2024 USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships Sacramento, California July18-21 Full Circle at 60! Today is my fourth day in Sacramento. As I have probably already mentioned in previous posts, I competed here in 1982 in the California State Championship Meet. I ran the 400 meter race. I didn't place in the race because the state had a bevy of very talented athletes, and I was out performed, even though I entered the competition running 48.50 seconds in the 400. It was a great experience, one of the highlights of my youth. So it is GREAT to be back at age 60 (!) to compete in this meet. I arrived Wednesday evening--flew in from Minnesota--and checked into the hotel that a teammate (Alison Schwalm--amazing athlete and all-around super star person!) found. The place is only 8 minutes from the track. My preliminary race was on Thursday afternoon (in 105 degree heat!). I was a nervous wreck before, but luckily I found Wally Hernandez, another teammate and great runner, and his wife
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Tuesday, July 9, 2024 Recovering (still); "Wait and See" period Arrived in Minnesota late Saturday. Three-day drive, not so bad. On Sunday, June 30, I ran in the Mid-Atlantic/NJ Masters meet at Kean University in Union, NJ. I only registered for the 400m. It wasn't a great meet--the heats were organized so strangely. They had a heat for each 5-year age group, so some heats only had two runners, and a few had 4-5 runners. There was no other runner for my age group, so they tacked me on to the 70-74 group, which seemed odd because there were two runners in the 65-69 age group. I asked to be switched, but I had to stay in lane 7--the other two guys were in lanes 2 and 3. I never really saw them during the race, though I did hear Jeff Flock's footsteps when I rounded second curve, so it kept me motivated, so I'm grateful I got into his heat (he's a strong runner at 66!). I ran 1:05, two seconds slower than my first race on June 3rd. Also, in the last 100 meters or
Wednesday, June 26, 2024 Recovery and Strength Building For the past week or so (since last post), I have been in recovery and strengthening mode. I have been doing cardio work at the gym on stair machine--30 minutes of good cardio building. I have been doing my Pilates lessons and mat, and doing weights for my body, and the hamstring strengthening exercises every other day. Sunday I went to track practice, and I was able to complete the workout that Lorraine brought. It was two 200 meters (both at like 40 seconds), with 2 minutes between, then five minute rest, then a 400 (1:30), a 300 (1:00), a 400 (1:30) (with 2 minutes between each). Ten minutes rest, then two 200 meters (34). My hamstring did not bother me--though in the last 200 and in the following cool down, I started to "feel" it--it was getting tight and a little achy. The running felt good--great to be on the track again. Here are the times: First two 200 meters: 37 seconds and 37 seconds First 400: 1:27 300 mete
Sunday, June 16, 2024 Recovery and Cross Training It has been a week and a half since I've updated this blog. I went to track practice last Sunday, and I tried the 100 meter "tests." I only did three and still wasn't able to get to 50% of full sprint. I have been religiously doing the hamstring recovery/strengthening exercises every other day. I have been doing the Mill Climb (stairs) machine at the gym for cardio (30 minutes, lots of sweat and a good elevated heart rate). No pain with that. I have seen Dr. Aaron twice for acupuncture and cupping. It seems to really help. I have maintained my Pilates sessions with Megan and the daily truncated mat routine on days when I don't go to the studio for instruction. My hamstring is getting a little better each day. More flexibility, less tightness. I have registered for two more track meets this outdoor season: the USATF NJ (& Mid Atlantic) championship at Kean University in Union NJ on June 30th (two weeks from tod
Wednesday, June 5, 2024 Hamstring Recovery Protocol So, I have re-watched that great hamstring recovery video (I posted on a previous post or two). Since I don't have any pain walking, and the icing period is over, I decided to go over to the track and attempt the three 100m runs (first 20m slow, next 60m at 50%, last 20m slow). You have to have no pain or (as a minimum bar) a pain level of 4 or less. I could not get up to 50% effort . . . the hammy hurt. So I ran all three 100ms SLOW. But I tried the stadium stairs, and felt little or no pain, so I went ahead and did 20 reps of the lower tier. My legs got wobbly and I was breathy. So I rode my bike home. The new sliders arrived, so I will use them do to the exercises as they are laid out in the video. Trying to follow the protocol best I can to see if I can recover enough to run in another meet or two this outdoor season. I see Dr. Aaron on Friday. I have a Pilates private lesson again tomorrow. After that, I'll go to gym for
