50+ Weekly Training Thread (for week ending 13-Feb-2011)

Good week here with another max-since-1984 week of 55 miles. Right now I’m the Fred Sanford of mileage as these are mostly what I used to call “junk miles” when I was a smart-ass 20 year old. But, I’m feeling really well screw-it, I don’t care.

I’m 5’8” and 150 now and for the life of me I cannot find documentation of what I was in the 70’s. I think 143 at my peak but I’m not certain. I sure looked a lot skinnier than 143 then.

Regarding this week’s topic, I’ve found that protein shakes do wonders to kill my ravenous appetite. And the obvious….run more miles. Also, I don’t do weights as I found they just contribute to my hunger.

Not a good week here but I'm not going to come on here and whine about. I'll try to make a positive out of this and welcome a much needed break after having very little downtime the past 7 years. Maybe I'll pick up some good stretching habits along the way! But, It will be nice when this Hamstring issue is done with. It will be ok...

I ran at 155# in HS. My ideal racing weight these days is 157-58'ish. I'm currently at 163. But I was a fat hog at 197 back in 2002 when I was building a house and not running much. Don't ever want to go there again! I think running more miles has allowed me to keep the weight down. I also keep an eye on everything I stick in my mouth. But I always seem to pig out on the weekends and put on a few pounds! I seem to be able to get rid of the weekend pounds rather easily.

Have a good week!

Dave

This week was 95 miles in 750 min with 13 runs.

Most of it at 7:30-8:30 with two tm sessions:

Tues: 30 min tempo with 10min each at 10.5, 10.7 and 11 mph

and

Fri: 6x 3 min at 11.5 mph with 2 min jog recovery.

Both workouts aerobically stable and finished each full of running.

Stopped because that was the plan.

Found the groove, now gots to stay in it.

Hope the vinyl's not too worn.

Obstacles: Really they were/are results of my own choices (math vs running)

which go back and forth because I cannot do both well simultaneously.

To Pete, who was disheartened by last week's drug talk on this thread:

It seemed to me that people were just being honest that perhaps the lure of world class success is a temptation we will never be subjected to, so who are we to judge how difficult it is for a younger runner to avoid it?

Personally, besides the moral issues, taking steroids or EPO would defeat the whole purpose of this enterprise, which is to see how fast we can run in natural conditions as we are and how well we can compete against other creatures like us. Of course I could run faster downhill, or with the wind, or in other "conditions" but such results would be meaningless.

Oops, I responded to the question-of-the-week on that other master's thread.

Here we're supposed to talk about weight.

I'm 5'9 and was 130 in college, now 143-145 when fit.

Can't imagine being 130 again, but would like to weigh a tad less.

But I have no discipline for dieting, so that's that.

Lightest I've ever weighed was in college - 104 lbs and I was a massive head case. Best racing weight was just after college, after marathon training and with a new club - 116-118 (with most of my PRs being at this weight.)

After turning 50, my weight jumped up from the low 120s up to a solid 130 and nothing I could do seemed to make it budge. I am working on it, though, and have dropped down to 125 now (without clothes!) and have stayed there for a few weeks. I am hoping that as I bump my mileage up some more (back to the 70s that were the staple of my life for years), that the rest will come off. I want to be around 120 again and already I feel a lot better and fitter.

If anyone has the "secret" let me know - right now, it's mileage, more water and better choices.

As I noted in the other thread - ~65 miles this week. Two workouts - in and out "800s" and a tempo run with a 15 miler on trails.

I have decided that since my best racing years were 1961 on the track and 1971 on the roads, that 2011 will be my year. My work in the gym seems to helping my jog/walk training.

Speaking of the gym, one of the therapists who had helped me proudly informed me on Thursday that her Mother was on the Cover of the March issue of "Running Times". That made me think about women's running. I remembered that women did not run when I raced my first marathon in 1961. The AAU would not allow women to race. Women were not allowed to run the Boston Marathon! Other than 1928 there was no 800 meters race for women in the Olympics until 1960. The 400 was not added to the Olympic program until 1964 and the 1500 was added for the first time in 1972.

The current issue of "Running Times" has Linda Somers Smith on its cover. It also contains articls titled "Masters of the Year" and "How Aging Runners Stay Motivated".

