50+ Weekly Training Thread

I ran In high school and for one year at a div. 1 college then lost focus due to immaturity and such and ran a little in my thirtys and started again in my mid forties. Running is essential for me I have discovered. It is cheaper than prosac and really helps me with day to day stresses and self esteem. Any how I did my long interval session yesterday that I had been dreadding. 4x2.5 mi. with 1.5 min rest. 17:38,17:48,17:38,17:38. I was pleased that I was able to maintain pace on the last one. next up 20x 400m @90sec.-next week some time. Man, I was sore yesterday and grumpy today.

I'm really excited to find this weekly thread. Running in your 50's definitely has some unique challenges and it helps to share experiences. I started running the fall of my junior year in high school (1971) and haven't stopped, although there were a good number of years in there with no races. I got back into racing 4 years ago when I turned 50, mostly 5Ks, with the occasional 8K. At the moment, I'm working on keeping a good base through the winter in preparation for turning 55 next year and moving to a new age group.

35 miles this week, with the hard stuff effort-based instead of timed

3x3min at race pace with 2 min rest within 8 miles

7 miles easy as I felt pretty beat up after the intervals

4 easy

4 easy

4 easy

4 easy

4 easy

Stopped keeping track of mileage since I got injured about 10 weeks ago. Today I ran 2.5 hours in the loose deep sand in the riverbed. It's unbelievable how I can do that when 30 minutes on the asphalt tweaks my leg. For now, it's a savior for my fitness. I think it's the poor man's Alter G treadmill. 75,000 dollars versus free in the riverbed...

Started running 34 years ago as a junior at UCLA dental school. Weighed 180 at 5'9" and smoked a pack of Marlboros a day. At 56 years old, I'm 130 pounds and still smoke a pack of cigs a day...just kidding about the cigs, although it's funny how you never lose the temptation to maybe just try one again. Smoked in the parking lot 30 minutes before my first marathon in 1981 to "relax". Gawd, was I stupid. Addictions are a bitch!

Ran a 5k last Friday afternoon. Felt great and ran 18:01 for 13th and first geezer over 50. My 9 year old son ran 22:40 on very little running.He finished 80th out of 500.

I only run 3-4 days a week. Bike 2-3 days a week with tons of mini circuits of pull ups, dip, pushups, squats. etc.

Monday did Penn State wo:

1 mile -5:47-400 easy 4x400 85s w/200m easy,1x800-2:57, 200 east, 2x400 85s, 200 easy. Getting the lift in ye ole legs again and feelin strong.

Calves are sore a bit after the 5k but this is why I only run a few days a week. This has been my issue for years. the old calf heart attack. Much massage seems to help.

Started running in 8th grade PE (1972) which the coach ask me to run track that spring. Ran in jr high, high school, college and beyond.

Monty

i have nothing but good news to report this week -- woohoo! after a too-long spate of injuries, i have put together a pair of back-to-back solid weeks of running. 48 miles of running and 8 miles of hiking two weeks ago and 67 miles of running and 4 miles of hiking this past week. i even did two (very cautious) trail runs this week and -- drum roll, please -- neither twisted nor jammed any ankles! my long run was 14 miles on a rolling golf course, and i did 2x(4x1000 m) with 200 jog rest between reps and 600 jog rest between sets. i held the same pace as in my 7x800 workout the prior week; although this was 4 sec/1000 slower than this same workout last march preinjury, it is better than expected considering the long period of no running (in fact, last march was the last time i had done any workout until a week and a half ago!).

i started running at age 38 when i switched from teaching at the university to working out of my home. i figured i'd save the 30-min drive each way and the hundreds of dollars per year in gym fees if i started running instead of doing aerobics classes and free weights. well, running has turned out to be much more expensive (shoes, race entries, travel to races), but it's also been very satisfying on many levels. not only do i get to enjoy the beautiful trail systems in the local state and national forests and add spice to nearly every vacation or business trip with a race or trail run, but, best of all, i met my husband at a race.

450 minutes for the week

Today 171 minutes; out 96 minutes easy and returned

at tempo pace in 75 minutes.

I started running in the early eighties after playing high school football and baseball and college rugby.

