50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Week 54: 27 miles total, 2 races

TUE 4.75 miles on the track: jog warmup, drills on the infield, 4x strides, then 4x 400m pretty much all out (times 1:22, 1:19, 1:24, 1:16 the first two were in trainers, the last two were in brand-new spikes), complete recoveries by jog one walk one, cooldown.

THU 4.5 miles easy

SAT 9 miles in 4 runs: (1) about 6 miles run/walk with the Saturday morning group (2) about 2 miles with 2x strides (3) about 1 mile easy (4) 400m race in 1:21.78 (yuk).

SUN 9 miles: 3 miles jog warmup with 1x hill sprint, then 10K race in 46:35 gun time -- or maybe 46:25, I'm getting old. I didn't wear a watch so will have to wait to get the actual time but it would be close to that.

Plus about 9 hours cross-training in 6 days. Friday was a complete rest day, even the walking was limited.

The 400m race was quite the experience, I made so many mistakes on the day and in the race itself, there's a lot to chew on and learn from. From my vantage point at turn two I also missed an exciting race, first and second place were 54.46 and 54.55 respectively. About the only other thing of note was that the second place guy shook my hand when I finally finished. This is why I love runners.

The 10K race today was much slower by everybody than last year. With the heat and Saturday's fiasco I told myself just to finish. Still, it was a little depressing to be passed by so many in the second half. It appears no amount of elliptical training will prepare for a 10K. On the other hand I stuck around for the awards and quite a few of those people who passed me got age group awards, so maybe it was not such a bad run.

All in all, not a good week to be a calf muscle.

Thanks Matt. Keep up your own good work bud. Looking forward to seeing you later this summer. Will miss Hayward as I'll be on vacation.

Good reports from everyone, whether getting back after an injury or doing some serious racing. Had a strong weekend with 5xlong hills Saturday and a fast flat tempo 8 miles on Sunday (7:07 for the first 4, back in 6:12). Usual easy stuff during the week.

Watched the NCAA championships, and wistfully wondered what it is like to run a tactical race. I think the last time I did that was back in high school in the 70s. Anyone on the thread do tactical races these days?

Well, finished the KC Corp Challenge track races with an 800m in 3:13.86 for 16th of 30, but 13th was less than 3 seconds up. I am not used to running that hard and that short a race, so was not prepared for what my head and body would be discussing and disagreeing. I did close in 46 so it wasn't all bad, more the middle section, not to mention that sub-3's used to be just part of a normal speedwork session! I'd try to find a few more track races except that I am the running part of our tri team in one week and have a 4.5 mile run in warm conditions.

Will, seems that few good runners are well-appreciated in their home town, but most often underappreciated by some running club board members who could easily offer a waived entry, a $100 bonus of a course record at the Turkey Trot, etc. I think women are especially treated more poorly, too, if the Elite Coordinator doesn't appreciate their talents and efforts.

Fortunately for us, Jane was invited to KC in 1988 to run the KC Marathon and we liked it well enough to stay. The Coordinator, Ed Crumm, just died this week at age 57 of cancer. Thanks to Ed.

Sorry to ramble, carry on, good thread.

Sorry not to have posted in quite awhile. Training is going well. I read a few posts back about masters T&F in a critical state due to lack of interest. I must agree. I tell people that I sprint and hurdle and they look at me as if I'm from another planet. Then they ask, "Have you ever run a marathon?" It's just another world I guess. Props to the neighborhood Starbucks: when I set my indoor AR back in February there was a story in the local paper.

Starbucks made me the "question of the day" (answer correctly and get a free espresso or flavor shot!) Good ink for the sport.

Training is going well. I've barely raced thus far this season and find myself looking forward to an all-comers this Thursday.

Cheers to all!

When read Pete Magill's time in the Portland meet, it seemed a little slower than I would have expected based on his 5k times. But then, when I found out that he'd already run a 15:01 road 5k that morning, and flew from SoCal up to Portland to honor a promise he made to Dave Clingan, I was much more than impressed. So if you are out there Pete, bravo! Sorry you were chased from these boards, but I'm glad their are other venues (e.g.-Running Times) to take in some of your wisdom. KP, that must have been fun to be able to partake in the event, even if you had to dnf. I've heard that stepping up from repeat 400's to 600's is a good way to build in that extra mental toughness that hits you with a lap to go. Just a thought.

