50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Greetings!

Ran а 16.8 km trail yesterday at a huge sport festival in a national park area (there also were 4 other courses from 10K through 100K and several bike trails). 631 participants at this course (and several thousand all over).

Was 21st OA among 339 men (the winner lady finished 10 sec behind me that does not happen to me on roads). Surprisingly, won the age category 45+ (trail runners here often do not bother to arrange for 5-year splits and just separate young/old). The organizers took additional time to check whether there was not an error and indeed a 65+ y.o. could outperform 45-50 y.o. guys.

But indeed, it was a good day for me and I had some advantages over road racers. First, I run about 90% of time/mileage on trails around my place and feel comfortable on narrow uneven paths, jumping over logs, etc. Second, muscles seem to remember my orienteering background. The course was moderately hilly (only some 700 ft elevation gain), but for me, the hillier, the better. Also, I am quite tolerant as far as heat is concerned. There were 25C (77F) at the start and even higher later, but it was not a stress factor for me.

The time itself – 1:17:04 – does not say anything because the pace varied from 6:45 through about 9 min/mi depending on a particular segment. The only thing I was monitoring was
HR. Tried not to exceed my LT HR except for climbs and “allowed” it to get a bit higher for the last 2-2.5 miles only.

Happy running to all!

Hello veteran runners!

Backing off volume this week as I'm on a short trip to Oaxaca, but got in some good workouts.

Tues 2.26 mi. @ 9:53 pace / an easy run to acclimate to Oaxaca's mile-high altitude

Thurs 7.66 mi. @ 10:45 pace / estimate 800-900 ft. elevation gain, my entry-level Garmin doesn't track altitude, so that is a guess.

Friday 6.79 mi.@ 12:30 pace / 2726 ft. elevation gain / Hit the mountains north of town with my old running buddy Richard, he has a proper Garmin to track elevation.
He's an expat from Iowa who coaches locally -- in my years living here, he turned me from a lifelong middle distance guy to a half marathoner/marathoner. Hey, it was a great way to start running new PRs at 58 years old!

Heading back home now with very sore legs. The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca range just north of town gets up to 10,000+ feet. Running the ridge line up to 7500 ft. on a rainy morning in these beautiful hills is well worth the tariff.

Saludos to all!

Greetings, fellow 50+ers! Happy Father’s Day to those dads out there. Also Happy (almost) Juneteenth!

The long road from recovery to fitness continues with 14+ miles of actual running this week. That’s a slight increase in volume to accompany naturally improving pace. I have to be careful not to overdo things as I’ve done before. The upcoming forecasted heat wave may be just the thing to help me take a temporary step back. Hoping for another good week of health and improving fitness. 🤞

Sun: 43’ CR; body wt ex

Mon: off

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

Wed: off

Thu: 43’ running (2); 16 oz curls

Fri: off

Sat: 46’ CR; odd wt ex + med ball routine

All the best!

Big Red, sounds like some excellent altitude training.
Today I ran a 10K, my first race longer than 4 miles in over 4 years. The course was almost completely unprotected from the sun and had a bunch of rolling hills, but the weather was as good as you could hope for in Fresno in mid-June, mid-60s to 70, breezy and bone dry. The first mile seemed awfully long but then I got into a rhythm and ran the rest of the race sort of OK, and finished in 62:48, 10:06/mile pace. I think that counts as progress compared with my 30:51 5K three weeks ago on a dead-flat course; all of the race time comparison charts say that the 10K was the better race. Got 2nd in my age group, 1:40 behind the winner.
The race was very well organized. It's a Father's Day race that is "officially" in its 60th year, although the race used to be in downtown Fresno (where I've run it long ago) and is now in Woodward Park. The finish-area refreshments featured root beer floats. I don't think I've had a root beer float in about 50 years but it tasted very refreshing after a 10K.
Onward! My next race will probably be my local 4th of July race, which is a 5-mile that starts way too late and is always very hot. I'll wait until closer to race time to decide.
Looking forward to the Olympic Trials starting next week!

Congrats! that sounds very encouraging.

I also got an age group silver medal last night (beer-themed race, so my prize was two cans of beer to take home) in a 5k (19:29). Also had decent weather for the season -- low 80's but not humid -- snuck it in before "heat dome" expected this coming week.

Improved by 35 seconds over last year and 9 seconds over 2022 in same race, so I'm concluding that 62 is the new 60...as long as I stick to a narrow slice of data.

Happy Father's Day to all and have a great week,

Dave

AmKelly - That is amazing! What a journey you have had and I have to admit that I never thought you would be back to even close to the point you are at now. Don't post here much but do try to keep up with the thread and your challenges were huge. My major injuries have been broken bones mostly which are manageable ( they hurt but they heal) but your mysterious issues the last few years would have caused me to throw in the towel. Big congrats!

Greetings, fellow 50+ers and welcome to astronomical summer! I know much of the US has been experiencing oppressive heat recently, so hopefully you have all been modifying your running to avoid the dangerous conditions.

