50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

amkelley wrote:

Honestly, the worst part about the COVID-19 panic is that it's further accelerating the tendency for all people to stay home and make love to their phones 24/7 instead of going out and interacting with real people. Staying home may be sound medical advice but it's devastating to the mental health of individuals and the health of society in general. Human beings are social animals and I don't buy the idea that "social media" can take the place of in-person interactions.

Get ready for a pandemic of trolling by misanthropic, frustrated board-dwellers.

yes, I was going anyway as a sabbatical present to myself, to see my Mom's family's place of origin.

I'm in for airfare, hotel(s) in Galway and Dublin, and race fee. Haven't decided yet on whether to go anyhow. I might wait a bit and try to get a sense of how restrictive their specs are over there [in DC for instance, the zoo is closed, museums closed, etc. -- i'd rather postpone visit than fly over there and back but not be able to do anything].

--dave

That's a shame. Were you going to Ireland anyway? Are you still going? I hope you're out only the entry fee, and not air fare also?

My local half-marathon on April 5 isn't cancelled yet but I assume it will be.[/quote]

KCgeezer wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

The USATF indoor cancellation is moving me closer to cancelling my California trip. I emailed one of my physicians, he believes though the risk is small, I need to consider my compromised immune system and age.

Yes you do. I was immune compromised and didn’t know it and got an infection. It dang near killed me even though it’s mild in most people. When the cat’s away the mice will play.

KCgeezer,

I came to that conclusion. As old guy II mention Carlsbad is postponed, and here locally they cancelled the St. Patrick’s Day Run I was planning for the morning. At work I received a survey on who could come into the office if there is an outbreak in Boise. I already informed the manager if there is one I will be remote from home. One of the issues for the younger crowd is the ongoing cancellation or suspension of schools.

Igy

First case hit Boise was just announced. A women in her 50s who attended a conference in New York.

It is better to switch to HomeOffice before the first positive is tested is in town. if in your state/area are positive cases, then there will be positives in your city or (bigger) company within the next day if properly tested.

typo, correct is: within the next days...

Coyote Montane wrote:

old guy II wrote:

The Carlsbad 5k just posted that they are postponing the race to a date to be determined.

I heard September 20. If that's the case I might sign up (if spaces are available). Wanted to race it this spring but my slow return to training had quashed that idea.

That's a downside of course, but I have been able to do well--maybe even better--with a short fast race a week or so ahead of a longer one. Cross country travel of course is an issue. And just got a wedding invite for the 19th in Iowa. So will figure it out.

As far as social distancing in the meantime I do most training on my own but do like to have a group run once or twice a month or so.

I'll definitely be up for some virtual racing (time trials, maybe with a few friends) next month. And finally, I think USATF masters 10K next month in Dedham, MA will be out. Maybe Bolder Boulder will still be a go.

Flash Racing has a ton of potential.

Very informal just racing none of the b.s.

Where,When, What along with some youtube coverage would be fun

Types:

Traditional distances/courses track ect

Interesting twists see Nick's stuff

Who ever shows goes or Invites

For example I would enjoy doing a sub X minute mile challenge with brackets

sub 9,8,7,6,5,4

If AMK attempted her sub 4 marathon with a few others with some bike riders assisting and videoing it would be so cool.

The really nice part is that racing is relative. Watching a close race at what ever speed is interesting. Yep the perfect storm is a brewing.

Food for thought:

Flash Racing is kinda what Nick Symmonds is doing , his latest race on a bmx track looks like a lot of fun and was fun to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqop76V-_VE

*Week 456*

An elbow bump to Y'all, 50+ers!

Boy! What a week it's been, most of which is not much worth talking about. With all the event closures, meet and meeting cancellations, it's been anything but business as usual. At the college, we've just started Spring Break and will be shifting all lectures to online format for a couple of weeks following the break. Most of my lab folks have also been able to cobble together some virtual lab experiences for the short term, but will need to start teaching labs in person at some point. As administrators, we were tasked with documenting continuity plans for every single one of our classes, and it turns out it was a good thing to do, as the financial aid office needed that information in order that students can continue receiving financial aid. All this time-sensitive prep work has taken a toll on getting out and doing anything extracurricular.

