50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

I am still dealing with plantar fasciitis and not running. It's very frustrating.

Can anyone chime in with their experiences re: this very slow-to-heal condition?

MikeF,

That scholarship is a wonderful way to give back to the sport. A great thing to do.

For me this was a low-volume week (42 miles) culminating in a half-marathon on Sunday.

Monday: 90 minutes on bike trainer

Tuesday: 10.3 miles at 9:01/mile pace

Wednesday: 90 minutes on bike trainer

Thursday: 10.5 miles at 8:57 pace

Friday: 8.3 miles very easy at 9:45 pace

Saturday: 55 minutes on bike trainer, 10 minutes on rowing machine. Ate and drank a lot.

Sunday: Half-marathon race. Conditions were fine—sunny and dry, low to mid 50s with a stiff breeze. I went out just ahead of 1:50 pace and was able to hold a nearly constant pace through the whole race. I had no trace of the calf cramps that have clobbered me in my last few races and I was able to run hard all the way to the end, which was really enjoyable however slow the final time was. I was also very pleased to run down one of my 50+ competitors over the last mile, although she is still in the 50-54 age group; we were both beaten by a 56-year-old. So I ended up second in my 55-59 age group, one month before my 60th birthday, in 1:49:14. It seems that’s just all the faster I can run anymore, but at least I was able to hold it together for the whole race and finish strong. Racing is still fun, even when it’s slow.

Recovery next wek, and then gear up for my next half-marathon in four weeks.

Phoenix,

Mine was slow to heal, two or three months. What helped me: 1) eccentric heel drops, 2) improving flexibility measured by foot planted fist from the wall bend push toward the wall (knee should touch), 3) wearing Birkenstock sandals around the house, 4) improving hip mobility, 5) Hokas.

Igy

Sending positive thoughts your way Igy.

Phoenix, about half of my crazy list last week was for PF. My only advice is to keep trying new things and never give up. It’s easy to drive one’s self nuts looking things up on-line. Their are literally 10,000 “sure cures”.

Tuesday: 35 min medium trail

Thursday: 36 min, rocky trail

Saturday: 37 min medium soft flat trail

Sunday: 38, hard, mountain trails and gravel in mud and 3 inches of snow

Today I drove up to 3800 feet to get a run in what I hope is the last of the snow and cold. About 3 inches and 28 degrees. Some spring we are having!

I bumped the minutes a bit and I’m having a little soreness of my right knee and heel. I’ve had some of this in the recent past and it just went away. Here’s hoping my minimal running will give it ample time to heal.

Have a great week folks.

Igy Here are some more Postive Thoughts. Appreciate your posts too.

Half empty or full I will take Half Full every time.

So my week was half full;)

Calf issues resurfaced a bit probably due to me experimenting with Heart Rate Recovery a day after a hard workout! Calfs feel pretty good now and am finding a ton more rehabs to do that seem to help. Which is my advice to any injury or sickness become as expert as you can and own it!

Week 25 weight 140.2 28 minutes 2 treadmill runs

April 2 Monday 8 minutes HRR test 7/7 for 3 minutes 8/7 3 minutes 10/2.5 2 minutes hit 180

Did the HRR stuff using the study below. New England Journal 1 minute decrease of 12 or less risk high

baseline 75 bpm 2.5 percent grade 2mph study uses 1.5 but that was too slow for me to walk

180 bpm on third effort at 10mph and 2.5 incline other 2 were about 160

Recovery after 1,2,3 minutes:

147 33

127 53 (20)

115 65(12)

April 6 Friday 24 minutes

20 minutes treadmill 32 minutes of I guess Gershler type training 60 seconds with roughly 1:1 ratio

2 x 2 minutes mile effort full recovery.

