50+ Masters Training and Racing Open Forum

old guy II wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

old guy II,

Nice running and great season. At this point 9:00/mile for that distance might be impossible for me. Glad you had a good race and rest up for the roads.

Igy

Igy, when I was 55 I got a calcaneal stress fracture. I had zero running for 4 months. I remember my first run back was 8:30 for 1,000 meters and it felt like five and a half minute mile pace. We know well there are no shortcuts to fitness but persistence and enthusiasm can get us to surprising places. I know you will be back.

Too bad we still have personality-disordered trolls on this thread. It is a real societal problem getting such people to accept that they can benefit from counseling and other modern behavioral health treatment.

old guy II,

Thanks for the words. Hearing of other’s challenges helps me understand this is all to be expected. I am at the frustrating stage where progress has to involve a step-up in intensity but balanced by adequate rest. One week the balance is in my favor then the following week a step back. Frustration tolerance is the order of the day.

In regards to the shadow, the comments are relentless. One would think at some point they would exhaust that drive. What is sad is to be viewed as someone you are not.

I am targeting Carlsbad for a visit. Cush has offered to accompany me on a visit to our former SMTC coach Joe Douglas. My brother has our parents cremains in his garage and it is about time we do something more appropriate. At this point I am considering a road trip where I will straddle the Carlsbad weekend. I let you know more of my plans as we get closer to spring.

Igy

Alana J-T wrote:

My goodness, you certainly have a lot to say. You really do emulate DJT.

Who's DJT?

Barring the usual unforeseen hazards of running while old, I expect my team mates will pressure me to run Carlsbad. There has been some loose talk of resurrecting the legendary toadipede.

Funny. I remember some teams doing Bay to Breakers the same.

So still spotty on the checkin but still at it

Started a 5k a day challenge before Thanksgiving and so far so good. Started on the Tuesday before so I am at 20 days now.

mileage has been 21 26 and 31 for the last 3 weeks. Been feeling pretty good just getting out everyday.

Had our first indoor meet the Friday after the NCAA Championships - some of you would be impressed with how bad the course was. Team goes home this week and I have a bit of a break so hope to get some more in.

beautiful day in spokane...

tough race for me--i don't think i'm really in 10k shape right now, but i think my "cramming" actually helped. i started fast intentionally--last year i got buried so quickly i never knew where the other dudes in my age group were, so this time i wanted to get out hard and latch onto someone as they passed me. i cannot lie: it was fun being in the front about 200m in before i settled into a more realistic rhythm. i watched top 50s dude peter hammer fly by before i tried to settle in with carl combs. i must have run with carl for the first 2 3k loops, but somewhere along the way andy gardiner snuck by both of us. i gave chase for a bit but couldn't maintain the pace, and eventually had to resettle with carl. unfortunately the wheels came off a little the last 3k or so and a gap steadily grew between me and carl; then michael nahom went by with about 1k to go and i had very little fight in me.

so, no podium for me as i got 5th in my age group--same as last year--but i felt like i ran tough and got a fair amount out of my limited fitness. if someone would have asked me in september after very little summer running if i would be happy with a 10k x-c race at around 5:30 pace by december, i'm pretty sure i would have said i'd be ecstatic. the course measured long by everyone's garmins, closer to 6.4 miles. conditions were pretty good, but i think it did actually get colder as our race went, and the day definitely got colder for the later races. good to see CM crush it in the 60s race--hope everyone else was happy with their race. missed KP--i'm assuming the hamstring finally persuaded him not to run? had more fun than i should have at the awards/party--got to meet emma bates through a mutual friend (the dude who helps put on CIM) and tried to not get too geeky/fanboy with her, partied till 1AM and slept a couple of hours before leaving for a real early flight.

also met the gonzaga womens' x-c coach with my youngest who came with me and my wife to check out the school. she was really impressed by the school, and the coach, jake stewart, seems like a nice dude and a highly qualified coach, and very invested in revitalizing the womens' program.

and on another positive note, my wife's team, the janes, won the 40s and 50s in convincing fashion. my wife was their #4 runner in the 50s, still struggling to recover from knee surgery earlier this year, but happy to be part of another national championship squad.

next up, winter x-c nationals in tallahassee...

carpe crepusculum,

cush

Like amkelley, I stayed home and ran a 5K. Not the one I was planning on, in an underground business park, I thought that through a bit -- 68 degrees, poor air circulation, dust everywhere -- and decided instead on a race through the streets of a pancake-flat suburb, 29 degrees, winds 6-12 mph.

After five 2nd-place finishes this year, I was determined to tuck in behind the leader and get into contention early. But that kid started to fade after 15 seconds, and then I was the leader. As delightful as it was to have my astonished grandson yell, "It's grandpa!" as I crossed the finish line, what was really satisfying was realizing that I haven't plateaued. My training tweak from six weeks ago off -- running aggressively on HR and ignoring pace charts -- paid off bigly. My pace was 5:39, or 13 seconds faster than my PR. That projects to a 17:33, or 40 seconds better than my 5K best. And it felt great - afterward it felt more like I'd had an excellent tempo workout more than an actual race.

