Masters Weekend Races and Runs

Masters Race updates from Illinois.

My Friend Paul Perry (age 63) and his friend Mike Egle (age 46) competed this weekend on a indoor track. I thought their times are worth mentioning.

Indoor track at Lewis Univ:

Paul ran the Mile in 5:20....yes it was a full mile not 1500/1600

NOTE:.....last year Paul broke the the American single age (62) record (Old 5:17) for the mile in time of 5:13. (World record is 5:05)....and that is his third American Record in the mile for the Single Age group mile records!

Mike ran the 3k in 8:58(American Record is 8:39) and finished the last quarter in 61!..WoW...I think his goal this year is to try and break the record. That is so fast for a masters runner.

Some of you probably have heard of the them is you are a running geeks like us.

ME: Mike Reagan (age 48) "A wanta be fast runner"....and currently hurt w/Quad injury that has been going on for six months now(since the Chicago Dist Classic)...sucks...I pulled the muscle (both legs) and it wont get better....any ideas?

PS...I hope we have a early Spring!

Congrats on thsoe track times. I know Mike Egle from years ago. Doesn't seem to ever slow down that guy. Good for him! As for Paul, I hope I'm running when I'm 63; let alone trying to set any records. Excellent examples both of them.

Back on track this week after a sluggish effort all week. Ran a solid 5 miles yesterday and felt young again. If I didn;t have my stopwatch going, I would have thought I died and woke up as a 25 year old.

Actually got in 8 miles ez today with a colleague.

Body is is a good mood which makes training fun.

Thanks for getting us going 1500 Master.

Good job for both Paul and Mike! If you see Mike again, please congratulate him for me!

Had a good week myself, with the legs feeling whole again, finally recovered from the X-Country race in San Diego.

Ran a 3000 myself yesterday at the USC Trojan Relays. Lined up with a group of 33 - and I think I was the only entrant over the age of 22 or 23. One young runner on the line said, "I don't mean to be rude, but can I ask you a question?" I smiled, because I was sure he was going to ask why I wasn't sitting in the stands since I was obviously someone's dad (or grandfather). But instead he said, "Where is your club Fluffy Bunny located?" Ah, that was an easy one, but I actually felt a little disappointed when I didn't get to say, "Hey, I'm 46! That's right, you've got an old man in your midst!"

Anyway, the gun went off, and as you can imagine the first couple laps were just a mess. With that many youngsters, inexperience ruled the roost. Some runners sprinted to the front, then immediately died. Others didn't know how to cut in or get out of a box, so there was a lot of applying the brakes and throwing-of-the-elbows. One guy passed me at least 5 times in the first 3 laps. I spiked one poor fellow so badly that he cried out in pain; he probably went straight to the ER for stitches after the race. But hey, what are you gonna do? He stepped right in front of me mid-stride - no way I could avoid him. I finally just took up a safe spot in lane 3 and stayed out of the danger zone.

Long story short, the first mile ended up coming through pretty slow, so we all settled in for what promised to be a long kick. And it was. Not quite the 61 second last lap Mike ran, but I hit a 1:35 last 600 to snag second. Honestly, it was a total rush - being out there with the kids dueling it out for the last couple laps! One of the funnest runs I've had as a master!!

Oh, and by the way, it was my first race in Nike's Ventulus 2 track spikes. Man, those are the best track shoes I've ever raced in! Anyone looking to shave a precious few seconds off their track time (or tenths of a second in the shorter races) should consider getting a pair!

Okay, hope everyone has a great week!

well the start of our road racing season started yesterday with the Buffalo shamrock 8K. I was 24 over all and 1st in age. (40-44). 28:35 was the time. Spits were good. went out in 5:25 and then said holy s--- thats too fast . then mile 2 was 604, 549, 541, and 533. it was WINDY and cold also. Felt real confident. This might just be a good year.

Hi. Did the hilly 50 furlong yesterday. 43:45, 1st in the over 50 age group.Since it was only $5 and free beer only top 2 males and top 2 females got any type of prizes. The winner ran a 34 which was pretty good considering adverse icy conditions and hills. I went out this morning and was going to do 4 miles but I seem to have some issues with my lower right leg and only managed 2 miles. Have a re-scheduled 5K on Saturday that was cancelled twice so far due to snow and ice. Was thinking of going to the Big 10 indoors this afternoon but not sure yet.Have a good week all. TC

Greetings,

chefdrp - nice time in the 8k! I thought about running, but I only have a few more opportunities for long runs before Boston.

Pretty decent week, though I learned that while 2 mile intervals the day after an 15 miler feels good, they are much tougher after an 18 miler. Too much muscle breakdown to run fast. I still hit 11:06 and 11:00 with 2:30 recovery jog, and they felt good, but I was hurting the next day. Eased back into my schedule, did 10 at MP on Thursday, 7 miles with 6 in just over 35:00 on Friday, and 18.5 with a friend today. The 18.5 felt great, and I think we would have been knocking out 6:30s the last 5 if we hadn't had the Garmin to keep us honest.

It's great to see Paul is still running well, I had the privilege to run against him years ago at the Hayward meet.

SoCalPete: Does that 8:36 break your over-45 AR?

N-I-I-I-I-C-E last 600!

Thanks for the plug for the spikes Pete. Glad you like them. We're mighty proud of 'em and so far lots of middle distance runners one third your age and up respect them too. Hey what was your 3000 time?

Nice indoor 3 to Mike too. Hope o see all y'all boys in Eugene this summer for the big 3000.

I'm hoping to be running normal again by then once I get the clearance to start jogging on this hamstring.

After a sunny 70-degree day here in Boulder on Saturday, this morning brought blowing snow and freezing temps. One of those days when you're either going to have a great run or a miserable one.

