Masters Memorial Day Weekend Races and Runs

Welcome back to the pole position for the weekly thread!

No races for me. I'm taking the weekend easy and staying home.

Weather this weekend is great for running. Ran 6 miles steady yest on rolly dirt roads at 5:40 pace. The calf is still not right though. Today will be spent in the pool I believe.

Good luck to everyone in all the races tomorrow.

Good morning. Took it easy this week after last Sunday's half marathon. Ran 5 miles on Tues,Wed,Thurs and 6 yesterday. Have a bunch of 5 and 10K's coming from next weekend and thru out June. Nothing this weekend, which is just fine with me.

My twin sons just finished their sophmore years of college. One just left an hour ago to fly to Silver Spring, Maryland to accept a scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's a sweet deal with an internship which will ultimately mean he will come out of college with zero debt. The majority of the recipients are from fairly prestigious schools like Stanford,Princeton, etc; so he is a little nervous because he just goes to a state college. I tried to reassure him that he would probably be one of the most normal people there. He ran the 1600 and 4 X 800 in high school and still holds those records.

Well have a good Memorial Weekend. I will spend part of it remembering my 3 years in Infantry; the good and bad. Take care, all.

Good morning fellow masters,

About to head out the door for my Sunday morning run. It should round out another week of 70 mpw. The weather has finally cooled off in central Cal. I ran my first 5K in over 7 years yesterday and my 3rd race in the past 6 weeks. I was unsure about taking up running again after sooo many years away, but man, am I having fun racing again! I took 1st master and 2nd overall in a little local race here in my hometown, but to run away from 4-5 high school kids over the last 2k's felt pretty good. Not that I ran all that impressively or fast, but there were a few gals I went to high school with running in the race too, and well. Even though I am married, I have to admit, it made the ol' chest pop out when one started talking about my race to me. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and their running this upcoming week.

Anyone know results from yesterday's 3k in Cerritos?

It's been a while since I've been here. Still running, but back still hurts. The major thing was track, which is now over. State meet results for us were pretty stunning:

#1 runner: 9:04 (3200--runner up), 4:19 (1600--runner up)

#2 runner: 1:55 (800 prelims), 1:54 (Champion in finals)

#3 runner: 1:55 (800 prelims), 1:55 (4th in finals)

4x8: 7:55 (Champions)

Other than the somewhat disappointing 4x8 time, we could not have run better. The 9:04 was just stunning--he took the winner out in 4:32 and dared him to move, which he did, running 8:58 to win.

Life's not always going to be this way, so I'm savoring it. They were terrific. We got 4 DI signees out of this class, going to Texas A&M, American, Tennessee, and Tennessee Tech.

Congratulations on your team's success, especially the athlete who signed with American [bias alert being that I teach there].

Pretty good week on my end, highlights being 6 X 1000 meters (200 jog) averaging 3:19 [target 3:20 for goal 5k pace] tuesday, hills friday, and 16 miles with a late 3 + 2 (3:00 recovery between) tempo (17:05/11:23, just off target of 17:00/11:20) this morning.

I feel like I'm starting to get back in shape. Had an easy month after late March marathon, and the first couple weeks back in training early May I wasn't seeing/feeling any progress. You'd think after 32 years of running I'd be more patient, but I still have stagnant periods where I think "maybe I've lost it for good this time".

have a great week.

My goodness, JR, this HAS been a helluva year for you and your team! Congrats on an unbelievable finish to what's been an unbelievable year of accomplishment! And yes, savor it ... forever ... because memories of this year - in both your and your athletes' minds - will never fade.

As for me, yet another week spent nursing my way back from the brink. Spent the first 5 days of the week treating my swollen knee from last week - ice around the clock for the pain and swelling, Benadryl for the poison oak inflammation, hydrocortisone cream for the itching. Had to cut Monday's interval workout short when I nearly fell over after the first three 800 reps - guess all that Benadryl leads to some pretty wobbly legs! But managed to cut the pain in the knee by mid-week. And then get the knee back to normal size by Thursday. And actually felt good for Friday's pre-race day jog.

The 3000 at Cerritos yesterday was a blast. Though we had the typical no-shows at a masters race (God knows, we masters get injured at the drop of a hat ... or an ill-advised roll onto our sides in bed ... or by tying our shoes in the morning). But still had a good field, with Peter Hegelbach flying in from Boulder, Andrew Duncan in from Las Vegas, and Joe Carnegie traveling down from Northern Cal. Also, lots of top locals. We also had two pace-setters in their 20's whose job it was to bring us through at 4:36 for the first 1600 - a compromise between the 4:32 I wanted and the 4:40 that Danny Martinez preferred.

