50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

socal cush wrote:

i swear i don’t know who this david angell kid is, and i never give anyone a hard time.

hoping to not embarrass myself this x-c season leading up to spokane, where i hope to outkick angell once and for all...

cush

Always good for a laugh Cush. Get that calf healed up, because I'm looking forward to Spokane. Just please remember a certain bet that was lost last December in Lexington. Ha ha. I'm going to return to the shadows now before I'm accused of being a snot-nosed kid causing trouble on the 50+ board.

But on one serious note first, I was sorry to hear about your father's passing. I didn't post anything at the time, but you were in my thoughts. Take care.

- Dave

cush,

After my easy run I saw a young buck with a SMTC shirt in the YMCA weight room. I thought I should tell him the REAL story behind the logo. Then I realized there was no way he cared to hear the reminiscing of an old man.

Igy

Keep the faith Dave, both you and cush and many others here have been inspiration while I faced setbacks. Looking forward to seeing guys on the circuit in the future.

As for the race, and my vague-post well I figured no one wanted to hear too much from an old guy. But since you asked, here's my story.

As scgal said the road was chopped up a bit, with exposed manhole covers protruding 2-3 inches above the pavement. But they had people standing on those directing us around them. Brave folks.

I lined up in the 2nd row and as usual got swallowed up quickly, as I took it out especially cautious over the first couple hundred meters (3 manhole covers). By a 400 or 500 m we were getting strung out, and the lead group of 3-4 including our guest, and ultimate winner had already separated themselves. After that I focused mostly on guys in my age group with the orange back tags, but did see one 65 year old ahead at least for a while, as well as the lead pack of 6 or 7 women.

Rick was in the thick of the chase pack, followed closely by Tom from ATC and then Ken also from ATC. That didn't look good for us as they were the team for us to beat. Somewhere along there Joe came up beside me and, we'd run most of the race within 10 or 15 meters of each other.

Never felt good or in a groove. But that's 5K running in a nutshell. And while not super hot, it was muggy enough to temper pushing hard.

My mile split was about 5:36, just behind Joe, while Ken was maybe 5-6 seconds on us, and Rick and Tom about the same amount up on Ken, so mid or low 5:20s for them. It stayed about that until the turn around at 1.5, and Joe caught Ken, and a few meters later I did too. I don't know if he was throwing in surges or I just would drift off the pace but I kept falling back 10-12 meters and then would inch my way back. We caught Tom at about 3K and Rick at 2 miles (I was 11:12 and hadn't made any moves yet).

But at the backside of the first of three hills I tried to pick it up some and Joe matched me stride for stride. Fell back again on the second hill. He had maybe 10 or 12 m on the bottom of the final hill (it was about 300 meters with a 4% or 5% grade) and was starting to gap me more, but I passed a guy or two and by the top we were even. At that point with just another 300 or 350 to go (nice downhill), I just sprinted for home hoping to stay conscious and on my feet and to keep moving ahead. I caught the lead woman on the stretch and we finished in a tie. My final 0.9 mile over the three hills was about 5:45-50 pace and the last 0.2 were probably close to 5:00. Finished 18th overall.

correction 11:09 or 11:10 at 2, so about 5:33/34 pace for that mile

CM -- Thanks for sharing the race details! In the GVH photos, that last climb looks nasty.

racerdb -- Good to see your training coming along. Impressive patience. And all those 7-something paces in the summer heat have to be encouraging.

scgal -- Amazing to follow your progress since that catastrophic injury. Good luck in your upcoming race.

amkelley -- Hope you're feeling better this week.

Igy -- You are hot on the comeback trail. Really happy for you. Now, if I could manage that 4:30 a.m. schedule of yours, maybe I could do as well! Every day I aim for 5:30 -- that's when my wife's alarm goes off, but next thing I know, it's 6:30!

Allen1959,

Thanks for the shout out. I think you are doing just fine. I am about a 20 minute drive from work and need to be in by 7:30. So the best schedule for me is to workout in the morning close to where I work. I have found that at this age I am better off exercising first thing in the morning.

Igy

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Allen1959,

Thanks for the shout out. I think you are doing just fine. I am about a 20 minute drive from work and need to be in by 7:30. So the best schedule for me is to workout in the morning close to where I work. I have found that at this age I am better off exercising first thing in the morning.

Igy

Must be a light day at work.

Yep and it’s my business.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Allen1959,

Thanks for the shout out. I think you are doing just fine. I am about a 20 minute drive from work and need to be in by 7:30. So the best schedule for me is to workout in the morning close to where I work. I have found that at this age I am better off exercising first thing in the morning.

Igy

How do you work out first in the morning at our age? I can barely get out of bed without straining something, usually need a cane for assistance going downstairs and then it's a good 2 hrs before I can do some light stretching & Yoga. If it's a scheduled run day (only 3 days per week these days), and I don't strain something (doing house or yard work), I can try to run in the early evening.

Arthritic Old Stiff wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Allen1959,

Thanks for the shout out. I think you are doing just fine. I am about a 20 minute drive from work and need to be in by 7:30. So the best schedule for me is to workout in the morning close to where I work. I have found that at this age I am better off exercising first thing in the morning.

Igy

How do you work out first in the morning at our age? I can barely get out of bed without straining something, usually need a cane for assistance going downstairs and then it's a good 2 hrs before I can do some light stretching & Yoga. If it's a scheduled run day (only 3 days per week these days), and I don't strain something (doing house or yard work), I can try to run in the early evening.

