Forums >Racing>Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023
Dave are there some fast 50+ runners round your area ? There's a guy 57 who lives near me, a triathlete who bangs out low 1.20 halfs off not much running. My city is only about 150k people. Do you do other stuff to keep strong. I find muscle diminishes quickly now unless I do weights, core, etc. I surf alot too.
Dave are there some fast 50+ runners round your area ?
There's a guy 57 who lives near me, a triathlete who bangs out low 1.20 halfs off not much running.
My city is only about 150k people.
Do you do other stuff to keep strong. I find muscle diminishes quickly now unless I do weights, core, etc.
I surf alot too.
Yeah there are a handful of fast old farts around here. I look around for the ones I know at the start of races, to assess what kind of chance I have at AG placing. I know a few sub-3 guys around my age, including one who's 59-60 and ran a 2:51 in London in 2021. There a 52yo who's run 2:48; I just met him a couple months ago at a parkrun, where he ran a 17:52. With his dog.
I'm terrible at any kind of cross-training; I hate all forms of exercise other than running.
Dave
Yeah I think alot of us hate cross training. I put a very basic gym in my garage about 2 years ago and force myself through a routine every few days. My 17 yr old is a gym junkie and I've been with him a few times to show an interest in his hobby. I don't really enjoy public gyms though.
55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT
" If you don't use it you lose it, but if you use it, it wears out.
Somewhere in between is about right "
Fishy nice on the 1.24. Boston next eh, Kipchoge is running it right ? That will be interesting. I too ran my last marathon in 2014 then lost motivation.
The fact that you round down my PRs has instantly made you my favorite poster on this thread!!
I must be a glutton for punishment because I ran plenty of Marathons after my PR in 2015 I just sucked in most until my last one in November (3:09 in Philadelphia). Truth was, I had a hard time accepting the fact that I needed to put in a lot of work and consistent training. I thought "I did it that time I can quickly get back there." and that just isn't the case for me.
Kipchoge will probably pull out with some phantom injury when he finds out I decided to run
5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015)
Overweight per CDC BMI
Fishy - he is coming from Celsius land so you have to convert the time to 1:56 for a Half....
Memphis / 38 male
5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10
Intl. correspondent
Dave - here's hoping the shin pains go away soon. 🤞
Mark - it's time to confess you enjoy wearing the all pink kit 😁
Piwi - Welcome back! I've been making all the bad jokes while you were out 😎
me - I'm going to pretend I didn't see the weather forecast, and cover my ears while shouting la-la-la-la-la-la.
I must keep my mind on a positive loop 💪 Focus on what I can control which is to apply massive amounts of sunblock and wear a cap.
And go to bed at 8pm so that I'm actually sleeping at 10pm.
Tomorrow is the day of having pizza napoletana and açaí, my super combo to ensure a glorious race!
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
Mikkey That's pretty cool you got to see McGuigan.
Andy I think darkwave hit the nail on the head with tempo. You really only want 1 minute rests or so with those. Tempo is about improving your ability to maintain a constant medium hard to hard effort.
Fueling I concur that it's better to fuel by time than feel. I really had to force the cliff bloks down during my rough patch between miles 13 and 15, but it paid dividends when everything felt good again around mile 19. I think I notice a slight boost from them both during training and racing. Could be mental, could be the caffeine, could be the increase in blood glucose, it's probably all 3.
Commander I have not tried mixing my own LMNT yet, that's an interesting idea. Do you just buy magnesium and potassium powder from a Vitamin shop or something? I can't deny I love the flavors though. I haven't tried putting the chocolate ones in my coffee yet. Apparently that's a thing people do. I start my mornings with a tall glass of water with LMNT to hydrate before I start drinking coffee usually.
flavio and Steve If the forecast is bad, in my opinion you should do what I did and just say "Bring it the fuck on!!!!" I mean really though, so much of endurance sports is mental. Make it a battle! On that note
RP Having an epic race / race story is what you make of it in my opinion. Battle the runners near you, battle the weather if it's bad, battle your inner demons, cross the finish line running on fumes, celebrate afterwards. You WILL have a story lol.
Fishy "Kipchoge will probably pull out with some phantom injury when he finds out I decided to run." LOVE IT. Make it so the devil checks under his bed at night to make sure YOU'RE not there!
Problem Child
andy My favorite part about lactate threshold is it doesn't matter what the pace is. The heart rate is what matters. So being 20 seconds SLOWER (say 6:53 on a 6:30 goal) doesn't really matter if you're in the heart rate range you want to be in. As for motivation for when you're doing 1 mile repeats vs a 3-4 mile continuous effort I guess I just run hard enough where doing another mile at that pace, when the workouts first start, seems insane. Literally to a point of "how the hell am I going to do this for twice as far in two weeks?" Ever week seems to get better. It IS nice to cruise around 10k pace for a few miles just feeling the work happening and mentally approaching it as "time to put in work" like it's a race or something. Maybe it's just me.
cross training I saw a squat rack for sale on craigslist and sent it to the wife. I asked if she would mind parking outside forever (she's been there the whole time I've been working on the Jeep this extended winter) and she was actually willing to do it. I then realized converting the garage to a gym means I can't do garage things. I already don't use my TRX bands so I don't know why I think I'd use a full set of weights. Maybe when I take a step back from marathons and just START doing some weights. I like being strong when I was 10+ years younger.
fishy man...I guess I'll have to be extra crazy to throw down at Boston knowing you'll be there. I just saw a youtube video about his training. Apparently he's living at 7,200 ft elevation. According to Outside Magazine he was training at 7,800 ft elevation in 2021. wow.
currently looking out 11 days the weather for race day is
9-10 mph NW or WNW winds through Newton between 10am and 2pm.
