50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Nice race oldguy. Glad to see you found a good program to stay healthy and still race well. I had a good week but low intensity. I'm ready for cooler fall weather.

M- off

T- 7.5 miles run-walk on trails in 87 min

W- 4.1 miles in 42 min

Th- 4 miles fartlek on trails in 43 min

F- off

S- 9.1 miles trails in 90 min

Su- 3.1 miles with form drills and strides in 33 min

@Reno, so sorry to hear about your accident. Yes, at least it's not a leg injury, so you should be able to start running before it's entirely healed. 21 years ago I took a bad fall running on an icy road and fractured my humerus just below the shoulder. It was a single, clean fracture and no surgery was required, but it was about 4 weeks before I could tolerate the jarring enough to start running. An elbow, being farther away from the torso, might be not quite as bad.

Between you and SCgal, I'm becoming even more worried than usual about having an accident on the bike. If I could do nothing but run I sure would. But I do seem to be making some progress on getting my Achilles heel to tolerate more running, just as the new semester is about to start and I'll no longer have time to ride outdoors during the week.

My week:

Mon: 10.1 mile run at 9:30 pace, felt slow and fine.

Tu: 32 mile bike on roads.

W: 10.3 mile run at 9:08 pace. More reasonable pace and still felt good.

Th: 75 minutes on bike trainer in garage--HOT, HOT, HOT! Then 7 miles commuting to and from work on bike, taking a "short cut" over a dirt road to avoid massive construction delays on the main road to campus. The rocky, bumpy dirt isn't compatible with a skinny-tired road bike and there are two places where I have to squeeze through a gate and then lift the bike over or around. It's a very slow 3.5 miles, but faster than either walking or sitting for 30+ minutes in the car waiting my turn to use the single open lane.

Fri: 10.5 mile run at 8:58 pace. Still felt great, but heel was pretty sore by evening.

Sat: 40 miles on bike on roads.

Sun: 39 miles on bike on roads.

@SCgal, glad to hear you're being able to stay active and remain generally fit while your ankle heals.

Stay healthy, everyone!

Good afternoon, friends. Continued low mileage for me as I deal with my nagging injuries. Still, a few decent efforts this week.

Tuesday's 73-mile ride included harrowing descents and monster climbs -- sustained ascents with portions at 33-percent grade. For this flatlander, those were challenging! Especially with my lowest gear at 49 inches (42x23). I was close to maximum heart rate as I was out of the saddle, struggling not to stall.

Yesterday's track workout went OK, although somewhat meager in total duration. The repeats were slower than true vVO2max, but Pfitzinger's marathon schedules proscribe 5K race pace. He considers that within VO2max training pace range, despite some recent comments here disputing that. And, yes, my recoveries were on the lengthy side, but Pfitzinger allows up to 90 percent of rep duration.

AUGUST 14-20, 2017:

Off

Easy:Bike 73 miles untimed

Easy: 5.0 miles untimed

LR: 20.0 miles @ 7:45/mi

Easy:Bike 18 miles untimed

VO2max: 1.5-mi warmup; 4 x 1000m w/3:15 jogs @ 3:49, 3:44, 3:43, 3:40; 2.5-mi cooldown

Easy: 10.0 miles @ 8:43/mi

WEEK TOTAL: 41.7 MILES

2017 Racing

5K: 18:57 April 2 (6:06/mi)

Half Marathon: 1:28:41 April 30 (6:46/mi)

15K: 59:59 August 6 (6:26/mi)

Reno -- Sorry to hear about the mishap. Dang, those two-wheeled contraptions are taking a toll around here.

old guy II -- 34 seconds better than last year is outstanding ... at any age, but especially past 65!

Igy -- A 90-second improvement over your best 5K in the past two years has gotta feel good. Also, your lifetime running/coaching resume is impressive. I am honored that you've taken time to comment on my comparatively diminutive efforts!

luKY2b -- As always, thanks for keeping this thing going. I am closing in on one year here, and it's been a key motivator for me. Enjoy the eclipse! Both my sons drove to Nashville last night. Here's hoping for clear weather.

Have a good week.

-Allen

Got a bad bad track hangover after 10 days of watching Worlds in London...fortunately we've got a little 'hair of the dog' remedy today with Birmingham DL and then Berlin, Zurich and Brussels meets before the start of football errr umm I mean cross country season ;}

Covered 38 miles this week in a variety of locales...a track on the Thames in Battersea Park, St James Park super early zero dark thirty just outside Westminster Palace, my local high school track in Healdsburg and then surrounding vineyards here in Sonoma County.

