Sprinting At 60

Sunday, January 25 Decided to make another blog post today . . . I have been missing "talking to myself" on here :)  I competed in two meets last weekend in Ithaca, NY. I drove up on Friday with teammates Alison and Lorraine. We stayed  the weekend. On Saturday we competed in the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile. I ran a 5:56 mile (under six minutes!). It was really hard. I tried to pace myself off of a more experience teammate--Mike--but he had a tough race and I ended up running slowly for 7 laps . . . and then I sprinted the last lap because I didn't want to be last! The first 7 of my 200 meter laps were in 44-49 seconds, but my last one I did in 34. Crazy! It was a new experience--I have never run a mile race in my life--and it was fun. Afterwards there was a great luncheon. Our teammate Johnny won the 65 age group medal. He led my heat . . . I should have paced off of him.  Sunday I competed in the USATF Niagara Meet. I ran the 800. I did it in 2:23, which is an indo...

December 12, 2025 JC's Masters Track Career: A Timeline of Highlights (& Challenges) February, 2024: First official track practice after 40 years away from track/running. 59 (and 9 months) of age. March 3, 2024: First track practice with the Greater Philadelphia Track Club (distance group: 5 x 500 meters, 1 x 400 meters). March 4, 2024: On the treadmill at gym--pulled my right hamstring. Spent next three months trying to heal my leg. May 15, 2024 --I turned 60 years old. June 4, 2024: First Masters track meet at Elliot Denman Meet in NJ. Ran 1:03 in the 400 meters!  Started the 800 meter race, but re-injured my right hamstring in the first 100 meters and I had to drop out of the race. June 30, 2024:  Competed in my second track meet, the USATF NJ (& Mid Atlantic) championship at Kean University in Union NJ. Only ran the 400--came in at 1:05.  Still trying to recover and rehab my right hamstring (which is still sore when I run at this point in time).  July ...

Thursday, December 4, 2025 Had a good workout at the Ott Center track today. I followed a workout that I did in January with Alison and Lorraine: 2 x 600 (goal 2:05); 2 x 400 (goal 75 seconds); 2 x 200 (goal 34 seconds) with 3 minute rests between all intervals. I was a little slow on the 600s, especially the first one, running like 2:12, but got the second in 2:08. The 400s I did in 78 and 74 seconds. The 200s I was faster at 33 flat each. I had been to the Pilates studio prior for my reformer lesson, so my back was loosened up (it was stiff after yesterday's workout at the gym--I think the Heart Rate setting on the cycle is a lot tougher [harder to pedal] and it was hard on my lower back). I also did Pilates mat and my PT leg exercises yesterday.  Here's a pic of me recovering today after the track work--legs up the wall for 20 minutes! I find this the best way to recover for my legs and whole body really: Tuesday I was also at the Ott track--I did 10 x 400 meters (which Alis...

Tuesday, November 25, 2025 Sunday I was at track practice in NJ with John (on right in pic--super fast sprinter who is about to turn 60 in a couple of weeks) and Bruce (another fast guy who is 64). This pic is us after  our workout--which proves we survived! It was the toughest speed workout I have done since joining the club almost two years ago--certainly the toughest one I'd done in over 40 years!  It wasn't a lot of volume--just 4 x 200s, with 4 minute rests. But we went hard! John wanted them in 28 or 29 seconds, no slower than 30. We did 29, 28, 29, and 30. They had their spikes on (I forgot to bring mine). I stayed with John, even if just catching him at the line. But he is fast. He is a 100, 200, 400 guy, and he's solid muscle. Bruce, too. I am the 400, 800 (aspiring) guy. Doing these shorter distances at 90% is a totally different experience. I actually like it--the feeling of shorter sprints. I may workout with them again this Sunday--John said something about doi...

Friday, November 21, 2025 A week and a half of consistent, steady training. Last Monday I practiced Pilates mat in the morning, then I went to gym. Did 70 minutes on the bike, then weights. Last Tuesday, after my Pilates reformer lesson, I went to the Ott Center and did a track workout solo:  4 x 300m. Goal: 48 seconds each and 2.5 minutes between each.  Finished workout and stuck to rest time. A little “uneven” marks: 46, 52, 48, 54.  The last one just about did me in. Need to work on consistency of pace and, as  always, endurance. The lactic burn is real, folks. Went to gym after for leg work. Last Wednesday, I did cross training again on the bike, 70 minutes, then weights and Pilates mat.  On Thursday, after I Pilates I went back to the track: 6 x 400m at 5k pace; 200 m jog rests. Hit every 200 at 55 seconds exactly!  Great to practice consistency and pacing in such a focused way (that  wasn’t   too painful!) Joined by teammate Jeff Flock (the ...