The heat caused me to cut back to about 11 miles of actual running this week. During the most oppressive part of the week, I did only one run. I hydrated well (so I thought) and waited until the evening for that run. It did not go well. My heart rate eventually started rising into unfamiliar territory, so I did a bit of walking before starting to run again. It wasn’t long before my HR was high again. At that point I shut things down and walked home. Fortunately there were no lingering effects and I was able to take advantage of yesterday’s cooler weather to get in a nice run. Here’s hoping for more good running weather in the days and weeks to come. 🤞

Sun: off

Mon: 42’ CR; swim

Tue-Wed: off

Thu: 38’ running (3); 16 oz curls

Fri: off

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

All the best!

Greetings!

My week was close to a "desired average": 7:25 of total training time (including running in the forest and arc/elliptical at the gym), one interval session, one tempo. No long run, but the yesterday's double could count in that sense (1:10 run incl. a 35 min tempo and then 45 min elliptical some 3 hours later).

Plan to continue with trail running competitions in July. Though it is harder than on road (dirt/mud, roots/logs, uneven surface, steep hills, etc), but it feels cooler in the forest, smells much better and less boring :-)

Have a great week, everybody! Happy and injury-free running/training!

very hot here this week, so I did a lot of trail running taking advantage of shade. Only somewhat harder day was 2 X 10:00 (2:00 jog) at half-marathon effort (slightly over 2400 meters each). On the one day I doubled the afternoon run was a super-slow 40:00 while carrying a water bottle to spray myself with regularly.

Much more enjoyable to chill in my easy chair watching the Olympic trials. Have a great week,

Dave

I just got back yesterday from another week in Detroit. I managed to do 45 minutes at 11:00/mi pace on the hotel treadmill most days. This year continues to be a training roller coaster, with a few good weeks followed by a couple of weeks of feeling exhausted and elevated heart rate on runs, for no obvious reason other than getting Covid back in December. I'm seeing my primary care physician on Tuesday, mainly to get a corticosteroid shot in my shoulder, where I have largely worn out my rotator cuff from years of basketball, swimming and surfing, but I expect he will prescribe some tests to find the reason for my intermittent fatigue. I suspect he will say to keep up the training but don't overdo it and be patient.

I'm entered in the local July 4th 10k I usually run. Last year I ran very well doing 42:36 (6:52/mi pace). I will be very happy if I can keep it under 7:10 pace this year.

Good running to all!

I have great sympathy for those of you trying to train in the heat and humidity (dhaaga, etc.). I do not handle heat at all well, and I already feel plenty uncomfortable at 70 degrees with low humidity, which is typical around dawn on hot days here in central California. I did live in Kansas for four years so I know all about trying to run when it's 80+ degrees, humid and sunny. Never again, I hope! I'm planning to retire in 1-2 years and am looking to move to one of the Sierra foothill communities that are somewhat cooler than where I am now.

I had an excellent training week with 34 miles of running in five days, getting most of it in before the serious heat clamped down. Plus 5350 m of swimming and 54 miles on the bike. I haven't run 30+ miles in a week in over four years, so this is really encouraging. I'm still debating whether to run in the heat on the Fourth. In the meantime, sitting in an air-conditioned house watching the Trials in the evenings feels very good.

I had another solid training week, just under 30 miles of running in four days plus 6350 meters of swimming and 66 miles of cycling. I limited myself to four runs mainly because the Achilles tendinosis that was my main problem five years ago is starting to bother me again, after going away almost completely during the years when I could barely run at all. I suppose I should be encouraged that I'm now able to run enough to make the Achilles a problem again.

The forecast for the upcoming week looks grim, with highs of 110 for Wednesday and 108 for Thursday (the 4th). I went ahead and entered my local 4th of July race (5 miles) and am contemplating strategies for managing the heat.

Looking forward to tonight's finale of the Olympic Trials, which have been great so far!

Greetings, fellow 50+ers! And Happy Independence Day week (to those celebrating). 🇺🇸

I’ve settled into a 3-day weekly pattern. It seems to be conducive to proper rest and recovery, while still allowing for some growth in volume and (hopefully) quality. It also has helped me work around some of the hot & humid days which have been troublesome for me since my cancer treatments last summer. Let’s see where this gets me. For now, put me down for a 12 mile week.

Sun: off

Mon: 43’ CR; body wt ex

Tue-Wed: off

Thu: 42’ running (2); 16 oz curls

Fri: off

Sat: 52’ CR; body wt ex

All the best!

69/47 years of dedicated training and racing, 3 or 4 knee surgeries 5-8 or 9 cortisone shots, pretty well done. That guy.

Went back to my hometown. Where in the early 80’s I was at my best. I’m not racing anymore but have decided to go back home two or three times a year to some races that bring back those wonderful memories. The race on June 15, 5k, USATF certified, way out in the country. Midway, I could smell cow poop! It was glorious smelling cow poop on a USATF certified course. That don’t happen in the city. I’ve already got a plane ticket for September for the areas second biggest race. Another street festival southern Indiana race..

