50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Big Red,

Good job, congratulations. Yes, start of the marathon boom of that era so pretty cool.

Igy

Big Red wrote:

Got my BQ today at the Napa Valley Marathon, 3:33:29 chip time (needed 3:50, male age 60 – 64). I came fourth in my age group. This is a dream come true for me.

Big Red; Big Congrats on BQ and love your description of your race!

Cavorty; Glad to hear you figured out what is causing your ankle issue. Wishing you well on your full recovery.

My week:

- My quads were pretty smashed up from the hilly half marathon down in South Carolina last weekend. As previously reported, it was supposed to be a long workout after Friday night's mile race, but turned into a very decent (for me at least) 'old man' PB at the distance. So I did the sensible thing (something I don't often do BTW) and eased back on intensity and distance for a couple of days.

- Felt better by midweek and on Wednesday did a light 4 x 200 and 8x 100 with 1/2 distance recovery at the indoor track. It is Winter break at the University so I had the track completely to myself.

- Late Thursday evening ran a 38 y/o friend who is easing back into running. He wanted go to the track instead of our weekly 4-5 miler. Did 6 x 300s at 1:05 (high) to 1:09 with 1/2 recovery then 3x200 and 4x100 at 5:45 pace. I felt okay without pushing it all out.

-Good two mile up tempo in the middle of my Saturday p.m. run with 11 for the day.

-Just finished a nice bright Sunday afternoon in the low 40s run with a little light pick up for a mile and half and 6 x150m strides with :34 recoveries. Felt good to see the sun and not be all bundled up.

Overall, 51 miles for the week with about 13% or 6.75 miles at 7:15 or faster. Another successful week. Come on Springtime!

So I have not visited for while since I had nothing to report. So I had an ankle injury this past winter (posterier tibialis). They can be a bugger and hard to get rid of. I would take several days off, try to run, felt the pain, took several more days off, and so on. I have run for a month straight now. Started off at 2-3 miles a day and inched my way forward. Today I did my first seven miler. Coyote, sounds like you and I are progressing about the same. So when I could not run I was hammering away on the eliptical. So when I started up running a month ago I continued to cross train. I have been doing a combination of running, eliptical, and riding a mountain bike (along with a weight routine in the gym). My goal is still to run in the World Masters Champs this summer.

BTW, I have not raced since the club xc champs in Spokane 2018 where I was 3rd overall. Between surgeries and the latest ankle injury I am hopeful that all that is behind me an time to race later this spring/early summer. That is a long time not racing. I hope I can remember how to.

Congrats on the BQ - I'm a shorter distance runner so I think I'd struggle at low 8:00s for 26.2.

Until I get the ankle/calf fixed, there's not too much point in anything too planned for training, so I'm just doing a variety of steady runs. Since I'm not having to recover for any specific session, I'm just running what I feel like dong, but getting out every day with a longer one at the weekend.

After the hard run yesterday, I did 6.25 today - first 4 was fairly quick, first three was 21:20ish, but last couple were a bit tough, but kept them under 8:00s.

I'm tempted to try something on track at 6:40ish since yesterday I was running bits at 6:45-6:50 up a rise. At least I've got plenty of l/t or tempo under me, about 6 months of nothing else!

Ran 18:00 flat for 5k on the road when I was 57, so I'd like to get back to similar age grade.

Hi. I had same injury in summer. For me, laser worked well, and I managed to keep doing some easy running while it healed.

Big Red, congrats on the BQ and nice race report! I haven't run the Napa marathon, but I ran the Wine Country 1/2 when I was 55. The crown on the roads there was tough to deal with. 2 weeks after the race I got my one and only in 40 years of running stress fracture in my calcaneous. It took me out of any running for 4 months, but that break also cured 6 years of chronic Achilles inflammation. Take it easy on your recovery. Boston will come up quickly.

65.5, I swore after Spokane that it was the last cold weather race I would do. However, I let myself get talked into running at Club XC in Bethlehem with some 70+ guys who wanted to get a good team result and got lucky with a high 40s race temperature. I hope you are back out there soon and it won't take more than a race or two to get the rust off your racing.

Predicted 27 degrees at 5:30 am for my morning hard session. Looking forward to Carlsbad ?.

65.5, you will certainly remember how to race! The first couple races will be rust busters, then you will be fine.

props Big Red on a fine fine marathon...very well done

as we are neighbors ( more or less) perhaps we could run some track sessions together ...am confident that I could rabbit the first 60 meters of your 200 repeats ?

thoughts?

Igy, I don't think I can make the championships but we might send son's GF some money so she can go.

Congrats on the BQ Big Red.