My foot problems keep my "running" at a very controlled pace that rarely dips into the 7:00s but it beats not running at all as I close in on 108,000 miles...less than 300 miles away (I can almost smell the barn)

Igy, big congrats on that 5K and Reno, uggghhh...get better...there something you can do for fitness in the meantime? Sounds like ElliptiGO is out...sorry man.

Have a fine week of running and racing...train don't sprain ;}

your pal,

MF

Happy to report no broken bones here! Feel bad for you Reno.

35 miles for the week. Dropped the mileage a bit; hit my paces for my two workouts. The week went like this:

M: 6.3 Miles in 47:27 [7:31 per mile]

T: 4.5 Miles easy

W: 4.8 miles with 800-400-200-800-400-200 (2:25.3, 71.5, 33.8, 2:25.2, 70.5, 33.4)

T: 4 Miles easy

F: 7 Miles in 52:09 [7:27 per mile]

S: 5 Miles in 40:45 [8:09 per mile]

S: 3.5 miles with 4x400 (68.6,68.1,67.5,66.9)

Well that's it. I think I survived my seven week mile specific training. All of the workouts along the way were pretty good so I'm hoping that translates into a decent run Friday night.

Have a good week,

Dave

Here's my situation;

In my 30's, I could run 2x a day, be strong, run hard, recover fast, etc. in my 40's I was able to do most of that, and adjusted workouts for age. In my 50's I trained smarter, more rest days and less expectations in my workouts, and I really just didn't care as much. Now at 57, I look back. I ran under 16 min to 41. I ran under 17 min to 52. But after 55, my times took a nose dive, meaning much slower, and my weight increased. Now, I run 4-7 miles at 8:15 per mile, and seem to lose 2 or 3 lbs. from the run, and then, wham, I feel right back where I was about two hours later. Slow and fat. I was 5'10" 145 in my 30's and 40's. Suddenly, I'm 5'10" 165, and feel like I'm 265

Typical?

Allen1959,

Thanks. I probably won't reach any of my 2017 goals, but I am getting closer. My somewhat long history in sport came out in my frustration. Oh well. I enjoy reading your detailed and well thought out training.

Igy

57yo,

I hit similar road bumps in my late 50s early 60s. An earlier poster quotes from the FIRST Program (Furman Institute). FIRST advocates cross training for recovery days with the traditional repetition, interval and tempo training for running days (three per week) I have found this to be a more practical approach for me continuing to enjoy and stay in the sport. There is quite a bit of "Google-able" information on FIRST.

Igy

MikeF,

Sounds like you had a great time. I always wanted to take in a European track meet. I recall reading in Track and Field News of Ron Clarke's summer of world records in 1965. Inspiring tales and maker of dreams for a young man.

My often training partners Patti (Gray) Bellan says hello. She accompanied me on Wednesday: 1600m @ 7:34, and 1,000m @ 4:11. Feels good to be moving forward.

Igy

Ouch, Reno! Sorry to hear, and coming off some great racing last week. Well a year ago I trashed my shoulder and had surgery a couple weeks later. Came back stronger than ever this year. So it's a setback for you but you'll be running and racing before you know it.

57yo, we had similar profile up to 55, you were a bit faster based on what you put up here. My weight was basically the same from 35 to 58 last year. I changed my diet last year due to blood sugar and cholesterol issues, and dropped about 7 lb, from 150 to 143. At 59 I'm running at about where I was from 47-51, a few ticks slower in the shorter distances but right in there at 10K and up (35:40s this year). So yeah, focusing on your diet can really help. Whole grain and fresh fruit for carbs, more fish, less processed foods.

Good to see the participation this week.

Recovery week for me, coming off the half where I really had to go to the well for 4-5 miles.

M - Rest but I did 35 minutes on the exercise bike

T - easy 7

W - easy 5 Road trip! Taking son to university

Th - 10, steady great bike path near I-80, Colville UT

F - 5.8 back home but exhausted

S - 9.8 with 3000 m TT (10:44, splits pretty even at 3:36, 3:34, 3:34, but I miscounted laps and started my kick a lap early so last 600 m were - painful)

S - 14.1 miles (above the more famous Magnolia road, but much more quiet and scenic).

52.7 for the week. back at it next week with mid-60s planned. Will have more thoughts on V02 discussion later.

Sorry to hear about the injury Jeff. Hope you heal quickly. Glad to see you were back racing last week. M55 next year I'm sure you will be closer to 4:30.

