50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Glad to have found this thread about us aging runners. I'm a prostate cancer survivor for 2 years now and am going to be 60 in May and I'm looking forward to being on the young end of the age group again. I have been averaging about 20 miles a week so far this year. I have some pain in my left heel and knee. Most of my training is slow, my weekend long runs are usually with my wife at her pace(12 minutes per mile) but I love to race still so I go out and give it my all regardless of my training. Last week I ran 7.5 miles on Tuesday @ 8:45 pace, then raced a 5k in Ventura in a 19:50, and hiked and ran in the snow and mud yesterday for 6 miles with my wife at 5000 feet. this week I may get more miles in as the weather won't be quite as miserable. I haven't been on the track since last fall so I'm really happy with my time last Saturday. Next race is another 5k in 3 weeks in Bakersfield.

dhaaga wrote:

Ran this race in 63:59 last year and figured 65:00 or maybe slightly faster would be realistic for this year, but [excuses alert] it was high 30s and rainy, and i couldn't get hamstring and hip adductor issues to feel ok/loose in warmup. The kind of day I would have postponed speed work, but that's a little hard to do with a race, so instead I started in back, moved up gingerly through a 7:30 downhill first mile, and progressed from there down to about 6:30 pace, or 6:45-50 on the uphills.

Wouldn't want to do it all the time, lest I lose the habit of competing 100%, but it was sort of a fun way to experience a race -- working, but not killing myself, seeing lots of people I know along the way rather than getting to my spot and staying there.

I have done this, probably way too many times. Mostly at local 5k, but once in a mass half marathon. I could observe how people who are usually way behind me are racing. And as I move up, I could see different groups of people engaging in their own competitions. But it gives me weird feeling to pass those people while I am under cruise control.

And yes, it could become a habit. Now it's hard for me to run a 5k race without a slow start and a huge negative split. I have to work hard to start fast enough so that the pace is close to even. (Another "problem" is that I do every training run in progression. It has almost become a habit to start slow, even in a race.)

My week.

M: off.

T: 7 miles.

W: 6 miles.

R: 6 miles.

F: 7 miles.

SA: 6 miles.

SU: "about" 11 miles. (*)

So this is a "cut back" week after three weeks of build up before that. When I went to a park on Sunday, I found part of the loop was closed for resurfacing (I think that's what it is). So I had to alter the route, which is shorter than my usual route. I wasn't sure how much shorter, but based on the time it took to complete the first loop, I estimated the difference was about 10%. So I did 11 laps instead of planned 10. It should be about 11 miles in total. I will have to remeasure the course with my Garmin next week to get a better estimate. In any case, I got about 1:40 of solid running.

YMMV, thanks for the videos. Did not realize how dang slow I was running. regardless, always great to toe the line with such a great group of Masters.

Not Done Just Yet wrote:

... ps Ed Whitlock kicked my butte in a 10k race when I was 40 and he was 64. At the time I had no idea who he was and thought perhaps I was in the wrong sport

Ed beat me by nearly three minutes in a 10K a few years back. I was only 39, and he was M65-69. (BTW, I also started racing in 1973 ... but my longest "streak" during all this time was probably 15 days or less ...)

Sounds like you're racing very well, while I've been sidelined for the past several months. So I'm probably not one to credibly offer advice, but this past year I had some success (at age 59) with just two "hard" days per week -- a long run, and one workout (LT or VO2max repeats, or a threshold run).

The fast-paced portions of the workouts were about 6-12% of total weekly volume (3-6 miles of repeats in a 50-mile week).

Long runs were usually 25-33% of total mileage (12-19 miles). My longest race was 15K. Shortest was 1-mile on the track.

The previous year, age 57-58, I used a 9-day training cycle. Two workouts, a long run and a medium long run in each cycle. I raced distances from 5K to marathon (18:58, 3:07). But, like this past year, it ended with a three-month layoff (knees).

What does your training look like now, and historically what have you done?

runlebec, welcome to the thread! A sub-20 5K at nearly 60 is fine running, particularly off so little training.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

I want to be the first to congratulate SCgal on a National 3000m title with a fine time.