65.5 good to hear that you're on the mend, would like to at least run XC race at WMAs. Finally have turned the corner enough to think about some racing later in the spring and into the summer.

Good going, Big Red, at Napa.

I had a solid, unremarkable training week. Goal was 72 miles; I got 74 running and 48 cycling. A nice trail run today. It has been a warm and dry winter in Washington east of the Cascades.

I'm pretty much just building the base for a few weeks, with 7 weeks until Boston. My plan for next week is 77 miles and maybe a couple days with some MP, but mostly just the aerobic grind.

I ended up with 292 miles running in February and hit 600 today for the 2020. On pace for more than last year, but we'll see if that translates to good racing.

great job! congratulations. I think this part is key.....

Big Red wrote:

..... I had good stretches and not-so-good-stretches, but kept a positive attitude.

.........even in an overall really good marathon there are always bad patches, and keeping them from getting you down or causing you to give in is crucial. well done,

Dave

Well done Big Red. Not much more satisfying than nailing the marathon on the day.

My week. Another basic week for me.

Mon. 70 mins kayak.

Tue. 97 mins bike.

Wed. Got to bed at 10 am post night shift with a throbbing ear. Woke up at 12 with a very nasty earache.

Not the best prep for run day.

I managed to get 11 kms running done (1 hr). I did 2 x 2 km moderately hard uphill efforts and rolled along on the last 2 km descent at 4.45 to 50 pace. No effort just keeping the wheels spinning.

Thu. An hour in the kayak.

Fri. 2 hr good hilly bike. Our Feb. has been the windiest month I can remember and this day was really blowing.

Sat. We have put a canopy over the tray of the ute and installed a little fridge. We bought a groovy little swag as well. So it was time to test it all out for the first time.

Out to the Rubicon Valley to camp near a decommisioned hydro electric plant.

A good solid 8 kms of hiking with my wife once we were set up.

Then I did a 2 km jog to the old hydro pipeline.

A 1.28 km run/hike up the pipeline. This is seriously steep. 430 plus metres of elevation gain in that 1.28 kms. I alternated between running up between the cable rail tracks and the bluestone drain beside. In places where it steepens I was leaning forward and pulling myself up by grabbing the rails. It took me 28 minutes. Brilliant fun.

I walkedscrambled cautiously back down in 29 mins lol.

I then jogged the 2 kms back to camp.

I had an excellent sleep in the swag.

Sun. After breakfast and packing up we drove up the forestry roads then hiked for 6 kms before a leisurely trip home.

In the evening I ran 17 kms most of it very slow but included the steep "Hard way track" up Mt Ida. That 550 metres took me 12 mins. I opened the stride up on 2 kms of downhill on the way home hitting about 4.40 km pace.

The ear infection has cleared up today, feeling pretty good and pretty fit.

I have noted one of my old rivals from my early 50s seems to have claimed the top dog status in the local over 60s. He is running about mid 19s for 5kms.

Almost makes me want to start training like a semi serious runner again. Mmm.

Raysharp, sounds like a near perfect Boston build.

Dhaaga thanks for the props!

Mopac I am jealous of your old rival running mid-19s for 5k in their 60s. I'd love to break 20 again over here... and glad to hear the ear got better.

MikeF I like the idea of some track sessions! After a bit of recovery I am up for it, and I'm in no rush to get too crazy with it. After two marathon builds, I've been planning on the diversion of a season of shorter races before the next build cycle. Where is your “home track?”

M: off.

T-W: 6 miles.

R: 4 miles.

F: 3 miles.

SA: off.

SU: Little Rock Half Marathon.

I had my first race in the new age group (55-59). It was a windy Sunday morning in Little Rock, which made it hard to hit the consistent splits. So I decided to race by feel. I caught up with the 3:25 marathon pacers around 3 miles, and stayed behind them for about half a mile. After that, basically tried to find any runner as a wind shield whenever there was head wind. I slowed down to 7:54 on my 11th mile (both uphill and headwind), but then closed the last two miles in 7:31 and 7:25. When I crossed the finish line just under 1:40, it was relief more than anything else. (After my 10 year streak of sub 100 half ended in 2018, now I am on a new streak of two years.)

Then when I picked up my results, I found that I had actually won my AG. When I went home and checked the result online, I was even more surprised that the second place was more than 8 minutes behind. My time would have been good for only 7th place in 50-54, but the competition suddenly go so much easier in the new age group.

Mo’pac, one question I’ve had about your kayak. Do you wind up 70 minutes down stream at the end? How do you get back?? It’s not like ambling back down a hill ...

Big Red, my home track is Healdsburg HS...good facility...easy to get on especially weekends...where’s your track of choice?

MF

Good run, RF!