MASTERS LONG WEEK OF TRAINING & RACING

16:55 for 5K in my Turkey Trot and 1st master. Was very happy with that, considering I had never run under 17 before.

But even better than that, my daughter is home from college and I'm really happy she's home for the first time. It really is true that our kids grow up too fast.

Hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving.

NM ~ nice new Master's PB!

On the island with teenage kids and some of their friends for a couple more days (or daze).

today: AM: hr walk with dogs on hidden wooded trail PM: hr walk on beach with bubbly kids. A good day.

Happy T-Day weekend to you all. I arrived back Wednesday in time for the festivities. Tuesday I ran in New Plymouth, about 4 hours south of Auckland by car. Great cement path along the shore. A bit cool and drizzly compensated for by the beautiful view of the ocean.

Monday was truly a memorable day as I met one of my running idles, Sir John Walker. My work associate called his shop and simply asked his wife if we could stop by. No problem and he promised her we were not a couple of 50 year old stalkers/groupies.

It was five minutes I shall not forget and our brief conversation covered our current work, how much his running inspired me, traveling around New Zealand and a few other topics. I was prepared for the effects of his Parkinson’s but could not tell he even had it as it seemed under control which was a relief. I’ve sent a picture to those of you I have e-mail for – as you can see he looks great. He was very gracious and dignified as I tried my best to not squeal like a schoolgirl, although I came very, very close.

Countless times during my training in the late 70’s and early 80’s I envisioned being on his shoulder with 300m to go, then mounting a withering kick to take the win ahead of Walker and the rest of the elite’s. I crushed them all so many times…..

First man under 3:50, 135 times under 4 minutes.

Have a great rest of the weekend and the week following!

After watching Angela Bizzarri win multiple titles in high school, it was fantastic watching her win on Monday.

I did a hard mountain run on the treadmill wednesday and will get 65 miles for the week. With the midwest winter coming, my racing is slowing down until spring. I may run a couple 5ks in December if the weather is nice.

Make that 'running idol's'. Always proof your work.

For being a distance runner I should love getting on the track to workout. Did so today running 6 x mile at AT effort with 60 sec. between. Avg 5:45 under control. Absolute stunning weather today in Eastern Washington.

That is very cool that you got to meet Walker, sounds like a very grounded guy.

A great week of running. Legs felt strong and painfree. Had good volume and some fast work that felt effortless. Did a Gobble Day 5K ... and only came up with the third fastest time on my club! But feel fit and ready for Club XC Nationals in two weeks (knock - no, BANG - on wood).

I remain absolutely stunned by Linda Somers Smith's 16:14 for 5K on Thursday. The lady is 48. 16:14. Did I mention she's 48? Sheesh!

Okay, hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving. And hope it carries over into another great week of training and life!

hard to follow that one up. I ran about 17:05 5k at a Turkey Trot, 2nd six seconds behind a winter hat and spandex wearing 16 year old!

nicely done. I think age difference trumps the spandex + 6 seconds, so I give you the win......

ok week 55 miles incl. 16 with 5 at marathon pace tuesday. Ran a rolling-hills, windy 10 miler today in 60:13 (5th overall, 3rd master). I ran this course in 59:01 a couple years ago but figured with where I am in training cycle that under 60 would be fine today. Should have done it but paced myself poorly (29:22 first 5-mile loop, 30:51 second) and lost the age group to my friend Paul Jacobson in last 2 miles.

On the plus side, after running with her for first few miles I managed to get and stay a little ahead of pro triathlete and NYC marathon top 10 finisher Desiree Ficker, who's from our area and seems to come back for thanksgiving weekend race most years. Of course, she ran 2:39 at New York just a few weeks ago, so presumably this isn't a peak race for her.

hope you are all having a fun and relaxing weekend

Dave

OK, I did a 5K Turkey Trot on T-day. It was a sprinter's road race, consisting of jogging at a 9:00 to 9:15 pace capped off by a huge burst of speed the last 100 meters and sweeping under the finish line complete with high knees and pumping arms. A thing of beauty.

Workouts this week have been 2 weight/core circuit workouts, one exhausting interval track workout (Tuesday), one "long run" (my 5K race), and hurdles tomorrow morning.

Other than that, I have watched football, eaten delicious food, drank assorted alcoholic beverages, enjoyed the company of loved ones, and given thanks for everything with which I have been blessed.

Happy holiday weekend!