Woo-hoo!

That’s actually a terrific time. Congrats!

I'll be at Masters Nationals today with Michelle - hope to see SC gal and maybe a couple of you there.

Mike

Michelle gets Gold! Congrats to Athlete and Coach!

*Week 403*

Greetings, 50+ers! Unfortunately, it was a step backwards this week. Ran 4 on Sunday, but then my back became really tentative for a few days so that got my week off on the wrong foot. I then got slammed with our annual Science Olympiad event that was run yesterday. Both the prep and running of the event consumed my waking hours Thurs-Sat. At least in putting out fires during the event, my Fitbit tells me I walked 21,000+ steps and climbed 46 flights of stairs (I ran up every time.) This will get better, I promise; running will be given much higher priority in the coming weeks.

Loved some of the links from posts last week. Enjoyed seeing some new-comers posting up and some solid training. Will look forward to reading about you tracksters that ventured to National Indoors. Any other racing to report? Have a great week!

All the Best!

SCgal: Congrats!!

lucKY: I really believe those kinds of events are harder on our backs and feet than actual training.

Tue = 4 on road with 10X 1 min 2 min off accelerations

Thr = 4 miles on road with 3 @ 7:57 pace

Sat = 4 miles on road with 3 @ 7:41 pace

Sun = 4 miles easy TM, cold rain for the mid-Atlantic once again

A good week. I sped up my Thr run a bit. This is sort-of the beginning of phase 2 of my training. I’ve known that with so few miles I’d need to make them count. Finally feeling solid enough to turn a normally easy day to a tempo day. I know this makes no sense to some but 8 min pace feels easier on my legs than 10 or 11 min pace.

Have a good week folks!

good luck with your back -- i know those can be quite tricky; sounds like you're taking the right precautions.

good week of training for me including:

M 1:00 + 1:00 x-t

Tu 2:20 double

W 1:00 + 1:00 x-t

Th 2:00 double

F 1:00 with hill repeats

Sa 1:50

Su 1:35

My Jeopardy all-stars fantasy team is doing fairly well also, and I signed up for JFK 50-mile in November, so March is off to a good start!

have a great week,

Dave

Rtype wrote:

SCgal: Congrats!!

lucKY: I really believe those kinds of events are harder on our backs and feet than actual training.

Tue = 4 on road with 10X 1 min 2 min off accelerations

Thr = 4 miles on road with 3 @ 7:57 pace

Sat = 4 miles on road with 3 @ 7:41 pace

Sun = 4 miles easy TM, cold rain for the mid-Atlantic once again

A good week. I sped up my Thr run a bit. This is sort-of the beginning of phase 2 of my training. I’ve known that with so few miles I’d need to make them count. Finally feeling solid enough to turn a normally easy day to a tempo day. I know this makes no sense to some but 8 min pace feels easier on my legs than 10 or 11 min pace.

Have a good week folks!

KPdx thanks for the link TY has always been one of my favorites

SCgal Double Congrats!

Great M60 3000 and Mile Wish I was 30 seconds per mile faster base base base

M80 Mile 8:01.95 8:01.99 dip that shoulder like to see that finish

Rtype well I felt the same way but I did slow down and I am happy with the results. All the maf stuff seems to apply to me.

Good solid week!

20 minutes Niko Niko

30 minutes Niko Niko still a bit tired

40 minutes half Niko half Maf

50 minutes "" with 3 x Sand Dune Alactic apx 40 seconds with last 8 seconds being kinda Alactic

50 ""

50 "" with last 10 minutes slow tempo HR 150

50 "" with last 10 minutes slow tempo HR 150

I am taking a gradual approach to alactic addition but this first one went well. Two days later I felt tight in a good way.

Old age or Over trained ? sympathetic nervous system:

One of the things I have notice since starting lsd back in Oct is I sleep better and am more relaxed with more energy. I feel like running is now a part of my healthy life style where as I used to feel like running especially competitive running was not sustainable. Maybe high volume low intensity with the right mix of speed will work.

Congrats to SCgal and Ms. Rohl!

