50+ Weekly Training Thread

Monday: 2-mile run, right achilles is bothering me...way down at the heel.

Tuesday: 2-mile run, 2x50 situps and pushups

Wednesday: 2-mile run. Achilles felt slightly better.

Thursday and Friday: Thunderstorms with enthusiastic lightning (1 fellow hit by lightning but survived and one local building struck as well...enough warning for me), settled for 1x100 pushups and situps on Thu, then on Fri 3x50 of each.

Saturday: 30-minutes including 12x30-second pickups with 30-second recovery. Achilles very stiff starting out.

Almost packed it in, the did the pickups which helped loosen me up. Frustrating.

Sunday: 2-mile run, 50 situps and pushups. Felt a little

better, am chucking the ETONICS and getting some SAUCONY's tomorrow. Eschewed my usual weekly long run today.

Thanks for kicking things off, nice going. Those are some great times, both training and the races. Back to back and in the heat too. Way to go! Very hot and sticky here also.

Well after about a year and 9 months or so of running every day I finally took some time off, 3 days in a row! So I got in 28 miles for the week, no long run. The pain went away nicely and I ran yesterday slow and felt nothing. Then today I took it under 8 minutes for 7 miles which has been the danger zone and felt a little pain towards the end but nothing serious. I really think my hips are out of alignment. Mainly the right side, a recurring problem over the years. Tomorrow off again and will probably get into a every other day routine for awhile. Or 2 on, 1 off and see how that goes. Okay no more whining.

For speed and strength, it's been awhile but when I was training hard and racing the mile I mostly did 400/800 stuff and mixed in some other workouts, ladders, etc. I'd also vary the speed and recovery. Some weeks it would be repeats and other weeks intervals to use the Daniels terminology.

Feels good being one of the responders for a change.

Cheers!

Had a nice week here with 72 miles. No aches or pains worth mentioning. Yea, it was hot & humid everyday!

Guess I did three workouts this week. Mondays 11 was at 6:43/pace, Wednesday did 2xMile both at 5:15, then 4x400 at 78, Saturday we did 16 miles in the pouring rain at 7:04 pace. Beat the heat by running at 6am.

As for speedwork, my training partner & I are usually on the track at least once a week. Spring (HM Season)is for longer reps (mile & up), Summer (5k season) shorter reps (less than a mile). We do tempos throughout the Spring, Summer & Fall. The strength comes from the weekend long runs done year round...If your talking about muscular strength I do nothing but situps.

All the Best,

Dave

The first person who actually went 50+ for the week, gratz

Laybrawn Jaymes wrote:

The first person who actually went 50+ for the week, gratz

Thread is for people 50+ in age. But thanks for contributing.

Ran 28.5 miles on 6 runs. One interval day 8x400 in 1:41 and 4 mile race in 27:47. Hilly course so I only broke 7:00 on the last mile (6:35). Really built up when I kicked in.

Good races Lucky2b. Its been awhile since I've felt the burn of the last 200 of a track race. I try and do core workouts (on a ball) a couple times a week. I do strides year around. Speed work pushes me over the line the past couple years so I'm still trying to figure the right intensity and volume. Keep the posts coming.

I haven't figured out my mileage for the week yet. I ran the 5K Thursday in Sacramento and got 6th. My time was slower than I had hoped for (aren't they all?) but I was happy with my effort and I don't think I could have picked up more than one place even if I had run the time I hoped for. I ran a hard 10K on the 4th of July and I think that 18 days was not quite enough recovery time from that for me. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet too many of my fellow masters. I got to see some other impressive 5K races by the men and the women, but then hit the road again. I am now doing a week of "altitude training" with my son, daughter-in-law and utterly charming 2yr old granddaughter. This is the end of track season for me and it's now time for XC prep. With respect to the subject of speed and strength, I now am doing most of my training on hills and I try to do some short but fast strides at the end of every workout.

old hamdog wrote:

Speed work pushes me over the line the past couple years so I'm still trying to figure the right intensity and volume. Keep the posts coming.

