50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Smoove,

The moderator wants me to just post as Igy so leaving off the date going forward.

Thanks appreciated. I enjoy your thoughtful posts on training.

As you can probably imagine cancer contains some higher level of uncertainty than the average person my age. I think once one in my position crosses that mental hurdle it becomes easier to move on. I have exercised 29 of the past 31 days. Adding a little bit of distance as well as intensity. The improvement in respiration is significant and the fatigue is dissipating. So pleased with my progress.

Igy

Igy wrote:

I have exercised 29 of the past 31 days. Adding a little bit of distance as well as intensity. The improvement in respiration is significant and the fatigue is dissipating. So pleased with my progress.

Igy, happy to hear this. What is the protocol from here? Continued gradual return to normal activities, with no restrictions?

Please don’t feed the troll.

Old Sokol wrote:

Please don’t feed the troll.

That's not Igy? I just read some of Igy's posts on "Down goes the Dow"...is that a different Igy from the one that posts over here? Another Igy (or the same Igy) was posting with the date after his name. Strange case of who is the real Igy?

What's up with this? wrote:

Old Sokol wrote:

Please don’t feed the troll.

That's not Igy? I just read some of Igy's posts on "Down goes the Dow"...is that a different Igy from the one that posts over here? Another Igy (or the same Igy) was posting with the date after his name. Strange case of who is the real Igy?

Reid Harter posts using the registered handle ‘Ghost of Igloi’.

A troll (or trolls) post using the handle ‘Igy’, or similar.

Igy, I am amazed that you have done so well with your cancer treatments and your attitude towards everything. You are so fortunate. We have a friend here in KC that is struggling so greatly for so long, and not doing so well and creates a lack of hopefulness in CA therapies. But you have put hope back in for us "age-cenarians".

Oh, and I believe you are you, as Igy, no matter who tries to hassle your on-line presence.

Mike, thanks for your kind words. I am very thankful for the great medical care I have received and for the support of my family and friends. These have helped supplant my natural inner fortitude in those few times it’s been necessary. I have been a winner my whole life and I will be a winner against cancer too.

Allen1959 wrote:

Igy wrote:

I have exercised 29 of the past 31 days. Adding a little bit of distance as well as intensity. The improvement in respiration is significant and the fatigue is dissipating. So pleased with my progress.

Igy, happy to hear this. What is the protocol from here? Continued gradual return to normal activities, with no restrictions?

Allen1959,

Not sure if you saw my post from last evening. No definitive outline for treatment at this point, but likely Rituxumab (monoclonal anti-body) shot once every two months for a year. Feeling stronger by the day.

Igy

Mike Lundgren wrote:

Igy, I am amazed that you have done so well with your cancer treatments and your attitude towards everything. You are so fortunate. We have a friend here in KC that is struggling so greatly for so long, and not doing so well and creates a lack of hopefulness in CA therapies. But you have put hope back in for us "age-cenarians".

Oh, and I believe you are you, as Igy, no matter who tries to hassle your on-line presence.

Mike,

Thanks. Of course it is cancer and that little devil is pretty amazing. “He” can twist and turn “himself” into so many different forms in order to live another day. So like your friends my ultimate fate is uncertain. I am putting my hands in evidenced based treatment and hope for the best. Fortunately my type of cancer is about 3% of all cancers, therefore not rare.

I am out for a run at 5:30 am with one of my buddies. Going to live my life to the fullest whatever that maybe.

Igy

Old Sokol wrote:

What's up with this? wrote:

That's not Igy? I just read some of Igy's posts on "Down goes the Dow"...is that a different Igy from the one that posts over here? Another Igy (or the same Igy) was posting with the date after his name. Strange case of who is the real Igy?

Reid Harter posts using the registered handle ‘Ghost of Igloi’.

A troll (or trolls) post using the handle ‘Igy’, or similar.

Wow man...we've got both of them posting at the same time right now?....as I would have said as a hippie growing up in the 60s; this is weird stuff daddy-o.

Igy,

Welcome back. It will be nice to put the shenanigans behind us.

Rachel

What Rachel said. I was visiting a relative yesterday whose blood disease can only be treated by alpha-interferon, with the usual side effects (or should I say "sideline" since that what it does). Made me grateful once again that rituximab exists, despite my up-and-down decade or so of taking it.

Gang, I could use your help again. I'm using my downtime to compile my race results, based on what we were discussing above. And I have a serious positive splits problem ...

Date: 1M - 2M -- 3M --- Finish

4/8: 5:39 - 5:52 -- 6:12 --- 18:15

4/28: 6:30 - 8:10 -- 6:08 --- 19:16

5/6: 5:52 - 5:56 -- 6:05 --- 18:13.9

5/28: 5:42 - 6:02 -- 6:32 --- 18:58

6/24: 6:02 - 6:06 -- 6:22 --- 18:43

I paid much more attention to splits in 2017, kinda forgot about em this year, and look what happened. So just knowing and being aware is half the battle.

