50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

Congrats to CM and 63 in Atlanta. Damn that’s a tough age group! 60 is the new 40….

Props to my fellow Roanoke College alumnus and local, David Angell, for winning the race. Since turning 40 he’s won the USATF Grand Prix, 10K champs, 8K champs, 15K, XC….et..al….Amazing!

Tue: 45 rocky trail, 565 feet of climbing

Thr: 45 min easy trail inc. 20 min road

Sat: 5K on track, threshold run, 25:50, 8:18 pace

Sun: 45 min rocky trail

Decent week where I was a little undecided about what to do following last week’s race. Now that a I got that dog out of the way the focus is to slowly build strength pointing towards races in the early spring after turning 60.

I studied my old logs and found Sat T-pace runs seem to be the sweet spot for steady and fairly safe improvement. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed teasing the pace down and keeping the intensity at a comfortably uncomfortable level. Afterwards, I could feel it. That was some real work, work I have not done in a long time. It was good.

Have a good week folks!

congrats to those who raced in Atlanta. sounds like some exceptional performances.

I had an enjoyable, though humid (sound like a broken record with that one), week, including:

M 1:35 -- good trail run with a group before running club volunteer happy hour

Tu 1:10

W 1:10 with 20:00 bike path tempo -- passed 3 miles at 19:10

Th 2:05 double

F 1:00 x-T

Sa 1:05 incl. hilly 8k road race 32:18 (7th OA, 1st AG)

Su 1:00 + 1:00 x-t

Saturday race almost 3 mins. slower than last time I ran it, but that was 5 years ago. I was a bit closer to some of the guys in front of me than I had been at track 2-mile a couple weeks ago, so I'll take that as progress.

have a great week,

Dave

Great running at Atlanta, 63 and CM! I can't fathom the times you guys are running.

dhaaga, nice 8K race. That sounds really encouraging.

I lost most of the week with a nasty upper-respiratory infection. Sinuses packed with junk, pounding sinus headache, fever and fatigue. Ran easy on Monday, cycled Tuesday, then got sick and took Weds and Thurs off. Felt a little better Friday so I went out for a brief easy jog, and then the fever hit and completely wiped me out for the weekend. I wonder whether running in all that smoke left me particularly susceptible to a sinus infection. Anyway, nothing to do now but wait to get better, and not start running again too soon. Right now my goal is to be fully healthy for a planned backpacking trip over Labor Day weekend.

Kudos to you 60s guys who ran in ATL yesterday! Thank goodness the clouds kept it from being too hot but the humidity didn't make it an easy race. No one mentioned the street repaving project that left us racing on ground-down pavement and around manhole covers that were really dangerous. Thanks go to Rich Kenah and the ATC team for focusing on runner safety and dealing with public works' surprise.

This was my first road 5k in more than a year and my first race in the 65+ AG. All I can say is I ran like a novice and that I'm grateful the World's in Malaga kept most of my competition from showing up. The course was pretty much an out and back with a slight downhill at the start and a long gradual uphill in mile 3. I planned to run a 7:50 first mile knowing the last mile would be tough. I took it out at a steady pace but when I heard my watch beep at the mile, it read 7:35...oops! I sure paid on the uphill with an 8:25 pace. All was not lost however, as it paid to be elderly. I finished 2nd in my AG with a slow (24:57) and we won the W60s team title. My new goal is to be like Betty Lindberg who ran 51:00 at age 93. Oh well, on to Flint on Friday for the Mile Championships where I hope to race smarter.

50 mile week

2 workouts

15M long run inc 10M Fartlek @ 5:47 ave

2 x mile 5:00 30sec rest

4 min rest

4 x 400 @ 73 with 1min rest

Good endurance but lacking some speed

Cheers

I'll add my congratulations to CM and 63 for their races in Atlanta. Seeing times like that is always inspirational to me that I have plenty of room to get faster if I can put in the necessary work. I stayed on my current training regimen again this week and got off to a good start on our local XC series. 52 miles total for the week -

M- 7 walk with 150M stride every 1/2 mile

T- 8 hills with the last 2 at threshold effort, 7:51, 7:00

W- 7 walk with 150M stride every 1/2 mile

Th- 8 hills with the last 2 at threshold effort, 8:10, 7:20

F- 7 walk with 150M stride every 1/2 mile

S- 2mi w.u, 5K XC in 21:34 (7:05, 6:54, 7:00, 0:35), 3mi w.d.

