50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

RacerDB,

Good to know you are in a good shape. Looking forward to hear about your wins later this autumn.

Also join you with congrats to CM on his podium at the US T&F 12K. As he was the eldest this year in the 60-64 AG, he may well run for the win next year (competing with Rick Becker).

Greetings!

Ran 5000 m on Fri. evening at the national masters T&F.

Was in a good shape, legs were fresh after a 3-day tapering. Tested the track “and myself” on Thu – ran 2x400 at 90 sec per lap with 1/2 lap jog and felt that this could be my comfortable 5K pace. Then made 2x600 at 94-95 sec that felt easy. Was confident that could break my 2021 SB – 18:53.

But … “want to make the Lord smile? Share your plans with him”. After the pre-race warm up some 20+ min prior to the start a torrential rain broke out. 100 m prelims were on go and we were jogging around, so all ran under a canopy and waited there for some 25-30 min. When the rain became lighter the remaining 3 prelims were called and run. The track was full of water and it was a frightening sight how the guys were generating splashes. Then we started without any re-warm-up and a new wave of heavy rain arrived immediately. British “cats and dogs”, but “on steroids” in wet subtropics. Besides the difficulty to drag through the water (especially in lane 1), we had to take lanes 2 and 3 on turns because it was so deep in lane 1 and even 2. It added 4-5 meters per lap. And though the first lap was indeed run in 90 sec, it was clear that it required too much effort, and I had to slow down to 92-93 sec per lap. The rain nearly stopped when there were 2 laps to go, but it could not help. The final time was 19:07, was the 4th in my age group (M60-64).

Anyway, am satisfied because in normal conditions might well break 18:40. No regret on missing podium either, the guy #3 was some 40 m ahead with no chances to reach him. Also, two more guys that are faster than me did not attend, so in reality I would be the 6th at best. However, I am the eldest in this AG now with my 64+ and maybe will be higher the next year.

Nice weekend to everybody!

Hi all -

I just turned 50 and am going to attempt a sub 3 in 6 weeks. My previous 3 marathons (I'm a relatively late starter with running): 3:21, 3:13, 3:07. The 3:07 was this last spring on a hilly course with lots of humidity. My next marathon should be flat, fast, and cold.

I've always used Pfitz's 12 week/55 plan. Using it again. But really amped up my mileage this spring and summer, with several 50 mile weeks. I ran an 18:14 5k, and 38:30 10k this summer. As I always have done, I'm going to run a Half 4 weeks out from the marathon. I'm targeting a 1:25. Even though I'm doing the 12/55 Pfitz plan, I'm padding on some easy miles in order to peak around 62 for this training cycle.

The problem is that with my increased mileage, I'm too damn warn down to complete the pace-based workouts that Pfitz wants you to do. For example, for the 15 miles w/12 @ MP, I had to break those up into 2 6 mile stretches @MP, with a 2 mile easy stretch in the middle vs. ending the run w/12 miles @ MP. I was able to complete that workout in previous training cycles. Legs are just too heavy. So, what I'm wondering is this: is it better for me to target volume, or to cut back a bit on the miles in order to hit these pace-based workouts as prescribed? I've come to the conclusion I'm going to come up a bit short on one side or the other. And maybe this is the sign from above that I'm going to crash and burn in my 3 hour attempt, 50 years old or not?

Any opinions on this? Target higher volume, or less volume in order to hit all the prescribed paces, or am I simply not capable of running my goal?

I'm no coach but try decreasing volume for a 5-7 days or until legs feel ready before doing plan MP workouts.

My beginner journey continues.

I still working at building my weekly mileage and am hovering at about 20-23 miles each of the last 2 weeks. As I’ve been prone to injuries in the past, I started putting some time on my bike 2-3 weeks ago. I did 3 ‘brick’ sessions last week. Bike for 45 minutes, run for 35-50 minutes right after. I had an opportunity to do an unplanned MAF (130 bpm) test as the temperatures were similar to my first test (90F).