Decided to go with 3 days between hard workouts for a couple of reasons extra time to repair from hard workout and run walk my recovery with a gradual increase in the run part. Heck if I got the run walk to 50 50 at 70 mpw I would be doing some serious miles

First post in 3 weeks. Was in the Caribbean for 10 days at the end of March. Lots of miles (for me) in mid 80s with steep hills. Blew 10 weeks of diet discipline but that’s what vacations are for.

Ran the Cherry Blossom this am and snuck a place ahead of dhaaga for second in ag. Was also slower than last year by about a minute and I blame the temp (25 degrees with wind chill that felt like -25 after vac). Never ran with a gps watch until last year. Blows my mind how poorly a cut tangents, running 10.3 and turning 6:01 per mile pace for 10.3 into a 6:10 for the course.

For week

4 runs totaling 26 miles including race

3 swims totaling just under 4 miles

1 20 min spin

2 lifting sessions

Hopefully Achilles doesn’t misbehave too much tomorrow.

54 taper miles this week over 6 days and had a decent progression run on Wednesday from MP+30 down to 5K over a series of reps from 10 to 3 minutes and did 13 today.

Good news Igy, hang tough. Are you or MikeF planning to go to Alamosa for the OT 50th this summer? Good running this weekend in DC dhagga and not half fast.

Our weather has also been highly variable, but that's expected. 70 to snow, to wind, or fog and damp and everything in between over a 5 day period kind of variation.

After yesterday’s jog, I’m about ready to put a bow on the latest recovery. It was a distant memory during each of my last two outings. At this point I’ll maintain an every-other-day schedule at my average distance. Maybe in another week, I’ll try some fartlek or the occasional longer jog. Meanwhile the golf course has re-opened and I hope to add a couple of rounds to my “training” this week. Time to shake the rust off.

Sun: 54 min jog, body wt ex, med ball routine

Mon: off

Tues: 53 min jog, body wt ex, med ball routine

Wed: off

Thu: 52 min jog, body wt ex

Fri: 2 mile walk with the bride

Sat: 53 min jog, body wt ex, med ball routine

Best to all.

Coyote,

Thanks and others as well. Appreciated very much. No I won’t make Alamosa this summer for the 50th. A lot of good things came out of that period if you think about it. Specifically thinking Jack Daniels and Joe Vigil. I would like to make Spokane even if only as a spectator.

Igy

Thanks for asking Coyote...like Igy, my ambition is Spokane ( an 800/10,000 double)...shame that '68 Oly Marathon Trials Anniversary is same weekend ?

My hamstring remained tight since the solid run the previous Saturday. More muscle tightness than tendon.

Mon. After waking up from nightshift (3 hrs sleep!) a hilly hike with weight vest. 5 km

Then down to a spring fed watrrhole for 30 mins kayak.

Tue. 4 km jog starting with the climb up Roo Hill ( first km 11 min) then jogging back into town, last 2 kms in 11 mins! Bought the paper and a toastie then walked back home stopping at the outdoor gym for 7 mins elliptical and some strength work.

Mountain bike ride. 2 x up Range Track climb to Viewing Rock. The first one was 10.08 and the second was 8.44. Strava KOM is my best of 8.35. I have the 14 fastest strava times so clearly not many people ride it. All up 14.5 kms riding in 1.09. It is pretty rugged.

Wed. Hoped to get at least an hour of bush running in but the hammy was too tight.

Shuffled through 4 slow kms before choosing to hike back home. 8 kms covered in 1 h 19 m with about 300 metres elevation gain.

Also walked the last 3.5 km of my 50 km work commute at lunch time. 3.5 km back to the car after work at 10.30 pm.

Thu. 17 km mountain bike ride in 1 h 5 min. Nothing fancy.

Fri. Drove the 120 km to Melbourne to visit Mum. She was still out on one of her free council excursions. She goes out on these about 3 times per week ( she is 92). So while she was at the pub for lunch I headed to the Yarra River for 33 min of kayak. The highlight was watching one of our deadliest snakes swim across the river.

