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Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:38 am

 
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Senior Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 10
Location: Belle Plaine.Mn

You guys have a lot of good information. The reason for the 8 week to a 5k is that it is a short term goal to get me back to competition. truth be known I really have no desire to run a 5k. I would rather jump right in to a 100 or 200 but I know that is imposible. I am still confused as to what I should concentrate on first. loose weight or start some speed work. I know if I do speed work the weight will come off but not sure it will come off fast enough?



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Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:04 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:24 am
Posts: 202
Location: Utrecht (Netherlands)

I would concentrate on everything. The week is long enough to build up speed and strength and loose weight the other days. Building up speed must be done carefully, and so takes a lot of months. Why not start with it before weight has been lowered enough? I reread my training diary last week and saw that it took 7 months after restarting before I could run a more or less good training time: 300m within 60 seconds. Only two months later that was the speed for a full 800m. So in my case it came slowly at first, then accelerated considerably.

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regards, Weia



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Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:05 pm

 
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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:30 am
Posts: 7

Hi Mike,

I'm out of Eugene, Oregon: I've read some of your posts. Hope you don't mind having another guy giving you any frindly input.

I'm a 43 year old ex-mid distance runner. Here is what I've learned during the last 5 years in my struggles on having a comeback.

a) build up as much base as you can meaning gradually increase your weekly mileage over the next years.

b) concentrate on loosing weight and getting strong doing hill repeats, from drills, stretching, flexibility and again a lot of easy running.

c) forget about wanting to be a 400 meter runner for a while, train like a 5K guy. Just starting out.. the chance of injury is so big it's not worth trying to do any sprints other than strides for quite a while. There is a 90% chance that your body, most likely your hamstrings or calfs won't be able to handle repeated sprints within the next few months.

d) set youself goals that are not to far out because it's to easy to loose focuse and skipp workouts because you have no sense of urgency... Maybe concentrate on the mile or 800 to start with and then by next year get down to run the 400 a few times.

My story: A lot of miles got me back to be strong and got my weight down. I ran a 4:31 mile last year without running much mid distance specific training...but a lot of hills...and 60 mile weeks.
Before my 4:31 mile I went on the track about 4 times within a month before the mile and did repeats..I also added some 200's at the end of longer workouts. I also ran a 57 second 400 in one workout...and felt that just the strides that I've sprinkled in after on easy running days gave me enough speed to probably go 54 or 55 if I'd run a 400...

Anyway, this got long, hope you didn't mind my input, it's amazing all those things I still learn about "my" running...though I obviously did it for a while.
I guess what I'm saying in short is...forget what you did when you were young..you got to train "master specific"...

...good luck,...have fun...and remember..."it only takes one injury to send you back to the couch..."!!



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Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:52 pm

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

Thanks bullet! I appreciate you taking the time to offer some advice. Training like a 5K guy though, just completely goes against my nature. I may add a little distance to my plan, and will certainly not move to anything beyond 70% sprint efforts until I'm sure that I'm strong enough to take it to the next level. The last thing I want this year, is an injury! It's just that methodical long distance drives me nuts! I might run a mile for a warm-up instead of 800 and close with an 800 after the 70% sprint striding for the first two months just to be safe. This I think will be adequate before I start turning out 90% short distance efforts. We'll see how it goes, I'll keep you posted. Also, I only plan on doing a 60 and a 200 this year in the Cleveland Track Classic in July. Take care and thanks again!

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:47 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

Just started my second week of outdoor training. There is nothing like trying to catch one's breath after a good sprint! Anyhow, it's great to be back on the track. Only sprinting around 50% effort right now, as I want to make sure all the connectives are conditioned first. Hope everyone else is doing well!

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:49 pm

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

UH OH!!! Got a case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot...OUCH!!! Hopefully this doesn't take too long to recover from. Good thing I've got time.