Since I have been shrinking from my original 5'11" height, I do not understand why I don't lose a little weight. I have never been over 140 pounds but I am no longer 130. Coach Igloi had me down to 125 at one point.

A week of short slow recovery runs after running the 8k XC in San Diego. Thought I might try to do a 3 mile tempo run on Thurs, but 2 miles in 12:35, felt pretty bad, and was getting worse, so I bagged it. Did come back and do 10 miles on Sat with 9 at 7:05 ave pace, making sure it was in my almost comfort zone.

I'm fortunate to not have a weight problem, though I wish I could gain a little bit more.

In mentioning weight, and with all of the talk of drugs last week, I do feel I need to mention this:

Pete is very well respected by all of us that consider him to be a close friend. With that, we are all competitors and does any one think we would have such respect for someone taking drugs and being so far ahead of the rest of us? Does anyone think a runner of So Cal Cush's ability would have been so supportive of the almost geezer that finished ahead of him? I could name many instances where Pete has been very ethical in how he conducts himself, when he wouldn't have had to be.

Also, I may not be real knowledgeable about drugs, but it seems to me that if you are a longer distance runner, you'd probably not want to have much muscle weight. Yet that, plus the excellent running, seems to be the reason that some feel they can take their little pot shots.

I have to wonder if someone like Jim Ryun was to come along today, running times in high school, that are right up with the best in the world...what would be said.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Rich

Weight; Rock steady at 5'8" and 125 for decades. Then dropped my tobacco habit(Chewing) and gained 35 pounds. I've been whittling away at it for the last 8 years, but seem stuck around 140# presently. Unfortunately, I had to shrink to 5'6" to drop the pounds.

Pete is a class act who writes as well as he runs.

Got in 3 runs early in the week. temps for the most were -20F.

Skied 2 hours yesterday and 2:10 today. Temp. this PM hit 45F. Go figure.

Looking forward to a couple small ski races next weekend and the American Birkebeiner on the 26th.

rlb wrote:

In mentioning weight, and with all of the talk of drugs last week, I do feel I need to mention this:

Pete is very well respected by all of us that consider him to be a close friend. With that, we are all competitors and does any one think we would have such respect for someone taking drugs and being so far ahead of the rest of us? Does anyone think a runner of So Cal Cush's ability would have been so supportive of the almost geezer that finished ahead of him? I could name many instances where Pete has been very ethical in how he conducts himself, when he wouldn't have had to be.

Firstly, I for one, do not doubt for one second that Pete is the real deal. Everything I know about him, leads me to trust that he is totally honest, open, and ethical. I have never, nor would I ever, question his authenticity. He is an icon and a true inspiration to us master's runners, and I owe him a heap of gratitude for sharing some of his wisdom with us.

The question that was brought up I took as purely hypothetical, and maybe someone should have made sure they distanced themselves from any implied connection...so that was unfortunate. I did respond to the question and was being perfectly honest with my personal answer, "No I wouldn't do it". But I felt it was a hollow answer, because it is truly outside my realm. I'm truly sorry if anyone interpreted engaging in the discussion in any other way.

Pete, if you are reading this, "you're the best!" I mean it.

Yikes. I better not bring up any sensitive topics anymore. I apologize to anyone who thinks I was making implications. It was a hypothetical question and the answers are what I would expect from older men and women who are not supporting themselves and their families through running or any sport. I was trying to imply how tough it must be for a younger athlete on the "professional" level to compete against others who are cheating.

I am 6' 2" and around 168-172 lbs. I always feel I am the biggest guy out there, but I wear XL so I don't look quite as fat as I am. Seriously, I try not to weigh myself very often (a couple of times a year). I know when I am fit by how my clothes fit. Alcohol and cheese are my big downfalls. If I could only give them up, but then I ask myself does it really matter that much? I did get down to mid 140's for awhile in the mid eighties and was injured constantly.

OK week training. Hills Tuesday and 4 mile tempo @ 5:42 pace (HR @ 152) on a windy Friday.

Again, sorry about last weeks post.

Last big week of training before a 30K freestyle race next week and a series of ski loppets (marathons) next month--but not all that big when you're a skier and a runner in the same thread out volumes you with running.

