50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Thank you. I think I'm happier coaching than racing or training hard these days. However I also think my Vitamin D might be low based on general symptoms and will be getting some blood work and tests done soon to rule out anything I need to be aware of. I definitely need to drop weight and do some of the "little things" such as more drills, rolling out, getting better sleep, cleaning up my diet, lifting a bit more. Some of it is on me - desk job leads to malaise sometimes that's harder to shake than it used to be. We ran the Morgan Hill 5K today along with our club. Tom deliberately took it easy as he was feeling pretty fatigued and need to start a nice, juicy taper going into the Mile attempt. So he ran about 5:15 per mile pace for 16:20 (unofficial). Jaime Heilpern (HOKA Aggie - 48 years old) also trains with our group since he works near our workout site. He ran 16-flat today and 4:28 at the road mile, so he is also going to be dangerous. Stephen Agar also trains with us and did not really get it together last spring as he came in without much of a base. He ran 4:18 (1500) in April and turned 50 in June. He should be a good 10 seconds faster next year and also ran 3:36 back in the day and was on the Farm Team. We have some speedy old guys coming out - good crew. The hay is in the barn and the road 5K should give him a strength benefit (no tweaks thank goodness), so in his case we'll work on pace changes (i.e. 400 at mile pace, 200 at 800 pace) with reasonable rest - a couple of sets. Maybe top it off at the end with 200s at just over 800 pace "on the 60" (so about 28-30 seconds rest) until he can't do them any more. It simulates that shutting down at the end of an anaerobic race.

KCgeezer wrote:

whatever man wrote:

Since I barely seem to be able to muster much more than jogs and occasional tempos (any suggestion on how to get the fire back would be appreciated because I am pretty flat on most days), I'll post what I have Tom LeGan doing.

I appreciate this, since I'm new and I'm still trying to figure out who the standard-bearers are in my AG (and of course, everyone uses a nom de plume here which don't help). I've never heard of Tom LeGan and now I see he's going after a big mark in two weeks:

https://masterstrack.blog/2018/06/tom-legan-inching-toward-m50-world-record-mile-plans-july-17-attempt/

I can't offer much help for getting the fire back except for my general rule to life, which is to let your curiosity lead you to research and experiment, drop things that aren't working, and when all else fails, do nothing!

Hey BigMango...really interesting schedule. I'm sorry if you mentioned it before and I didn't see it...but what sort of treadmill incline and pace do you set the treadmill on so that you can still run (walk) at those relatively low heart rates? Thanks very much...

whatever man wrote:

Tom deliberately took it easy as he was feeling pretty fatigued and need to start a nice, juicy taper going into the Mile attempt. So he ran about 5:15 per mile pace for 16:20 (unofficial).

The mind boggles.....

No, KC, my wife picked up our packets while at work at GGRS. She won the 60-64 age group, I took 5th in my 65-69. We were both pretty sleep-deprived from some personal issues that came up the day before (nothing health-wise). Would love to get in a faster race since it was so warm and humid. At least I picked up a couple points for the KCTC Race Series, now need to get going on the long run build-up before my October 1/2 marathon.

Today I remember my late brother, who died accidentally on this date in 1976, as he was a big influence on getting me to start running as a means of heath/fitness and smoking cessation. He was 9 days away from turning 22, and I would have loved to have run with him over the years. Thankfully, my wife of near 35 years has been a great "running buddy" and much more, and we'll celebrate our anniversary this month.

Here is my training for this past week:

July 1 AM 10x400 w/ 200 jog avg 76.6 73.6 last one PM 5 easy 11 miles for the day

2 5 miles up spring creek (all up hill) fairly easy and back down 10 miles total

3 8 miles medium effort pace

4 8k race in White Swan 1st overall in 31:33. Felt tired so backed off. And then some steeple barrier work.

5 12 miles easy in the forest

6 DNR

7 AM 3xmile on the track w/200 jog btw in flats. 5:32, 5:31, 5:31 followed by 6 x 300 in 56 w/100 jog btw in spikes. PM 3.5 miles easy

With increased intensity work in preparation for the upcoming outdoor nationals I need to pay attention to the small things.

As we increase in age, we don't really don't need to fear hard training and getting in plenty of miles. I will provide to you some things that I have done in order to keep training at a high level. At age 63 I feel like I can still do most of the workouts, though a bit slower throughout the years, that I have done for years. The key is to make running a year round activity as well as some speed work throughout the year. I have been training at a high level for the past 14 months with no signs of over training. Also, thank God, I have been healthy. I normally do two hard workouts per week in addition to a long run, and an aerobic threshold (marathon pace) run per week. I also take one day off per week. I try to hit 10-12 miles per day sometimes in two runs a day. I don't stretch much. I used to but kept getting injured (I think I was over stretching). Now I might stretch for 2 minutes a day, mostly after I run. I do use the foam roller every day though working my hamstrings, calves, and feet. I also believe it is important to run easy the day after a race or hard workout. I have not been good at this but working on it. When in need of, I visit my chiropractor who keeps me aligned. And my wife has been my masseuse for years. Since my body (and mind) takes a lot of abuse through hard training, I need to treat it well. I might take a nap after a hard workout which aides in recover, and I also keep my weight down by eating well and staying away from junk food (though I splurge from time to time). I will have an occasional beer but drink mostly water. I am fortunate to live near gravel roads which is easy on the legs. If you have to run on a lot of pavement have good shoes and run slowly on your easy days.

