50+ Weekly Training Thread

Reality check - my 18:53 actually got me 83rd overall. 83rd!!! Sheesh.

Still a good time in that heat. Congrats!

BTW, we all ran much faster 5-10 years ago!!! Ha, ha.

Who is the 60 year old who tears it up?

thepinkmonkey wrote:

Still a good time in that heat. Congrats!

I'm with you on that thepinkmonkey. Good job imarunr

Also, welcome to the 50+ club, Sactomaster. It must have been nice having the nationals on home turf. You and your family represented your community well. Congrats.

Another newcomer to the group, LV, glad you found us (I think you chimed in on an old thread last week). I saw on another thread you started you were looking for the best way to start back into serious training. While I value the remarks by some younger runners, I have found the advice from the older crowd to be 1) more pertinent, and 2) more sound. Personally, because I had taken 25 years off from running, it took me a full 3-1/2 years to where I could consistently run 40 miles/week without incident. I saw that some of the younger crowd really want to push it, but that can have dire consequences for an older body.

I'd love to go through and give props to all the runners separately, but I'm sure I speak for BHRR1 (the thread instigator) in wishing the best to all who come to tell us what's going on in their running life (and sometimes elsewhere.)

I would, however, like to shout out to "muddy girl" for getting in and racing "anyways" and providing that nice meet report here and on "Weekend masters races and runs" from nationals. Good luck this weekend. And also best of luck to "no longer stressed" on that 50-mile trail run. Sounds grueling; based on your reported training, I'm sure you'll do well.

Good luck to those rehabing, and recently trying to get back into things. We're rootin' for ya.

My conclusion on the strength and speed thing seems to be like so much else in life: done in moderation it can be beneficial, but be careful not to overdo it, because you can dig yourself a deep hole if you do.

There'll be no racing for me this weekend, just trying to recoup from the track races. Catch up with all of you after this weekend. Thanks for all the posts.

[quote]no longer stressed wrote:

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 ;-)

Good luck in the 50 miler.

From what you posted, I can't tell for sure if you have run the course before or not.

I have run the race and can give you some course information if you are interested.

thanks for the good wishes lucKY2b.

and rainrunner, nope, i haven't run this one before, but have checked out the elevation profile and read the description of the various sections. my race plan is to stay well within myself the first half, including not motoring too fast on the long downhill to the midpoint so that i don't trash my legs for the long climb in the second half. if all goes well, i'll turn up the effort for the descent on the dirt road and carry it through during the final miles of flat but more technical footing to the finish. i definitely welcome any insight or suggesting you want to provide.

No longer stressed,

The 50 miler is a fun race (if you can call running 50 miles fun...)

Have you run a 50 before?

It looks like it will not be too hot, but maybe thunderstorms? I doubt those will kick in until the afternoon.

The first miles are on a nice flat shaded trail with good footing. Good warmup.

The climb is long (as in the course description) there are only a few really steep sections. Mostly it is a steady climb w/some short, flat sections. It is nicely shaded. After you top out, you run in trees for a while, but you do run a few miles with no shade. Part of this is the out and back section.

When you turn downhill by Ranger Creek the switch backs are short and numerous, you keep turning every 20 yards or so. The trail is nice and soft here, but you can beat yourself up by hammering down. It sounds like you have a good race plan to me, taking it easy through here. I think you run 4-5 miles down these switch backs. It also is shaded.

The second half heading up to Suntop can be tough. I find the worst part is running up the switch backs through the clear cut. Again, lots of turning, the sun can be brutal on a hot day. Once past the clear cut you keep climbing but gradually, it's pretty rolling terrain through here once you pass the aid station. The last 1/4 mile pitch to Suntop is steep, walk some of it.

Now you run down the dirt road. Some people (like me) love it, lots hate it. It is not trail running, it is steep, dusty, and hot. But, if you are a good downhill runner, you can fly. If your legs are still in pretty good shape you can make up some time. It is a good time to push.

The last 6 miles are on a "flat" trail. The trail is actually very rolling, lots of little ups and downs through the forest along the White River. There are many roots and rocks to trip up tired legs. This part of the trail took more out of me than I thought it would. Once you hit the dirt road you have about a quarter mile to the finish by the airstrip.

Good luck to you.

What part of the country are you coming from?

I looked at the competition in 50-54, and the guys I know from Washington who will be tough are Dan Gallant, from my neck of the woods, and Win Van Pelt also has run well there. I don't recognize any out of state names.

Enjoy the run and scenery!

rainrunner

thanks for all the detail, rainrunner. this background should be very useful; most is what i've surmised, but it's good to know about all the twisty-turnies. it's nice to have confirmation that the course is almost completely runnable if i apply proper energy management (both consumption and exertion). i've only raced three 50 milers, two two years ago and one the year prior and had very good experiences in the two that i didn't go out too fast (one just over and the other just under 8 hrs; my best-case goal is 8:30, since this course seems to run slow, but mostly i want to feel as though i've run it smart -- and of course come out of it uninjured). as far as i can tell, there's no real 50+ competition for me (i'm a woman), but lots in the masters division more generally. there are a few who are flat-out faster than me, and several with whom it could go either way, so it should be fun to see how it shakes out. i'm from the finger lakes region of new york, so i'm well-acquinted with roots and rocks, and i'll have my hand bottles to bounce off of if i trip ;-)

No longer stressed,

Again, good luck.

I do like your race plan. The course is almost completely runnable, but don't be afraid to walk some steep sections. That could be good strategy on this course.

Hard to say since you have not run this course, but if you run about 8:30-8:45 you will be rolling.

thepinkmonkey wrote:

Still a good time in that heat. Congrats!

BTW, we all ran much faster 5-10 years ago!!! Ha, ha.

Who is the 60 year old who tears it up?

That's Doug Winn. He has been TEARING it up this year. Apparently, the weekend before the Bowerman 5k, he won his AG in the 5000m and 10,000m at the Masters Nationals in Sacramento. He ran 17:21 for the 5k there. WOW.

Disrupted week of training, again. Doggone reality.

Monday - Mowed 2/3 lawn (I mow 9/10 of an acre, with uphills and downhills, in 1hr 17 mins), with push mower.

Good resistance workout. Don't sell manual labor short for keeping the rust off. Cooled off to 85 degrees (HA!) but the humidity was 'way down, thankfully.

Tuesday - Finished lawn (40 mins)...2x50 pushups, 50 situps

Wednesday - Minor fender bender...arrrrghhhh...no run. Family dinner, Brother visiting from out of town.

Thursday - 30:00 in new Saucony's. Definitely felt the difference in my Achilles, but the run was horrible. No

rhythm...crawled. No more runs by time...that's it! I don't know how Ed Whitlock does it. THREE HOURS? I'm putting the watch away. The heck with it.

Friday - 2 miles, better tempo. followed by 50 situps and pushups. Ran on flat terrain to avoid aggravating my Achilles.

This is impressive:

1 Winn, Doug M60 Unattached 17:26.48

2 Shaheed, Nolan M61 So Cal Track Club 17:47.20

3 Price, Roger M61 Raritan Vall 18:23.87

4 Yamagata, John M60 West Valley 18:56.76

5 Patton, Gary M64 Golden West 19:05.59

And this is even more impressive. Does that mean he lapped Nolan a few times???

1 Winn, Doug M60 Unattached 35:29.09

2 Shaheed, Nolan M61 So Cal Track Club 38:25.66

3 Taylor, David M60 Unattached 38:26.06

4 Price, Roger M61 Raritan Vall 39:02.51

5 Yamagata, John M60 West Valley 39:20.99