been hassling me all year.