Su- 7 walk with 150M stride every 1/2 mile barefoot on the beach

My race averaged 1 second per mile faster than last year on the same course. The 21:34 got me first in the 65-69s by a couple of minutes, but there are 3 guys in the 60-64 age group who currently are a little faster than I am that I tried to hang onto. The first mile gains right about 100 feet with the highest point on the course just before the 1 mile mark. I tried to be conservative and got hung up a little in traffic in the first mile, which probably really helped me stay at a sensible pace for it. The second mile gives back about 75 feet of the elevation gain and felt pretty steady and comfortable. The last mile rolls up and down and felt really hard. I was trying to get by a guy I didn't recognize, but who looked like he could be in my age group. He held me off through the end, but turned out to be in the 55-59s. I was very happy with the evenness of my pace and the effort I put out for the first race of the season. Next race is a 4-mile in two weeks.

Nice training all. Get better amkelley, good racing 63, CM and dhaaga.

I raced the Idaho Senior Games 1500 meters yesterday. It was the best attendance in my memory (22 entrants), they even called Charlie’s name at the line. Sorry Charlie couldn’t run, it would have been fun to meet him. My goal was to run 8:00 mile pace with a slower start and hopefully faster finish. I am just not strong enough to sustain intensity or distance. My splits were 2:06, 2:00, 1:57 and 1:20 for a 7:23; or started at 8:20 pace and finished about 7:20 pace. As modest as the time was, it was quite a bit better effort than my 30:39 5k two weeks ago. I believe the Hanson’s equivalent had it at about a 26:45 5k, though I doubt I could do that at the moment. There were good results from all age groups with the first and second places in my 65-69 running around 5:40.

On the health front received a call from the oncologist Wednesday. We are going to forego the Rituxan Maintenance Therapy. Evidently it does not add much to progression free survival and it is best to save the tool in case I relapse. I have been referred to a radiation oncologist for consolidation therapy. The doctor described it as “stamping out any potential fires.” From what I understand some or all of the four tumor sites will be targed with low dose radiation. There are some side effects but not nearly as onerous as the chemotherapy. My body composition is improving as the bloat slowly disappears, but still weighing in at a hefty for me 184 lbs. My week:

Monday: 2 miles easy/walk; 300m Repetition @ 1:30 / 500m walk (stressed about PSA test; called it a day)

Tuesday: 4 miles easy/walk

Wednesday: 2 miles easy/walk; 1,000m Interval @ 4:59 / 600m walk; 800m repetition @ 3:41; mile easy

Thursday: 3 miles easy/walk

Friday: 1.5 miles easy; 8 x 100m 2 easy, 2 good

Saturday: 2 miles easy/walk; 6 x 100m strides; 1500m race; mile easy/walk

Thanks for the good wishes and best to all.

Igy

Hey Igy nice race ! Signed up and almost made it , maybe next year.

Enjoyed reading the race reports very inspirational.

Rtype yeah sounds like a good plan hard but not too hard tempos are great.

OGII nice race beating last year after your less than build up is pretty impressive mixture of run days with walk days that include the 150s is pretty interesting.

week 2

Base building continued last week was 3 days of 90 minutes this week I was shooting for 6 days of 45 minutes on day 5 at 37 minutes my right foot started hurting walked the rest with a little pain. Feels ok now but I am going to take a more gradual approach to building volume.

Figured out it the pain was a mild form of peroneus brevis “tenosynovitis.” relief it was not tendinitis :

The synovial tissue is soft and squishy and has lots of nerve endings. So if you aggravate the tendons with an overused injury, you can get swelling with in the tendon sheath that hurts. When the tendons are actually okay but the sheath surrounding the tendons are inflamed, we call that “tenosynovitis.”

