Masters Weekend Races and Runs

Enough improvement with my Achilles to lay out a training plan for spring. Goal races are Boulder Bolder and the Dipsea trail run. I'd like to get close to 6 min. mile pace at BB and run under 60 mins. at the Dipsea.

Little stranger is due to arrive in our house at the end of April so all plans are subject to change.

Headed up to the local mountain (Eldora) for a Nordic ski session this morning. Ride the wind!

congrats in advance on the arrival of the little stranger! pretty good week of training here, highlights being 6 X 1000 (alternating 200 and 400 jog recoveries) at 5k race pace Weds. and 21 miles with 3 X 3 marathon pace [on target, a couple seconds/mile fast if anything] and a final 2-mile tempo pace [6--8 secs/mile slower than hoped] yesterday. 9 weeks to national marathon, and I've got a long way to go to be ready.

have a great week.

It was a tough week for me. The cough I developed at Barton last weekend evolved into bronchitis, so Thursday was the last time I tried to run. It seems to have moved up into my head today, which is a step in the right direction. It's a bit frustrating with my legs wanting to go but my chest saying stop. I did managed to run 5x2000m at a 5:40-5:45 pace on Wednesday with 400m recoveries and feeling like I could have gone faster. I was thinking of taking a crack at my 2 mile or 3000m PR in March, but I might stay away from the caustic air of indoor tracks for the rest of the winter.

BOulderite, very nice. Ours is due between April 4-10. Two babies in April!

Not a bad week here. All the rain in SoCal has been great. The snow on the nearby mountains is just beautiful. As most of you have heard, we've had more rain in 2008 than for all of 2007, just coming down in buckets.

Wednesday I bundled up and headed out in one of the heaviest downpours, completely soaked after 2 minutes. Felt great and didn't mind being drenched.

Nothing special in the training week, just sime good hard miles. I'm so pleased that my club will field both a men's and women's team in San Diego. It's been a long time and hard effort to get everyone interested and then to commit. We're blessed with some very good runners so I think they will enjoy being in the mix and the general fellowship amongst masters. Our club was originated around Deena Kastor and Ryan Wilson and had some very good open teams at one time.

Have a good week!

Sorry to hear the Barton air did you bad, nyloco. A very big thanks for planting the seed for running that race, it was a fantastic experience for me and I wouldn't have trained for it without your suggestion back in November or so. I got back from Ithaca last Monday and felt great, full of energy. I proved a few local skeptics wrong by breaking 5.

Did a few light 45 minute run workouts, then Thursday it all came crashing down:

Resumed sprint strength training, we were doing upper body twist lunges with a medicine ball, pulled my groin pretty badly. Tender.

Later that day started feeling funny, then by dinner time my digestive system was thoroughly broken. All input was rejected one way or the other. All messed up Friday and Saturday, maybe just maybe getting better today Sunday. Watched TV for 12 hours Friday. Didn't even care what was on the screen. Weak, dehydrated, grouchy... and the groin is still sore.

Those good Hartshorne vibes seem very long ago. Maybe the race took more out of me than I was aware of. Peaks and valleys!

Yet.. its a beautiful warm sunny day here today. I'll get out and at least walk around, then settle down and watch the indoor track action on TV.

Have a great week, all..

Had to have hernia surgery Friday. I'm 54 and was doing 35 miles a week. Any of you 50+ guys have this surgery and if so how long before you were back running. Any advice would help. Right now it hurts like hell, can barley walk without pain. I read this blog every week and enjoy reading about all you guys/gals who are putting in some great workouts and races.

Gordon

Checking in from New York. I love our weather. We don't have the extremes that people to the north and south of us have. And it doesn't get as cold as it did when I was a kid. I run by lakes or river stretches that used to get frozen routinely, but never are anymore.

Congrats to those being recognized by Running Times. Since I turned 50, I've paid attention to age-groups and I think I'm pretty decent. But in my county, there's one 53 y/o who is much faster and a couple of others around 51 and 52 who I can beat on a good day.