I hope this helps someone out there. Keep running. RB

I might also mention that I also take daily vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and a good mult vitamin.

Thanks for this RB. This is really interesting and helpful also kinda scary. If I was racing the 5000 you would probably lap me;)

Not if you have osteoarthritis and a history of chronic injuries! I'm 5 years younger than you and I couldn't touch your level of workouts with a 10 foot pole! I can only run a pathetic ~15 mpw spread out over 3 lousy days per week!

Take your killer track workout - I could have easily done that 30 years ago as an injury-free, hard-charging young buck. Now I could probably attempt4x400 at a pathetic 100+ seconds...if I don't pull or tear something. But it would still be ice bags & acetomephine afterwards. You fast cats with superb genetics need to understand that some of us were at the back of line when they handed out running genetics. ?

fun week and even better now that the very hot/humid weather has taken a break in DC area.

M 1:00

Tu 1:10 incl. 4:00 hard, full recovery, 5 X 1:30 hard (1:00 jog)

W 1:00 + 1:00 x-t

Th 1:20

F 1:00 incl. 10 X 1:30 hard (1:00 jog)

Sa 50:00

Su 1:25

traveling most of the week and did not have convenient track access so i don't know the distance covered on intervals [around elementary school soccer field], but i could at least keep myself honest as i went along and ensure that i wasn't slowing up over the course of workouts.

have a great week,

Dave

5-6% the last few months and usually around 6 mph. For my recovery run, usually about 5 mph. Ran a 10k today - 5:45 pace (hot and lots of other issues) so the slow inclined running seems to work for me. Maybe not as fast as I would be if I trained on flat roads but I'll sacrifice 1 minute in a half marathon to avoid injury.

Been down in runner limbo so long it seems like up to me...

Managed 36 miles for the week including a 5 mile tempo-ish run on the track and a second track session that included a hard two miles of sprint straights and run (not jog) turns

Aiming to lose a few pounds and get back to some semblance of racing fitness in seven weeks. Way back in 1978 I won the big Bridge to Bridge Race at age 22...40 years later, on August 26, I hope to be somewhat competitive amongst the 62 year old sorts in that aforementioned contest.

Wish me luck and LOTS of it as I've never been quite this outta shape ?

The older we get the faster we

...the faster we were.

Thanks for the ongoing inspirations...have a dynamite week of training and racing.

your pal,

MF

A combination of high heat & humidity and a house full of guests for the holiday week led to an unscheduled recovery week. The weight crept back up a tad thanks to a week of some great craft beers, lobsters, burgers, etc. Unfortunately the slight calf stiffness remains, so I guess I’ll just have to live with it. No golf to report.

Sun: 35’ jog

Mon-Fri: off

Sat: 45’ jog, body wt ex

Sun: 2 mi walk w/ the bride

Best to all.

A comparatively good week for me as I jumped from 2 miles last week to 15 miles this week.

Mon- rest

Tue- 3.5 mi at 9:31/mi

Wed- 3.5 mi at 8:29/mi

Thu- rest

Fri- rest

Sat- 4 mi at 8:39/mi

Su- 4 mi at 9:11/mi

No hint of piriformis soreness yesterday or today, but this morning my legs did feel a bit dead from yesterday's run.

Enjoy the Summer.

Allen1959, you surely did the right thing by taking that race conservatively in the heat, even if it cost you the AG win. There will always be another race; save your body to run another day.

This week I continued to gradually ramp up the running mileage after my extended layoff to fix my calf problem. I logged 27 miles in three runs including a pathetically slow but enjoyable 4th of July 5-mile race, and cycled 141 miles in four rides. I’m quickly getting back to the situation where my chronically bad Achilles (opposite leg from the recent calf injury) is the main thing limiting me.

My 4th of July race was pretty sorry, but I did enjoy getting out there, racing the people running near my pace, and reconnecting with some old friends--so much that I’m contemplating a 10K next Saturday. That used to be one of my regular races despite the blazing heat in mid-July, and if it isn’t any hotter than normal next weekend I may give it a go.

Keep cool, everyone.

I had a fun couple of days volunteering at Peachtree over the holiday. I got to do a shakeout run with Bernard Lagat and 4 of the U.S. Army runners along the Chatahoochee River (not at the same pace), ate lunch with Jared Ward and his family, and even got to escort gold medal winner Gwen Jorgensen (triathlon) at the finish. It was lots of fun and good to know that the pro's hurt just as much as regular runners do at the finish. It was amazing that Bernard won the race at age 43!