Image:i.imgur.com/ah5HggI.jpg

Thanks racerdb and Orient. Time wise it wasn't what I hoped for, but it was warm and humid with a good breeze in face on the return (tailwind at the start). So more of a regression run for me. Still happy with a bronze and 6:11 pace. Our team struggled as we had been leading the series all year but we traveled with only three on the team and one had some leg issues on the course and had to walk it in, so we were 3rd place team and Shore AC now wins the series. Nevertheless, we gave it our all and with only three guys showing up that's the risk you take.
I saw SocalCush and we had a few minutes to chat, but I had to go find my injured teammate.
Nice running yourselves over the past few weeks, and good luck this fall! Welcome to the new posters.

I've roughly followed Pfitzinger plans, but NEVER seriously attempted his marathon-pace workouts. Too darn hard in the midst of training. Generally, I would hit prescribed paces for LT repeats/threshold runs and VO2max repeats, but never target MP, especially during long runs.

Following the pre-marathon taper, I would intuitively settle into MP on race day. This approach netted a 3:07 at age 58 (PR was 2:40 at age 23). In short, I would favor volume over hitting MP in training.

But everyone responds a bit differently, I imagine. Run well.

Hi Orient, Congratulations!

Welcome to the new poster. Unfortunately, for marathon I cannot contribute any advise. Never run one. My longest training runs were 25 km two decades ago.

Here comes my running week, M51:

Mo 7 miles easy

Tu off, busy

We 30 min drills and jumps uphill, 6x60m uphill

Th 12x300m with 100m jog. No watch, but it felt very good and was great fun. 😃

Fr 7 miles easy

Sa 6 miles steady. Was not made for running this day and after 5km even jogged for 10 min and cut my 7 miles round before slowly getting back to steady pace (about 7:30 mpm).

Su 80 min recovery in the hills

Autumn is here. Hope to find more time for running but will be difficult during the next weeks. Have a good week everybody and stay safe. BR

Eliud, Alltime Master of Running. Super long career. Distantly most beatiful stride after 40km. Cannot imagine finer art. Thanks for this demonstration. A world record changes the definition of the human race which we all belong to.

OGII all the best with your archilles. Too many of this thread disappeared because of injury. I am deeply sad if injury takes a great runner as you costly years. Wish you health. Did you try everything to avoid surgery? I learned to needle myself. Combined with better diet it helped me a lot with chronic insertional archilles issues (I idiotically wore too small shoes about twenty years ago).

Lots of action on the thread this week. Welcome to the new guys. Orient and CM congratulations on solid races. I definitely will not give any marathon coaching advice since my one marathon at age 35 was an unmitigated disaster.

Newbi, thanks for the thoughts on my Achilles. I started on Monday with a physical therapist who specializes in runners. I think she can help me get my hamstring problem sorted out, which will relieve some strain on my Achilles, as well as making some other minor leg strength and flexibility improvements to minimize the load on my Achilles.

I seem to be working through a stretch of health/training bad luck. Monday afternoon I felt extremely tired and maybe feverish. I went to lie down at 5PM and slept for over 10hrs. I knew I had a cold when I woke up and figured I should take a Covid test, and it came up positive. Other than fatigue and a little bit of congestion I had no symptoms. The congestion cleared up by Thursday morning and I had a negative Covid test on Friday. I have been getting out and walking 2 miles each morning, but that has made me feel as tired as an easy 6 mile run usually does. I plan to try some very easy running tomorrow morning to see how it feels and then start building back distance very carefully if it feels OK.

Some very impressive results for the men and women at the Berlin marathon this morning.

Stay healthy and good running to all!

M63, 5'11", 182 lbs
Age 23: 16:05, 2:40:30
Age 43: 17:10, 2:56:03
Age 58: 18:58, 3:07:23
May 2022, age 62: 3:44:06

Greetings! First, many thanks for the kind words following my recent update post here. Much appreciated.

Second, congrats to all who continue to train and race so well. Coyote Montane overcame tough conditions and team challenges for admirable results. Well done! Great racing by Orient. Another amazing comeback for Dave, getting back to 90% age-graded racing. Best wishes to oldguyII.