I guess I should have elaborated a bit on my query. Finding the proper balance is a problem that I am also trying to solve. In my former running life, doing speed-work was no big deal. Yes, you would end up a bit sore after a grueling session, but that soreness would not put you out. I can tell that the game is now different. I really have to be careful not to overdo it, because I get cramps and tendon strains that I've never had before. So far, I haven't been debilitated, but after a good speed session it takes about 5 or 6 days to no longer feel the strain from that workout. Up to this point, the worst I've had is a cramped quad muscle and soreness where the hamstring attaches in my rear. But I would have figured after a couple months now of including more speed work into my weekly routine those spots would have gotten used to this new routine. Apparently not.

I had sort of an uneven week - about 56 miles, I guess. 9 miles with my daughter on trails yesterday and 14 on the trails solo today.

I ran easy early in the week in preparation for the 5k in Sacramento. I went to the track on Tuesday just to do some light speed work, but my brain was utterly elsewhere. First I managed to put on two different shoes (both blue spikes, but one was a xc one and the other a track one) and did a bit of running before noticing. Then I ran back to the car for the right one, and forgot to put my orthotic in it. Dumb. My left leg was sorer than it should have been.

Sacramento was HOT. My little AG (50-54) had it's own 5k which was kind of neat. On my warmup, I noted that my legs were on the dead side - not a good sign. But my expectations for the race were pretty low, so I was surprisingly not very nervous. I almost forgot to check in! With 13 of us in the race, they used an alley start (which was interesting, since they did NOT use that in Spokane with 21 runners). I headed out in the middle for the first lap or so, before moving to the pack of 5 trailing the early leader. I pretty much stayed there as people started falling off the pace. I was really focused on the number of laps, not my time, although my first mile was right where it should have been. After that, though, the heat started to really get to me and it became a matter of just running strong, not passing out and trying to medal - which I thankfully did.

I haven't trained on the track really since April and I've only been doing base for xc, so I am very pleased at the result. I didn't even wear the spikes as some people suggested that flats might be better. I don't know if that is true, but my calves are thankful.

Watching the other races was fun, but extremely draining in the heat.

In my race photo, I noticed something truly disturbing - I am apparently using my ad/abductors to swing my leg around and forward (my foot is splayed out) rather than using my butt and hip flexors to LIFT it. Drill suggestions would be helpful.

Next up is the 15k trail championships on Saturday. While I hope to place better, I don't think I will as the same person who won my 5k is also entered. oh well.

Haven't posted for some time due to the a demoralizing rehab/get-injured-again cycle that comes so naturally to this 50+10+. A few weeks of mileage to illustrate:

42 mi. - first time >40 in 2 months due to glute strain

36 - lower back tight and sore - treatment helps

3 - 3 miles out on a Monday, right hammy-hip seize up -

walk back 3

0 - no running for two weeks

6 -

10 -

21 - slow progress

14 - flu - no running 1 week

42

41 - give up waiting - decide to run through it

(very slowly it turns out)

42

42

36 - threw in some accelerations (very loose use of the

term) - crossing my fingers.

Some impressive times in Sacramento. Maybe I am better off hurt.

not much of a running week for me; instead i had a very heavy work week that included international travel and associated jet lag. this was all expected, of course, and coincides with the beginning of my taper for this coming saturday's 50 miler. it's a pretty stacked field and a significantly different kind of trail than i've raced long on before (two looooong hills, one in the first half, the other in the second), so my expectations are pretty low. still, i'd be lying if i didn't say my hopes weren't high nevertheless ;-)

congrats to all of you with good races, at nationals and otherwise. also good luck to you, muddy girl, as you gut it out in eastern washington while i do the same in the west. we'll be running hard for the same distance; the difference is that i'll have a 40-mile warmup.

as to the speedwork question, i don't have much to say because i only really strive for fast stuff in the weeks leading up to a short race, which for me is pretty rare. given my injury record, i imagine i'll have more to say on the topic as i prepare for january's mile and perhaps this fall's xc season. (several of our regional xc races conflict with some longer trail races i want to be involved with, so it remains to be seen which direction i'll take. generally, i prefer to travel for a long race on interesting trails than for a short one on grass. perhaps this could become a question-of-the-week for the thread sometime: what kinds of events are worth the travel?)

