50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

racerdb wrote:

Another solid week here...no issues other than the heat & humidity. I've pretty much set 150 (heat/dew point combo) as my comfort level for workouts. That's when I'll happily head inside to my treadmill and get the workout in. It was 64 degrees downstairs tonite. I'll take that, anyday.

66 miles; workouts for the week were...

Tues: 5 miles in 30:56; 619,615,611,608,603 then...4x30 sec @ 5:13 pace w/60 sec jog

Thur: Finished up an easy 10 with 15x30 sec @ 5:27/30 sec jog between

Sat: 13 miles at a steady 7:48

Welcome amkelley! I have also struggled with Achilles tendonosis since May of 2014. But, I bought a Theraband wobble board this last March. My achilles has been nearly pain free since then. It almost seemed like a miracle...I thought I would never run pain free again. Might want to try it.

Have a good week,

Dave

Sounds good!

I've read all kinds of stuff about treatment of Achilles tendon issues but this is the first mention I've seen on a Theraband wobble board. I will look it up. My problem is at the insertion of the Achilles tendon into the heel and/or in the heel bursa, not higher up on the tendon. I have my first appointment with an orthopedist in 3 weeks and I'll see what he says, but in any case I have no reason to have any trust in this guy (or not). All I can do is see whether he appears to know more than I do and whether he understands runners.

Has anyone here had greater trochanteric pain syndrome?

How did you treat this injury?

Hey All-

Checking in a little late here. Some progress, finally, after a couple of very low weeks. The heat and humidity remain challenges here in central Ohio as I find I run out of gas 4 miles into planned 5-milers.

Week of 7/18

M 4 miles Medium; five minute walk. I mile easy.

T 4 miles easy

W 4 miles easy

R rest

F 4 miles progression run down to 7:29/mile

S rest

S 5 miles easy. Struggled slowly in humidity.

22 miles on the week--solid for me these days.

Thursday I was diagnosed with neuroforaminal stenosis, although the sports med guy I saw this morning doesn't think the narrowing is that significant. He says it's acute lumbar radiculopathy. There's some disc compression and maybe a bulging disc. Twisting my back playing hockey caused something to compress a nerve and lead to the pain. He's giving me prednisone and I start PT on Friday. The good news is I can run pain free.

5k on Thursday, August 4th, then off to North Carolina for a week of sea-level running!

Andy

speedy alf wrote:

Has anyone here had greater trochanteric pain syndrome?

How did you treat this injury?

People usually check in on this thread on Sunday or Monday so there may be a delayed response. Cheers.

speedy alf,

Actually, I do/did. I consider myself still recovering about 95%. I assumed for years that it was arthritis from an earlier diagnosis. I received Astym treatment, mobility exercises, strengthening exercises, and ran on an AlterG treadmill. At work I went to standing desk, sitting all day at work was a large part of the problem. I believe what helped the most was understanding that I was not damaging the joint. Running actually helped in the recovery. Also, making sure my form in walking and running was such that I was reducing the anterior tilt of the pelvis.

I can answer any specific questions if you like.

Igy

Thanks!

How were you able to run with the pain? It seems like you had this injury for many years?

Did you run slow or fast during your recovery period?

I rested for 3 days after the initial pain. Then yesterday I did some interval work and it seems as it got worse. Also I did some hardcore stretching and I've a feeling of burning in the upper side of my thigh.

speedy alf,

Yes, I would say it really became an issue about three years ago. I spent more time swimming, spin biking and cut the running to no more than three times a week. The intensity was scaled way back as well. In spite of the cross training I would say my peak discomfort was last fall. Looking at my training log, in January I was walking/running 2-3 days a week covering 10-15 miles, low intensity, absolutely nothing fast. February I added one day of AlterG treadmill for two weeks, and moved to two days of AlterG treadmill. The AlterG allowed me to add some intensity and distance yet take pressure off the joint. March through the middle of April I maintained the two days of AlterG (one tempo, one interval) and added a long trail run (gradually increasing the distance from 4 to 10 miles). Mid-April I weaned off the AlterG, adding regular tempo, interval and repetition training. If I had a soreness the Orthopedist recommended Aleve. I continue the stretching and body weight strengthening, but less intensely. I do running drills as part of the hard days.

Glad to respond to any other questions.

Igy

speedy alf,

Also, I forgot to mention, foam rolling the area after a hard workout, or when the area is bothering me seems to help.

Igy

I've read that you shouldn't roll over the bony prominence (the greater trochanter). What's your experience?

Thanks again for your answer.

speedy alf,

I am rolling more the meaty buttocks, upper hammy, and hip flexor. Directly on the hip, mostly bone, so makes sense to avoid. Also, I understand the injury involves more of the associate muscles surrounding the joint.

I am soon to be 66, so use your own standard here, but I also found staying off pavement, cement, avoiding road camber. when training on the track I do warm-up and recoveries going the opposite direction.

