50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

I'm very sorry about the tragic loss of your niece. That must have come as a shock for your family in spite of the tough times previously that you mentioned.

on comparatively trivial notes......I was interested in the retirement discussion last week. As I have mentioned to the Dean of our college, I'm coming up on 30 years this Spring and plan the last 10 as being my "cool-down jog" decade, culminating in retirement May 2029. I'll be 67 [my full retirement age per Social Security]. As amkelley mentioned, professor is an easy job physically, and American U was on a hiring tear in the 70's, so I have lots of colleagues currently working who are older than 67, but I think 40 years in basically same job will suffice for me.

good week of running for me including:

M 1:10

Tu 1:20 including 5 X 5:00 (3:00 recovery) hard [a little over 1200, maybe 1250 meters each]

W 1:00

Th 1:15 with 5 X 3:00 (2:00 recovery) hills

F 1:10

Sa 30:00 + 1:00 x-t

Su 1:00 incl. hilly 5-mile road race 31:37 [16th OA, 2nd AG]

Race went well today. Even pacing (did not see mile marks, but 15:52 at turnaround, so 15:45 return trip), finished ahead of a few people I often finish behind, and beat last year's time in this race. By all of 4 seconds, to be sure, but still it's been i think about 3 years since I registered any win vs. prior-year self.

have a great week,

Dave

Two weeks after canceling my planned 20-mile race because of an upper-respiratory bug, I’m still not fully recovered but getting there. I still have some junk in my sinuses and a post-nasal drip cough, so all week I just slog-jogged, putting miles on my legs but not doing anything to stress my respiratory system. I got in 73 miles for the week and hope to be able to start upping the effort next week.

lucKY2b, I’m sorry to hear about your niece. Keep looking forward to better days. Spring is just around the corner.

Charlie, I agree—when things are tough, just getting out there every day is a good goal.

Igy, take it easy with the cold and don’t make it blow up into something worse. By the way, the last time I could run 5:40 for the mile was probably at about age 35.

I’m hoping to be healthy enough for a long run next weekend, prior to vegetating in front of the Super Bowl. This bug forced me to take one week pretty much off and one week at very low effort. At this point that’s OK, but I really need to get back on the horse soon if I’m going to be able to run a marathon in 9 weeks.

Cheers to all.

amkelley,

Thanks. It sounds like I have something similar. For me it started with the post nasal drip. Thought it was allergies at first; we appear to be getting an early spring. Anyway, when I get these bugs, the chest congestion hangs around for weeks. I pushed it a couple of times when younger and turned to pneumonia. So I will be adding exercise judiciously.

Igy

lucKY2b, my condolences also on your niece. Drugs are such a difficult problem in our society and too easily available. For me this was another week of more of the same. 53 miles

M- 8 hills 8:09/mi ave

T- 7 walk with about 150M stride every 1/2 m

W- 8 hills 8:21/mi ave

Th- 7 walk with about 150M stride every 1/2 m

F- 8 hills 8:17mi ave

S- 7 walk with about 150M stride every 1/2 m

Su- 8 hills 7:59/mi ave

Despite a good running week, I think I may be fighting a similar virus, although I only have had a minor sore throat, but feel like all I want to do is go to bed and sleep all the time.

Better health and good running for all of us!

My four day mini-break, inspired by tired legs and challenging weather, made a positive difference. I returned to the macadam on Wednesday feeling refreshed and healthy. Some mild hip soreness returned on Friday and today, but I’m working on that. Thinking about busting out the med ball again for some core work to hopefully help there. Anyway the intensity is increasing naturally and there’s not really much for me to complain about other than it’s still too cold for golf.

Sat-Tues: off

Wed: 51’ jog; body wt ex

Thu: walk w/ the bride

Fri: 52’ jog; body wt ex

Sat: off

Sun: 51’ jog; body wt ex

Condolences, L2B.

Best to most.

