50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Mon. 1h 20m mountain bike ride.

Tue. 10 km hilly run with 8 x 200 reps focused on form 1hr. 30m kayak.

Wed. 1h 10m mountain bike ride.

Thu. 10 km hilly run 1hr. 30m kayak.

Fri. 1h 10m mountain bike ride

Sat. 5.5 km hilly xc run.

Sun. 2h 7m mountain run 16 km with 850 metres elevation gain. Steep, muddy, rocky, snowing. Perfect.

A good week. Feeling pretty strong on the brute I did Sunday. You know gou are running a tough one when you have to crawl on all 4s several times.

amkelley wrote:

I actually do strength training at the gym about 5 days per week but I don't post any of that here, feeling that the gym work is entirely for general health and has nothing in particular to do with running.

I don't usually post my strength training here, but I think it is relevant for my running. Yes, I do gym works for "general health" purposes, but I also do many exercises for injury prevention, and even for running economy. As we get older, it is important to fight against muscle loss, and we don't have the luxury of "just running" like some young people might.

Having said that, here are some interesting data. Deena Kastor could bench only 65lbs and squat 105 lbs back in 2008. On the other hand, her VO2 max and resting heart rate were truly amazing.

Here is my week.

M: off.

T: 4 miles / 7 miles.

W: 10 miles. (6th-9th miles @ 7:53-7:47-7:41-7:35)

R: 4 miles / 7 miles.

F: 8 miles.

SA: 7 miles.

SU: 16.7 miles.

RF Reader wrote:

As we get older, it is important to fight against muscle loss, and we don't have the luxury of "just running" like some young people might.

I never set foot in a gym until age 40, when I married a gym rat and he convinced me I should do something other than run and cycle. I hated the gym at first but have learned to tolerate it--sort of like brushing my teeth, just something I have to do for body maintenance.

Your running mileage is really something!

I usually do a functional warmup/ before and after my runs, rides and paddles. This consists of planks, free squats, pushups, split squats, lunges and step ups.

I also do pushups and free squats before and after a shower.

I often do planks and hip bridges during ad breaks if I am watching TV.

I do use some free weights and the local outdoor gym a few times a week.

Charlie wrote:

@RACERDB Way to stick your nose in it takes guts IMO with several more races over a month and the right pacing on the track you could come close to break 4:50. You really should consider getting a sub 5 on the track attempt before calling the mile a day.

OK I did 2 easy runs for a total of 5 miles as I was moving all week yep bye bye ptown hello Florence....Oregon. Where an elderly single semi retired gent might do worse:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Florence-Oregon.html

Seriously every person I met was down to earth nice helpful happy ect.

Gonna hit the Sand Dunes for some Percy workouts! Look out 5 Charlie is coming.

But make sure that you do any track or timed stuff in summer before the wind gets up. When it heats up in Eugene, it draws the air from here, and you get a huge wind off the sea.

unencumbered wrote:

Allen1959 wrote:

First 30 finishers were under 20 minutes in 1989 (4 mile race), including John Tuttle and Craig Virgin ...

http://buffalorunners.com/results/1989/subaru89.htm

I have not raced in many years.

Coles is still operating.

I don't know Brews Brothers.

Sub.

Half Fast

Got mixed up, there were Brewmasters and McBrew Brothers on the XC circuit.

Coyote Montane wrote:

Got mixed up, there were Brewmasters and McBrew Brothers on the XC circuit.

One year I ran the entire Upstate XC Series. What fun, especially after not running XC since high school. I was a member of two clubs at the time, but neither fielded teams ... that would have made it all the better.

Sadly, organizer Pete Glavin died from brain cancer a few years ago.

Re: McBrew brothers. Would that be Charlie and Tim McMullen? Charlie died maybe ten years ago? National-class runner. Sub-4-minute miler.

And, on the sad subject of runners dying way too young, did anyone here read the David Torrence downhill mile thread? That originally posted shortly after I had gotten away from Letsrun, but I read it last night. Had teary eyes when I watched the video ... so full of life and enthusiasm!

Hey Cavorty Windy afternoons in Florence I remember cant wait to run the dunes and the beach barefoot. Also really like the AIR down there.

Yes, RIP Pete, Charlie, and others. Good guys and good runners all.

Allen1959 wrote:

Coyote Montane wrote:

Got mixed up, there were Brewmasters and McBrew Brothers on the XC circuit.

One year I ran the entire Upstate XC Series. What fun, especially after not running XC since high school. I was a member of two clubs at the time, but neither fielded teams ... that would have made it all the better.

Sadly, organizer Pete Glavin died from brain cancer a few years ago.

Re: McBrew brothers. Would that be Charlie and Tim McMullen? Charlie died maybe ten years ago? National-class runner. Sub-4-minute miler.