First Official 400 Meter Race! Competed at the Elliot Denman NJ International Track & Field Meet at Monmouth University, on Sunday, June 2, 2024 This was my first 400 meter race in 40 years. I am so grateful I was able to run, grateful for the ability to move my body! I did pretty well--MUCH better than I expected. There were 3 sections of 400 Masters for the race. I was in the last (and slowest) heat (save the one high school kid who finished in like 54 seconds LOL--who, by the way, was way out in lane 8 or 9, and I couldn't even see him to try to catch him--would have needed my glasses!). My best competition in this heat was Jeff Flock (a 66-year-old on my team, and a 35-year-old unattached runner next to me in lane 2 [I was in 3]). I had put my qualifying time in as 1:20 (because, honestly, I hadn't run faster than like 1:18 in practices--so I was going in hoping to run at 1:15 or maybe 1:10 with my best effort). I was a little concerned, too, about my hamstring, as wel
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 Training Continues Yesterday I jogged to Pilates and had a session with Megan. Then I went over to Franklin Field. I was inspired to do a 300 meter set by a workout that Bill Yelverton put on his blog a couple of days ago. I thought I would see where I am compared to him at this point in time. He noted these results: 4 x 300 w/ 2:30 rest: 47:57, 47.85, 49.99, 48.65 (Avg. 48.52) I ended up doing 5 in total, but mostly because I realized sometime during the set that I had miscalculated the distance. I was actually running these somewhere between 310-320 meters (the lines of the Penn track fooled me again--I forgot that the main start line with the numbers is not actually the start for the 200m and 300m . . . my bad). Overall (positive aspects first!): I was able to complete the workout. My left hamstring, though very slightly tight still, did not hurt. My times were not THAT awful. The more neutral or negative aspects: I sure can't run as fast as I thought
Sunday, May 26, 2024 Good Track Workout Today I got up and went to track practice in Chestnut Hill. Team was light today on account of holiday weekend and a one mile race tomorrow that many will do. I ran with Bob today. He was the guy who set the pace for the workout when I FIRST joined the team back in March--and he really impressed me with his cardio strength and power (I think he's 66!). He invited me to run 400s today. He set a goal of 4 400s at about 92 seconds with about a minute and a half in between. I did a mile jog, drills, and a few 100s to warm up. I was able to run/keep up with him, and I didn't feel any pain in hammy, so I was grateful. In fact, I felt so good, I went ahead and ran 2 more 400s after Bob ended the fourth. This also gave me an opportunity to practice pacing myself. I kept getting to the 200m mark before my goal of 45 seconds. But still it was good practice to see where I'm at on the track during a dash and to check how I feel. A couple of teamm
Friday, May 24, 2024 Mixed Feelings (Results?) Today I did a track workout at Franklin Field. I jogged over as a warm up. My hammy felt fine. I got to the track and one portion of it was covered with a tarp (left over from graduation ceremony). There was only one other runner on the track. I decided to do a workout from the Collins book. 6 x 200m at around 32 seconds (his number) with 4 minutes rest in between (which was good--the 200m plan--because the top of one half of the track was unusable due to the tarp). About halfway through, a group of about 10 runners started using the track. That was okay I guess. So, the positive aspects: I was able to complete the workout. My hammy didn't hurt. My times were relatively okay. The negative aspects: My times were not as good as I thought they should be; my whole body felt sort of stiff and claggy; my left quad felt sort of tight on the last 3. I am not as optimistic that I will be able to run a 400m at a minute. I went to the gym after
Sunday, May 19, 2024: Steady Progress Had a great week! I was careful to rest each day after running. I did the new bike at the gym for a pretty good cardio workout 2 days this week. I also did the stair machine. I find that I can really get my heart rate up on these with no strain on my hammy. I have also been doing the hammy RDL strength exercises from the video I added to a post a week or so back. They seem to really help. Megan is away, so I didn't have any Pilates sessions. I did acupuncture and cupping with Dr. Aaron on Friday. Wednesday I turned 6o years old!!! My hammy felt totally fine on Tuesday, Wednesday. and Thursday. I did not go to the track because Wally said they were setting up for graduation (which is this evening) at Franklin Field. Friday morning, before Dr. Aaron appointment, I went for a 3.5 mile run outside. I completed the the 2nd and 3rd miles in 8 minutes, 10 seconds. I felt pretty good. My hammy started "talking" to me in the third mile, so I