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Fri May 22, 2009 3:19 pm

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

Wow! I've never experienced an injury like this. Finally, I'm now able to at least stride some short distances in addition to some light jogging. I really started to recover when I started icing and massaging my foot. I would rate myself at about 55%, but at least I can run a little! Has anyone else been waylaid by this injury? If so, what did you do and how long did it take to get to where you could run full out again? I won't run competitively this year, but plan to hit winter close to my ideal weight and in decent shape.

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Fri May 22, 2009 6:02 pm

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:53 pm
Posts: 143
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL

Hey Mike,

Proper shoes and lots of stretching really helped me. They also make a night splint you can wear while you sleep that stretches out the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon.

Good luck to you,

Tony



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Sat May 23, 2009 5:09 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

tonyb wrote:
Hey Mike,

Proper shoes and lots of stretching really helped me. They also make a night splint you can wear while you sleep that stretches out the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon.

Good luck to you,

Tony


Thanks Tony. How long did you use the night splint?

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Sat May 23, 2009 8:08 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:53 pm
Posts: 143
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL

Hey Mike,

I did not use the splints so I am not sure how long it would take to feel relief. I was able to ease my pain by self massage and stretching in the morn and throughout the day. Sounds like you may have a more severe case. Something else I did was to untuck and loosen the bedsheets so that my feet were not pressed downward all night. It worked for me.

Again, good luck.

Tony



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Mon May 25, 2009 8:09 am

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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:47 pm
Posts: 71
Location: sarasota, florida

Hey Mike,
I suffered from it for two years but got great relief from the Strassburg sock which I wore at night and massage, stretching etc. My end solution occured when the tendon ruptured completely which released the tension and put me out of commission for 3 months. Now I am dealing with a whole new set of problems as the foot structure has changed and I have lost the power that I used to have in my landing foot (hurdles)! I have new orthotics that help and I am working on a comeback! Ran my first race since February this week with not so great results...but my plans are still to compete in Oshkosh and Lahti this summer. Good luck with your injury it looks like you have received some good advice from the forum.

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Jimmy Broun



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Wed May 27, 2009 4:55 pm

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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

jbroun wrote:
Hey Mike,
I suffered from it for two years but got great relief from the Strassburg sock which I wore at night and massage, stretching etc. My end solution occured when the tendon ruptured completely which released the tension and put me out of commission for 3 months. Now I am dealing with a whole new set of problems as the foot structure has changed and I have lost the power that I used to have in my landing foot (hurdles)! I have new orthotics that help and I am working on a comeback! Ran my first race since February this week with not so great results...but my plans are still to compete in Oshkosh and Lahti this summer. Good luck with your injury it looks like you have received some good advice from the forum.


Wow! I'm impressed by your will to continue! I can't imagine trying to come back from a complete rupture. Each day seems to be a little better which enables me to regularly work out. I'm still far from high intensity, but it is great to be able to at least stride some short sprints. Keep at it, maybe we'll both be at the championships in '12.

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:05 am

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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 12:48 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Oklahoma City, OK

Mike, how is your training coming? How did you run that 200m you spoke of in July?



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Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:16 pm

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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:52 am
Posts: 28
Location: Ohio

ksoper78 wrote:
Mike, how is your training coming? How did you run that 200m you spoke of in July?


Thanks for asking! This foot injury has been one of the most difficult that I've ever dealt with. Because of this, I was not in any condition to compete this year. I was however, able to get my weight down to within 10-15lbs of my ideal competitive weight. I also have a decent deadlift, a good aerobic and sprinting base, along with flexibility that I've not had since high school! I'm looking to at least keep the gains I've made through Winter and hopefully have a decent base competitive year in 2010. The foot injury is still there and I have to watch pushing it too hard, but at least it's manageable. The first three months, it was so bad I thought my sprinting days were over!

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2012 "Top 5" 200m & 400m M45



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Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:10 am

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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 12:48 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Oklahoma City, OK

Well hopefully your foot gets better this winter. Have you had it checked out by a doctor yet?

I've just started training about 3 weeks ago for the first time in 8 years. So far so good. I'm taking it slow, not doing much speed until I get my muscles and joints used to striding again.

What kind of times did you used to run in the 200m and 400m?



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