Standard week, although 3 runs ended early for aches of different sorts. 48 miles. Highlights were a 30 min. tempo run for 8K which felt very easy and a 11.5 miler yesterday in which I decided to pick it up when I got tired and did the last 2.5 (until stopping with a twinge, since gone, in my calf) at sub-MP pace.

Next race will be the Bronx Half-Marathon in 2 weeks. NYRR races are pains to get to (the parking being a major issue) and they start earlier than they used to. Plus the hordes at the start. But the Bronx Half isn't that far from me, so although it starts at 8, I'll try for it. But my target race is a five miler in Rye in early May.

that is awesome about socal pete, scannell, and tony young. i need to pick up a copy of Running Times.

As for me, just sitting looking outside at the rain and 20-30mph winds and dreading todays 14 miler :)

as for the week. it wil be another 60 mile week and yesterday jumped into an all-comers and went 4:43(1600)/10:13(3200). not too great but guess i have to start somewhere for the upcoming track season :)

have not done any "track" workouts as i am waiting until after xc nationals.

Do any of you guys run doubles much or regularly anymore?

I've been doing some but honestly can't tell if they're doing anything but tiring me. I'm always telling younger guys to do them, but sometimes wonder if older runners need a full day rather than half a day between runs.

HRE wrote:

Do any of you guys run doubles much or regularly anymore?

I've been doing some but honestly can't tell if they're doing anything but tiring me. I'm always telling younger guys to do them, but sometimes wonder if older runners need a full day rather than half a day between runs.

i do a few a week and at least one of my fellow bunnies does 4-5 a week.

i usually do all my runs in the am and then will come back and do a 3- miler in the evening.

i just make sure i do not wear a watch and just run how i feel.

Sorry to hear that a few of you are suffering from setbacks ... especially that hernia. That's one injury I've never had, so can't offer any advice.

I have to disagree with 1500 Master. I'm not a big fan of this rain we're having in SoCal. It's not the getting wet I mind. And it's not the cold. It's the runner's nipple, that ungodly chafing that can only be held at bay by vaseline or like substances - which then leave embarrassing circular stains on your running shirt. If anyone has a better method for staving this off, please let me know!

As for the Running Times ranking, I was pleasantly surprised that I even got ranked this year, given my generally dismal performance on the road (the rankings don't take track and cross-country into consideration). That 8K and a couple fast 5Ks were the only races I ran that were worth noting, with the only 10K I ran being the Masters Championship in Paso Robles, where I was injured and felt lucky just to hobble to the finish line. I'm hoping to start 2008 off a little better with a 5K next weekend (in which I'll be racing Danny Martinez, who was ranked #2 in my age division by Running Times, as well as newcomer and new clubmate Christian Cushing-Murray ... also Shorter than Frank, KevinB, and a few other top masters guys).

Got in 90ish for the week, with one good track workout (16 x 400) and one good tempo run. Starting to get the holiday kinks out (and the holiday weight off) in preparation for the USA X-Country meet in San Diego.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Looks like "congratulations" (babies, Running Times), and "get wells" (T-lover, nyloco, Gordon) are in order.

My club sponsored an all-comers meet yesterday. As we had a windy and rainy Friday there were doubts whether the meet would come off, but Saturday dawned with a partly cloudy sky and light wind so the meet happened as planned. The track was soggy and spongy, not the best for fast marks but I ran my first sprint hurdle race since August and was VERY pleased by the results. I hurdled into a bit of a head wind and I was a little nervous about the race since my recent injury tends to be aggravated by sprinting and trail leg rotation. My result: only 3 tenths off my PR. Yippeee!!!!

The weather has been bad this past week so I've kept busy with indoor cardio and weights. When I was rehabbing my piriformis and upper hamstring I was confined to low-impact cardio for my aerobic work. When I started running again a few weeks ago I couldn't believe how sore it made my feet, ankles, and achilles. Luckily I seem to back into the "high impact" groove again. Use it or Lose it!

Best wishes to all, and especially to RB who I hope will begin to post on this thread really soon!

I won't complain about our weather here even though the warmest it got here all week was 30 degrees. I like living in the mountains and take it all in stride. I don't look to run quite as fast in the spring is all.