Monday, May 13, 2024 Review of Sunday Track Practice Yesterday morning I got up in the cold and light rain and went to track practice in Chestnut Hill. I was invited to do a workout with two ladies I'd met a few weeks ago--Alison and Lorraine. They are both middle distance runners, and they were going to attempt more of a "distance" workout of 300s, 600s, an 800, and a 1200. Alison is an amazing runner--tall and lean with a great stride. She's probably 15-20 years younger than I. And Lorraine is in excellent shape, shorter than Alison, and she is maybe 5-10 years younger than I [inserting info I found online after I wrote this entry--Lorraine is like 62! She looks A LOT younger!]. Anyway, I trailed Lorraine for all the splits--and Alison would start behind me, but some splits (especially the last few splits) she moved ahead of me at some point, which was impressive--that she had extra to give at the end. I did not write or memo the exact splits and times we did, or th
Thursday, May 9, 2024 Went to Pilates this morning on my bike. My leg is feeling kind of . . . tight/tender? I'm not not aware of my hamstring area at present, ever since Tuesday's track workout, so I'm taking it easy. I went to the track to run the stadium stairs, and I got three long flight runs in (lower plus upper levels) before I was told the track was closed . . . the women's lacrosse team was practicing, and an assistant something-or-rather said it's "NCAA." I've always run on track and done stadium stairs while the mens lacrosse team practiced . . . so, anyway, have to let it go, and not push against his wrong, no matter how right I am, lol. It's a bummer to lose a full workout yet again. I have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow morning with Dr. Aaron. I'll do one more treatment and see how it goes. Sunday I'll got to track practice. Just a reminder to self--From a post right after my hamstring injury: "As mentioned, I hav
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Back on the track! Beautiful day at Franklin Field. Basically had the track to myself again. Fine weather. Jogged to the Pilates studio for a session with Megan. Then I walked over to the stadium. My hamstring feeling pretty much healed. I feel slight tightness/a dull aching feeling in area above hamstring--like where my leg connects to my butt. It's definitely below a level 4, so I'm going to keep running! I had 9 days away; I used the compression balls during the drive from Chicago to Cali, and they really helped alleviate pains and cramps as I drove. Once in Cali, I practiced Pilates mat on three days, and on two days, I ran the nice hill next to my sister's house--5 times up and back the first day, which felt great. The day after, my butt was sore! Then I did that again another day, and I managed to run it 6 times. Yesterday I had Pilates mat in the morning, then I went to the gym and did a chest workout. I'm loving the bars! Chin-ups, dips, ha
Thursday, April 25, 2024 Penn Relays Today I went over to watch the Masters events at the Penn Relays. It was a nice day, mostly sunny and mild. Here's a pic at the stadium: It was a fun couple of hours. Bill Yelverton won the M60 100m in 13.23, which was pretty great to watch. He also anchored both the M60 4x100m and 4x400m races for the GPTC. I was impressed by his performance, knowing he's recently overcome an injury. Also, the runners on the M60 4x400 winning team looked great--the Global Sprinters TC: Oscar Jose Fabra, Owen Barrett, Jerome Bryant Applegate, and Ronald Humphrey. I see their names at #2, #6, #11, and #15 in last year's Master Rankings in the U.S. for the 400m (Bill Y. is there at #3 with a time of 57.59, which is amazing). Incidentally, #1 last year was James Lundberg (62) with a time of 55.96. I guess when I decided to start this little project in February, I couldn't imagine that guys my age and a little older could run the 400 meters in 55-57 seco
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Thursday, April 18, 2024 Carrying On That's me, doing "tester" 100m runs today on the track. After Pilates, I rode my bike over, took a slow mile warm-up jog. I am inspired by this amazing YouTube video I found that is all about recovering from a pulled hamstring, explaining exercises and track runs to help guide you through healing. I will see if I can post the link at the bottom of this page. Anyway, I ran three 100 meter "tests." The idea is to run the first 20 meters slowly, run the next 60 meters at 50% max, and the last 20 meters slowly. When you can complete 3 of these with a "4" level of pain or less, you can move on to stage 2, which is to run the middle section at 80%--and once you can complete three of those WITHOUT ANY pain, you can progress to stage 3, which is all-out sprinting. I could "feel" my hamstring today as I ran all three 100m. I think I will try this again on Sunday to see if I can get the pain down to minimal before