But if any of you vets have specific negative-split strategies that have worked for you I'm all ears.

KC Geezer,

I may have missed an earlier post, if not and you don’t mind talking about it, why do you take rituximab?

Igy

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I may have missed an earlier post, if not and you don’t mind talking about it, why do you take rituximab?

Igy

I don't take it anymore, but for about a decade I relied on it to treat a continuously relapsing case of hairy cell leukemia. Six years ago I got into a clinical trial at NIH where they combined rituximab with a complementary chemo drug and bang, no more relapses - I've been in CR ever since.

And it was right after my annual checkup at NIH two years ago in August that I started my Couch to 5K.

I feel fortunate - many of you are dealing with challenging health issues. My biggest concern at the moment is to change from HM to full for tomorrow's race. Organizer is letting runners do this for next few hours. $1.200 vs $350 prize money for AG. Team tells me I would win easy (last year 2:57 1st over 50) but too many things can go wrong in a very hot and humid marathon. Last year I had my slowest half ever in the heat so I'm thinking just do a slow half and not melt.

Just thinking out loud :)

JTOL me too It will be a cold day in Hell before I race further than 5k;)

I am happy because I made lemonade.

Pulled my left gastroc mid week of F no! Did aggressive massage using the pure wave jack hammer mode this hurts for a day then things get better fast.

Race in 2 weeks 1500 so need speed

Today was d day . Not sabotage day do something stupidly desperate re injure the calf and bag it day but do some smart speed D Day. If it don't work I am not going to Cheney cause that would be futile.

As I did my 2 hour walk before running I pondered things. Maybe hit the pool F that I hate the pool . Don't be a quitter man can quit and not be a quitter and f what others think I am too old and know myself to well to let the dickheads bug me. Then the it is ok voice starts up with hey it is ok just start a new cycle you are in great shape and that is what is most important anyhow. Yeah that one sounds good but at the end of the day I want the day on the oval toeing the line with a group of guys who are not acting their age .

It worked!

The magic workout that was easy on my calfs:

The last few weeks I have been doing a 20 second sand dune very steep loose/soft sand where each stride up is followed by half a stride slide back down sinking past my ankles. I thinking is reduce eccentric loading/energy return (drop a golf ball into a sand trap) and place pushoff emphasis on glutes and quads ie uphill then come down fast but relaxed the sand greatly reduces impact forces. The first 30 seconds is shallow followed by the steep 20 seconds with a downhill return to start of 30 seconds for a total of 80 seconds x 12 no rest breathing varied from 2/2 to 2/1 to 1/1 with the tops of the steep hill burning good. A few hours later and I feel good tired no aches or pains just worn better than like I used to feel in my early 40s after a mile specific hard workout.

IGY- Best of fortune and continue to keep a positive attitude. Laugh. It's the best medicine.

Charlie- half of the battle at our age is to get to the starting line healthy. Get and keep healthy. Just two weeks to go.

Besides some easy running this week I did a xc 2 mile race on Wednesday bettering my time by 15 seconds from three weeks ago. And then today ran the NW Masters Track Championships in Seattle. Started off with a 17:48 5,000, and followed that up with my first steeple ever running a decent but not that good 8:12. I was so concerned about the barriers and water jump that I forgot to run hard between barriers. I was not all that tired at the end. I have a few things to work on before I run it again at nationals in two weeks.

RB

Charlie wrote:

JTOL me too It will be a cold day in Hell before I race further than 5k;)

Might just be a cold day for me ... the wife would lock me out if I tried running any longer.

BigMango, I don't know any of the physical aspect of switching from half to full ... but obviously if the distance is 2x and the prize is 4x, that's good math!

*Week 370*

Greetings, 50+ers! It's feeling like a broken record, and honestly, the heat is wearing me down. Could only manage 19 miles on 5 days this week (and a couple of long walks): run-log reads as such:

Sun: 4.0 Easyish (8:25/mi) already hot and humid

Mon: 4.3 Easy/hard (8:08/mi) easy on flats, hard up hills.

Tue: 3.5 brief intervals w/4x(400,200 jog) 103,97,101,98

Wed: off (took a long walk instead)

Thu: off (a couple of hours of yard work)

Fri: 4.1 Easy-to-moderate (9:15/mi) hilly trails

Sat: 3.1 Easy (8:15/mi) treadmill

Still finding that I start overheating between 3-4 miles and I'm just not recovering from it without fully taking it down. I'll continue to blame it on a combination of heat and being overweight. Hopefully, we'll get things going in the right direction soon.

That's really all I've got for this morning. Wife and I are out in the Dan'l Boone Nat. Forest this weekend enjoying some swimming and relaxation and just a bit of hiking (nothing serious.)

Glad to see such progress, Igy. Props to all that are racing in this heat. Look forward to catching up.

All the Best!