Approximately 60 degrees and 41 dew points for a score of 101.
Humidity 40-50%
It's going to be a warm year.
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
Cobra Commander Keen
Piwi - !!! Welcome back.
DWave - Coordinating running around soccer tournaments mostly involves loss of sleep, particularly if I'm solo parenting that weekend. Getting in a 2.5-3 hour run, being back in time to make sure DD1 is up and gets dressed/eats breakfast before having to be at the fields 30-45 minutes before an 8x game that's 10-30 minutes away from the hotel makes for a long day. I also miss out on so many of the other parents staying up late and getting wasted in the hotel lobby bar (I don't drink, but occasionally amuse myself by spectating those who do), but as an introvert that's not a tragic loss.
Reading how you structure things like tapers, etc. is always super-interesting and informative.
Merkle - I bought some bulk versions of those same electrolytes off Amazon (except the table salt, of course). Their website has the recipe/amounts on it. Chocolate is really good in coffee. I haven't been able to try the caramel chocolate in coffee, but that sounds promising.
RP - You certainly won't use the weights if you don't have them! Seems to me like you'll have to just get them and see what happens.
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Merkle I remember an old marathon quote " eat before you feel hungry but drink when you feel thirsty "
Not sure if it's true but it sounds good
Flavio hi . If it's a trail race then the pressure is off with pace right ? So you won't have to panic over splits.
Good luck.
Keen hi . We did the soccer thing for 10 years with my oldest son. It was a big commitment. Yeah some of those parents sure know how to drink.
RP we don't use our garage for cars due to everything else in there. My gym is tiny just a bench and rack and cheap weights. I tried squats initially but my form is so terrible with tight hamstrings it was hurting my back. Also hard without a squat rack.
Happy Easter everyone 4 day weekend woo-hoo
Doing a Parkrun tomorrow to get a benchmark time..
fishy man...I guess I'll have to be extra crazy to throw down at Boston knowing you'll be there. I just saw a youtube video about his training. Apparently he's living at 7,200 ft elevation. According to Outside Magazine he was training at 7,800 ft elevation in 2021. wow. currently looking out 11 days the weather for race day is 9-10 mph NW or WNW winds through Newton between 10am and 2pm. Approximately 60 degrees and 41 dew points for a score of 101. Humidity 40-50% It's going to be a warm year.
RP- Looking forward to the throw-down. You and Kipchoge will be going out quite a while before I do. I'll be dodging and weaving for the first 5 miles at least!
I'm still hoping for a cold front...Wind shouldn't be a factor. My best year was a headwind and I didn't even notice it. So many runners it almost negates the wind effect.
RIP Milkman
You just gotta love Boston in the spring. Sunday morning will be 31 degrees with a high of only 51. High temp on Thursday? 78. Let's hope you guys get the former vs. the latter.
Piwi welcome back.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
It's Tuesday every day
Mmerkle (a few days late): I just cut/pasted your race report into Word so I can read it every day before Boston. WTG!
Piwi I'd expect surf boards, and cars to be challenging to store in the same space as a gym. Have you considered using trash cans filled with water as weights to save space? Just empty them when you're finished and hang them to dry.
no 4 day weekend here. I AM taking tomorrow off.
keen jeep parts are heavy enough. Ever bench pressed an 80 lb transfer case then held it over chest for an undefined period of time? It's practically free Kris Kross Fit.
JMac boston in the spring sounds like Reno in the "pretty much all year round. It was 27 (~-3C) this morning at my house. Currently 63 (~17C). I too am hoping for the cooler weather, and if it's 50s then the 4 mph breeze from the East might help. If it is 40 I'll take a tail wind and try not to freeze.
taper madness is happening. I woke up 30 minutes early today and cleaned the kitchen counters, dinner table was polished and the floors were "mopped" using the norwex dry/wet mop thing we have. I'm sure the wife was happy even though she said nothing.
Mmmm Bop
I also use part of my garage as a gym and swapped the straight bar for a trap (hex) bar a few years ago which is much easier on the back as you’re in a more upright position. They’re great for deadlifts but if you want to go lower and make it more of a squat then you can stand on a raised platform (box/weight plates etc) eg. https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/TBSquat
Maybe Flavio will consider that cheating but if you’re old and weak then I think it’s a good alternative!
Good luck at the Parkrun. 👍
ETA - Good luck also to Flavio!
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Mmerkle - You bet, my style is either break a PR or bonk hard.
RP - Get the weights and place them outside, keep the garage. Problem solved 😁I was mopping the floor earlier today as well, taper madness is real. I'm glad my race is tomorrow though, so I'll spend the day working today and not thinking about it.
Piwi - the irony is that I've signed up for this race because I wanted a fun race. I've been chasing PRs since September last year and I thought a break was welcome.In fact, I have no races planned for the next few months until October cause I thought I needed a break from competition, cause just like yourself, I put way too much pressure on myself.Yet here I am with delusions of running HMP on the flatter sections of the race.
Mikkey - Definitely not cheating. In fact you can have a decent workout without any weights.A good example is the reverse lunge with knee lift.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4NhQAZIPZI
You can make it way harder if you do 2 things:1 - Hold some post while doing it, with the extra balance you will do a lot more work on the muscles2 - Do it in slow motion, think 4-5 seconds down, 4-5 seconds up.
me - The hay is in the barn. The decisions have been made, the training was done, all the systems are ready to go. This race looks like it's gonna be epic. I'll see you on the other side 😎