More from masterstrack regarding Pete at the Portland meet:

http://masterstrack.com/2012/06/22597/

Props to you all getting on the track. AK-54, nice first outing, for sure. Alan B, I was surprised that you would toe the line so soon after returning to running from your hip issues....especially a 400. I am not surprised, however, that your calves are paying the price from the 10k. I remember my first 10k after I hadn't done much work in flats, my calves were sore as heck for over a week.

Glad others are having good training weeks. Very solid 8 mi tempo, wxboy. Tim, I hope you are recovering well from your marathon. I'm sure it was quite a challenge.

Mike L., the one time I've run the 800 as a 50+, I came through the 400 in 67, and I remember that I was still feeling like I was going to be able to kick coming around the last turn, maybe even run 2:15! But then with about 70m to go, I suddenly had absolutely nothing and I crawled to the finish in 2:20. So finishing strong is good, I'm sure a bit of speed work will bring you much. On a sadder note, I saw the death of Jerry Smartt reported on masterstrack, and I gather he was from your neck of the woods. I didn't know him, but I wish the best to his family and friends. Olympics alternate in 1960, and was still running strong through last season...now that's a life! RIP, Jerry.

As always, I appreciate everyone's input and discussion.

Best Regards to all!

Wow, sorry to just catch the news on Jerry Smartt. Never met him but saw his many comments on Masters track.

Matt- good to see you able to spend a little time at home with that crazy schedule of yours.

Ran my first race in a long time (track 1600). Not quite sure what to think of it. Had splits of 69, 2:30, 3:46 and 5:00.4 something for a 1600. Figure it equates to a 5:02 mile.

We went out good but I noticed that the guys I was with backed off just after the 400. That was good since I wasn't sure I could hit 72 or 3 and not feel totally spent. My group went slower and slower until I decided I'd better speed up just before the halfway point. From then on I was by myself and just tried to go as hard as I could. Always interesting when you race with younger high schoolers.

Anyhow it is a start, and I'm also paying with the sore calves from wearing spikes. I don't work out in spikes. The series has longer races (3 and 5ks)this week, so I'll probably tempo a 5k using flats, instead of racing the 3k, which I'd do if feeling healthy.

Have a great week!

Rich

Haven't posted in a few years (out with health issues). Just getting ready to run first race next month. yesterday ran 3x1200/400-1 minute rest after 1200 and 400 jog after each set. 3:54-71, 3:50-70, 3:42-66. Thinking might be under mid 16:30 and get close to 16.

Way late this week but figured I'd close out the training cycle reports before heading to Grandma's tomorrow. So, the last 10 days like this:

Monday- 4.5 miles, legs trashed & tired

Tuesday- 8.3 miles easy

Wednesday- 7 miles with 3 mile time trial in 20:40

Thursday- 7 miles easy

Friday- 7 miles with 6 X 400 in :83, 2:30 recovery

Saturday- 9 miles with middle 5 at goal marathon effort

Sunday- 15.5 easy (58.3 for the week)

Monday- 8 miles easy

Tuesday- 7.5 miles easy

Wednesday (today)- 4.5 miles with 6 X 400 in :83, 3:00 rec.

Thursday- I'll be off, driving to Duluth

Friday- 3-5 mile shake out run

Saturday- Grandma's!

There's so much going on here I can't keep up with it all. Tim, how'd your marathon go? I don't know your last name so can't look up your result.

lucKY2b wrote:

I am not surprised, however, that your calves are paying the price from the 10k. I remember my first 10k after I hadn't done much work in flats, my calves were sore as heck for over a week.

I don't own any flats! The sore calves were from the 400s in my first-ever pair of spikes. I found myself a coach and he said race for the experience, so I raced. Good call by the coach. I'll do it again on July 7.

runguru's taper is cracking me up, especially the 6x400 in :83... Good luck at Grandma's.