Sunday, November 9, 2025 Review of training since last post: Wednesday (after my first indoor track workout of the season on Tuesday) I went to the gym and did bike for an hour and 10 minutes, Pilates mat, and back exercises I think (or was it chest?) Thursday I ran to Pilates, had my lesson, then went to the indoor track again. 2 x 800 in 3:20, 200 meter walk/jog, between reps . . . then 4 x 400 in 1:30. It felt easy after Tuesday's workout. Teammate Jeff Flock was at the track, but he arrived after I finished my workout. We may try to workout togther next Thursday. I went ot the gym after and did leg exercises. Friday I took the day off (went to NYC to see a friend's show). Saturday I did the cycle at the gym again and Pilates mat. Today, I went out to the track at Ursinus College and met Lorraine and Alison. We did a workout of running for 2 minutes, then jog a minute and run from 2 minutes again (we did this 10 times). It was an easier workout. Pace wise we were hitting eac...

Tuesday, November 4, 2025 Today I did my first indoor track workout--at the Ott Center track at UPenn--the first of the 2025-2026 indoor season. I was alone today on the track (they just opened for the season yesterday). I attempted to do 4 x 300 meters at a 48 second pace, with 2.5 minute rests. I did all four--and I stuck to the rest time--but I only hit 48 once. I ran 49.50, 50.03, 48.80, and 51.50. It was HARD. My legs were lactic by the end, and I was very "breathy." It was a good effort. From there I went to the gym and did Pilates and leg strengthening exercises. Also hard. Yesterday I did Pilates mat with Megan, and I went to the gym and did an hour and ten minutes on the bike and did some chest exercises with weights and bars.  Sunday I went to track practice. We met at Audubon HS track in NJ (which is less than 20 minutes from home). Alison and I did a challenging workout: 4 x 1K, 3.5 minute rests. We averaged about 3:46 for each!  Saturday I did Pilates at the gym ...

Sunday, October 26, 2025 Had a pretty good week training. Monday: Pilates mat and gym. Tuesday: Pilates reformer lesson, ran to and from; at gym I did an hour on the bike (hard). Wednesday I went to see Dr. Josh and did a great workout with him--legs and upper body. Learned some cool new exercises. Thursday was back to Pilates studio. (Ran to and from.) Megan and I really worked on my right foot & the connection to my right hammy and leg overall. It's a little out of line when I do foot work, so we spent a lot of time correcting the position. Made a big difference! Joe Pilates was kind of a genius.  Friday I took the day off . . . because Saturday was my 2nd 5K race! Alison and I competed in the Citizen Advocacy race in Phoenixville. We both did well: Alison crossed at 20:44 and I finished at 20:54. It was cool (cold in the morning), great weather for a distance run! I improved my time by 1:20, which felt great. Now I'm ready to try and break 20 minutes!  It is a HARD race...

Sunday, October 19, 2025 Team Track Practice This Morning Had a great track workout this morning. Did 3 x 1 mile intervals with 1 minute rests between. 6:40; 6:35; 6:31. Alison and I finished with 3 or 4 200s around 35 seconds.  This past week was choppy with workouts. Monday I did Pilates mat and did weights. Tuesday I ran to and from the studio, then went for a run along the river: 3 x 1 mile, 2 min. rests. It felt challenging. I ran slower than I expected. A 4:47 average Kilometer pace (I had difficulty changing my watch to miles, so the report came in kms's). So that was over 7 minutes a mile, well over! Like . . . 7:40 a mile. Of course, it's on the trail, with the ups and downs, the people and bikes to navigate around. Oh, I also did a seperate timed run at the end--three times up the ramp backwards. That felt hard but I felt stronger.  Wednesday and Thursday I was in NYC with appointments, so I only did walking. Friday I was wiped out for some reason, and didn't do m...

Sunday, October 12, 2025 Sunday Morning track practice at Germantown Academy. It was a challenging one today: 4 x 1,000 meters at faster than my 5K pace. 3 and a half minutes between each: I did 3:50, 3:54, 3:54, and 3:48. I stayed with Alison and Keith (just behind them actually) for all four (remember--they have stronger aerobic strength/endurance than I at present). I was happy with my performance. I did not think I would be able to keep all four under 4 minutes, but I did!    (these pics curtesy of our team photographer Walter B.!) Last week I had a good training week: Monday I had Pilates mat, Tuesday and Thursday I ran to and from the studio for my Pilates lessons. I was at the gym 5 days--did my legs on two seperate days, which I like--getting legs in twice a week. Friday I went for a 5 mile run along the river. I ran straight through (no intervals/rests). Pace was 10 minutes a mile--but that includes running backwards up the long ramp connecting the South Street Bridge...