I say "that projects to" 17:33 because the police ATV that was my rabbit somehow shaved a quarter-mile off the course. I finished in 16:25 and, according to Garmin, ran 2.90 miles. (The cop on the ATV was also tasked with stopping cars from driving into our path and was obviously distracted. A couple of times I got ahead of him, and at one point I made a wrong turn.) Also, it was disappointing that this race, which was much more competitive the past two years, didn't have anyone faster than me entered. Still, my goal was to prove to myself that I really am improving, and I did that. Maybe I just need to always run in subfreezing weather ...

Big Congrats to CM, SCgal, Cush, MGirl, OG II at Club XC!!!

CM: There is no shame in getting beat by Joe. It's not what you wanted but he is as tough as they come.

SCGal: Hope you were able to get home with no weather issues!

MikeF: I'm thinking 110000 miles???

Cush: Thats a solid run but I'm more impressed that you were able to stay up until 1:00am... I'm lucky to make it 'til 10:30 anymore.

Had a decent week were. Hit about 51 miles and ran all 7 days. Wed was a comfortable 3x6:40 tempo; Sat did 10 prog from 8:00-6:54. Everything else 8:00-8:20.

Weather is really nice here. No snow on the ground and we've actually seen the sun a bit lately. Hopeful of putting off the treadmill runs as long as I can.

I've got to admire some of you guys taking on the Dregs of Letsrun in some of the other threads. You're braver than I. For the most part I'm not sayin' nothin' about nothin! Especially with my real screen name.

Have a good week,

Dave

I'm not a distance runner, but I thought posters might enjoy this article about my training. The article does contain some misleading content. I do leg lifts, for example, but I avoid the complex movement lifts, like the clean and jerk, etc. My diet is also not as radical as the writer makes it seem. I eat normally during the times I'm not intermittently fasting.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-stay-speedy-in-his-70s-he-got-buff-1544272200

Confused Chad wrote:

Alana J-T wrote:

My goodness, you certainly have a lot to say. You really do emulate DJT.

Who's DJT?

If you’re referring to the poster on the previous page, that was obviously Igy.

AK-56 wrote:

Confused Chad wrote:

Who's DJT?

If you’re referring to the poster on the previous page, that was obviously Igy.

Hey that's my old handle from 4 years ago. What's up with that? Don't know who you are but not really cool and cut it out.

CM: There is no shame in getting beat by Joe. It's not what you wanted but he is as tough as they come.

Yes for sure. And looking back in 2013 I was about 1:50 back from Mike Smith and Joe at Clubs in Bend, and two years later in SF it was 1:20. So I've made some decent progress in those 3 years. We'll meet again and it will be some tough running but fun.

KCgeezer, congratulations! The guys behind you must've had a cow when you got called out as "grandpa" upon crossing the finish line. But no kidding, 17:33 is darn fast--way faster than I could ever run 5K even at my very best. The outdoor race was surely the right choice; 29 degrees is no big deal as long as the footing is secure, and it was surely a lot nicer than an underground race.

Cush, I enjoyed your race report and congratulations on a good run, even if it didn't quite make the podium.

All these shorter-distance race reports are giving me a hankering to try to get a little faster at the shorter distances...

amkelley,

Here is an idea: The Gimpy Challenge Spring 5k. Your Achilles versus my Lymphoma. The winner get a pine float. My college coach pulled the “pine float” on me as a prize. If you are not familiar it is a glass of water with a tooth pick. Gluten free among other things.

Igy

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

amkelley,

Here is an idea: The Gimpy Challenge Spring 5k. Your Achilles versus my Lymphoma. The winner get a pine float. My college coach pulled the “pine float” on me as a prize. If you are not familiar it is a glass of water with a tooth pick. Gluten free among other things.

Igy

You're on! With a prize appropriate to the seriousness of the competition.

CM: There is no shame in getting beat by Joe. It's not what you wanted but he is as tough as they come.

Coyote Montane wrote:

Yes for sure. And looking back in 2013 I was about 1:50 back from Mike Smith and Joe at Clubs in Bend, and two years later in SF it was 1:20. So I've made some decent progress in those 3 years. We'll meet again and it will be some tough running but fun.

I know his back well. I'm 1 and maybe 5 against him. And that 1 is one of my better Masters races. Then at Club XC's in SF, I was so sure I was ready ready to run with him but I never saw him! Not once.

Dave

amkelley wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

amkelley,

Here is an idea: The Gimpy Challenge Spring 5k. Your Achilles versus my Lymphoma. The winner get a pine float. My college coach pulled the “pine float” on me as a prize. If you are not familiar it is a glass of water with a tooth pick. Gluten free among other things.

Igy

You're on! With a prize appropriate to the seriousness of the competition.

I think you got me unless I can find a downhill course, wind at the back, and slow watch timing!

M: off.

T: 5 miles.

W: 5 miles.

R: off.

F: 5 miles.

SA: 5 miles.

SU: 7 miles.

I managed to run only five times, but Sunday's 7 miles was the longest in three months. So I call that progress. My feet still hurt first thing in the morning, but the post-running soreness has been minimal. Hopefully, I can run a bit longer "long" run next week.

Great write-up, Grady....very inspiring to those of us who dream of someday running under their age for 400! Hope to see you in Iowa next summer!