Masters Weekend Runs and Races

I have never posted before but I read this thread every week. I'm not quite a masters runner yet but I have learned a lot reading about your training on a weekly basis. Just thought I would say thanks to all of you who post regularly.

skin - nice way to kick off the fall racing season! Sounds like Frontline might be in a good position to contend in Spokane.

This week was an improvement over last - mileage should hit mid-high 40s with a decent run today. My back is still tight but recovering. The chiropractor adjusted it a little in a follow-up visit and confirmed that it was the SI joint. It should be fine in a couple of weeks, but the timing could have been better. Track workout went better than expected - 4x1200 in 4:00 with short rest, then some good strides. 4 mile tempo yesterday followed by a few 800s at 5k pace - would have liked to stretch the tempo a little longer, but it was just too darn early in the morning to get comfortable (I had volunteered to help out at a local 5k).

Post 'em up!

Marc1 - welcome to the most decent thread here.

A rotten week for training due to an intense work schedule - Seattle, Davenport, Cincinatti, Columbus and home over 4 days - two flights a day. Missed too many days. Hopefully the week ahead will allow for some decent training.

Our team raced at Westmont College in Santa Barbara yesterday and did well.

I , too , love to read this thread , but rarely post.

I moved from the D.C. area to the Triangle area of N.C. this week. As a Duke grad , it is a bit of a homecoming. Somehow as an undergrad I didn't take advantage of the trails in Duke Forest , but I've enjoyed exploring new vistas this week. Any insight on favorite running spots from anyone who's lived or travelled here would be greatly appreciated.

I haven't competed in awhile , but am beginning to burn away the dross. That " fluidity " I seek is tougher to find at 51 than at 21 , but your successes are a great testimony to what's possible. Thanks ! It gives me hope.

Happy trails.

First time I'm posting as well.

I've just done 12 miles at the Rockerfeller after 18 in Central Park yesterday. That brings the total to 65 for the week, following on from 67 in each of the two weeks before that. I hope to be in shape to run 70-71 minutes in the Grete Waitz half marathon in CP on October 4.

Howdy all,

Hectic work week cut into training. Did 6 Thursday,3 Friday,7 yesterday and won a 5K this morning 50-54 division. I turn 54 Tuesday. Placed 28th out of over 400 total 5K runner joggers with a time of 21:40. There are between 5 and 10 guys in the area that can beat me at any given time but they don't always show up so I've been able to win the last 4 races I've been in which is unusual but medal whore that I am I will take it. I think the Packers are going to have a hard time with the Cowboys and T.O. tonight but hopefully they won't embarrass the real cheese state. Have a good week all. TC

Nice run Skin...

Just another good week here. Seems I've had a lot of those this year. 69 miles this week. My usual Tues/Thur/Sat routine went: Tue: 7x1000 @ 3:35 w/200 jog. Went 3:06 on the last one...Thur: 7 mile progression working down to 5:35...Sat: 11 miles @ 6:29 with 2x3 in the middle. Went 17:55/17:50, both of them on trails. Finished up the week with 14 this morning at 7:03 pace.

Running an 8k College xc race on Friday. Hopefully, I can keep Skins' back in sight :>)

See you on the roads,

Dave

Hey, lots of new posters this week! I like that. Don't be afraid to ask questions and get involved in the discussions. Learning from each other is the name of the game especially where injury prevention is concerned.

nyloco - we'll be heading out to Spokane with a team but it is a long time from now AND a long distance to travel. You know how things change quickly with old guys.

skin - Nice race! ... And how much over 32 minutes? That's really moving!

As for me, still sore from that x-country fall 2 weeks ago. Was starting to feel better, then had an unscheduled 1/4 mile time trial the other night - chasing a couple hooligans who attempted to break into my neighbor's house. They got away (they were on bikes). But I didn't. I got a whole slew of new aches and pains. Ah well, it was still a good week on the whole. Kept my volume up where it's supposed to be, and had a pretty good track workout: 20 x 400 at around 5K pace (didn't time them, but felt like my rhythm and stride efficiency improved dramatically over the last couple weeks). Also got in a nice session of long hill repeats, though those were sort of canceled out by that 1/4 chase a few hours afterward.

Okay, hope everyone has a great week!

Well, for all you new posters some of us like to go short and fast...I try to represent that section.

Track practice has been ramping up in intensity. We're still taking advantage of the great fall weather and the dwindling evening light to work hard on hurdle technique. I'm targeting quickness over the top of the hurdle, which involves a definite downward snap of the trail leg. I seem to be "getting it"....still more work to do. This morning's practice was especially strenuous as I had painted a section of my fence on Saturday and my lumbar region was sore. Advil helped take the edge off and enabled me to lean over the hurdles well, but I'm quite whipped now. I went over 60 hurdles this morning and I'm sure I'll want a nap later on.

This week: 3 track practices, 1 weight room session, and one circuit training class (push ups, pull ups, crunches, lunges, deadlifts, squats) that totally kicked my butt. I'm sleeping quite soundly these days--I'm so tired I'm out as soon as my head hits the pillow!

Good running to all!

sounds like a good week for many. nice to hear. I had sore throat/sinus congestion/cold, so planned cutback week on mileage was good timing. Ran a few 200s at end of 8-miler weds, but main workout was 5 X 1200 (400 jog) at goal 5k pace saturday.

I thought they'd be slow since my cold/sinus thing was lingering, so to prevent discouragement I timed them but didn't look at watch till end of workout. Cumulative time 19:56 (intended 20:00), so I was pleasantly surprised. It felt like a race would have been bad, but intervals gave me a chance to catch my breath often enough.

