50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Congratulations. Great run Orient. I've been trying to find the results. What was the race name?

Actually did 42:02 10k on the track this week, made up of 1 mile warm-up + 4 miles threshold in 26:22 (6:34 per mile/4:04 per thousand) + 1.2 mile warm down.

Was pretty happy with that given that it's not a great track, and I wouldn't attempt to pace a 10k by going 7:15, 6:34, 6:34, 6:34, 6:34, 7:15! HR didn't get past 150 (90% of max, so didn't feel it was a race type effort). Hoping that indicates that I could run +/- 41:00 next year when I'm 65. Actually, 41:00 now would be close to my age graded best.

10k is getting well to the outer edges of my effective distance - 3k is probably best distance - so I'm hoping that it bodes well for shorter.

5 mile runs at 7:40, 7:47 and 7:28 pace the next three days. So again indicates that I wasn't really hammering the 10k/4 mile threshold run.

Definitely going to have to keep at it looking at some of the other sessions posted this week!

Wow a very long standing thread. At 53 I thought contribute to share my training as I try to run a sub 18 minute 5k in just under 4 weeks. I don't have much time to train myself as I have a squad of approximately 50 athletes and coach several people online. I am currently coaching a 50 year old who just ran 16:32 for 5k and is hoping to run a 2:30 marathon next month.

This week for me:

Monday-Friday easy 6k runs around 5min k pace

Saturday 2x1k/800/600 +1200 session was 1k's at threshold 800's at 5k pace 600's slightly faster all with 100m walk recovery finished session with 1200 threshold which for me is around 3:50k pace

Sunday 14k with my athletes

Good luck to everyone in the northern hemisphere...a little chilly down under.

Amkelley,

Are you sure RA is what is causing the spasms and how was this determined? I’ve had some major struggles with chronic pain in the hips, knees and plantar. One thing I’ve concluded, knowing that I really am far from all knowing, is doctors are trying to help but are guessing at causes and treatment. They may be right but in most cases they’ve been wrong with the exception of those that state “stop running”.

You obviously are not going to stop running until you reach a point where even attempting is impossible. I know it is not recommended but have you tried to alter your running style drastically if needed. Yes, it might (probably ) cause other issues but seems to me that you are far from risk adverse.

My switch from cycling to running was preceded by doctors telling me competitive racing wouldn’t be possible because of bone and internal damage. I was running crooked 4 weeks after being in intensive care for 3 weeks( not sure of the duration ) which put me back into intensive care soon after but never accepted I would not recover close to 100%. When my post injury body didn’t like something, I tried adjusting many things at the same time and ultimately something would click and running improved. Spasms in my lower legs were frustrating and, like you, they usually happened 1 minute into the run.

Here are some of things I did. All gave me hope and this might have been the most important factor. If your brain is the internal regulator why not trick it into not sending bad signals.

*** Played with back arch to relieve pressure on hips. An arched back greatly reduced my hip pain but this led to a stabbing pain in the middle of the butt. Trick for was to arch my back but forcibly keeping my pelvic area neutral.

***Extreme trigger point pressure with anything that could put lots of force on a tiny area. Table tops, spoons…

***Extreme cushioned shoes with self made eva cushion inserts. This helped tremendously. The custom made orthotics and pharmacy inserts did very little. Used .5” light eva floor matts that I can buy at home improvement stores. That initial force of impact while running was squishy and to this day I still use lots of EVA inside my show. My legs are far from identically aligned but with custom inserts I can eliminate most to the chronic issues.

All the above probably has already put you to sleep but if you miraculously mad it this far, good luck with your running and sorry if I come across as knowing more than I do. Just feel bad you are struggling with what you love to do.

Some very inspirational posts this week. Seems like expecting to be great is catching on. Thanks.

BigMango, thank you for the suggestions.

I am not certain that RA is the cause of my hip issues, or at least that it is the only cause. This all started 15 months ago with sudden severe stiffness and pain in my shoulders, hips, mid-back, and neck--not a typical RA pattern. However, in December I tested strongly positive for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, a test that is quite definitive for RA; people with RA may not test positive, but people who do test positive are supposedly 97% certain to have RA. And over the past six months I have developed constant pain in one wrist, quite typical of RA.