Anyone know anything about runners with leg length discrepancies and what to do about it? My son's been injured since NAIA XC Nationals (Nov 2017) and has what appears to be an inch or more difference. He suffers mainly from back problems, chronic tightness, and cannot run at all.

Thanks.

KP

KP,

I would look into functionally short rather than anatomicallly. That is, short and tight iliopsoas, causing an anterior pelvic tilt. So when runnning the gait is off because foot strike is compromised. Stretching and exercises are not a big help because the underlying gait mechanics need to be corrected.

Igy

KP,

I would consider a gait analysis and exam with David McHenry, Therapeutic Associates. I am sure you are familiar with him. In my view your son is dealing with something exacerbated by repeating an incorrect movement rather than a singular anatomical problem. There are likely some muscular imbalances. Uneven surfaces, road camber, and track turns can increase the problem. Get the hips alligned, the drive is executed properly and the foot fall is correct. If not, there is a continual torque to the stride. In addition to lower back problems, one can get lower leg problems. It is a chain of events generating an unpleasant result.

Igy

Igy,

You are describing his complaint to a T. We know Dave and will try and get in there; or even with Matt Walsh.

Thanks.

KP

another 30 mile week mostly 4 mile runs around 8 or so. A few on the treadmill. Top athlete made the front page of Letsrun after shovelling our track.

I feel good - still too heavy and got 3 hours on bike

I need more bike time

Team is running well

Michelle is kicking ass

KP,

Good, glad it was helpful. I think it is common injury for distance runnners and often misdiagnosed. Problem is a lot of time can be spent on the symptoms rather than the underlying source. Biomechanical deficiencies are like that, and a small degree here and there gets magnified with the miles. That is why I think it is important to talk to someone with experience diagnosing distance runnning injuries. You are lucky to have those folks close by.

Igy

Also sorry to hear about your niece, lucKY2b. That's tragic. Lost our nephew (wife's family) to a gang/drug revenge drive-by last year. He was trying to get his life back together and was gunned down on the street near his home. No suspects. Cold trail.

On retirement, I'm retirement eligible but pretty much have 5 more years at my current job, and would probably work at least part time until eligible for full social security. And I suspect we'll have to move to a place with cheaper housing so we wouldn't need to pay mortgage (or as much). A lot of my friends retired at 55 or will retire by 62.

My training is okay, nothing much to get exited about. Running an XC race next week.

KPdx wrote:

Anyone know anything about runners with leg length discrepancies and what to do about it? My son's been injured since NAIA XC Nationals (Nov 2017) and has what appears to be an inch or more difference. He suffers mainly from back problems, chronic tightness, and cannot run at all.

Thanks.

KP

Leg length discrepancies are ubiquitous, though 1” is excessive. See a sports orthopedist and/or chiro to get an analysis.

Hi KPdx,

This is SCgal's husband. I'm a runner with one leg longer than the other. When I was in high school I was out for a 10 mile run on a Sunday. I got about 6 miles from home and my lower back hurt so badly I could barely walk. I had to go to someone's house to call my mom and have her come pick me up. The next day we went to an orthopedic doctor to find out what was wrong. He x-ray'd my hips while standing. The problem was obvious. You could see that one hip was higher than the other by 1 inch. The solution was to have a 1 inch wedge inserted on the soles of all of my right shoes. After a few days the problem solved. So, every pair of shoes I own including running shoes and spikes have a 1 inch wedge. When I was in college I even met a runner from Penn State on the starting line who had the exact same problem. Having one leg longer than the other is not uncommon. Some people have a problem even if there is a 1/4 inch difference. I suggest having your son's hips x-ray'd to verify that this is the problem If so, any good shoe repair shop should be able to add the wedge. The cost is about $45. If you have trouble finding a shop to do it just respond, and I can hook you up with who I use. Hope this helps.

We have no plans to retire because we work for ourselves. I walked away from newspapering 7 years ago, the wife opted out of textbook editing 20 years ago, and while neither of us earn anywhere near our former paychecks, we saved during those years and lived frugally (still do), never thinking it was much of a sacrifice. Now we have income streams from pensions and gigs. As we get older, I'm sure we'll drop some of the gigs. But as long as we enjoy what we're doing, getting paid is a nice bonus! That's my story, I'm sticking with it.