Have a great week.

Ran 32:08, offical time was 32:14? I don't know where that came from. And all of my miles were between 5:10 and 5:16 except for one (5:00). So, I'll go with an actual time of 32:20-32:25. I think that one mile was short because the pace didn't change and it wasn't downhill or anything.

I'm not one to second guess distances though so I'll just say I ran 32 minutes at a hard effort.

Good afternoon Masters,

Just finished a good week of training with my first XC race yesterday. It was a 5k with a big uphill second mile. Finished second in 16:00. Realized that I have to start working on my hill technique. I just got slaughtered on that second mile. My son immediately beat that time by six seconds in the HS Invite race. He is now the top dog in the house. All is right in the world!

Tues 3 x 5:00 xc trail, 3 x Big Hill

Thurs Strides

Good job Skin. Welcome to the newbies, now bring doughnuts! Pete, what was the quarter in?! #$%^

tony

I'm a 42 year-old Northeaster but originally from the UK Midlands. I have a 25:23 for 5 mile in Central Park to my name this season (90 plus AG). Highlight last year was 51:35 at the Cherry Blossom.

The training log looked like this for the 7 days ending today:

MON - rest (perfect way to start the week)

TUES - 3 mile jog, 6 * 800 with 200 rec (2:25-2:30), and then 4 mile warm-down

WED - 10 mile slow (7mpm)

THURS - 12 mile steady (6:45mpm)

FRI - 4 mile slow (7mpm)

SAT - 18 mile steady (7mpm)

SUN - 11 mile quite fast (5:45-6:30mpm: chasing college kids around Rockerfeller) (savage way to end the week)

Well, you'll fit right in with many of these blokes then. Keep posting.

Here's a question I figure someone on here is bound to know. When you see a race result listed with the notation "meets USATF age-group guideline", what exactly does that mean? What sort of guideline?

Thanks folks (and continued thanks for the most friendly, well mannered, and inspiring discussion topic on this web site!).

I'm pleased to note that holmfirthharrier is a Clubmate and the reason we're doing so well in the NYRR Masters Club competition.

Hello Master Blasters, looks like someone stole my line there on the first post! Nice to read all the new posters posts...essh is that the right way to say it?I am also from the UK originally and the Midlands so always nice to see a fellow Brit in Masters world. My club was Oxford AC, the home track being Iffley Rd ( and yes it was all cinders back in the day), now recently renamed the Roger Bannister track, where as you all know the first 4 minute mile was run!Having recently relocated with hubby back to up-state NY we are enjoying some early Autumn runs...today's was brilliant along the historic Erie canal. Loved it. Despite some achey stuff lingering from a 3yr long injurcy cycle, I was fortunate to get in my 4th consecutive week of training in ALL YEAR!!! and a 44 mile week with a day off. So I am extremely thankful as I have been running since a 10yr old back in the UK.... At any rate welcome to the new peeps and howdee to the oldies! Have a super week one and all! :o)

holmfirthharrier wrote:

I'm a 42 year-old Northeaster but originally from the UK Midlands. I have a 25:23 for 5 mile in Central Park to my name this season (90 plus AG). Highlight last year was 51:35 at the Cherry Blossom.

The training log looked like this for the 7 days ending today:

MON - rest (perfect way to start the week)

TUES - 3 mile jog, 6 * 800 with 200 rec (2:25-2:30), and then 4 mile warm-down

WED - 10 mile slow (7mpm)

THURS - 12 mile steady (6:45mpm)

FRI - 4 mile slow (7mpm)

SAT - 18 mile steady (7mpm)

SUN - 11 mile quite fast (5:45-6:30mpm: chasing college kids around Rockerfeller) (savage way to end the week)

I attempted my very first "mountain" race this morning and now I guess I'm the regional champion. ;-D Definitely a different way to run - and NOT my typical Sunday 16 miler on the trails.

Emotionally, I had a tough week - so much so that I found it almost impossible to get myself out for my mid-week "hard" workout, which was supposed to be fast 200/400/800s. Mentally, I just wasn't there and so I went to my xc loop and ran a tempo run on the grass. I just had to give myself permission to skip the stressful track and just do a comforting sort of run. I'm fairly sure you guys won't understand, but perhaps the women might.

I took a big van load of kids to the Seaside 3 course challenge this weekend. Reportedly 2500 kids running 3 different courses. It's an amazing event and totally hooks kids on xc. One of the highlights for the kids, though, is the "dance" held the night before the race. Approximately 1500 kids were jammed into a space designed to hold half that -- all mashed together and "dancing". We were supposed to keep an eye out for "inappropriate contact", but honestly all the action is the middle of crowd out of eyesight for the adults. I was amazed how the throngs of kids kept coming into the building! My other adult went in to retrieve them at the end and the humidity was so high, his glasses fogged up immediately!! ;-D The kids said it was disgusting that they were dripping with other people's sweat. ;-) They did have fun, though.

Today's run was at Mt. Hood and started out down Timberline Road (like HTC). I was immediately nearly last, but over the course of the uphill (all the way to Silcox Hut), I'd moved passed the mid-pack. I was passed by about 6 people coming down the rocky downhill (so scary!!), but hung in there and re-passed a couple coming back UP that road (wanted to walk SO bad). I was sure the overall woman's winner was 40, but apparently not yet, so much to my surprise, I won some money for first master! Really only 6 miles of running, though, if I can move tomorrow, I'd better get in some miles!