21 miles running (most since last June)

88 km skiing

1:50 indoor cycle training (it was -22 out)

and two weight sessions of about 30 min each

just under 12 hr for the week, including a 5.2K skate race on 3" of fresh snow under the lights in the middle of the week. Fast and furious and 1st 45 and over(15:59).

Weight: like a couple others have said, I think I raced too light in college (mid-low 130s), and set most of my PRs several years later at 140 +/-. Since turning 35 my weight has barely dipped under 150, and then just for a few weeks at a time. In ski season I'm mid-low 150s and drop 4-5 lbs by May. Keep thinking that 145 would be a great weight to be at, but would have to starve to get there (or it would seem like that).

I guess I missed the controversy about Pete. He seems like an upfront and hard working runner, not one to cheat, and has been an inspiration for many of us for years now.

for the first time in a month, i have provisionally good news to report. i ran (well, jogged) four of the past five days, and am up to an hour on the snowmobile trails at a time -- and without significant pain. it's such a treat to be in the woods again, enjoying the wind and the sunshine and the slop underfoot. i hope to keep up a bit of the bike-with-hand-weights regimen i've been doing the past few weeks, since it's nice not to be quite so spaghetti-armed. mostly, though, i'm looking forward to building up my time on my feet and delight in cavorting in the woods.

racerdb, i'm not quite sure what your hamstring issue is, but ART might help. ditto with your recalcitrant hip, lucKY2b

muddy girl, great job dropping those five pounds!

orville, nice for calling out the generational change in running, both regarding women' and masters' running. interestingly, the first U.S. marathon to admit women was pikes peak in 1959, and lynn bjorkland still retains the ascent and marathon records she set back in 1981! like many of us, she's in her 50s now.

on to the topic: my 4' 11 1.2" frame has tilted the scales at 90-something-pounds ever since i was 14, other than when i was en route to gaining the 30 pounds of each of my three pregnancies. i feel best around 93-95, and when i get too much above this i just rein in my eating for a few days and all is good again. i consider myself fortunate.

Like rlb, I have taken a pretty easy week after XC's. Since the race I have experienced some soreness in the heel that I had a stress fracture in 5 years ago, so I have kept my running down to a very easy 32 miles last week.

On the weight subject, I'm 5'8" and raced at 130 in college. Over the years, I would drift up to 138-139 if I was not paying attention to my eating and/or letting work interfere with my recreational activities. When I turned 50 I made a concerted effort to improve my eating habits and get back to 130 and stay at that weight. It is a constant struggle to stay at that level since I have never met a donut, cookie or bowl of ice cream that I didn't like, but I can tell that my running is a little better at this weight than when I am 5lbs heavier.

Thanks Orville and NLS for the nice retrospective. Good to see you are on the mend NLS. I'm feel like I am finally getting the upper hand, it's just been very slow. You have kindly mentioned several times that I might consider ART, and I've been a real resistant to "interference". But I'm probably at the point where if the next few weeks don't show marked improvement, I will probably have it looked at.

Sounds like I'm the one resistant to changing eating habits, too. I guess I better acknowledge that I need more portion control. Growing up, I was always called the garbage disposal, I ate ridiculous amounts, but still weighed only 128 at 6 feet (senior year in HS) but times have changed...Hmmmph.

In college, I weighed 142 and 5'11". Now I'm usually 151-154.

At 2 seconds per pound/mile, my weight gain accounts for almost all my slowdown (from a HS PR) for a 5k.

I can usually lose weight if I focus on easting lots of fruits and veggies, which is easier in the summer, when there is lots of good fruit.

"easier in the summer, when there is lots of good fruit."/quote

Boyfriend is away. I'm hungry like the wolf .E-mail me ,chubs.

Arete wrote:

At 2 seconds per pound/mile, my weight gain accounts for almost all my slowdown (from a HS PR) for a 5k.

I always wonder how far one can take that formula. Obviously there are limitations. If I took it straight up, it would say I could potentially be faster than I've ever been. I do believe that I'm as fit now as I've ever been, but I doubt that I could be faster than I was in HS. No way I see myself running a 9:40 2-mile, for example. Nice thought though, and maybe motivation to shed some pounds.

I, too, find it easier to control weight in the summer with all the great fresh produce that is available. With all the cold, I definitely find rich foods harder to resist in the winter.