I decided to do my long run with the iPod cranked to 11 and try to enjoy the winter conditions. The result was a music-powered, totally invigorating 90-minute trip around the local neighborhoods.

Mix included Pixies and Minor Threat (early 80's punker phase) Beasties and Black Crows (late 80's college-era), Aimee Mann and the Vines from the 90's (living in NYC) and Arctic Monkeys, Hold Steady and Silversun Pickups from recent years (life in Boulder).

I hardly noticed that my shoes were filled with slush and my toes were slowly freezing -- good fun!

Had a really solid week here...70 miles with some good strong long runs, a little fartlek and tempo mixed in. Nailed my Friday nite 10 miler in 63:11, running the last 5 in 29:34. Which makes me think I might have a shot at getting into the 27's in the Shamrock Shuffle on March 30th. That would be a good thing! Three weeks 'til the first race of the season....

See you on the roads,

Dave

14111 - Yes, but just barely (by .66 of a second).

wow, congratulations Pete and this Bud's for you, Mike Egle! Guys my [and Barack Obama's -- we'd be considered young if running for President] age well under 9:00 for 3k -- that's outstanding.

Good week on my end -- deferring last weekend's long run to tuesday to baby my shin worked well -- 24 miles on tuesday with a late 8k segment on track in 29:15. Started to feel normal again by about Saturday, and this morning I ran a half-marathon PR by a little over a minute -- 1:15:26 for second overall [not close -- lost by 45 seconds or so to a young guy who took off from the gun] in B & A Trail half-marathon near Annapolis.

My pacing was right on the money -- 11:29 for 2 miles (5:44.5) and 57:25 for the next 10 (5:44.5 average, with a little variability due to hills and wind). I gave back maybe 12-15 seconds or so in the last 1.1 miles, in part b/c got confused about the course [which runs in conjunction with a full marathon] and came to a dead stop at one point to scream a question about it. Thankfully the guy in 3rd was a good sport and told me to keep going rather than saying "wait for me, and I'll show you the way".

have a great week.

TC,Good to hear the 50 Furlough went off as planned, congrats on the age group coup.

SoCalPete, that first person race account was worth a million bucks! Damn near precipitated a full blown flashback in this old caps head.Congrats on the new AR record,as well.

Took in a 25K classic ski race at MWP on Sat.Leg weary from too much time on snowshoes this week,I was all over the place balance wise and posted my slowest per K pace of the season. Great trail conditions and pleasant weather made for a beautiful day in Northern WI.

March came in like a Lamb, DR

SoCal Pete wrote:

14111 - Yes, but just barely (by .66 of a second).

Well, then that hardly counts then, does it =)

Seriously, dude, you never seem to have an "off season", cranking out these kinds of performances on the track, tar and turf at any time of year. You are like the Iron Horse of top-level master's running.

Long may you run, sir!

Nice racing to Paul, Mike (raced a few times), & Pete (wow, nice 3k!). I hope to use the same tactics next Sat in an indoor 3k with the youngsters. What the hell is a Fluffy Bunny again, in case anyone asks? !@#$

I tempted fate this week by doing three track workouts. Something I haven't done in a couple of years. I played with all of the different pacings (ala Coe), on each workout. In between days were easy 10 milers+ for recovery. The body felt good through most of it until I struggled through 90 minutes today that felt like 2 1/2 hours! To be expected.

75 miles

Mon 200,400,400,2k(3k pace), 10 min Tempo

Weds 4 x 800, 2 x 400 quick

Sat 4 x 200, 4 x 100, 4 x 50 (400 effort)

Cheers,

ty

Howdy Masters,

Got hit by flu this week and managed just two runs.

I sit here now on one of the best running days of the winter, throat sore, voice gone, fevered and filled with loathing for healthy people everywhere, confined to the couch, watching a marathon of Project Runway... er, that is um...SportsCenter. Yeah that's it. Manly television viewing is what I'm all about. I swear.

There are some pretty impressive splits from some of you folks tossed into training runs this week. Those sub-30 8Ks to finish your workouts would satisfy many of us racing all out.

Good job to SoCal Pete against the young pups, and thanks for the summarized play-by-play. It's enjoyable to read about the tactical battles of other racers. And this one had spikes and blood and everything!

Have a good week everybody.

As to Pete, there's some kid out there saying, "And then this old guy passed me 4 times in the first 3 laps."

Good week here. 5 times up Paine Avenue in a cold rain on Tuesday night. Each one of those hurt. Felt horrible on Friday, but made up for it with a 2 hour run yesterday morning. We had a touch of snow overnight, but it was gone from the roads. Good, consistent pacing. Although I felt dead over the last few miles, and especially on the late hills, the pace held up. But I felt it today, in which did a very slow 8 mile recovery run.

Joe

Single Speed wrote:

I decided to do my long run with the iPod cranked to 11 and try to enjoy the winter conditions. The result was a music-powered, totally invigorating 90-minute trip around the local neighborhoods.

Man, I totally agree with you the iPod...I've never been a 'running with music' guy but I got an iPod and Oakley Thumps for Christmas this year. The iPod is loaded up with all the old standby's from the 70's & 80's (Styx, Cheap Trick, Kansas, Journey, Beatles, a little country, and a few new ones.) Got me thru my 13 miler this morning!

Dave

Single Speed wrote:

I decided to do my long run with the iPod cranked to 11 and try to enjoy the winter conditions. The result was a music-powered, totally invigorating 90-minute trip around the local neighborhoods.

Man, I totally agree with you the iPod...I've never been a 'running with music' guy but I got an iPod and Oakley Thumps for Christmas this year. The iPod is loaded up with all the old standby's from the 70's & 80's (Styx, Cheap Trick, Kansas, Journey, Beatles, a little country, and a few new ones.) Got me thru my 13 miler this morning!

Dave