It's 2F and snowed out. I have a 2 hr run planned. What'll it be. Soft weak sauce on the treadmill or chilling outside?

It was another boring, but satisfying, week here with 20+ jogging miles over the last 7 days. Had some wind and ice to deal with, but that’s par for the course this time of year. Added some more core work and hip/glute exercises to the routine. I may be jinxing myself, but this has been a relatively lengthy injury free stretch for me. I’m at the point where I’m seriously considering taking a couple of weeks off to give the old bod a bit of an enhanced recovery period. Golf course is closed due to snow cover.

Sun: walk w/ the bride

Mon: 52’ jog; body wt ex

Tues: off

Wed: 51’ jog; body wt ex

Thu: off

Fri: 52’ jog; body wt ex & partial med ball routine

Sat: snow shoveling

Sun: 52’ jog; body wt ex

Best to most.

Good Morning.

SC gal also took the mile Saturday, for two titles. Impressive.

We finally dried out the last couple of days after five days of snow and rain mix. Stayed on the training throughout with several treadmill sessions. I covered 42 miles of runnning and walking with the paces on the longer sessions continuing to drop. The energy level continues to improve and over time I realize the true physical and mental toll of the treatment.

Monday: AM- 2 miles easy; 6 x 1/2 mile on the treadmill from 10:00 to 8:00 minutes a mile / 1:00 rest; mile easy/walk; PM- 3 mile walk

Tuesday: 3 miles walk/easy; core and weights

Wednesday: AM- 5 miles easy/walk; PM- 3 miles easy/walk

Thursday: 3 miles easy/walk

Friday: AM- 4 miles @ 10:30 pace; PM- 3 mile walk

Saturday: 8 miles @ 10:37 pace

Sunday: 5 mile walk

Igy

This was a planned light week for me following my 22+ mile run last Sunday. I ended up having to take both Monday and Saturday off from running because of heel issues, but had five pretty good runs including 16.6 miles at 8:55/mile average pace this morning, ending with 58 miles for the week. So far things still seem to be on track for a marathon in four weeks, although I’m continuously nervous about my heel.

Congratulations to Mrs. Rohl, and double congrats to SC gal!

Glad to hear Igy, Rtype, and dhaaga had good weeks. LucKY2b, I hope the back feels better soon.

Coyote, I’ll be interested to hear what you chose to do today. This morning before my run I flipped on Sports Center and saw clips from a MLS match in Denver with snow covering the field and the temperature at 18 F. I lived in Colorado for a year and loved it, but I don’t mind living in a milder climate.

Next Sunday I have to get in my car about 4 am to begin the drive to the airport to fly to the opposite coast. I’m planning to do a really long run on Saturday so that spending all day Sunday in planes, trains, and automobiles won’t seem like a bad idea. I hope my body is willing and able to put out a big effort six days from now.

Wishing everyone good health and good running

15.1 in 2:02 today on the plowed bike paths and roads a nearby state park at 2 degrees plus or minus. First mile was slow (like 10 minutes) and had to stop to adjust clothing. Last 40 minutes were uncomfortable but not unbearable. Had planned on 16 but 15 seemed enough.

Lucky guy! Next door in Kansas things just shut down in a storm. No path cleared for you unless you have four wheels and a transmission.

But hey, I'm learning to embrace the TM. It's not so bad. Jeopardy reruns got old so I switched to podcasts for while and then today I watched Roger Bennett interviewing the interim manager of Man United for an hour. Clearly Jeopardy fantasy league is next for me ...

Friday's long run on treadmill was anything but boring because every mile I did 90 seconds at tempo. Just that little bit of variety and challenge made the minutes sail by.

All TM:

Monday 7 miles

Tuesday 3 reps x 5 min @ VO2Max (2 min recovery) = 5 miles

Weds 5.5 miles

Thu 7 miles

Fri LR - 10 x .25mile @T + .75mile regular = 12 miles

Sat XT

Sun 8 miles + 1 hour snow shoveling

44 miles, 22% medium/hard but only 16% for the 9-day cycle.

SCgal, wow.