Sat. Joined in the first of our club's winter season races. Happy to just jog the 3 km in 15 mins and watch the finish of the 6 km. First in was our star 20 year old lass Teleah leaving the men in her wake. She has had a great 12 months. 4.18 1500. 16.05 5000. 34 for 10000.

Sun. 37 hilly kms on the mountain bike in 2 h 10 mins. 570 metres elevation gain.

It is Autumn here but staying warm and dry.

30 degrees Celsius for the first race of the winter season lol. We have only had one day of rain for the year so far.

62 years old, runner since 77. Ran and races A lot.

Got around 50 miles this week, but can't race. Knee that Ive had two surgeries and a shot just won't hold up. I raced once this year and did ok, but I just am real sheepish about trying another race of any distance.

I guess the priorities now are my early morning before breakfasts workouts ha.

I would never forgive myself if for the sake of a 22 minute 5k (which is about all I got anymore) I finished my knee off and couldn't do my early morning workouts anymore.

Frustrating really.

M58 -- 5'11" 168 lbs

Open PRs (1982) -- 16:04 5K, 2:40:30 marathon

Masters PRs (2003) -- 17:10 5K, 2:56:03 marathon

Most recent (2017) -- 18:58 5K, 3:07:23 marathon

Goal -- Defend M55-59 title in August 15K

Training status -- Injury rehab, mileage build

April 2-8, 2018

Mon -- 7.7 miles @ 10:04/mi

Tue -- 4.0 miles @ 8:46/mi

Wed -- 2 x 20 mins elliptical

Thu -- 16.9 miles @ 9:31/mi

Fri -- off

Sat -- 25 mins elliptical, 25 mins treadmill; 7.7 miles (roads) @ 7:55/mi

Sun -- off

WEEK TOTAL: 36.3 MILES

Following weeks of 43, 50, and 53 miles, this was a step-back week. I had hoped to introduce some faster-paced work, but was hampered by non-running injuries and weather. I am scheduling a low-key 5K in June; maybe sub-20 by then?

I will likely need sub-59:30 for my 15K goal in August. It still may be possible if my weight keeps dropping, and if I can start doing some quality work.

Meanwhile, as of yet I have only glanced through this week's posts, but I see some impressive training and racing. LucKY2b, it is good to see your comeback steadily progressing. amkelley, that was a solid race -- you should be proud and happy, especially after your recent struggles. Igy, I am sure many of us are very appreciative of your willingness to share your current journey. Expecting the best outcome for you, sir.

Allen1959,

Thanks appreciate all the support from the group. It find it therapeutic to verbalize the journey.

You looks like you are building a good base to move forward toward your goals.

Igy

Congrats dhaaga and not half fast on some nice runs!

Without going into much detail, I've decided to step away from running for a while. I'm a broken runner. Hopefully, 3-4 months off with solid PT will be enough of a reboot to get me back to good. I went thru my log and discovered I first noted hamstring and knee pain in the summer of 2013, the heel was first mentioned in Nov of 2013. All on the left side. The heel has been a huge problem ever since. That's coming up on 4-1/2 years of pain and limping around. Enough is enough!

Have a good week,

Dave

I've been MIA for a few weeks due to travel and school work overload. I've been keeping tabs on everyone though:

Igy - Keep up the good work! Glad to hear of your positive report and improved mobility.

lucKY - I had a similar HR experience coming back from my ankle injury. I'd feel like I'd overrun my cardio capacity and would have to walk to get my HR down, often multiple times during a run. Fortunately, it cleared up once I got back into better shape.

dhaaga & not half fast - Congratulations on the CB race results. Cold/wind doesn't sound like fun but at least you got to run the entire distance this year.

MikeF - Great idea - I had no idea JM was a track guy.

amkelly - Congratulations on the successful HM and your impending birthday. 60s women rock!