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 Slow Recovery I am a little vexed today at the pace at which my hamstring is healing. I did my acupuncture and cupping treatment on Friday with Dr. Aaron. I decided to take that day off from doing stadium stairs because I read that it's not optimal to workout after these treatments. (It was pouring rain on Thursday, so I passed that day as well.) Sunday I went to GPTC practice out in Chestnut Hill. It was a beautiful spring morning. I did a slow jog mile warmup, then my dynamic stretching drills. I decided to try the 800m workout from Bill Collins's book (which I did in February [before the injury]). The workout is 5 x 800m at 3.30 with 5 minutes between. I decided to try 2 and see how I felt. I felt great on the first, though I was running slowly . . . actually my times are a little inaccurate because I ran in like lane 6 to avoid traffic and didn't stagger my starts . . . but I finished in just under 4 min. I rested 5 then tried the next, and towar
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 Noodle Legs! Yesterday I rode my bike to the Pilates studio for a private lesson with Megan. After, I went over to Franklin Field for my first track workout there in over 5 weeks! It was a nice day--warm, low 70s, sunny. I did a nice slow mile warmup. Then I completed 15 stadium stair runs. There was no stress on my right hamstring. I didn't feel any pain; the muscle didn't cramp up the way it did a couple of weeks ago during my 6th 400m slit at Sunday GPTC practice. I was happy about all that! Running stadium stairs is such an amazing cardio workout. Also, it definitely produces "noodle legs"--mine were shaking a lot when I finished. I rode over to the gym and did a chest workout after. Today I have sore calves, but my hamstring does not seem stressed after that workout. I will probably go back tomorrow or Friday and do another stadium stairs routine. Not sure yet about Sunday practice. I suppose I could go and do an easy 800 workout or some
Saturday, April 6, 2024 Recovery Week I just re-read my previous post from last Sunday. This week revealed a bit more tightness in my hamstring than I had anticipated enduring. I decided to continue to take it easy this week, to give the leg more time to heal, as I believe it is still compromised. Hind sight is 20/20, but if I could do Sunday's workout over again, I would have stopped after the 4th split. Rounding the last curve on that 6th 400m is when my hammy tightened up. I think this is the "over doing it" lesson. I did my Pilates mat routine every day this week, except Tuesday, when I headed into NYC for an appointment. I had a private studio session on Thursday with Megan. I did weight training at the gym M, W, and F. I will go again tomorrow, Sunday. Yesterday (Friday) I did my fourth acupuncture/cupping treatment with Dr. Aaron at Philadelphia Mind-Body Acupuncture. I do feel like the treatments are helping me heal. The cupping on my hamstring felt especially goo
Sunday, March 31, 2024--Easter Day Back to the track! This morning I got up and went to track practice. There were a lot of GPTC members present, which shows how committed many of them are (inspiring!). I did a nice mile warm-up jog, and then I did the series of dynamic stretches and drills that I have saved on my phone. I decided to go back to the beginning--where I started in Bill Collins's training program--and do 4 to 8 (the workout prescribed 8, but I wanted to go easy on my hamstring and see how I felt) 400 meter runs in 90 seconds each with 2 minute rests. I felt good/normal as I ran the first one; I was thrilled that I did it in 90 seconds, and that I felt no pain or anything! I was so grateful. All of the splits were at 90 seconds--except for number 6--as I rounded the last curve, I could "feel" my hamstring. It didn't hurt, exactly, it's just that I noticed it--it felt slightly tight. So, in an effort to stay true to taking it easy at first, I slowed
Friday, March 29, 2024 Patience and Appreciation It has been almost three weeks since my last post. Today's themes are patience and appreciation. I have had to meditate on patience each day as I practiced "no running one day at a time." And I am really missing it! I have grown quite fond of my daily 3 mile runs the past 2 plus years (since I retired). Not only do I miss the physical movement and conditioning, but I also miss the quiet time in the mind that running provides. And I was, of course, totally enjoying the track workouts I had begun in February. Nevertheless, I stuck to my commitment to not run while I gave my hamstring time to heal. I have been doing my Pilates mat routine pretty much every day (and biking to the studio twice a week for my private lessons with Megan). I have also kept up my weight lifting practice at the gym (though I've avoided working my legs). I did the elliptical machine at the gym one day for 15 minutes, but I just don't dig tha