Seeing Bill Rodgers in about 1981 sprint by me at about the twenty mile mark of a marathon while I sat on a front yard eating my breakfast out of a bag was an eye popping inspiration.

The 18:01 5k mentioned above is very impressive.

As for the sleeping, I'm lucky to be able to fall asleep anywhere, in any position irrespective of my mileage.

After reading some of your past posts, your enthusiasm on your last two weeks is well deserved! Any week of fairly healthy running is good!

27 miles this week.

Sun- easy 5

Tues-easy 6 mi. incl. 6x short hill sprints

Thurs-8 mi incl an introduction to longer hills (5x 60 sec @ 10k pace)

Sat-8 mi incl. 3 in 18:52 for a tempo and then 3 in 19:34 just running back with a friend that was going much faster than I would have gone alone.

Though my Dad had run track in High School, I didn't start till my Soph year in High school, 71. I had thought I was a baseball player. A XC runner recruited me to join the team, after our PE test 660 in Gym. It's been very off and on since then.

I started as a freshman in HS in 1971, running indoor, outdoor, and XC. I went to a small college. We had an XC team that was essentially me and some guys on the basketball team. I started up again in law school, when I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, about 50 yards from Central Park. Except for a period in my late-30s to mid-40s when I didn't do much running seriously, it's been pretty consistent.

As to the week, I started with just under 4 minutes on Sunday after 2 weeks off with an ITB issue. I've been working it and while it still aches it is not that bad. I upped the time on runs during the week, getting to 27:40 yesterday. This was enough to get me to run a 5 mile race today because it is one of my favorite races. Took it relatively easy for the first mile and then figured I'd pick it up. So a 31:06 that felt good. I'm glad I didn't run out of gas towards the end.

I'm beat up after feeling good the last 2 weeks and overdoing it. I feel badly because a week ago, I was high on life. Tomorrow is a day off for me as I get back to running 3 days this week.

Sleep? I don't get much. I try to get to bed by 10pm and normally do. However, I wake up several times every night. Normally, I give up around 5am and train. This has been going on since I was 45. My doctor says it's low testosterone and I need to supplement it. I have not gone down that road yet. However, I am sick of sleeping 5 hours per night.

The down side is that I have taken caffeine tablets at times during the day to keep myself awake......not a good cycle.

Monday evening: 7.5 mile progression run ending at 10K race pace

Tuesday: planned rest

Wednesday morning: 14.1 miles

Thursday evening: 7.7 miles -- 5 x 1 mile intervals at 5K race pace with 3 minute jogs between

Friday: planned rest

Saturday morning: 14.1 miles

Sunday afternoon: 12 miles on cross country course

Total: 55.4 miles

I noticed on a backpacking trip early in 2008 that a buddy of mine who runs was in better hiking shape than I was. So I decided (at the age of 49) to jog three times a week that summer before my fall 2008 solo backpacking trip to the Guadalupe Mountains. I felt great every day I hiked on that trip and discovered when I got back that I had come to enjoy running for its own sake. So I've been slowly increasing the frequency, length, and sometimes intensity, of my runs ever since.

I don't count the running I did on my junior high track team. I went out for track because about half the other boys in school did and because I was sports crazy. I never advanced further than running a 220 yard leg on the "D" team in an 880 relay in a JV meet, though -- my split was 31 seconds ;).

Sun, 11/15: 10 miles @ 6:45/mile. Joined a group of running buddies who were doing a hal-marathon time trial for their upcoming marathon @ Cal. Int'l. in a few weeks. I ran the first ten with them.

Mon, 11/16: planned OFF.

Tue, 11/17: 2+ mile warmup, 1 x 600m-100m float-600m, 400m jog, 2 x 1200m w/400m jogs, 1 x 600m-100m float-600m all just under 6:00/mile pace, 2+ mile cooldown. Day's total = ~8 miles.

Wed, 11/18: 6 miles easy @ 7:40/mile.

Thu, 11/19: 8.3 miles easy @ 7:30/mile.

Fri, 11/20: planned OFF. Usual cross-training of 1/2 hour of intervals on LifeCycle followed by 5,000m on rowing machine in 20:45.

