Masters Weekend Runs and Races

Fall color across Northern WI is at or near peak.

Three of us, Deemed the "Pressed Rats" took to the Birkebeiner trail Sat morn in an attempt to retain the title we held in the marathon relay.

One of the few age handicapped events in our area this race draws 30+ teams. A concurrent half marathon and trek bring total participation to 400.

Despite the lingering taste of lactic acid and shaving a minute off our raw time from last year,we got bumped by 1:08 by a threesome from the Twin Cities.Less than 3 seconds a mile isn't much, maybe we can buck up and come back next year.

THe beauty of these age graded events was best expressed by the surprise and jubilation of the winners of the 6 person female team. These ladies probably ranged from 45 to 65, dubbed themselves "The Hot Flashes" and were nearly delirious with joy over their win. You can bet they will be back.

Good week to all, DR

A bull moose loose on the course. Rain, cold, mud, soft soggy turf. Cross country is here. It was a tough two-loop 5K this morning with nothing flat, all the ground tilted vertically and horizontally. Remained a racer throughout and finished fourth.

It capped off a good week — 53 miles. Highlights included Tuesday's cross-style 4x400/1 min. jog on grass, with a little hill at the 250 mark. I just had a blast doing that workout.

Also fun: A couple runs on the city's floating boardwalk, site of an annual wooden and classic boat show. One mostly mahogany craft was named Bon Bois. Yeah I know — that's what she said.

Skin, that 10K time is just nuts for an old man. I raced a mile all out this year and might've hit one of your splits. Congrats.

And it is good to see new posters this week. Welcome aboard.

Have a great week everybody.

Finally got a nice day to run a fast time. The last few weeks it was either really hot, humid, or the course was hilly. I almost reached my goal of breaking 18 minutes on two days a week of training by running 18:00, but I suspect the course was 10-15 seconds short. Next week I am running a significant downhill 5k and should be in the 17's. After almost 4 months of racing, I may be ready to call it a season as my feet and ankles have been feeling stiff from overdoing it a little. After a couple weeks off, I hope to start building a base all winter with a race thrown in every once in a while.

Mike D,

It took me a while to figure that out. The age-group guidelines for road races are here:

http://www.runningusa.org/cgi/timestandards.html

So for a 40-44 male, it's 15:45 for the 5k, which means that Paul Mwangi and Kent Lemme got asterisks at the CVS 5k, but not Oscar Gonzalez Barreto with his 15:48. This is not to be confused with the age-graded tables that many of us use to compare and normalize our own times, although the 90th percentile is usually close:

http://www.howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/wmalookup06.html

Finally, there is yet another set of "all-American" standards published by the National Masters News that is geared for track and field:

http://nationalmastersnews.com/standards/men.html

There are probably more, but these create enough confusion.

Happy Monday everybody! Managed a decent week here, with 2k + 3k + 2k Tuesday, and a 5k road race yesterday (~ 16:35, a little windy with some sharp turns, a pretty decent course). I look to be roughly halfway between mid-July pre-injury (~ 16:05? 15:50ish track shape)and mid-August post-injury (~ 16:50) fitness, which seems about right, with ~ 3-4 weeks of good mileage and workouts after having fully recovered from the foot problem.

This weekend I will race a flat half marathon, hoping for good weather. If I can be within ~ 90s of my spring time, I will consider that a success.

The lovely Mrs Pete managed almost a 2 minute PB in her half yesterday (she ran 1:45:20). Things look good for a Boston Qualifying time (she'd need 3:50 for 2009, or 3:55 for 2010) in Philly, assuming she stays healthy for good training, and gets good weather.

I'll decide after this weekend whether to continue to ramp up for Philly, or instead run some shorter faster (and funner!) stuff like XC.

Have a great week, everyone!

Hey all,

I begin putting the finishing touches on my chicago marathon prep this week. last week i did 79 miles with a 6x400 session, 10 miles fast, and 25k at marathon pace highlighting the week. I ran 5:40s for the 25k, so I'm thinking I'm in 2:30ish shape...sure would be nice to pip under that. I've been chasing sub-2:30 for six years now...

I've averaged 80mpw for the last month, which for me is fairly good. As much as I'd like to be in the 100mpw range, it's just too hard with work and family commitments.

I've begun to think that chasing sub-2:30 can't last much longer. I think this may be my last shot at it. All the calculators suggest I should be able to run mid-15 and mid 32 for 5 and 10k respectively, so I'm thinking if I want to go deep in masters competition (read, five or more years) I might want to drop the marathon for a while.

Any thoughts?