I'm 60 years old and I, like Igy, still work out first thing in the morning. On weekdays I get up at 4:45 and am generally out the door by 5 am. I do have to take the first mile or two at a pretty slow pace to warm up, and everything works better for me on weekends when I don't start until 30-60 minutes after waking up. But first thing in the morning is the only way that regular running really fits with the rest of my life.

I have a major Achilles tendon problem but no other chronic injuries and no arthritis to my knowledge. I'm a bit stiff when I first get out of bed, but nothing serious. Chalk it up to good genes, I guess. My parents were both in pretty good shape into their 80s and lived into their 90s.

Stiff,

I have a cup of coffee, check the news, post on LRC and make my drive into downtown Boise (about 20 minutes). After sticking my clothes in a YMCA locker I do a couple a calf/achilles stretch routine, leg swings, wall hurdle drill, and walk 400m. Then hit my workout. If I am tired that day I call it good. I don’t make up that workout, just go to the next scheduled day be it easy or hard. This routine works best for me I guess until it doesn’t. Certainly no guarantees for me or anyone else.

Igy

Arthritic Old Stiff wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Allen1959,

Thanks for the shout out. I think you are doing just fine. I am about a 20 minute drive from work and need to be in by 7:30. So the best schedule for me is to workout in the morning close to where I work. I have found that at this age I am better off exercising first thing in the morning.

Igy

How do you work out first in the morning at our age? I can barely get out of bed without straining something, usually need a cane for assistance going downstairs and then it's a good 2 hrs before I can do some light stretching & Yoga. If it's a scheduled run day (only 3 days per week these days), and I don't strain something (doing house or yard work), I can try to run in the early evening.

As another 68 year old who rolls out the door at 5:30AM most days this is what I do. First, I live in San Diego where we think water freezes at 50 degrees, so cold weather is not an impediment. I generally get up at 4:30AM and try to walk down the stairs like a normal, slightly stiff person to check whether my legs have any niggles I should pay attention to. I get a cup of coffee and sit and enjoy it, with a little bit of stretching until 5:00AM. Then I start 20 minutes on a rowing machine at whatever intensity feels comfortable. From there I am out the door for my run. It usually takes about a mile and a half of running before I feel like I am warmed up and reasonably loose in my running.

P.S. My late mother was still mobile and free of any orthopedic issues right up until her death at 93, so I think it has a lot to do with the ticket you got in the genetic lottery.

old guy II wrote:

As another 68 year old who rolls out the door at 5:30AM most days this is what I do. First, I live in San Diego where we think water freezes at 50 degrees, so cold weather is not an impediment.

I might have added that I live in inland central California, where the winter mornings get quite a bit colder than San Diego, but rarely much below freezing--and when it's really cold, like 25-30 degrees, it's dry and calm. That certainly helps with getting out the door early. In the summer it's bloody hot here and you'd better get most of your workout done before sunrise.

It can be a little tough mentally in winter when it is cold and dark outside. First five minutes a little uncomfortable but then you begin to loosen up. And if it really cold or icy there is always the dreadmill. Fortunately we have the use of the Boise State Indoor track November thru February. During that period my hard days are at the indoor track Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 pm. So my schedule will change in a couple of months if I keep improving.

Igy

Yep...and I, like many others, were at the back of the line when they handed out running genetics. ? It's frustrating seeing so many more middle-agers train & race like 25 yr elites these days. They honestly don't know how lucky they have it.

And since masters racing has become so performance based nowadays, the genetically anti-aging very fast middle-agers get all the accolades while some of us slow stiffs get the laughter of the masters running community (I experience this a lot in the master's club I belong to). Middle-age running is truly the case of the "haves" and "haves nots"...no surprises there.

Stiff,

Last weekend I was lapped by five of my teammates with about 500 meters to go in a 1500 meter race. And two of them were in my age group. Oh well. I find that it is better for me to be racing than not. I think of it this way, stay within myself and do my own thing. All of which is not easy to do.

Igy

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Stiff,

Last weekend I was lapped by five of my teammates with about 500 meters to go in a 1500 meter race. And two of them were in my age group. Oh well. I find that it is better for me to be racing than not. I think of it this way, stay within myself and do my own thing. All of which is not easy to do.

Igy

And we all know golfers bitter about their handicaps. I’m determined that I will not complain about “a good run spoiled.” The key to that it seems to me is not to win races but to avoid injury so that every day is a joy.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Stiff,

Last weekend I was lapped by five of my teammates with about 500 meters to go in a 1500 meter race. And two of them were in my age group. Oh well. I find that it is better for me to be racing than not. I think of it this way, stay within myself and do my own thing. All of which is not easy to do.

Igy

C'mon man...you're coming off of cancer treatment & all those toxic drugs injected into your body. I'm amazed at what you've been able to do so quickly post-treatment given the toxicity of those drugs...most impressive (I've known several people over the years coming off of chemo for lymphoma that couldn't walk around the block for several months). Pre-cancer I bet you wouldn't be lapped by anyone out there...don't you have pretty good running genetics?

Tell,

I suppose, but with my lymphoma diagnosis I am not sure my running genetics matter much. I say the the mental toughness necessary for endurance running proved valuable. Also helpful was that inner understanding of how you feel daily. Lastly being in good general health otherwise allowed me to come out of chemotherapy better prepared for the challlenges.

Igy