And, on the sad subject of runners dying way too young, did anyone here read the David Torrence downhill mile thread? That originally posted shortly after I had gotten away from Letsrun, but I read it last night. Had teary eyes when I watched the video ... so full of life and enthusiasm!

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

Week 326

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

Greetings, 50+ers! Still pretty minimal running from me, so I'll just get things started. Ran 3 days (Sun, Tue, Thur) of about 4 miles each, mostly in the high-7/low-8 min/mile range. Was hoping to run Saturday, too, but the knee was still feeling a bit wonky from Thursday's outing. So I haven't yet run as a 58-year old (turned the page on Friday,) but hopefully, this week I'll get to 4 days, then maybe 5 days the week after. It's taking longer to come back from this than previous episodes. C'est la vie.

As for other milestones, we're celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Very grateful that she continues to put up with me. ;-)

How's the running in your neck of the woods? Any races to report? Always enjoy reading those, like last week's reports from the mile. Kudos, BTW.

All the Best!

So am finishing up a 6 miler on the track the other day and a highly attractive young (not quite 40) fitness runner (she had ALL the gear) says "so what are you training for?" You know she's expecting XYZ half marathon or Ironman or Big City Marathon, but my reply is "training to race 800 meters at age 70". She's all "huh...how old ARE you?" Me: "61"...and exactly like an 8 year old and with a definite twinkle in my eye I add "and a half" ...She goes "huh...and how many miles is 800 meters?"

I had another solid geezer training week... managed 46 miles which surpasses last week's 44 for 2017' s highest volume week...cannot recall last time I scratched out 90 in a 2 week period...despite having done so in a one week period dozens and dozens and dozens of times in a distant galaxy more commonly referred to as the 70s and 80s ;)

The highlight of the week (aside from the aforementioned post-workout Q&A) was a 10 miler on the high school track...just to see if I could.

Was 111 degrees here yesterday and forecasting 108 today...so I gotta run...literally.

Have a funny week of running and racing...train don't strain.

your pal,

MF

My weeks are getting more consistent and as a result I'm enjoying my running more. What used to be a joyless plod has now turned into a happy interlude from my work schedule. I did my 3x5 miles again. I pass by a local track close to the end of my run so I do my strides. I have worked up to 4 striders of 100 meters and I keep telling my legs, "Turn over! Turn over!" Today I actually rose up on the balls of my feet in my modest sprint efforts.

More yoga and weight lifting round me out. I have 7 more pounds to lose. For some reason weight drops off very slowly these days. Thank you, Father Time.

Good morning from a smoky Eagle, Idaho.

Congratulations on the anniversary LucKY2b! Quite an accomplishment for the two of you, and nice to see.

I just completed my two weeks of relaxed running and non-running activity. I planned a longer backpacking trip but had to change the route due to fires and time constraints. My son, masters athlete Perry Forrester and I tackled the Boulder Lakes in White Cloud Wildreness about 200 miles north of Boise. We covered 21 miles in three days with a starting elevation of 7,200 feet climbing to around 10,000 feet. We spent most of our time at Walker and Island lakes which sat just under 9,300 feet. Our backpacking stove malfunctioned day two, so luke warm coffee and Mountain House freeze dried food became less tolerable. A Stanley, Idaho cheeseburger, fries and Dr Pepper never tasted so good. During the winter Stanley is often the coldest spot in the lower 48.

I managed two easy runs of eight and five miles before and after our trip.

Have a good Labor Day.

Igy

Igy - Thanks for the memories. I spent a lot of time in the White Clouds and have a watercolor of Castle Peak in my office. I loved watching the mountain sheep run up the slopes. Amazing! Too bad about the stove. I hope you were able to get some good hot springs soaks in. I know what you mean about real food after a backpacking trip but I always craved salads. A big night out for us was going to the Kasino Club in Stanley.

MF - Congrats on the mileage record!

I got a hard cast on a week ago and have two more weeks until I get into a walking cast. I'll be able to swim once the hard cast comes off. Yeah! I've been diligent about using my arm cycle and am doing the same workouts I used when I had my stress fracture for cardio and I hope my hips/core will be like iron from all the workout videos I've done. I'm using my scooter at school during class and that's worked pretty well. Otherwise, I'm using crutches and my arm strength is really improving but I hope none of you ever have to go through this!

Congratulations to our thread manager on 35 years of marriage. Our 28th anniversary is next Saturday.

Congrats to others for their achievements this past week, despite various tribulations.

Yesterday was my first day on a weight scale in two weeks. During my two-week trip to Atlanta, I lost five pounds, from 170 to 165. My target weight is 160. Judging by the mirror, there are easily five more pounds to lose.

My training week was nothing to shout about, but we all do what we can.