Under the assumption that I do have RA, there may still be things I can do to allow me to keep running. I've mostly been focusing on doing various strengthening exercises for my hips in the gym--abductors and adductors, forward and sideways leg lifts, and step-up stretches. I can now do a lot more in the gym than I could when my gym first reopened in mid-March, but it doesn't seem to be translating to being able to run. Your suggestion about hard, focused pressure at trigger points is interesting and something I may try even though it seems like it has the potential to really mess things up. What have I got to lose?

Massive changes in shoes seem like less of a good idea because of the chronic Achilles tendonosis I'm also fighting. I kind of know what shoes work for my Achilles and what ones don't.

The other point you raised about posture may also be worth trying, but my gosh, changing one's running form is awfully hard to do!

Thanks for the ideas. I tend to get stuck in ruts on my own.

A change up this week. Easy shorter stuff all week.

Mon. Steep 3.3 km run (165m elev. gain) 28 min.

38 min mtb ride and a 40 min kayak on a choppy lake.

Tue. Steep 4.3 km run (180m elev. gain) 35 min.

50 min mtb ride.

Wed. 38 min mtb ride then a steep 7 km run (290m elev. gain) 54 mins with last 2 kms in 9 mins.

Huge windstorms during the night, 120 kph winds made the 50 km drive home from work at 11pm through the forests was pretty terrifying.

Thu. Spent most of the morning clearing up wind damage. Winds were still 70 kph in the morning.

Managed a 3.3 km run (165m elev. gain) 28 min. then 50 min mtb ride.

Fri. A quick 30 min kayak.

Off to NSW late morning. Evening soggy xc run from campground 32 min.

Sat. 7 km flat trails at Gulpa Island 37 min. Then finished with a sharp 3.2 km dash around the trails in 15.20.

Sun. Steep 5 km run (210m elev. gain) 42 min. then a 30 min mtb ride.

The body really appreciated the shorter sessions.

amkelley wrote:

After a couple weeks of moving forward, this week I was slammed back to square one as my left hip went into spasms shortly after the start of my Thursday jog. I’ve again retreated to just walking and cycling, although even the walking is somewhat painful.

Mon: 28 mile bike ride, gym

Tues: 7.0 mile jog at 11:43/mile pace, gym

Weds: 50 minute spin on bike trainer plus 8 miles on bike, gym

Thurs: 0.7 mile jog, hip went out, 6.8 mile walk

Fri: 42 min spin, 16 mile bike ride, gym

Sat: About 8 mile limping walk, home exercises

Sun: 31 mile bike ride, will go to gym later

My next scheduled appointment with my rheumatologist is July 1 and we’ll need to talk about what RA meds to try next, as what I’m doing is not working.

Wishing everyone a great week!

amkelly, maybe a low-carb diet can help you as much as it did me. After decades of struggle, now over a decade of success over chronic pain and injuries. I haven't taken "vitamin I" (as I used to call ibuprofen) in over ten years. Off all meds and running all I want now, with minimal pain or niggles.

One of my ATFs M60 800 indoor Gough vs Wilcox

https://youtu.be/hpfYzFhB-HY

I was there. World Indoor at Portland. Sister ran the 800m W55.

coahc, welcome and where are you in the southern hemisphere? I have a son and his family who have been living in NZ for several years. Good luck with your sub-18 attempt. I ran 17:56 at age 49 and thought I could easily do it at 50, but ended up with a string of overuse injuries that really disrupted my training for several years.

Cavorty,

Thanks for your interest in the race I participated at. The details follow but first of all may I suggest that you likely underestimate your capabilities. With your workout and trial results you are definitely able to make 19:30-19:40 at 5K and 40:30-4:50 at 10K.

If you can control adrenaline at the race event in the right way, it alone can help deduct tens of seconds vs. trials (especially solo ones).

As for my recent race, here are a couple of links. Unfortunately, the organisers did not bother this time to transliterate cyrillic characters in the names/surnames, but all the rest seems to be readable.

“Common crowd”: Results -

https://russiarunning.com/event/Kostroma2021/results/10km

(then select by age group). My number was 3197 and overall place – 49.

Masters championship: Results -

https://russiarunning.com/event/KostromaMasters2021/results/10km

(no my name there for the reason I mentioned earlier).

Best of luck!

old guy II wrote:

coahc, welcome and where are you in the southern hemisphere? I have a son and his family who have been living in NZ for several years. Good luck with your sub-18 attempt. I ran 17:56 at age 49 and thought I could easily do it at 50, but ended up with a string of overuse injuries that really disrupted my training for several years.