Tough workout to start the week for me. After a solid 24 miles last Sunday with the last 3 miles over rolling hills in 17:56 I took it easy Monday. Tuesdaya 4 x 3 miles at marathon pace w/800 jog. Ran 5:52 average with 3:25 for the recovery. What seemed like it should have been easy zapped me for the rest of the week. Managed 8 x 30 second hills on Thursday and a 10 mile MP run in 58 minutes Saturday followed by 20 yesterday.

20 days till the Victoria Marathon.

Nyloco:

Thanks much for your help! I don't know what the basis is for these times, but your work shows what the standards are. I appreciate it.

Took my HS team to a meet in San Diego and they ran very well. On the other hand, I time trialed the course on Friday afternoon in 18:45. Ran a little on Sunday to get 28 miles for the week. Need to get in shape for a trip to the Grand Canyon with skin in November and for some track racing this spring. On a side note, I think I made KevinB cry.

TC,

Happy 54th Birthday.

I haven't posted in a while, but usually sneak a peek at what is being posted. The weather here in GA is finally turning cooler with nightly lows dipping down to upper 50s. It is XC time, but I'm struggling with achilles and heel issues that revolve around accumulated bone chips/ sludge from 28 years of running. My podiatrist said try OTC orthotics, stretching and icing for three weeks before seeing him again. Last time this flared up a few years ago he mentioned surgery to clean it out. I refused since it would involve detaching and reattaching the achilles! Anyone have any advise in general for heel/achilles issues? Ran 40 miles last week with no workouts. Raced twice on the weekend. The first was a tempo run at a race I had won the last two years and really wanted the three peat, a rare feat for me. Unfortunately a youngster showed up and ran 16:05. I had second alone from a mile on so really slowed to save myself for the next day (and the hills at the end had something to do with it too!). Ran 17:19. Sunday I ran the Ekiden with my local club team. 6 runners each run 3.4 mile legs on a hilly course around Piedmont Park in Atlanta. I was the second runner and hit 16:26 for the 3 mile split and 18:50 overall. I had the second fastest split on the team despite being the only Masters runner. Unfortunately we finished 4th and did not get an award. You wear a sash and pass it to your teammate just like the races in Japan. It was fun, just wish I was running faster! Back to workouts this week. Have a good one everyone.

Just a few days until we Omaha-area Masters get to line up with Henry Rono in the Omaha Mile. The course is significantly downhill with one turn. I even got on the track last week for a 4x400/4x200 workout which reminded me how dreadfully painful it is. I am excited to meet the legend!!

Yesterday was our largest road race, the Corporate Cup, with 7,000 plus but not terribly competitive. I ran 36:05 (19th) and not too far behind was 53-yr-old Bob Garcia in 36:45 (age grades out to 31:++). He will be in the mile on Saturday too. He ran 4:48 last year. Some may have run into him at Masters outdoors in August.

I can sympathize. I've three marathons to my name, the best being my debut in London 2006 in 2:29:56 (at age 40). Things have gone downhill at this distance ever since. So I've decided to knock it on the head for a while and focus on regularly running shorter distances for my club. My advice - for the little its worth - is make sure you get some 22-23 mile morning runs in, start out cautiously (76 at half way) and keep an open mind. Oh and good luck!

If I could change one thing ....I would not have run so many marathons, I ran ten of them and my size would have been better for middle distance.

first time poster as well... When i see masters running fast times I am always curious to know how it compares to their lifetime best... eg is Skin an ex 28:00 guy keeping fit?

Mr. Ed,

I'm not sure if orthotics are the answer unless it's just to provide a little more lift and cushioning. I've been using the full length Superfeet ones for several years, but my feet are as flat as a board, and the tendons in my arch area need some extra support. I went though about a half a dozen OTC supports until I found something that eliminated by shinsplints. If you have neither high nor low arches, making a change could have a negative effect - especially since the full length supports tend to make the shoe a little less flexible, which can put a little more strain on your achilles and make the situation worse.

But I could see how some cushioning and a little lift could alleviate the pounding and keep your achilles from elongating quite as much. By the same token, you should probably also minimize the distance and frequency of racing in spikes or "minimalist" type flats. Good luck!

The best otc orthotics I've come across are the BioSole gel made by Orthofeet. For added shock absorbtion in the heel area , there's a gel capsule. They've been a godsend for me. Orthofeet dot com will give you a description and specs.

Good luck !

Skin is a low-29/2:16 guy, or thereabouts. He was also Michigan Runner of the Year at 40 -- not Masters ROY, mind you, but ROY. I hate him. :)

I keep forgetting I'm a master...

This weekend my club had 8 teams in a 65 mile relay race around Lake Winnipesaukee. I ran leg 2, the 11 mile leg. Not bad. Averaged 5:50s. Won't set the world on fire but not bad.

The good news was that our Men's Open team won the relay overall and the Women's open title.