The USAT Duathlon (run/bike/run) championships yesterday were lots of fun. First we ran a 5k followed by an 11.2mi bike ride in the interstate (it was closed to traffic) and then a 2.85k run to the finish. I'm still terrified of clipping my feet to the pedals so I used regular pedals and the stiff soled shoes I use in the snow instead of my bike shoes for the bike leg. No one seemed to notice ;-)

The start was by sex and AG and was so much better than USATF free-for-alls where race results are always by gun time. There were plenty of portapotties - no lines at all! I could hardly believe it. My 5k felt good (24:17) and I beat everyone in my AG on that leg. Then came biking... people began whizzing past me but I kept plugging away. I knew there were two good bikers in my AG and they both left me in the dust. I was relieved when that leg ended and I was in one piece and I headed out on the last run. My legs felt better than I expected and I kept up a good pace but couldn't see my competition up ahead. As we got close to the final turn to the finish, I crested a hill and saw one of them within striking distance. I put on a last push, passed her, and gave it everything I could to get to the finish first (7:10 pace for that segment). I crossed the line 2nd in my AG and qualified for the ITU World Championships in Spain in April 2019.

The differences between USAT and USATF National Championships were striking. The USAT championship included athletes of all ages (15 and up), gave the winners great prizes and nice medals, and had a race video finished for us to watch at the awards ceremony. The results were instantly available and everything was well-organized and ran like clock-work. Quite a nice change form USATF fumbling and disorganization.

Hope you all have a great week!

SCgal, great job on the duathlon! That's something I should perhaps try sometime as a lark, although I'm such a weak cyclist I couldn't be any good at it. I've done one triathlon in my life (Olympic distance) and my slowness on the bike really cost me, although being a strong runner is fun in a triathlon as I was gobbling people up right and left throughout the run! Interesting observation that triathlon seems to have its act together a lot better at the national level than track and field.

Racerdb, I have a lot of sympathy for your situation. Possibly an extended break from running is what you need to get healthy again. I really hope it works and you're able to come back--or that you find something else you can enjoy doing and stay healthy while doing.

SC Gal I can't believe I missed you at the race yesterday! It was a super nice race for certain.

I had kid of a ruff week with a good ending.

Monday easy run 5 miles 7;53

Tuesday WU & CD 12*1:00 @ 6:24 pace on the treadmill 1 minute rest

Wednesday 3:00 AM started violently vomiting....and..... finally got out for 2 miles at 9:00 pace to keep the streak

Thursday 4 mile racewalk and 60 minutes riding inside - light tempo into intervals - First time on the bike since the time 25 miler a week ago

Friday 60 minute ride easy in the morning legs felt good. 9:00 PM 2 miles on treadmill after arriving at the hotel with the team.

We travelled from Mansfield to Millersville

Saturday 6:00 AM 2 mile on treadmill. At Millersville Metrics all day. Team bus dropped me off at Harrisburg International Airport - got in to Greenville at 10:30 to find no rental cars available. Took a cab to hotel

Sunday 5:00 AM called an Uber because I had to do packet pick up. Came back slept for two hours. Started to put bike together. Went well until I tried to put on the racing tires. Could not get them on. Finally got a ride to race site in my panic forgot my race numbers. Bike mechanic got tires on. 1 hour before race. Did a 5 mile ride felt great checked bike in. ran 2 miles felt great.

Race went smooth. First 3 miles at 6:49 pace HR 177, transition sucked. Got on bike and felt great 21mph felt in control HR 172. 2nd run stated at 7:25 by the 2nd mile was running 6:45 pace. Finished strong. 14th in my age group – not good enough to make team right away. Will have to see if a slot opens up. Definitely one of my better race.

Got a ride back from friend. Went out to dinner at Loagn’s road house. Had a steak and 4 420 IPAs – walked back to hotel passed out. Cab at 4:15 to airport – flew back into Elmira back in the office by 12:30 getting ready for 18 team high school meet – running streak still intact 20 weeks in row.

SCgal,

Good racing and thanks. What is your son’s racing distance outdoor?

Igy