Pretty good injury stuff here:

https://www.docontherun.com/peroneal-tendon-injuries-runners-overview-runners-connect-running-injury-summit/

Charlie, I have found that for me, the walking recovery days with 150m strides is working really well for both recovering from the prior day's continuous run and getting in some small bites of quality fast running. I end up running 12x150 with them at close to my 400m race pace, which is probably about 70 secs these days.

Back and sort of recovering from the quick trip to Atlanta. Also my first time there. We had us a good race in our age group both individual and team. You have to be at your very best to try to match up with guys like Joe and Rick. I figured it would be tight all the way and just hung in long enough to have a decent good kick at the end. The humidity was an issue (dew point 72), but not oppressive. Very well managed race too, so hats off to ATC.

Great talking to you Rick congrats on your podium finishes in the age group and age grade rankings! Yeah 4 of the top 5 in age grading were from our age group. Likewise, good job on the podium finish scgal, I'll try to check in with you at the mile next week.

I missed out on the chance of having my ass kicked by local boy Matt Stegman (who finished two in front of CM). I was in Wisconsin when he clocked 16:33 at the KC Spirit 5K.

Those are some speedy times to look forward to provided my fitness keeps improving, he said optimistically.

And now this travel update: Quebec City is HILLY. As in 85m climbs over the course of 0.5km. That's if you want to go from the lower town to the upper town. Fortunately, there's the St. Charles Linear River Park, with paths on both sides of the river, not very far from the apartment where we're staying. Apparently Saint-Charles was North America's most polluted waterway 20 years ago. Now it's tres scenic, native grasses and wildflowers lining the banks, endless eye candy as I run the chert and asphalt trails (you run on the latter at your peril, it's like an autobahn for bikes).

Monday I had a busted tempo run in a mall parking lot in Springfield, PA. Our flight Sunday night to Quebec was cancelled so we had to stay in Philly. Halfway through it started to rain, and between that and my discombobulated GI, the run came to a stop 90 seconds early. Since then 40 miles of delightful runs including one very hilly LR.

I want to express my appreciation once more regarding all you out there that work so hard to make your dreams come true. I told someone at church today that my plane returned from Atlanta last night about midnight. I was in bed by 12:30 A.M. I was up by 7:00 for a nine mile run. And then at church by 10:00. They asked me why I do such things instead of sleeping in. I told them I did it because I knew I was doing something extraordinary before most people even get out of bed. I know that many of you do those same extraordinary things. That's why we run. We were each given a gift. Some of us were given more running talent/ability than others. The important thing is that we use what ever has been given to us to the full extent and then be thankful for it. I just hope that those who have been given more appreciate what they have and those that have been given less are equally appreciative. I count every day a blessing when I can go out and train. I never take my running and health for granted.

Thanks 63 and you certainly have a gift. I find it much easier at this age to get the exercise done first thing in the morning. Since I am still working that means early to bed and up at 4:30 am. Personally there of that sense of accomplishment and getting the day started on the right foot. The commitment is made once the trainers are on. Since I enjoy running it is much easier for me to exercise as a runner than anything else. I see no reason to change as long as I can.

Igy

Rtype wrote:

Props to my fellow Roanoke College alumnus and local, David Angell, for winning the race. Since turning 40 he’s won the USATF Grand Prix, 10K champs, 8K champs, 15K, XC….et..al….Amazing!

Rtype. Dave Angell here. Long time Let's Run reader and occasional anonymous poster. Thanks for the kind words. I occasionally browse this thread and get some hope from you older guys who are still going strong. And to check up on socal cush who likes to give me a hard time when our paths cross at these races. But yes, it's been fun since turning 40 and I'm having a blast. It's nice to be around older guys who still view races as a competition instead of just as participation. By the way, also saw fellow RC alumni Andy Carr of the ATC on Saturday. Anyway, thanks again. Go Maroons!!!