Of course, then Danny never showed up and the pacesetters surprised us by running 3:30 for the first 1200 and then dropping out. I mean, what's wrong with the youth of today?! ;-)

So I had to lead it from there, meaning that I immediately turned cautious. When weighing the joy of setting a new record against the shame of running too hard and then bonking in front of my teammates, fear of shame won out.

Besides, I had Joe Carnegie on my shoulder. And I figured my bonk would immediately precipitate a 28-29 second last 200 by Joe that would increase my shame tenfold.

So I settled on a safe pace, figuring I'd probably help out the guys behind me more that way anyway. And I like to think I did. Joe fell off after a couple laps, but Christian Cushing-Murray moved up, staying competitive for the win until the final push with about 600 to go. At that point, I was able to gap him a little, but he still held on for second place, with Duncan a few seconds behind him (both under 9 minutes), then Hegelbach right behind Duncan, and then Joe and a bunch of others - including Rich Burns, who ran 9:11 or 9:12 at age 53. Ken Stone writes that Gunnar Linde ran a M80 record, but I have to admit that I missed that ... wish I hadn't! I'd have loved to ask Gunnar about his training and racing at that age!

Okay, I'll see some of you in Portland next week for Clingan's Mile!

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend and a terrific week!

Damn nice job Cerritos Men! Wow to Rich Burns!! Reads like you guys lived up to your expectations. I shall root for y'all in Eugene as I'll be there working my Nike job day by day anyway. Lucky me for sure.

I slept 12 hours Friday night after flying in from Denmark and a week of work in Germany. Damn glad I didn't try and join you guys in LA. Made zero sense. 9-hour Jet-Lag is a killer. Hope my "scratch" excuse will be accepted.

As SoCal said already... looking forward to seeing some of you in PDX next Saturday.

KP

Happy Sunday, fellow masters. I guess this is a holiday weekend for you, eh?

Decent week here, with maybe 72 miles. Ran some moderate fartlek Tuesday, then raced 10k last night. Time was a little off what I woulda liked, but not too far. This morning I did pacing duties in a marathon, which gave me another 20 miles (~ 27.5k pacing, then 3 mile jog back to the finish area). Legs are pretty sore today. This'll be a pretty light week.

Summer track will start the following week. I expect it'll be a gradual ease into track, since I haven't yet started track training.

Have a great week, everyone!

That's some impressive track racing by folks young and old. I decided against doing a track 3K because I didn't feel recovered from my 10K of last week-end, so I ended up doing 1.1 mile intervals up (and down) the Harlem Hills in Central Park. They were plenty tough.

Otherwise, I had my highest mileage week in a while: 56. I need to get a long run in during the week for the marathon, and I did a 12-miler through the Bronx and home on Thursday. Flat and at a solid pace, so that was good, and it was followed by a 14.6 at the Rockies yesterday. I paid for that with a very stiff and slow first mile of 8 today, before relaxing.

We're having great weather here in New York. But have to wear the sunscreen and a hat. And not forget the purpose of this holiday. Have a good week all.

Joe

Last week's thread:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=2491788&thread=2491536

Good morning from the Pacific NW.

Busy week here with a short work week for me but of course squeezing in longer days to get things done. The excitement for me was heading over to Pasco for the State meet. Great stories and remarkably good weather. My soph son got his first "baptism-under-fire" with the mile. He had a great kick and pr'd in 7th (4:19.20) with his Sr teammate surprising everyone with a 2nd (4:14.60)! Mr and Mrs Young were thrilled!

Put in a couple of good workouts with the usual EZ jogging between. Probably 65 miles.

Wed 2(200), 3(1k), 6(:60 sec hills) - felt good.

Fri 16(100) - good push off

mowing the yard and bbq'ing something later.

tony

That is great news about Cerritos and JR's team. Always wonderful to read those good things. Keep it coming! I so look forward to reading about everyone's exploits.

I had 3 very strong track workouts and 2 weight room sessions this week. We had cooler weather, and Wed and Thurs we had some wicked gusty winds, though nothing like the twisters that some folks got! I just finished a strong Sunday morning workout and my coach put a watch on me for a 60, an 80, and a 100 meters and I proved that last week's fast times were not a fluke. Felt good too! Life would be great if it weren't for a nagging ache that I've developed in my right lower calf, just inside of the shin bone. I'm icing it after every workout. I feel good during a workout but by the time fatigue sets in the shin ache is with me. Any ideas as to what this might be?