Sunday, March 10, 2024 Acceptance Well, it has been a long week for me. My last post was about the great practice workout I had last Sunday with some members of the Greater Philadelphia Track Club. On Monday, I was feeling great, so I decided to do my usual 3-mile run on the treadmill. I only warmed up for a couple of minutes before I cranked the speed to 8, so that I could do three, eight-minute miles (though earlier in the morning I did my Pilates mat practice with Meagan). I had the incline set to an easy .5 . . . and I was feeling fantastic. I completed the first mile in 7 minutes 30 seconds, and, again, felt just great! Then it happened: Suddenly, out of nowhere, my right hamstring seized up. I immediately lowered the speed and tried to walk it out . . . but it was more serious pain than just a cramp. I got off the machine, went to the mat again to do some long, slow passive stretching. I walked home fine (but could feel something was "off"). I iced and elevated the leg
Sunday, March 3, 2024 Reality Check Today I got up and made my way to Chestnut Hill to check out the Greater Philadelphia Track Club practice. I contacted the club's membership person and he told me about their weekly practices. Nice track at a local school. They divide between distance runners and sprinters, so I opted to trail the distance runners, since they were planning on running splits of 500 meters. There were four or five of us in the group, and I was the youngest (they were, I believe, early and mid-sixties). The workout was 5 x 500m and 1 x 400m. The split times were 3 minutes 30 seconds with 2 minutes between each split . . . and the 400, 90 seconds. How I did: well, I completed every split! I was with the group (tail end) throughout, but to be completely honest, 500m number 5 was really challenging for me--I finished probably 5-10seconds behind the leader. I came back to life for that last 400, and finished pretty strong. But, overall, it was a humbling experience. I
Friday, March 1, 2024 Weather today about 43 degrees with a slight wind. Nice in the sun! Today's track work for Collins's Week 4 is Run stadium steps. Run the equivalent of 60 meters of steps x 20. That's what I attempted to do, although I don't think the length of the stadium steps at Franklin Field is 60 meters--it's less, maybe 50? Anyway, I ran them 20 times, and it was hard at the end! It's the first workout I've done where my legs were shaking uncontrollably from the work. I ran to and from the stadium, and went to the gym after to do a Pilates mat routine and weights (worked my back muscles). I have to start thinking about taking one day off a week from running and weights (but especially running--that's a hard one for me at this point, as I'm desperate to build the endurance I will need to run a fast 400 meters. I'd like do another 3 miles around 24 minutes this week [as on Wednesday, I felt too tired from the 5 x 800m workout on Tuesd
Tuesday, February 27, 2024: Great day on the track! Today was a beautiful day for running. I ran to the Pilates studio for a session with Megan. We did a lot of stretching exercises. It felt really good to get in there and really loosen up my quads, glutes, etc. Afterwards I headed to Franklin Field. It was sunny and about 55 degrees when I arrived. No one was on the track for the first half of my workout, which felt like a real gift. Today's workout was the prescribed Week 3 track workout in Collins's book. (Side note: I have realized that I need to either compress the weekly workouts in Collins's book [e.g., combine the track workouts from two consecutive weeks into double workouts for one week], and/or, I will need to "skip ahead" at some point so that I can start doing more short sprint workouts. His book gives 52 weeks of workouts that begin at the start of Septemb
Friday, February 23, 2024 Today I went back to the track to finish the week 2 workout I did on Tuesday (which I couldn't finish due to a lacrosse game). Today was a little warmer, 47 degrees. It rained last night (it was still misty and cloudy at noon when I arrived at the track), and there were puddles in lanes 1-4 (at the beginning of the second turn). Before I report my performance for today's workout, I should give an update on what I found out about the track at Franklin Field since Tuesday: Turns out (info found on YouTube) that lane 4 is the true 400 meter lane there. Lanes 1, 2, and 3 were added when they expanded the track (they couldn't add lanes on the outer side due to the stadium walls). Lucky for me, today I came across a young guy who came to run on the track. I have been confused by the markings/lack of markings on the track. I asked if he knew where the 300 meter mark was--and he did! I think I understood that he used to run track at UPenn. He explained th