Maroons99 wrote:

Rtype wrote:

Props to my fellow Roanoke College alumnus and local, David Angell, for winning the race. Since turning 40 he’s won the USATF Grand Prix, 10K champs, 8K champs, 15K, XC….et..al….Amazing!

Rtype. Dave Angell here. Long time Let's Run reader and occasional anonymous poster. Thanks for the kind words. I occasionally browse this thread and get some hope from you older guys who are still going strong. And to check up on socal cush who likes to give me a hard time when our paths cross at these races. But yes, it's been fun since turning 40 and I'm having a blast. It's nice to be around older guys who still view races as a competition instead of just as participation. By the way, also saw fellow RC alumni Andy Carr of the ATC on Saturday. Anyway, thanks again. Go Maroons!!!

Great to see you taking it to the next level! I forgot to mention other Maroons representing as well, Professor Alice Kassens had a good one at 13 OA, and 5th AG.

M: off.

T: 4 miles / 7 miles.

W: 7 miles.

R: 2km warm-up, 800mx5, 1km cool down / 4 miles.

F: 7 miles.

SA: 7 miles.

SU: 15.5 miles.

This was still sort of a "recovery week." I thought I could do a track workout on Thursday after last Saturday's 5km race. My plan was to do 800m x 7. But after going the first three reps @ 3:41-3:40-3:40, the fourth rep took 3:43. I tried to push the pace in the next rep, and managed only 3:42. At that point, I concluded that I had not recovered enough from the race, and decided to stop there. On Sunday, I was planning to run 16.7 miles, but it got too hot and I decided to end it one lap early.

It sounds wimpish, but better to be safe than sorry. Hopefully, I can do a decent workout this week.

Rtype wrote:

Great to see you taking it to the next level! I forgot to mention other Maroons representing as well, Professor Alice Kassens had a good one at 13 OA, and 5th AG.

Alice is just coming back from an injury and wasn't in top form, but still ran well. She's making good progress though and I think hopes to be a factor on the Grand Prix in 2019.

63, thanks from all of us slower runners for your uplifting comments. My "long run" yesterday was 11 miles at 10:04 pace, and felt pretty good, considering it was 80 degrees and humid, though cloudy. Ran on a crushed rock gravel trail in KC, the Trolley Trail. My wife was able to do 7 at 9:30 pace. Two months to go before my goal 1/2 marathon, hoping for a sub 2 hour.

Congrats to all that ran USATF Atlanta. Hope we can go up to Ames IA next year for track Master's Nationals.

There are plans for a Master's 800 and 1 mile for men and women as part of the KU Relays, for those around KC.

Cool weather today left us with a sense of fall in the air, easier runs, maybe a goal met or two, hopefulness.

Maroons99 wrote:

Rtype. Dave Angell here. Long time Let's Run reader and occasional anonymous poster. Thanks for the kind words. I occasionally browse this thread and get some hope from you older guys who are still going strong. And to check up on socal cush who likes to give me a hard time when our paths cross at these races. But yes, it's been fun since turning 40 and I'm having a blast. It's nice to be around older guys who still view races as a competition instead of just as participation. By the way, also saw fellow RC alumni Andy Carr of the ATC on Saturday. Anyway, thanks again. Go Maroons!!!

i swear i don’t know who this david angell kid is, and i never give anyone a hard time. hope you bought my teammate john gardiner a drink at least after kickin’ his butt, though he was probably quick to point out he out-age graded you. of course, 55yo nat larson’s 3rd place is the real story here. sorry i wasn’t able to join you dudes—though i would have been nowhere near you in the race—but so far age 50 has been a series of one step up and two steps back. just took two weeks off with another calf strain, this time the left one (the right one took me out part of may and all of june), but i will try running tomorrow, continuing on with what looks like has become a life-long comeback trail...

congrats to all our intrepid threadsters who raced in atlanta--inspiring results, enough to keep me wanting more and to keep my whining in check, since i'm well aware of how hard you've all worked to overcome injuries and stay healthy and fit. hoping to not embarrass myself this x-c season leading up to spokane, where i hope to outkick angell once and for all...

cush