Sat, 11/21: 5.5 miles easy around Nike campus.

Yesterday, I picked up a pair of the Nike LunarGlide trainers and wore them on today's 10-miler. Amazing shoe. And my foot seemed to hurt far less than usual.

How did I get started running? Kinda interesting, actually. I went through H.S. and college on a tennis scholarship and was spending about 30 hours a week on the court. After many years of that, I was looking for a different athletic outlet, and a friend of mine was training for the Chicago marathon back then (1980). I was a senior in college at the time and never ran for the sake of running, other than tennis. So on a whim, I decided to jump in a 10-mile race one Sunday and see how far I could go. I ended up finishing in just over 1:10 (7:00/mile avg.).

Folks around me at the finish area thought I might have a "future" in the sport if I started training, so I did. And I was hooked. 30 years later, I'm still at it, just a bit slower. I still play tennis once in a blue moon, but I'd much rather go for a run. :)

Managed 47 miles of "running" for the week...big volume for a gimpy old guy.

Started running in 1968 and have never ever stopped...confluence of events...brother wins City Championship 880, Dad begins jogging around local high school track, 1968 Olympic Games, realized that I was faster than my peers during juvenile delinquent activities.

Discovered some GREAT old results from the old days...figured some of you are elder enough to remember. Brwoning Ross (a mentor of mine in the real early 70s) had a running magazine called Long Distance Log...links to PDF of most issues are at the bottom of the page....even found my first marathon results from 1972...check it out:

http://www.rrcahistory.org/longdistancelog.html

Any of you in these old results???

MF

After basically two weeks off due to a calf problem, it felt good to get started running again midweek. It is also nice to be still able to run in shorts in New England. I did 30 miles, 11 of them on a treadmill, due to darkness.

When I was in my 40's every once in a while my wife or kids would let me know that I put my shirt on backwards or inside out. Now that I am 50, I added a new element to my running fashion. My wife informed me that my shorts were on backwards before my run today.

I started running in 9th grade (1973) because I missed the preseason soccer camp. I took up cross-country with a friend whose brother had run xc and I was always impressed to see him running around town. His brother had also just finished top ten in a new race being held in my hometown, just weeks before I started running. It is now a pretty famous road race attracting thousands of runner to Cape Cod each August. I have been running ever since. Nothing has changed since 9th grade, I still have no speed and lots of endurance.

another 21 hours of walking

feeling very good

sleeping well

Low intensity volume improves sleep quality.

While high intensity workouts keeps me up.

I won the junior high field day mile,soundly beating all the jocks.No idea on the time.I won by half a lap running in my street shoes and levis.Dropped out of high school and joined the Army.

The Army got my life back on track.

After the Army a creative writing prof who was also the asistant XC coach talked me into running with the cross country team.Very painful going from from 2 miles a day to 50 mpw.After 3 months I was scaring the number 5 guy who was on scholarship.That spring I transfered to a 4 year school.

I started running seriously at 39.Overweight writing software for a large corp.Eating lunch with some co workers who were into running.They were trying to break 19 minutes for 5k.I told em that I could easily do that.They starting laughing as they thought I was just joking.So I told em that I was serious and that I was going to lose a bunch of weight and start running and in 6 months kick there butts.I did but all in good fun.Great bunch of guys!

This week 56 miles in 7 runs with no workouts. The legs are starting to feel a little fresher again after a week of moderate effort running.

I have never had sleeping problems. When I up the mileage, my sleep needs seem to go up by about 1/2 hr per night until I get adjusted.

I started running as a junior in HS after winning my gym class 440. I was a committed playground basketball player before that, but realized that my basketball prospects were severely limited by being 5'8". My dad died of a heart attack unexpectedly 2 weeks before I started college, which derailed my life and my running for a year. I spent my sophomore year getting my academic act back together and then ran 220/440 in a small college program my junior and senior years. Navy service during Vietnam then postponed my running for almost 4 years. I started up again regularly after getting out of the Navy. With family and job commitments I averaged about 30mpw in my 30s, about 40mpw in my 40s, about 50mpw in my 50s, and I am hoping to average over 60mpw when I turn 60. With this program of increasing mileage as the years go by my times from my mid 30s have dropped off very little. I still am trying to build some endurance to go with my decent speed.