Hey this reminds me, I'm finding that USATF Masters site impenetrable, at least concerning races in the Midwest that I might want to put on my calendar. It's not a big deal right now, but if there's a place to go this fall, I should be thinking about it soon. In May we're going to England on research. I see that the 10K still stands tall there, so that's what I'm training for now.

Some days I don't know what is worse, all the people in prison on non-violent drug offenses or all the people sacrificed for the benefit of the opioid industry. But when it's personal, it makes it real; you're right to be down.

Link please! That's awesome.

I did Dr Jack's prescribed comeback from my 8-day hiatus (4 days at 50%, 4 more at 75%) and am back on my training for either a 5K or 10K in two weeks (depending on which looks more competitive).

Kudos to SCgal for patching in her hubby. One inch! Wow.

AK-67 wrote:

KPdx wrote:

Anyone know anything about runners with leg length discrepancies and what to do about it? My son's been injured since NAIA XC Nationals (Nov 2017) and has what appears to be an inch or more difference. He suffers mainly from back problems, chronic tightness, and cannot run at all.

Thanks.

KP

Leg length discrepancies are ubiquitous, though 1” is excessive. See a sports orthopedist and/or chiro to get an analysis.

vonschnapps wrote:Just curious for all the 50+ posters, have you retired and at what age, or what age do you intend to retire (from your job not running)?

I am planning to retire in 2030, when I become eligible for Medicare. I like my job, and it is probably better than any realistic alternative. But I also have other things I want to pursue in life, and right now I don't have enough time for them. Working part time after that is an option, but then I will have to probably stay at where I am. And I am planning to move to a different location.

Anyway, my week.

M: off.

T-SA: 6 miles.

SU: 8.8 miles.

This was a planned "cutback" week for me. It feels a bit strange that I need a "cutback" after 42 miles in the previous week. But I have decided to build up very slowly. Will I ever get back to running 70mpw? I don't know. I ran my Sunday's "long" run on a loop course in park. It was the first running on pavement since August. My feet felt okay after that. And I could go from 9:24 for the first mile to 7:48 for the last mile. So I consider this as progress.

In regards to Social Security, if you have a non-working spouse or a spouse with a shorter work record a spousal benefit may be a consideration. The spousal benefit is approximately 50% of the Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit of the longer work record spouse. There are other application strategies that should be considered before one pulls the trigger. Also, for those divorced/widowed from long term marriages (ten years or longer) and not re-married benefit eligibilty may exist or be greater than FRA benefit. Go to www.ssa.gov for more information.

LucKY - My condolences to you and your family on the loss of your niece. What a shock for you and your family. I'm sending you hugs from SC.

I've been so busy with school I've hardly had a minute to spare. I stupidly volunteered to teach a new course prep this semester so besides being dept. chair I'm having to get lectures organized. I'm also repeating my trip to England in May and the students have required so much hand-holding I'm thinking of never doing the trip again.

My return to the track last week was almost embarrassing. I ran the mile in a blistering (?) 7:21 followed an hour later by a 3,000 in 14:40. It may be only January, but compared to my times only 3 years ago, I was pretty discouraged. Oh well, at least I now have a goal to break at Indoor Nationals in March in which I have to compete since my team is trying to win the title. Next up for me is Tallahassee followed by a 10-miler where I'm trying to break an old SC state record. Those distances are much more to my strength so I hope the outcome is better than on the track.

Sun: SE Regional Track Meet

Mon: 1:30 bike workout, 2500 swim

Tue: 6.1 Easy

Weds: off

Thu: 8.0 Track (ladder down 1600 ->200), 1:04 bike workout

Fri: 6.0 Easy, 2250 swim

Sat: 7.0 Easy, 1:20 bike workout

See some of you at XC this weekend!