Igy

Igy

Thanks for sharing you experience.

I will not run for a week or so and see how things develop. I'm already looking at a cycling recovery program. Hopefully I will not loose a lot of fitness over the next two weeks. I've a road racing coming in 13 days.

Also I found a good exercise video for strenghtening the hip and IT band

https://youtu.be/k8M31RA8p14

Speedy,

Ghost has served up some really good suggestions.

I discovered this is the injury I've been managing over the past 3 months. Mine has finally cleared up these past 2 weeks. Even though I competed in the 800/1500 at Masters Nats. What I sufferred from the most was a loss of power (left side) and a lot of tightness (reckon one could call it pain). What I believe helped solve the problem the most (other than time of course) was daily strenthening, stretching, rolling T-Bands, core work all focused on hip/glutes region. We've been told over and over again the hip area of us old athletes is our weakest link to continuing to train and race like we were still 45 or 35 or 25. Find your own 20-30min daily routine and stick to it. I hit mine for 55 of last 65 days.

Good luck.

KP

speedy alf,

Thanks for the video, it gives more insight into the nature of the injury. A TheraBand to increase resistance on the clam shells I found helpful. Let us know your progression. I certainly don't consider myself cured, but getting better over time.

Igy

Great to check back into this thread. Three days before my race, the old dartmouth 6 miler...Congrats to Hoser on gaining ground on training, dbracer on the solid training buildup as well as KP on those stellar Masters games results. Lots of great experience and advice to mine here on the thread.

Myself , now in Halifax , nova scotia and had a solid couple weeks at 40 miles plus with some of my first proper track workouts. The first session was in the morning , just 6 x 1km ;started @ 3.35 then 3.31, 3.27, 3.24, 3.21, 3.17... almost the same effort for every one (!), so it was just the muscles that took time to wake up . Just three days later I did 7 x 1km average 3.21 with last one in 3.14 ,so happier with that. I will report back after Monday, but expect 34.xx for 6.07 on the three loop undulating course . (I hope, ..first race in 5 years for this 47 year old)

Happy running to all....

Kirk

I don't want to do a bunch of double-posting, but I have been documenting my summer running on a separate thread, which some here may find interesting. Happy Summer Trails and here s the most recent entry:

At T-3 weeks from my alpine run, I was reasonably confident in my overall fitness, as evidenced by my amazing 30-miler. My next step was to focus on the technical aspects of dealing with a variety of alpine challenges, up to and including climbing 5th class terrain ropeless (As a climber of 40+ years experience, I am comfortable on solid terrain up to 5.7-5.8 without a rope).

It is one thing to hike up to a mountain peak and carefully deal with exposed technical climbing, quite another to run, right at aerobic threshhold and do the same.

So yesterday, I chose to repeat a car-to-summit run of a nearby peak that I have done a number of times in the past, most recently seven years ago while I had been working on a major climbing project on the peak (a 5.12 free climb). When I timed that run, I had been working on the peak for over a week, and so was both fairly acclimatized to the 8000' altitude and very familiar with the easier climbing route to the summit (difficulties up to 5.6 over a span of 500'). So I considered my time of 1:15 for that run (from 5400') to be very solid. When I set out yesterday I would have been very happy with a time within 10 minutes of that, considering my lack of acclimatization or recent climbing on the route.

My main concern was with hydration, since highs were expected in the mid-80's and the route faces South, and my start was late (11 AM). I carried a liter of water in my Ultraspire vest, but only ended up drinking 0.75 liters of it. What I wasn't quite prepared for was getting hit by the altitude hard when I reached 7000' after 25 minutes, which include a 1000' of scrambling on white granite slabs. My heart rate skyrocketed and my head felt like it was being squeezed. I was walking at this point but had to rest for a minute to regain my equilibrium. Any hope of finishing under 1:30 overall was out the window. I began to feel better, and after a while I looked up to see the col (pass) at the beginning of the climbing route just ahead. Glancing at my watch I realized I was ahead of my previous record pace! I focused the last few minutes and reached the col in 55 minutes, 5 minutes faster than on my PR.

I put on my climbing shoes and the subsequent climb was very pleasant and I took my time, both for safety and the sake of pleasure (some really nice moves and positions).

I summited in 1:15, so I lost the five minutes I had gained reaching the col, but I was not complaining. I had summited at least 10 minutes faster than I expected and felt great! I met some climbers coming up from another route and chatted with them, and met another party on the way down. The run back on the hiking trail felt great and I was back at the car in a casual three hours, for an ascent which would easily take twice that for a solid party.

I spent the rest of the afternoon bouldering in a beautiful alpine meadow. My quads tightened up, but re-loosened with the climbing. This morning I feel pleasantly tired with no aches pains or stiffness.