This past Thursday I had my cancer surgery. This coming Thursday, the catheter comes out, then I'll face the process of relearning basic bodily functions. I've been tethered to a collection bag since June.

A year ago, my most serious known health issue was chronic tendonitis, which limited training to three days a week. In retrospect, the good old days! In May, I collapsed unconscious at the marathon finish line, serious injuries kept me in the ER for five days. Then the prostate issues became the emergency situation.

Meanwhile, routine pre-op x-rays a week ago revealed multiple spinal fractures (what?!) so yet another issue to deal with. Doesn't sound good, but I'll know more next month. One thing after another, ha!

A week from today, my 34-year-old son has his second marathon scheduled. He injured his back last week, though, so he may be a DNS. Bummer.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a successful rehab, maybe some running and biking in the future. It was really rough losing this entire summer. The weather here was perfect -- most days sunny and not too hot.

Best to all. Run well!

My thoughts and wishes to all going through struggles. I hope that your recovery is speedy and robust.

best of luck with the recovery. What a year you've endured.

Being an early-to-bed/early-to-rise type paid off for me today in getting to see some of the Berlin Marathon -- amazing.

My running this week went fine, though a little less eventful than Kipchoge's:

M 45:00

Tu 1:30

W 55:00

Th 1:15 with drills/strides

F 55:00

Sa 1:10 with 5 X 3:00 (2:00 jog) at 5k pace (averaging 2:23 thru 600)

Su 1:00 + 1:00 x-t

have a great week,

Dave

Allen.

Great to hear from you and know you are recovering! Hold on, and everything will return back to normal including running!

67…Cancer, 3 knee surgeries, colectomy, 5 cortisone shots in knee, 5 in lower back in a 47 year dedicated running career ha

Went to my second Medicare “ wellness checkup” since I got Medicare. I’ve got this Pakistani doctor who is fantastic. Cares more about his patients than any of those 15 minute “ in and out” doctors I’ve ever had. I had a particular complaint about choking and gasping for air sometimes when I sleep. One morning I woke up after one of these episodes and checked the HRM on my Garmin.

The Garmin records heart rate 4 hours back. At one point while I was asleep, my heart rate peaked at near 100. Then back down to 45-50. I took the time to show him my Garmin and how it was done. With great certainty he said “ you need anti-anxiety medication and a girl” He’s a real hoot. He treated my wife before she died. He’s always wanted me to get back on that horse ha
Mon:2.5 miles weights

Tues: 8 miles.. hot

Wed: 6 Miles. Miserable heat weights

Thurs: 3 Miles 1 hard mile.. strides

Fri: 6 miles. Miserable humidity weights

Sat: 4 miles, 2 mile tempo.
Sun: 6.5 miles…hot. May run 4 tonight

Highly recommend lifting and moving furniture and tree trimming during the same day. Your muscles will let you know when you are finished.
M: 7M - with 3xmile on the road

T: 45:00 treadmill

W: 95:00 treadmill

Th: 8.5M - with 400/400; 800/400; 1200/400; mile/400; 1200/400, 800/400; 400/400 @ MP pace

F: furniture/trees

Sat: 12M @ steady pace

enjoy the week

Good to hear from you Allen.

I am certainly not fighting the battles you are but can empathise. I have had just 5 days without a catheter since Aug 6. 4 of those I was on IV antis. Catheter comes out again on 18th October, hopefully stays out but we will see. I am probably looking down the barrel of a TURP in the near future.

No running or biking. I did test the waters with both but ended up with quite a bit of blood in my urine. I did get a UTI at that time too. I am not sure whether the trauma from running and riding led to the infection. Possibly the infection was the cause of the bloody urine but I have decided to be conservative.

Today I managed a 40 minute kayak in our now full lake. Been raining for weeks. Also a steep hike up my singletrack moderate efforts for both.

Trying to keep a positive spin on things. This is my longest break from running since 1971.