Greetings everyone.

Mon: off

Tues: 10 mile progression

Wed: 7 easy

Thurs: 10 mile progression

Fri: off

Sat: 7 "miles" hard eliptical

Sun: 8 "miles" hard eliptical

Short mileage this week due to a fascia flare-up starting Friday morning. My first 'injury' in over two years - so I'm not complaining - except for the lack of a long run this week. Took it particularly easy this weekend - hoping all will be well for the extended weekend ahead.

How did I start running? In all sincerity, I can't remember a time when I did't run, except for a 10 year period (before kids) - when I focused on ultra cycling. In retrospect this "break" probably has helped extend my 'career'. At 54+ my legs still feel remarkably fresh...considering...

Have a great week everyone!

This weekly thread is great! Thanks guys!

The colder weather takes a toll on my body but I am still making a lttle progress. I look forward to jogging more and walking less.

I can always sleep when I can lie down and try and always took naps when I could. Since retiring I nap when tired and have time for the long runs I have always wanted to do. Oh well, I should be lucky that I get to do one out of two.

I grew up in Northern Canada where there wss little running and there were long hard winters of snow shovelling. For some reason I was always infatuated with running. My father subscribed to Sports Illustrated after the first issue and I got some of my knowledge of the sport from that magazine. I Have a vivid memory of the first 4 minute mile, the Banninster-Landy dual and Bannister being the first athlete of the year. When I got to University in 1956 there was a cross country team and two track meets each fall so I could really begin to run.

"In the Long Run it's the Long Distance Log" There has never been anything like it since 1975. For $3.00 a year we learned what was going on on the roads all over the continent. From the Log we go the feeling that we knew many of the road runners of the time. I started to subscribe in the very late 1950s and had them all. I only have two left although a friend recently sent me all of the pages with my results on them. I have the April 12, 1962 edition with a write up of the First Annual Chicago Windy City Marathon on page 26. At the time there were less than ten marathons on the continent in a year. Also note that there were 15 starters and only 9 finished. I also have the May 12, 1962 edition giving an account of the 1972 Boston Marathon which was my third marathon.

Thanks Mike for refueling of great memories of friends from the world of running. Joe Henderson is also doing the same with his weekly Running Commentary.

www.joehendersonsrunningcommentary.com

Mon. Run 8 miles in 62 min.

Tues.AM. 30 minutes on Catski's

PM.3.5 mile run;29 min.

Weds.Planned rest

Thurs; 11 miles on Timms Hill trail. (Glacial rollercoaster)96 minutes running

Friday: 40 minutes catski's

Saturday; Road bike 25 miles; 13 to 17 mph.

Sunday ; yet to be determined

Sleep(yawn). I slept through a goodly portion of my college lectures. My Mother and wife debated on whether to have me checked out for narcolepsy/ sleep apnea. I'm fine as long as I keep moving, once I sit down it's lights out, shortly.

However, a vigorous quality workout late in the day, or evening race will amp up the metabolism enough to push sleep off for a few hours. 8-9 hours a night seems adequate; the cat naps are spontaneous.

My running is split in to BC and AD. Before children and after diapers. ( Credits to Joan Benoit-Samuelson on the verbiage)

BC=1965 to 1983. AD= 2002 until present.

HS. 95 # weakling finds out he can out run most of his peers. 3 years at state small school X-C meet. Runnerup to the Champ in 68.

D3 college; Blow up, burnout- too much speed. 4 years battling stress fractures.

'73-'83. Biked, swam and skiied until the legs healed and Lydiard's knowledge became more widely spread.

39 marathons,3x50 miles,(PR 5:44) and countless shorter races later, I fiqured my old college coach should have gotten the point.

Having routed the vexing demons, I hung it up for 19 years.

AD. It's about health and recreation now. Any sort of age group awards are frosting on the cake.

My marathon times and Birke times are about 75 minutes over the PR's of the 70's. Oddly enough, I'm OK with that(most of the time). I count it a blessing to be topside and vertical.

MF, I'm going to check out that link.