Ho hum workout for me today on a brand new track which still had quite an odor. New track smell I guess.

4 x75

200 31 (round up nearest 1/10)

250 36.8

300 44.7

4 x 150- 22.5 down to 20.7

4 sets power bounding covering approx 170' in 22 bounds.

Couple of weeks ago ran a 77.1 500 in practice. Thinking about a 600 TT this week.

Nice surprise to see 145.0 on scale today. BMI 21.4

wow, sorry to read about the mishaps here. best wishes to the wounded...

slowly but surely after an injury-riddled age 49, i'm rounding into shape. did my first solid 10 miler in nearly a year, running the middle 8 miles in 6:19 pace (and the middle 4 miles in under 6:10 pace). not what i used to be able to do a few years ago, but better than a couple of months ago as i struggle to adjust to and assess whatever the "new normal" may be.

flint mile on friday--sorry scgal won't be there, but i'll try to represent socal well,

cush

Skate wrote:

Whiteman is as consistent as one can be season after season with no apparent injury! Even .5 slow down each season over next 5, would be a 1:52.36. I'd bet on it. I just wonder how he can train at such a level.

Well...that's the $64,000 question, isn’t it? He not only broke the world M45 record but destroyed it by almost 5 seconds over Saladin Allah's 2005 time of 1:54.18!

So, how does one essentially not show any age-related decline from 39 to 45 and destroying the WR by almost 5 seconds! 🤔

3 easy miles on the treadmill today, 9:39 average pace.

16.1 miles for the week.

Some great running by the other people here.

Sorry for Remo's mishap. As my grandfather used to remark when something bad happened to someone else, "Into each life some rain must fall." I believe it is always easier to wax philosophical when the misfortune is someone else's.

Got up at 2:45 a.m. today for a day of air travel to Atlanta. Now ensconced in an Embassy Suites, my home away from home for two weeks while I take onboarding classes for my new job.

Hoped to do a longer and harder workout, but the long day with short rest got to me. So I took a break after 3 miles and was thinking of returning to the fitness room later for more work. Then the free drinks in the hotel lobby finished me off, and "Day is done, gone the sun" began to play in my mind's ear.

*I mean Reno (I blame the free drinks).

Sorry to hear Reno. The older I get, the less I cycle. I haven't been on my road bike all year. Hope you recover quickly.

Half marathon in San Diego today. Won the 55-59 in sub 1:24. Was happy with the effort -- labored late but the extra lbs did me no favors.

For the week, 3 swims totaling 3 miles and 4 runs for 26 including the race.

Now a couple of vacation days!

What a week for me, did 4 miles on Monday, then off the rest of the week d/t this sore heel. Got PT work from our sports chiropractor, incl. Graston, stretching, KT tape, and ART. Turned down any cortisone from our podiatrist, but a week of continued soreness has me rethinking it, so will take it on this Tuesday.

Did run 4 miles today on the track, but felt the heel by the end. My wife did 1600m of varied 100's to 300's. Her hamstrings didn't object too much, YEAH!

To the injured, I feel your pain, but it's what makes us all the tougher in our post-hurt races later. We don't fall down, we get up stronger!

Inquiry minds want to know wrote:

Skate wrote:

Whiteman is as consistent as one can be season after season with no apparent injury! Even .5 slow down each season over next 5, would be a 1:52.36. I'd bet on it. I just wonder how he can train at such a level.

Well...that's the $64,000 question, isn’t it? He not only broke the world M45 record but destroyed it by almost 5 seconds over Saladin Allah's 2005 time of 1:54.18!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_records_in_masters_athletics

So, how does one essentially not show any age-related decline from 39 to 45 and destroying the WR by almost 5 seconds! 🤔

From memory Whiteman took most of his 30s off serious running working as a personal trainer. He then returned to serious running to focus on a masters sub 4.

mo'pak wrote:

Inquiry minds want to know wrote:

Well...that's the $64,000 question, isn’t it? He not only broke the world M45 record but destroyed it by almost 5 seconds over Saladin Allah's 2005 time of 1:54.18!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_records_in_masters_athletics

So, how does one essentially not show any age-related decline from 39 to 45 and destroying the WR by almost 5 seconds! 🤔

From memory Whiteman took most of his 30s off serious running working as a personal trainer. He then returned to serious running to focus on a masters sub 4.

I read he doubled back next day for a 1:49.2. No decline really in 7 seasons. Maybe a decade off did him wonders.