Managed only 15 miles and one run/walk workout for the week. The run/walk was pretty hard for me 8x(3:00 walk, 2:00 run) with run paces hovering around the 7:00/mi mark. But that's all I've got. Not sure what the next few weeks will bring as there will be a lot of adjuncts that didn't bargain for online education, so will need a lot of hand-holding (figuratively speaking, of course :-) ), but hopefully, I'll have more unstructured time that will allow me to get some training in.

Sorry to all that had race or travel plans that got cancelled. Stay Healthy!

All the Best!

Oh, and congrats on the new grandchild, mopac!

Hey lucKY, 15 miles ain't bad for week like this! Me, I got up to 19 miles, including a 4-miler at about 7:20 pace. I'm still in the post-marathon resting moment.

My main thought for our forum here is simple: Everybody stay healthy! It's my hope that none of us gets this bug.

Second thought, there are a lot of folks here with fitness to burn, with long-anticipated events canceled. I hope some can find something good to do with the fitness, some worthy test, and process the frustration.

I have my 14-year old daughter out of school for at least 3 weeks, she has disabilities so I know what I'm doing! I hope to catch enough running to stay reasonably fit.

AM, so sorry your fantastic marathon fitness has to wait! Perhaps you can find some running friends to hit the course with?

Best wishes to all!

I ended my spring peak with two race cancellations. Last week was somewhat of a blur anyhow with the time change, and stock market volatility. My profession as a Certified Financial Planner kept me busy with questions, and my personal interest following the markets well into the night, then up early the next morning. By Saturday I was pooped; I opted out of a run, and substituted a walk. I figure one of the best defenses to any illness is rest, exercise, balance diet, and cleanliness.

We have a suspected Covid-19 case at the Boise Downtown YMCA where I typically attend six times a week. So, I plan to limit exposure at the YMCA to two days a week, which would correspond to my hard training days. I use the venue to shower and dress those days. My recovery days will shift back to walking from the house for the next six weeks. Monday I will begin a strength oriented program that will hopefully support a summer track racing season.

Good health to all.

Igy

So, not exactly the training week I'd planned. When it was clear that most races would be canceled, I shut down training to think about my racing plans for the year and to do a little research on training and its impact on the immune system. Since at 70+ I am in a high risk group for a bad outcome (i.e. dead) if I contract COVID-19, it seemed like I probably should act like a responsible adult in adjusting my activities to maximize the health of my immune system. The limited amount of studies on training and immune system function have shown that high intensity training and racing somewhat impair immune system functioning. One author suggested a general 60/60/60 guideline for training without any detriment to immunity. No more than 60mpw, with no more than 60 minutes per session, at no more than 60% of VO2 max. For the foreseeable future I'm going to stick to easy base training consistent with those guidelines and no racing plans. There is a track 5k at an all comers meet in my area scheduled for the end of May. If the health world has sorted this mess out by early May, then I might go for that. Final tally for this week 15 miles of 7 easy on Monday, 4 easy yesterday and today.

Good health and frequently washed hands to all!

cancelled my trip to Ireland next month and am working on clawing back whatever I can by way of refunds/coupons. looks like a process, as "hold times are more than 3 hours" messages are giving way to just "try later" even from virtual chat-bots.

oh well, disappointing of course, but not important compared to health concern for my daughter in Washington and job concern for my daughter in events planning field, not to mention of course the issues for vulnerable people living in hot spots.

As to training......so far pretty much staying on course for non-existent marathon, except I subbed in a long run this weekend for the half-marathon I'd intended.

M 1:00 + 1:00 x-t

Tu 1:50 double

W 1:15 with hill repeats

Th 50:00 + 1:00 x-t

F 40:00

Sa 3:15 on trails

Su 1:15

I've only done 9 of the 400 available "hard"-level puzzles at kakuro.com, so if the Sports section stays boring ("everything is cancelled, and people are upset about it" applied to baseball, college and pro basketball.........) I've got a backlog of stuff to do.

best wishes for everyone on staying well,

Dave

No complaints this week after completing the comeback from my planned down time. As hoped, I was able to build back up to my typical distance. Also had a shorter run that turned out to be surprisingly peppy. Got to about 18 actual running miles (no fluff) for the week. Still have a few niggles, but that comes with the territory. Still avoiding fartlek to give the hammy some more recovery time. Also no golf this week as they are working on the course and I really did not have much time for it. I had several important meetings in the last week, so hopefully everything can now be put on the back burner for awhile. Fortunately I should still be able to get out for my runs!