Best of luck to you, runguru. You've certainly banged out the miles these past many months...looks good! Have a great one! Say Hi to Dick Beardsley from us if you see him.

rlb (Rich), we all know that you've got great natural speed, but you still constantly amaze me at what you can do with so many fits and starts to your training. Do you have a goal for this season, or are you taking it day-by-day? (at our age, we probably mostly take it day-by-day...but still.)

Sacto! Really great to hear from you! Glad that you seem to be back to your old self. Sounds like your training is going well. Will look forward to hearing how your races go.

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Week 55

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Happy Father's Day, 50+ dads! I hope you dads get to absorb the love of the ones you cherish (and vice-versa). I feel very blessed.

As for running this week, another 7 days, 7 runs, and 53+ miles. I'll acknowledge upfront that I did too much uptempo stuff this week (too much strain in my train, as MikeF would put it), and this morning my left knee (yes, the same knee that took me out last summer) is acting up a bit. Hopefully, it's no big deal, and just a result of some tight muscles in the lower quad region and left IT band....at least, that's how it feels. My log looks as such:

Sun: 8 easy

Mon: 6.5 w/6x(9 stories of stairs, spiral back down the parking ramp)

Tue: 6.2 w/5k tempo in 19:40

Wed: 10.2 w/3.3@6:28 pace, followed by 8x(1 lap@5k pace, 1/2 lap jog)

Thu: 6.1 very easy

Fri: 8.2 (4.5 on trail) w/3x1/2-mile hard trail loop repeats.

Sat: 8.1 w/first 5.7 as acceleration run...7:40 -> 6:20

Notes:

1) On Monday, I saw that a storm was brewing, so I jogged over to this giant, new, underused 9-story parking structure that I've mentioned before, and used it to do "laps". I'd run hard up the stairs, then spiral back down the garage. Each "lap" took 5-5.5 minutes to complete (62s up avg, 4-4.5 down). I felt pretty smart as an incredibly intense downpour came right in the middle of my workout, and I didn't get wet at all. I can tell that the stair climbs these past few weeks have been doing good for overall leg strength as they've gotten markedly easier, but I'm also concerned that they might be what is leading to the recurrence of knee pain....will back off this week, and see if the pain subsides.

2) I wouldn't really call Tuesdays 5k a full tempo, it was more like a hard 2.5k at around a 6-minute pace, after a more manageable 6:40 pace for the first 2.5k.

3) Wednesdays tempo followed by intervals was a misadventure that was set in motion by our car not starting. I had committed to running intervals at the track, but our car didn't start. The track is 3.3 miles from our house. So with about 10-minutes from when the workout was to start, I decided to just run to the track to join my buddies in progress. Amazing how 6:28 pace doesn't feel as hard when you're feeling under the gun. So I got there missing the first of 12 repeats on this funky 4-laps-to-a-1500 track, but was able to catch the last 8. I completed my day by jogging a mile cooldown on the track before a VERY easy jog back home. I was pretty beat....Thursday's slog was a testament to that.

4) Friday was a very hot and humid day. We have this 1/2-mile trail in the woods near our house that can provide a bit of a refuge from the Sun's intense rays. I jogged over and started just running laps....but after a few, I decided to run a alternate a few harder laps with easy ones just to break up the monotony of running the same loop over and over. The hard laps were run in 3:02, 3:02, 3:07; the last one being my clue that this was enough hard stuff given the conditions.

5) Saturday, my legs felt great! So after my first mile, I just started racheting up the pace until I started to breath too hard, at which point (5.7 miles in), I took a short break, and jogged it in the rest of the way home....not sure what I accomplished with that run, but it felt good.

OK, so I don't feel like I ran with good purpose this week. I got some good variety in, but I had too much hard-paced stuff, and I didn't have good spacing in my workouts. I'll back off until the knee recoups, who knows if I'll do anything beyond easy runs this week. So it goes.

As for Father's Day, not sure what my daughter has in store for me today, but she has already given me a present this week, when she actually went running several times! I told her she doesn't have to go nuts like her dad, that even 20-minutes 3x-a-week would do her a world of good. Hopefully, she'll incorporate it as part of her overall fitness plan.