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!

Nice updates, especially the race report from SoCal. I saw that chefdrp ran a very nice marathon in Buffalo, so I'm looking forward to hearing from him.

I had planned to do a long run today, but I basically hung out with my family, installed a home theatre system and did some obligatory grilling. I had some good workouts this week and want to have fresh legs for our corporate challenge race next week, so I have absolutely no guilt in taking an extra day off. My interval times are still dropping, and I had a nice 5.5 mile tempo run on Wednesday. There seems to be a number of mile road races in our area this summer, along with a rare 2-miler, so they should add some variety to the summer race schedule.

Dave Haaga wrote:

Congratulations on your team's success, especially the athlete who signed with American [bias alert being that I teach there].

Pretty good week on my end, highlights being 6 X 1000 meters (200 jog) averaging 3:19 [target 3:20 for goal 5k pace] tuesday, hills friday, and 16 miles with a late 3 + 2 (3:00 recovery between) tempo (17:05/11:23, just off target of 17:00/11:20) this morning.

I feel like I'm starting to get back in shape. Had an easy month after late March marathon, and the first couple weeks back in training early May I wasn't seeing/feeling any progress. You'd think after 32 years of running I'd be more patient, but I still have stagnant periods where I think "maybe I've lost it for good this time".

have a great week.

What do you teach? I think he's going to major in business.

At the moment he's still pretty gassed that Centro actually knows his name, likes him, and is giving him money to run. American was his first choice school.

Your kid is a sophmore and is running a sub 4:20 mile? You must have visions of him running under 4:10 before he graduates in a few years. You guys ever discuss what college he might attend if he chooses to pursue his running past highschool?

Well, after a couple of weeks with no speed work and low mileage it is time to push for the final weeks leading to Eugene. Hit 61 miles with one day off and did 3 workouts. Two were threshold runs that saw 3 miles covered in 17:40 and 17:00. The last workout was 4 x 2000 with the miles in 5:39-5:43 and then each last lap in the 78-76 second range. Left hamstring is tight. I've been icing and doing yoga type stretching for it. Anyone have any advice that has worked for improving tight hammies?

mr ed,I have had good luck with leg swings when hamstrings get tight. I use one arm to brace myself against a wall or something solid and swing the alternate leg like a pendulum. I think dynamic exercises like this are more effective at strengthening. I also recall seeing the Gouchers doing the bicycle version in one of their workouts that was posted online. Here is a link to a more detailed description.http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0206.htm

mr ed wrote:

Anyone have any advice that has worked for improving tight hammies?

Psychology. I'm a clinical psychologist. I hope your son has a great time at AU. The business program is strong, and the X-C/Track people from what I can tell have a lot of fun and have achieved some very impressive results in recent years.

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What do you teach? I think he's going to major in business.

At the moment he's still pretty gassed that Centro actually knows his name, likes him, and is giving him money to run. American was his first choice school.[/quote]

Ran 40:35 at Bolder Boulder today. Great morning for a race, with just a hint of rain and no wind. I'm pumped to see the elites run later today.

My time was not what I was hoping for -- but considering the lack of sleep since Sam's arrival 17 days ago -- and after three weeks of less than 25 miles per week -- I'll take it and smile.

Legs felt good but I didn't have any speed. The few miles where I ran 6:15-ish pace it felt like I was going flat out. My slowest mile -- 6:45 pace -- seemed like I was grinding along super slowly but I just couldn't accelerate to a better pace. It's a deceivingly hard course, and the 5000+ foot altitude means even slight uphills can bring the hurt.

The best part was getting up, kissing the family as they slept, then jogging to the start line. My 41st birthday is four days away and there's not much I'd change about my life at the moment (except that I'd still like to take two or three minutes off that 10K time!).

Your kid is a sophmore and is running a sub 4:20 mile? You must have visions of him running under 4:10 before he graduates in a few years. You guys ever discuss what college he might attend if he chooses to pursue his running past highschool?

Mack reached the goals he wanted this year, his first at the High School track level. Reach State final and hopefully get under 4:20 (he knew I was a 4:19 back-in-the-day so he might as well get that one out of the way!).

He is right on schedule. Fairly low mileage 35-40 with a great coach at the school who had ALL of his kids hitting their PR's at the right time.

He is eyeing the school record of 4:11 for next season and has already talked of running this summer to get ready for cross. Gotta have the base to run that second half of the mile!

Wow, another day off of work here. What to do? I think a nice long run on the trails is called for and maybe the new Indiana Jones movie.

Enjoy,

tOnY