SoCal,

Nothing Linda Somers Smith ever does surprises me that much...she didn't even run in high school..played tennis and went on to narrowly miss breaking 2:30 in the marathon (2:30:04?) and ran in the Olympic Games...you're right though...16:14 is pretty outrageous and must be in excess of 100 age graded points...how old did you say that 48 year old is?

Managed a whopping 27 miles this week including an aborted 2 mile time trial...finally getting my foot

x-rayed on Monday.

Enjoy the remainder of the long weekend...be well.

MF

had a decent week, started with a 19 miler last Sunday, dropping down to average 6:40 pace for my last 9 after 71:00 for the first ten.

On Thanksgiving Day ran 2 X 2 miles in the Annual Rubber Chicken Relay ( a 2 person relay where rubber chickens are exchanged instead of relay batons). We had 65 teams this year. It was a cold windy day and I ran 11:35 and 11:50 for my legs. My partner and I won easily and set a new course record, so I felt good about that.

One week until the Memphis Marathon for me, my first full in over 13 years. Nervous as hell, but feeling pretty decent.Have revised my original goal of 2:44 back to 2:49 and am just hoping for decent weather.

check out Linda Somers Smith performance from an age greaded stance:

http://jick.net/%7Ejess/track/mtf/AGT.php?doit=1&sex=F&decade=4&year=8&evt=5km&mark=16%3A14

MF

Had a good week here...Steady set of 8x400 all at 79 point+ on Tues, a Turkey Trot 5K in 16:09 on Thursday, and a steady 10 in the hills today.

Looked more like August than late November around here today. Last year by this time we had several feet of snow. This year we have barely seen any frost. Today was bright, sunny & warm with nothing blue skies...I've got a feeling we're going to pay dearly for this somewhere down the road...

Have a good one,

Dave

very nice races, all. I have to add since I didn't have time earlier that I had taken two weeks off after the marathon and only run ten days of easy runs (11M/day over 7 min. pace) prior to the race. The kid who beat me gapped me at 1.3M into the race when I started getting tired and pretty much held that gap the rest of the way. Although I got an electronic jump rope (what?! but my 2 year old likes it) for my 40-44 crown, the race director dropped the idea of top 3 prizes overall and gave all the shoe gift certificates to the winners. So, the 16 year old then tried to get me to take one of his gift cards (couldn't do it)! Very classy.

4 months post-op plantar fasciotomy and I'll take that 17:20 for my Turkey Trot 5k any 'ol day. Felt good to race negative splits over a hilly course. Give me another 3 months or so to answer any questions about "how to deal with Plantar Freakin-itis. I believe I can help Masters relieve the frustration of it all.

KP

well, this is my first post and here are two weeks of training...

NOV 15-21

14, 4, 11, 4, 0, 4, 5 = 41 miles

Sunday's 14 was longest run in many months, was very pleased w/ a 32 lap tempo in 41:38 (32:00 thru the 10km mark) on Tuesday, then 4 days of recovery due to tough 32 lap tempo and tough recovery inhibiting days at work and on feet.

NOV 22-28

11, 11, 4, 5, 10, 7, 4 = 52 miles

Had the week off fro work. 1st time over or even near 50 mi/wk since last week of June. Race XC on Sunday, a bit muddy, good/but controlled effort. Did "abbreviated" long run on Monday, two recovery days, 5km race on Thursday (15:20), not pleased with time, but was 1st master, which means cash, then two recover runs

NOV 29

nice, hilly 90 min run, 13+ miles, weather awesome, clear and sunny

Anyhow, I realized one thing after my turkey trot. The 8 mile tempo was a good workout, but it took me some time to recover. Perhaps it was ill-timed considering I was racing twice in a week a few days later, a few days of 30 min runs isn't always enough for recovery. I think its harder to train through races when your older. Being tired at age 40+ is different than being tired at age 25. I cant imagine 50+, 60+.

I ramped up slowly this week, giving myself time to recover from the HM last Sunday and getting my SI joint popped back into alignment. That explained why I had so much tightness in my lower back during the race. I've started a more regular series of strength and flexibility exercises that will be an integral part of my training plan rather than an enhancement to my running. Ended up with 30 miles, mostly at 7:00-7:15 pace, with around two hours total in the gym.

I did think of running the local turkey trot, but decided to make it a rest day instead. My son and I did go watch, and we were happy to see my training partners go 1-2 in ~15:48 (not a master, but seems to have recovered from a long term ankle injury) and 16:00 (top master). There were a bunch of yuonger guys in the 16:45-17:15 range who would have been fun to race, so maybe next year.