Thanks, I'm here in Canberra Australia. An absolutely great place to run. Yes I ran 17:47 2 years ago at 51 but failed to break 18 in my past two attempts. It is definitely a challenge here in winter. I just run enough to stay healthy. We are in the middle of XC season so busy coaching at the moment.

mid D guy wrote:

Hi,

I have been suffering since 5-6 months of hamstring tendonitis in the left leg.

It is not too bad, I can run on it, but can't do speedwork (I mean, I could, but would be unable to walk for a few days afterwards), have reduced range of motion and the leg feels weak. I tried aggressive stretching-strengthening under the supervision of a PT and I suspect it made things worse; I also took a few weeks out of running and just did cycling, but symptoms did not seem to improve.

Has anyone experience of this problem? has anything in particular worked for you?

If only your left side hurts, the first thing to check is if you have any leg length discrepancy. If your pelvis is tilted sideways, this makes one leg functionally "longer" than the other. If this is the case, you need someone to pull your right leg to make it even.

I don't know what stretching your PT prescribed, but injured tendons do not like to be stretched. If you have hamstring tendonitis, what you need to stretch is not hamstrings, but hip flexors. There are many hip flexor stretches, but the one I found most effective is "couch stretch." There are also many strength exercises you can do, but one I would recommend most is straight leg deadlift.

As far as alleviating the actual pain, I use tens unit with heating bad. The best way to treat any soft tissue injury is increasing the blood flow in the injured area. And this combination of electric stimulation and heating pad does it better than anything else I have used.

I forgot to write my week.

M: off.

T-W: 7 miles.

R: 5.9 km easy. 60m x 10 hill sprint.

F-SA: 7 miles.

SU: 12 miles.

This was the first time since 2014 I did that hill sprint. The first one took almost 18 sec, as I had forgotten how to sprint uphill. It got a little easier with each repeat, and I could go under 15 for the last one. Still 2-3 sec slower than I was seven years ago. (Not a big surprise given my age, is it?)

I did Sunday's long run on a treadmill, because it was too hot outside. I may have to do this for the next few months as it won't be getting any cooler.

Thanks for the results and the encouragement. You are right about adrenaline management, it is an art all of its own!

A little late on the posting. We lost my mother in law this past weekend. She was elderly and in failing health so it wasn't unexpected, but losing her creates a void for me. She treated me like I was one of her own, and after having experienced a frosty relationship with my in-laws from a previous marriage, I treasured her.

Ghost, I hope Mrs. Igy continues her recovery. You two sound like a wonderful pair.

Rtype, your line about wanting to avoid plastic body parts is exactly why I switched from hurdling to power walking. My surgeon said he saw a knee replacement in my future unless I altered my training. So as to that, I usually do about 25 miles of power walking weekly, supplemented by weights and the rower. Today was a challenge. We're in the desert and hit 112 degrees today. i was out walking by 7 a.m. but it should have been sooner as the temps were at 95 by the time I finished. Tomorrow the forecast is 116. I plan on rowing...inside.

Good health and good running/walking to all!

Very international here. Like it. Had two down weeks and a 6 days off period. Running is a great hobby but adult life duties come first. Happily returned to regular training. Best wishes to all.

* Week 525 *

Salutations, 50+ers and Happy Father's Day to the dads (and those with dad-like roles) out there! Still not much to report for me. The muddle continues as I try to mix my new position with trying to find time for myself. Managed to get to the track one day, but wasn't feeling very energetic. Still did get a few 200s in, but not as many as last week.

My sincere condolences, SpikezZ. Hard to lose someone with whom you've had a special relationship. We should all be grateful for the time we get to share. Peace...

Nice to see some good results, some good advice, and some encouraging words.

Am enjoying watching the Olympic Trials and I must say the new Hayward Field looks spectacular.

Things are really opening up here in the Bluegrass; I feel like we've gone from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye! We'll have in-person service for the first time in over a year starting today. Still a little leery with all the variants floating around, but venture forth we must. Still, be safe out there!

All the Best!

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

lucKY: I think a streak could do you some good…Of course I’m a little prejudiced….

M-Su = 18 miles, easy. Just for the heck of it I started a run streak, which is now at day 8. Previously I did a 422 day-er. I’m at a point, at least at the moment, that I just want to run easy and enjoy it. All my little aches and pains went away and I’m sure enjoying that.

Have a good ‘ern!