Sun: 46’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

Mon: walk w/ the bride

Tues: 52’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

Wed: walk w/ the bride

Thu: 31’ peppy CR

Fri: walk w/ the bride

Sat: 51’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine

Best to most!

CV19 just the std stuff did quit going to fitness center and shop early same trng but my trng already was geared towards a healthy immune system

Training

daily barefoot jogs in the sand dunes

One workout:

Really enjoyed this one: broke 15 for 100 hand timed flying start no wind trainers warmups

3/12/20 neuromuscluar on track

Florence old wavy track wind gusts

but not too bad

Warmup

15 minutes niko niko

400 1:40 real easy even splits

R (all Rs 4 minutes niko niko to get in some distance)

400 1:30 44,46 slowed down to hit my goal of 1:30

Workout

Decision 4 x 400 under 80 or not?

Not because I need to improve my basic speed

So instead I did 4x100

17:51 toe in water goal set at 16,15,14

16:67

15:91

14:97

The 14:97 was close to all out but not all out

WAG On a good track no wind standing start FAT I could possibly dip under 15.

The plan keeps getting refined

I want to be able to cruise a sub 15 with the flying start hand timed

Low 30 200.I figure in 6 months I will have

Restore my basic speed keep building muscle upper body too

Misery loves company edition…an awful lot of us are in the same boat with frustration over cancelled races. Those of us in academics (lucKY2b, I hear ya!) are struggling with figuring out how to deliver our curriculum remotely. At least I don’t have to deal with the gyrations of the stock market apart from seeing my own net worth drop by a precipitous amount (it doesn’t matter until you have to sell, and I don’t—Igy, I bet you have a lot of clients who are completely panicked). I’m confident that we will eventually ride this thing out, but I also think the time scale is going to be months if not a year or more…we will need to get used to a new normal.

My motivation sort of collapsed midweek when it was finally confirmed that my March 29 marathon and the local April 5 half-marathon are both cancelled. Saturday’s “long run” was neither long nor fast—hard to get motivated when I don’t know when I’ll next be able to race. Just drop into maintenance mode for now, I guess. 80 miles for the week, but all of it slow.

Monday: 10.1 miles

Tues: 11.0 miles

Weds: 11.0 miles

Thurs: 10.8 miles

Fri: 10.4 miles

Sat: 15.7 miles in 2:24 (9:10/mile or 4:00 marathon). Bummed and sluggish.

Sun: 10.1 miles in gray and rain, matching my mood.

There’s a hilly 10-miler next Sunday that apparently will not be cancelled. It’s usually a very small race with fewer than 100 runners, and the start/finish is in a tiny town of a few hundred residents. The total number of runners + volunteers + spectators should not exceed the mandated upper limit of 250 people, and it’s supposedly going forward. I plan to be there. After that, there are no known races. ogII, I’m nominally in a lower risk category than you (only 61) but I have thought about the effects of hard training and racing on the immune system and I’m thinking that trying to run a flat-out marathon in two weeks might not be the wisest plan.

I was interested to note that while almost all other sports are cancelled or postponed, horse racing goes on as usual but with no one in the stands. I guess the horses don’t need a cheering crowd to motivate them to run their best! It would be really weird to run the Kentucky Derby, which usually draws 100,000 people to Churchill Downs, in an empty facility. But first Saturday in May it may come to pass.

A good healthy and safe morning to y'all.

Pushed hard on my run last Wednesday for a strava segment 1.5 miler on the highway alongside my getaway place near Maupin OR. Hit 8:36 and felt like what I expected to as if I was racing at LSU - the canceled Indoor Nats 1500; although without competitors to race. Not sure if I'll toe the social distance track for a solo 800 this coming week. THAT is really difficult to do solo.

You Either Ran Today, Or You Didn't. A 1995 ad I had a hand in designing (the tagline) and doing the shoot on a cobblestone path in The Netherlands. Seems like it makes sense more than ever. Mike F, you may recall the 1996 ad as it still applies to you in 2020. Good News. It's A Leap Year. You Can Run 366 Days. -you either ran today, or you didn't.

KP

“Igy, I bet you have a lot of clients who are completely panicked). “

amkelley,

I am pretty conservative in my approach, and not inclined to chase the hot dot. My clients tend to underperform in strong markets, and more than make it up when the trend heads the other direction. Compounding increases if losses are moderated. I think I do a good job of explaining this in advance, so most of my calls have been appreciative.

Igy