I had a good week getting in an 18 miler last Sunday and 6 x 1 minute yesterday. I am still just trying to string days together.

have a good week, Tim in La Grande

HRE wrote:

Do any of you guys run doubles much or regularly anymore?

I've been doing some but honestly can't tell if they're doing anything but tiring me. I'm always telling younger guys to do them, but sometimes wonder if older runners need a full day rather than half a day between runs.

I didn't run doubles for my first 6 years as a masters, simply because I thought I needed a full day of recovery between workouts.

But then last summer I decided to shake up my workout routine (I reevaluate and alter it at least once a year to adjust to age and diminishing returns on old routines), and I added 2-4 morning runs a week of around 5 miles. While my body resisted the extra work at first, what I found after a few weeks is that my body got into a new, better, more efficient rhythm due to the extra runs. Now mind you, I never wear a watch for these runs (or any distance runs), and I keep them at a very VERY comfortable pace. Oh, and I place them strategically so that they don't overload any part of my weekly/monthly workout plan. But as long as I keep both those qualifications in mind (slow pace, proper placement in the routine), they've proven to be enormously beneficial.

Can't say whether this would be the same for everyone. And I definitely think there's no reason to go doubles until you've maxed out on the mileage you can run with one workout a day (probably around 60-80 miles for most of us). But if you're looking for a way to pop up to 85-100 miles a week, then I think doubles are the best way to do it.

That's similar to what I've done. How is getting started on that second run for you? I've been finding that it feels like I've got concrete blocks tied to each limb. On the other hand, on the very rare occasions when I do the short run in tha AM and the main run later I find that the AM run seems to make it easier to start the main run. But that's not an arrangement I can make very often.

HRE wrote:

That's similar to what I've done. How is getting started on that second run for you? I've been finding that it feels like I've got concrete blocks tied to each limb. On the other hand, on the very rare occasions when I do the short run in tha AM and the main run later I find that the AM run seems to make it easier to start the main run. But that's not an arrangement I can make very often.

i usually feel a little heavy at the start of my second runs. but keep in mind my second run is in the afternoon, after working all day, etc.

but i almost always feel better AFTER my second run.

I do an occasional double, sometimes by running the 5.5 miles each way to and from work when the weather permits, easy in the morning and inside my aerobic zone in the afternoon. I prefer to do my core/plyo workouts at a different time of day than my basis run, although I'll do a few miles before and after for w/u c/d purposes. But I don't force them and really just take advantage of the opportunities when they come.

Good day and greetings from the "snowing off/on again" Pacific NW. This week has been low 20's in the am and mid 30's in the pm. Hard to feel "young and spry" in these conditions. Seems like I am always just warming up when I finish a jaunt around the neighborhoods.

Another 70 mile week, with two good workout efforts.

Laughed to myself when I saw my name in a "Road" ranking category. Managed a couple of mid 15 5k's and a low 32 10k, but really struggled with putting anything together that felt like it was "race worthy." Maybe flirt with Masters (pre 45) times again someday.

Mon (Indoor) 2 x 1500 @ 3k pace, 4 x 200 @ 800m pace. Felt really good.

Weds 20 min Tempo

Sat 2 mile road race (low 10 minutes, in 26 degrees!) Long 60 minute warm down.

Sun "paint"

Cheers,

tony

First off, a well deserved 'way to go' to Frontline Racing's Tracy Lokken, Paul Aufdemberge, Mike Scannell, Doug Kurtis, Doug Goodhue & Gerard Malaczynski for your 2007 Running Times rankings. It's an honor to be associated with you guys!!! Tough week here in Northern Indiana. Cold & below zero wind chills everyday, running alone and in the dark! But I managed 61 miles with a day off. (4) 10 milers, (1) 13 miler and a few easy 4 milers made up my week. Two of the 10's were at a 'pretty good pace'....

As to the two a days, I try to double up 2-3 days a week. Usually 4 in morning and 6-7 at night. During base season (winter) they are both very easy runs. During racing season, the evening run is usually a fartlek, tempo or mile reps on the road. The 4 in morning is very easy.

See you on the roads...

Dave