Monday - Nothing

Tuesday - Nothing

Wednesday - 3 miles running on treadmill, 2% incline, 9:18 mile pace (progression run, 5.1-9.0 mph)

Thursday - 6.38 miles running on treadmill, 2% incline, 9:24 mile pace (progression run, 6.1-6.7 mph)

Friday - Nothing

Saturday - 4 miles running on treadmill, 2% incline, 9:32 mile pace (progression run, 6.1-7.0 mph).

Sunday - 3 miles running on treadmill, 2% incline, 9:39 mile pace (progression run, 6.1-7.0 mph)

WEEK OF AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2017: 16.38 MILES RUNNING

MONTH OF AUGUST 2017: 71.42 MILES RUNNING

Hit all my targets this past week and during August, so I'm calling them both wins.

It's

Charlie wrote:

Hey Cavorty Windy afternoons in Florence I remember cant wait to run the dunes and the beach barefoot. Also really like the AIR down there.

Air is normally good, but we're getting a lot of forest fire haze at the moment, the moon looked orange last night.

I've also done a few barefoot beach runs. One good way is to park at the North Jetty, and take an old pair of trainers. Once you get to the beach, there is a bunch of driftwood, and I just take the old pair off and stick them under a log, so I don't have to carry them, just pick them up on the way back. I'd guess that from there to as far as you can go South on the beach would be between 4 1/2-5 miles.

If you want to break things up a bit there are also a lot of good horse trails on Cape Mountain - probably about 15/20 mins out of town to the parking at the horse camps (two different ones). I've often run up there for an hour without every meeting anyone (usually take a couple of dogs).

Race #2 of our XC series yesterday. I was 1st 65-69 and 4th 60-69. It was a hot and humid day for a tough 4 mile course, about 80 degrees and 90% humidity at the race start. I was about :05/mi faster than last year for this race, with last year being a nice cool day. We have a pretty competitive group of older guys running with 10 in the 60+ age group, 10 in the 65+ and 8 in the 70+. My newly turned 70 team mate Phil Camp was back racing after a several year layoff and got 2nd in the 70+. For the week I finished at 44 miles -

M- 7 walk

T- off

W- 8 with 12 x 400 run/ 400 walk with runs ~90-95 secs

Th- 7 walk

F- 7 walk

S- 2w.u. 4+mi XC 30:04, 2w.d.

Su- 7 walk barefoot on the beach

Good running to all.

Igy I found a cool pic of you this morning circa 1972...I don't know how to post it here but will be glad to email it to you...

Michael.Fanelli@SothebysRealty.com

is my contact...ping me there

MF

MikeF wrote:

Was 111 degrees here yesterday and forecasting 108 today...so I gotta run...literally.

I am getting very, very tired of summer by now. We had an official high of 109, with 107 forecast for today. Furthermore, on Friday the wind switched to blow the smoke from the Sierra forest fires down into the valley, and the air is now practically unbreathable. I'm surviving Labor Day weekend by mostly hiding in the house watching U.S. Open tennis.

But I did get out a little:

M, W, F: Easy runs of about 10 miles each at 9:06-9:12/mile pace. My Achilles heel still gets quite sore after a run, so I'm not yet trying to run two days in a row.

Tu, Th: 90 minutes on bike trainer, at low effort because of the heat.

Sat: 38 mile bike ride in the heat and smoke. Really yucky conditions. However, I was inspired by catching and blowing past two different male cyclists out on the road, both of whom were wearing bike clothes and riding what appeared to be reasonable road bikes. That hardly ever happens.

Sun: The bike ride from hell. It was 79 degrees and chokingly smoky when I rolled out at 6:25 am,, planning a very easy 34 miles. About 25 miles in, I got a flat. I grumbled, pulled off the road, got out my spare, put it on and started pumping. About 50 strokes later it became obvious the tube wasn't holding air. Ripped it off the rim, tried to pump it up separately, still could get no air in it but couldn't find the leak. Went back to the original tube, pumped it up and managed to find the tiny stream of air leaking out of the tiny thorn hole. No problem, I've got a patch kit. Uh-oh, the glue in the patch kit, which I'd been carrying around for 2+ years, was completely solid. OK, Plan C: my husband was out riding farther and faster than I, but also starting later in the morning (he has a tolerance for heat that I can't fathom). I didn't know exactly what route he planned but he would probably pass by Olive and McKee and perhaps I could get there soon enough to intercept him. So I took off walking as fast as possible (not very fast in bike cleats) and made it about 2 miles to Olive and McKee just a few minutes before he came by. I fixed my flat with his spare tube and staggered back home, arriving just before the temperature hit 90.

Kind of a fiasco, but any bike ride in which you don't crash just isn't that bad. And it taught me a lesson about checking spares and patch kits!

Hoping for cooler weather next week, and the possibility of ramping up the running just a bit.

Stay cool!