Hope you all had a more coherent week than I did. Would love to read some nice race reports.

All the best!

Mon = 4 @ 7:56 pace

Tue = 4 with 3 1 min accelerations with 2 min jog (hot and humid)

Wed = 4 @ 7:21 pace

Thr = rest

Fri = rest

Sat = 5, 5:55 1600, 8 400's at 84.6 Ave on the track

Sun = 5, Mountain

Total = 23

A good week. Sat I focused on the 400's and brought the average down almost 4 full seconds per 400 over the previous weeks. I'm signed up for the Va USATF Masters next Sat and will be doing the 5000 and 1500. Hoping we can get more folks racing our state championship. When last I raced this (2010) their were a total of 4, count-em FOUR people in the 5000. Humorously, I was dead last.....Our chapter does such a poor job in advertising its almost a secret track meet. So now you know! Maybe I can be dead last in a larger field this year.....

Yea, Happy Fathers Day to the dads out there. Had several good runs with the boys this week. Ran 42 miles in 5 days, taking 2 off to rest sore foot. Highlight 5000 m race on Thurs. 17:17 with 5:33+ for each 1600 and a decent kick over final 150. Best in three years. Off to bike ride and hike with family today.

Ok....I decided to quit being a baby and do my part to keep this thread moving. But I don't have much to offer this week.

A bunch of non-eventful runs the past two weeks. About 141 miles...Two very good 13 milers, nothing fast, and a couple of nice steady 10's around 6:45/pace. I'll keep this up for the rest of the summer and start racing again in September.

Heading up to a Southwestern MI winery/brewery for some R&R with my wife and daughter this afternoon. Always a good time!

Have a good Fathers Day everyone!

Dave

Happy Father's Day everyone! Have a great day and a great week!

Decent 42 mile week with two track sessions plus a long day at the US Open @ Olympic Club walking all 18 holes on this my home course...was curious to see how USGA tricked it up for the big boys....yow!

Surpassed 99,100 miles the other day and now getting ready to spend two full weeks in Eugene for Olympic Trials...be hanging out post-meet at Wild Duck so come on by and I'll buy you a beer

train don't strain,

MF

Thanks L2B! I hope to get into pretty good shape by mid July. It looks like we are going to put a team together to run the San Diego 5k xc race in Oct, and I want to be part of it.

Just a thought with your sore knees...might do some of your hill running up that spiral ramp as well. The stairs might be a little too steep for the knees, to do only stairs. Good luck!

AK-54, Good 5k time!

Had to back off the harder stuff this week with sore legs, but still kept the mileage up (35 1/2). Did my first 10 mile run yesterday and had 7:30 pace thru 8 1/2 miles, but slowed to finish in 77:20. Was fun running with a group, but they were gradually picking up the pace, and after 8 miles, I was heading in the other direction.

Week 55: 28.5 miles in 5 days.

Tue 6 easy.

Wed 3 on grass slightly faster than easy.

Thu 5.5 easy with drills and strides on grass in the middle.

Sat 11 super-slow.

Sun 3 on grass easy.

I should point out that I run by time, not miles. But the Garmin tells me how far it was, and I round those distances for y'all.

Plus about 9 hours of cross-training. Still doing 3 hours/week on the elliptical machine, this time is being slowly switched over to running. What I will keep are the stairs 5/week, core-stretching 3/week, weights 3/week, and yoga 1/week (actually yoga will increase to 2/week in week 57).

I'm gaining weight, +1.5 pounds in the last month. It might be the weight training, I wasn't doing that last season. Probably bad for the distance races, probably good for the 400m. What to do?

The week went well, basically a recovery week from the two races last weekend. Saturday I switched from the run/walk group that I have been doing, jogging instead with an 11:30/mile group. Today I felt so good I did a 30 minute jog instead of the scheduled 60 minute elliptical. Yay, sunshine! Yay, green grass! Yay, breezes!

Week 56 won't look much different, maybe 35 miles total if I am feeling it.

Happy Fathers Day to all.