I feel I am in the best aerobic condition I've been in for at least ten years, with only a fraction of the effort expended in the past. My actual running mileage is around 35 miles/week (when not doing a very long run), yet I feel as fit, even more fit, as when I used to train 50+/week. I am very excited for some great alpine running in the near future!

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7287735&page=2#ixzz4FvWVEB1S

lucKY2b wrote:

*************************

Week 268

*************************

Welcome "Turning 50", good luck on your Senior Games adventures.

Thanks. I won both the football and softball throws. I missed the softball throw record by 14 feet and was short on the FB throw record by 20 feet. My marks were 221 ft softball and 133 ft FB. I could have thrown the football further but they changed the order of the throws at the last minute and threw cold. I had been warming up for softball when I found out I was 1st in the order to throw the football. Next year, though. I came in last in the 800 with a crappy 2:52. Not sure what happened there...??

YMMV wrote:

My actual running mileage is around 35 miles/week (when not doing a very long run), yet I feel as fit, even more fit, as when I used to train 50+/week.

Possible, but not likely. Only an apples-to-apples race can give a true determination.

*************************

Week 269

*************************

Warm (and humid) greetings, 50+ers! The humidity won't relent! I'm not getting out the door in the mornings, and have thus suffered the consequences throughout the week. When Dave mentioned that Temp + Dew point > 150 is a workout deal-breaker, I started wondering when was the last time I ran where the combo wasn't at least in the upper 140's? It's been typically between 153 and 160 when I've been running this summer (85 degrees w/dew point of 72 is pretty typical). Managed to hit 30 miles on 5 days of running this week with only a half workout (and an additional sub-7 mile) to show for it:

Sun: off (H.I. of 105, so it wasn't happening)

Mon: 5.2 easy (7:47 pace)

Tues: 5.1 w/2x(1000,30s rest, 200)+2x200

Wed: 4.1 easy (7:49 pace)

Thur: off

Fri: 6.2 easy (7:56 pace)

Sat: 9.4 highly variable w/breaks (7:39 avg pace)

(and yes, I ran the extra .4, just so I could hit 30 for the week.)

Tuesday's track workout was a bust. The Dew point hit a highwater mark of 76 degrees on that day, and though it was "only" 82 degrees out, it was miserable (heat index was 98-99 degrees.) No one completed the workout (4x(1000,30s rest,200, 400 jog recovery)). I gave up after two reps (4:03,37,3:54,38), while a few souls suffered through a third rep (note: I pushed the last 600 of the 2nd 1000 having already decided I was quitting after 2 reps). I tried to recoup a little bit by doing some 1-lap accelerations (walk 100, jog 100, cruise 100, sprint 100), but even two of those were enough. I finished up the day by jogging easy to get the distance over 5 miles. Nothing else too remarkable for the week. Saturday, I wanted to try and add a little tempo portion to the long run; hit the second mile at just over 7:00/mi with some elevation gain, then went 6:39 on an ensuing elevation drop, but that was enough. I stopped for a minute and tried to add a third quality mile, but the sun popped out by then and the remainder of the run was a bit of a slog. I was pretty dehydrated afterwards.

OK. That's about all I've got to start this week off. Neat to see questions being asked and addressed. amkelley, speedy alf, YMMV welcome!

-Interesting perspective, YMMV (you and mo'pak should compare notes); I keep telling myself I need to do more cross-training (PT guys say the same), just can't get myself to do it.

-Props on your throws Turning 50; don't have enough info to venture what went wrong with the 800. Was there a lot of standing around waiting? That'll kill your legs, especially in the heat.

-Thanks for chiming in on your adventure to Eugene, Mike! Sounds like you had a busy week of racing and spectating....oh, and yes, I meant to mention Sabra Harvey's exceptional 5000m time, but it slipped my mind as I typed out my notes last week. Great stuff!

As always, looking forward to reading about your weeks!

All the Best!

My plan to modestly increase my running this past week went out the window early.

M- Rest day (my knee was a little more sore)

T- 5 miles with 10 x :30 hard/:30 easy, 8:04/mi ave. (weight work after as planned) (my knee still was a little more sore than last week).

W- 4 miles at 9:03/mi. ave with my son who was in town on business.

Th- Rest (knee still sore).

F- 5 miles walk

S- Rest (+demolish tile in bathroom instead of weight work-2 hours of small sledgehammer and chisel work).

Su- 6 miles walk (knee soreness nearly gone).

So instead of my planned 31 miles of 16 running and 15 walking I ended up at 20 miles with 9 running and 11 walking. I read recently that runner's knee can take 6 weeks to 6 months to heal. I am at 13 weeks now and would call it 85% healed. I keep reminding myself that healing progress is not always linear and ups and downs will occur, particularly when I am trying to significantly improve my strength and hold on to some aerobic fitness through the healing process.

Good running to all!