My first stop after the race was a flower shop. I bought a dozen roses and drove my airport rental car to the cemetery and gave the roses to my wife. I also left my 2012 NHL playoff hat on her stone…Then, nervously, after setting down her flowers I stepped back and sang a Merle Haggard line, I had planned to sing to her when I got there. I was afraid I was gonna mess it up but didn’t!

“ The first time we met is a favorite memory of mine; they say time changes all it pertains to, but your memory is stronger than time; I guess everything does change except what you choose to recall. There’s a million great daydreams to dream on, but baby you are, my favorite memory of all”

oh yeah. This week. 33 hobbling miles, two weight lifting sessions and 6 sets of modified pull ups.

Beautiful tribute to your wife. Thanks for sharing it.

Less eventful week for me. Tapered as part of a plan to race parkrun yesterday, only to tweak left calf on an easy jog friday [not the one i've been managing for past 18 months, but its companion]. Hope I can nip this in the bud with a relatively brief phase of cross-training -- today was a mix of elliptical, hiking, and kayaking.

Good health and fun running to all for July,

Dave

I did catch the news of my running hero passing courtesy of some UK friends. A great runner.

My training is not very exciting these days.

I am actually joining in our local club xc/trail events but just treating them as training.

Training (if you call it that) week.

Mon. 40 mins mtn bike. Then 5 kms on one of my favourite local trails. Hammy was tight so I walked first 1.5 kms, jogged 1/2 a km then ran the last 3 kms in 17 mins. Not bad for me on that course.

Tue. 40 mins mtn bike. Then went to the nearest golf course. Same routine of 1.5 walk .5 jog then 3 kms run, snuck under 17. It has a couple of hills. I wore spikes.

Wed. 70 mins cold windy River kayak session. Had grandson duties when I got home so skipped the run.

Thu. Grandson duties until near on dark. I walked the trails for about 3 km then ran 3 more in just under 18 mins.

Fri. I did a very hilly 45 min hike then a hilly 3 km trail run, out and back. Right on 17 mins with a 5 min final km (mostly downhill). Got out later for a 34 min mtn bike ride, pretty fast efforts once I hit a bit of gravel road.

Sat. Pouring, cold, windy. 66 min mixed bag mtn bike, hit up about 15 mins at about race intensity. Did a muddy 3km run off the bike around our 20 acres and neighbouring trails, about 17.30.

Sun. Drove out to our club race at one of my favourite venues. Nice steep hills, rough trails which were now also nice and muddy. Did 2 kms of walk and jog to check out the muddiest bit.

5 km "race". No racing for me just a good solid gallop getting around in 27.30.

Jogged another km slowly.

Out in the evening for a 7 km trail walk with my wife.

Long time no check-in. M65, 49 years of running. I think I’ve quit running at least twice since I last posted. The last two years have been a challenge. Very humbling.

Brief recap: May of ’22 developed injuries to left and right hip flexors. Running slowly seemed to aggravate it so I sped up. Unfortunately, in Jan ’23 developed posterior tibial tendonitis. It just refused to heal all of ’23. Used the time to improve my flexibility and, most importantly, my diet. I don’t know if it was a factor, but in May I cut my statin med from 20mg to 10mg. The tib has steadily improved since that time. My problems started just a month after my statin was increased from 10 to 20 in Feb of ’22. Coincidence? Placebo? I was tempted to stop the statin completely, but I think the problems were dose-dependent. Now back to jogging 15 min every other day pain-free and walking 3 times a day every day. Plan is to increase my jogging to 3 miles every other day and keep the walking. Then, just see how it goes, see if I can tolerate more miles and bump up the pace.

The positives, all my injuries are soft tissue and fixable. I had an MRI of my ankle that showed no arthritis and no damage to my tendons.

Catching up:
AM Kelly, wow, such a great turnaround! Very happy for you.
Racerdb: NOOOOO, you are too good to quit competing, but I get it. The ole cost vs. benefit analysis for masters leans heavily towards the costs.
OGII: I value your insight on training. Very few folks understand how to mix in walking and how valuable that can be. Thank you.

Have a good'ern!

Rtype, so glad to hear you're on your way back!

This was a setback week. I didn't run Monday because my Achilles was still bothering me. I woke up Tuesday with the nasty GI bug that my husband had last week, and was pretty sick for two days. By Thursday I was no longer acutely ill but had lost four pounds and there was no way I was going to run my 4th of July race. Then I didn't sleep all night because my dogs, terrified of fireworks, spent all night whining and panting and trying to get into bed with me. I zombied my way through Friday, slept way too much Friday night, and woke up too late on Saturday to run in the severe heat we're having (Saturday's high was 111). I finally managed a normal night last night, woke up healthy and early, and did a short, hard hill run before sunrise. So I only ran four miles all week, but now I feel I'm well positioned to pick it up again next week, if this awful heat will ever break--today's forecast high is again 111. I don't know how anyone can live in Phoenix, where these temperatures are completely normal.

I may not race again for quite a while, as even in a normal summer it's pretty tough to run much after sunrise between the 4th of July and Labor Day. I hope the mosquito activity in the high country will abate soon so that I can start serious hiking and backpacking for the rest of the summer.

Happy running and try to stay cool...