100 with a 5K race on Saturday.

Strength and speed. I have lost it all. Ran a hilly 15 miler two years ago faster than this 5K and the 5K course

was easier.

Hoping that Autumn and cooler weather will help reduce my times in races and training runs.

Good week. Rode 110 miles, swam 5 miles, ran 9.5 miles. The runs (5 on Saturday prior to swimming 2000m, 4.5 yesterday after a hilly 34 mile bike ride) were the most gratifying part of the week as they were my first steps back since surgery on June 1.

Speed maintenance-only by incorporating some type of fast running in all the seasons of your training year.

Strength-hoping that this swimming and biking will help in that area.

Ran and biked on the carriage roads up in Arcadia National Park for 3 days (really need at least a full week there to enjoy all the park has to offer). And, yes, did a bit of swimming at Sand Beach with the water temp at 57 degrees! Hiked up the West route to Cadallic summit and then down the North trail. Too much driving to get there (over 12.5 hours) but it was worth it once we got settled in at the campsite. Stayed at Blackwoods.

As always, I have no idea how many miles it did but did do a hot, humid and hilly 5k tempo run on the roads Saturday morning at 6:35 pace. No injuries but a bit drained.

For strength, I will do hill work on dirt roads. For speed, in the past, I did go to the track. Due to too many injuries, I now will stay on the towpath and do various types of speed workouts. For me, the racing is in the fall into the winter as the temps drop so summer is mostly get in the miles with some faster stuff thrown in every now and then.

Next up is the 15k trail championships on Saturday. While I hope to place better, I don't think I will as the same person who won my 5k is also entered. oh well.

Not oh well! She is much more suited to shorter distances, so don't allow yourself to think she will definitely win. I admit she is also a strong trail runner, but so are you.

Enjoyed hearing about the good racing folks are doing. It's very encouraging!

Managing to maintain my 36 miles per week. I felt good early in the week and was planning to race a 5K on Saturday. However, Friday evening both hamstrings were acting up despite just 4 easy each weekday morning. I talked myself out of racing by repeating the "consistent training" mantra. It was also beastly hot. Instead of the race on Saturday I did a strength workout that was likely almost as hard: a negative split 8 miles starting about 8:00 with the last 3 miles about 6:15-6:20 pace. I followed that on Sunday with a run of 32 minutes out and 30 minutes back. I felt pretty beat up after Sunday's run, likely a combination of heat and previous day's hard run. Both hamstrings were under control, but we will see what this week brings.

I am still able to handle the strength workouts (tempos and hills). Speedwork is a different story. I really enjoy it, but have to limit myself mostly Pete Magill effort type workouts for the 5K so that I don't strain to hit a time and hurt something.

A 50 year old thread? Just qualified this month so I guess I can post. Live in Sac and ran first 800 in 10 years, 3rd. 2nd in 1500. Whet my appetite enough to try and train like i did at 30, but will still listen to body. anyone here train with the mileage and intensity that they did in their youth?

More mileage with less intensity than when younger. More mileage because I'm more sensible in my training, less intensity for the same reason.

Ran a 5k in brutally hot (~94 degrees) conditions last night at the now "infamous" Bowerman 5k out on the Nike campus in Beaverton.

Back in March (my last race), I ran a 5k at our Shamrock Run in cooler conditions but over a hilly route, in 18:36. I had tapered a bit for that one.

Yesterday, on a flatter, faster course but in much hotter temps, I ran 18:53. But I did an 18-miler the day before and 3 miles the morning of this race. So much for the theory of tapering!

Both of these times are well off what I used to run 5-10 years ago, which is why I don't really enjoy racing anymore.

Yesterday's race field was insanely fast. My 18:53 got me something like 60th overall and 4th in the 50-54 AG. The 2nd and 3rd place guys in my age group passed me in the last 1/4 mile and at the time, due to the heat, I didn't really care. Now though, I'm really bummed and pissed I didn't at least try to fight.