My hip is almost 100% but I really struggled with the heat/humidity this week. I had to use the walk/run method on my runs because I couldn't run slow enough to keep my HR down. I though something might be wrong with me since I had to walk so often but today the humidity was much lower and I ran my most challenging training route without walking and felt like doing strides at the end so I must be fine. I've got a sprint triathlon in two weeks and a busy August racing schedule so I need to get heat-adjusted.

Sun 5.7 mi easy, 16 mi biking with 3 x mile repeats

Mon 4 mi shakeout run with pro's

Tue 6 mi hotel TM

Wed off

Thu 6 mi easy, 2000 yds swim drills

Fri 5.6 mi easy, 10 mi biking

Sat 7.2 mi hills, 2100 yds swim drills

Total 34.4 mi

Hope y'all have a great week!

Week 9 of 12 July 1 23 minutes easy week weight 135.4 after workout on friday july 6

- July 4 3x20 seconds NM(neuromuscular) sand dune semi hard good form quads burning by the top

- July 6 20 minutes elevation/speed mph

14LT: 7' at 7/7 R1 7' at 3/9

6NM: W1':R1' 4/9,4/9,4/9,4/10,4/10,4/10

These felt really good recovery was standing HRR 1 minute 30 beats about 170 to 140

to complete stop caused some dizziness for 10 seconds pretty normal as the heart has to cover the full load

cardio load legs no longer helping out this is good stuff I am getting fit!

Wish I had felt this good a few months ago! OTOH glad I feel better than I did a few months ago.

Ramblings

Everyone has heard of 60/80 , which sounds like an infomercial scheme but

Hold the phone truth is it is more like

50/91.4

My best age graded percent is 4:13 at 43 ->88.03

My training was 1 hour of bike riding, 1 hour of walking and 40mpw of running with 10 miles of quality

Current training is 3 hours of walking and 8 mpw of running with 5 miles a week of quality

Boil it down to running :

40mpw of running with 10 miles of quality

8 mpw of running with 5 miles a week of quality

So I would say I am training at less than 50 percent now compared to when I ran 88 percent

On a bad day I ran 80.46 percent.

80.46/88.03 = 91.4

Am I typical? Probably not. I tend to respond quickly then flatten out but still if you are looking to run close to your best without doing the work you might want to try cutting your quality in half and see what happens.

But wait there is more

I am really in 85 percent or so shape or so I say and will soon know

85/88.03---> 96.5

OMG 50 percent less speed work for 96.5 percent return.

M58 -- 5'11" 163 lbs

Last year (2017) -- 18:58, 3:07:23 marathon

This year (2018) -- 5:37.8 mile, 19:17 5K, 40:11 10K

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

July 2-8, 2018

Easy -- 8.2 miles @ 8:35/mi w/3 x 90-sec @ 10K pace

Easy -- 4.0 miles @10:17/mi w/2 x 90-sec @ 10K pace

Race -- 2-mi warmup; 10K @ 6:29/mi (40:11)

Off (achilles)

Off (achilles)

Easy -- 7.7 miles @ 8:49/mi

Easy -- 7.7 miles @ 8:02/mi

WEEK TOTAL: 35.8 MILES

A low-mileage week as I tapered for a race, then had to baby my sore achilles for a couple days. Goal 15K race is four weeks from today. Then a 5K at the end of August.

amkelley - Happy to see that you're back at the races!

Arthritic Old Stiff - 63's training is incredible, isn't it?! He's running at 86 percent age-grade for each of those mile repeats!

SCgal - How fun that must have been at Peachtree! And your training really is coming back nicely.

Good morning. PET scan showed I had a complete response to the therapy. I am completely off any of the chemotherapy related drugs, and likely moving on to two years of immunotherapy. That would be a shot of Rituxumab every two months. I will know more over the coming weeks. My taste has returned to normal; water, fruit and salad tastes good again. Strength has been the most noticeable change with the overwhelming fatigue gone. Back in the office six hours a day. Getting the exercise in before work. Afternoon naps after work unnecessary.

Monday: 1.5 miles easy/walk; form drills; 2 x ( 5 x 200m repetition pace @ 55-60 / 100m walk) 400m walk betweem sets; mile walk/easy

Tuesday: 60:00 spin bike; core and weights

Wednesday: 1.5 miles easy/walk; 4 x ( 200m interval pace @ 54-57 / 100m walk; 400m interval pace @ 1:48-1:57 / 200m walk ); mile easy/walk

Thursday: same as Tuesday

Friday: 3 miles easy/walk; 8 x 100m @ 2 easy, 2 good

Saturday: 1.5 miles easy/ walk/ 4 x 100m repetition @ 24-25 / 20m walk; 2 x 1,000m tempo pace @ 5:37, 5:30 / 600m walk; 4 x 200m repetition pace @ 50, 48, 46, 44 / 200m walk; 800m walk

Sunday: 4 miles brisk walk.

Next week I plan to drop the spin bike in favor of walking. Also, plan to increase the warm-up from 1.5 miles to 2 miles, gradually increasing the running distances, with pace dictated by feel.

Have a good week.

Igy