Monday, October 6, 2025  Yesterday I competed in the 53 mile Bridge to Bridge Relay along the river between PA and NJ. There were 7 of us on the team; each person ran 2 or 3 times. I ran two legs: first leg was about 2.5 miles, and the second leg was 3.25 miles. I ran about 7:30 per mile. It was a really fun event. It got pretty warm (mid 80s) as day went on, so it was challenging. We finished 3rd overall! I was the eldest on our team; Mike R. is 60 and Michelle R. is 59; Sara is 50; Alison is 47; Chuck 47; and John 37. We finished in 6 hours and 25 minutes.  Here is our team at the start of the race! Here I am at the end of my first leg. Here we are after the race! Training since last post: I did the 6 x 1k interval workout a second time on September 23rd. I shortened the rests between each to 75 seconds. I averaged 9:26 per mile (I know the mile time now because I changed my watch and Strava to miles, instead of Kilometers, yesterday for the relay event). In California on Se...

Sunday, September 21, 2025 Today ends a pretty good week of training. On Wednesday I did Pilates mat and weight strength training at gym. Thursday I did some cross training--a full hour on the bike at the gym (tough!). Friday I ran 1k intervals along the river with 90 second rests: 6 of them at a 5:35 /km pace. I went to gym after for Pilates mat and leg strengthening exercises. THEN I went to see Dr. Aaron for acupuncture and cupping. Took Saturday as a rest day. Today, Sunday, was track practice. Did a hard workout, trying to build up my anaerobic strength for the Bridge to Bridge relay in two weeks. We did 5 x 300m with 100m jog between (averaged about 1:05); 2 x 1200 meters at 6:41; finished with 5 more 300 meters (averaged 1:03). Felt great today.    Goofing around after practice doing headstands Team Pic Today

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Good week of training; ran the first 5k race of my life on Sunday.   Last Friday I ran a 5 k "tester" run. Did just over 7k along the river. 5:58 per k pace. Felt pretty good. Went to the Main Line 5k race on Sunday morning. It was a fun, new experience. I didn't hate it! I ran it in 22:14. Placed 9th out of 17 male runners age 60-69. So, medium.  I went to the gym Monday and did Pilates mat and Chest. Today, Tuesday, I ran 10k along the river, 6:45/km. It was a nice, long, fairly easy run. I went to the gym after for Pilates mat and leg exercises. Took a long, hot, epson salt bath this afternoon. Felt great! I'll do a track workout Friday at Penn. I will probably do easy 3-4 miles Thursday. Tomorrow I may just do the bike for an hour or so at the gym. Not sure yet. Since I won't be able to do my Pilates reformer lessons rest of this month, I am determined to do Pilates mat routine every day. Sunday I will go to track practice and do a ...

Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 Today I went to Franklin Field to do a workout Alison suggested. I did 10 x 400 meters with 30 second rests between. She said to do them at my 5k pace. However, I'm not real sure what my 5k pace is . . . but anyway, I averaged 1:50 for each (5th and 10th were 1:44). It wasn't that hard, but it also felt like a good workout. After I cooled down by running to the gym. Did my Pilates mat and then legs.  Yesterday I had a reformer lesson with Megan at the studio, but she's going on vacation and it will be my last until October. So, I really need to stay consistent with my mat work on my own.  Saturday I competed in my first Senior Olympics meet in Woodbridge, NJ. I raced in the 800 meters. I was excited because a teammate (Rob C.) who is 56 and a strong 800 runner was going to race, too. I thought this would make it easier for me to pace (as he runs 1:15, 1:18). I was hoping to hit 2:20 or under. I didn't, however. I ran 2:24 (a second slower...

Thursday, September 4, 2025 Beautiful day on the track today at UPenn's Franklin Field My broken 800 workout on Sunday at track practice went well. Federico (teammate, aged 50) ran with me. I ran my 600 in 1:45, exactly. Took one minute rest, and ran the 200 in 31 seconds. I really felt how that third 200 will need to be if I am serious about running the 800 in 2:20 or less. It's pretty tough. I had Federico to help push me. I ran the 400 in 1:08 . . . so that means the third 200 was like 37 seconds. It will be tough to hit 1:45 at the 600 and then crank out a 35 second last 200 . . . especially if I am running alone like I had to do at Nationals. The 800 is a really tough race. More challenging than the 400 for me. Obviously it's a longer race, but that also means there is more thinking involved. I should strive to hit that 600 in less than 1:45, I suppose. Gosh, it's so hard! But I love the challenge.  Doing some easy striders today Took it easy this week. Ran to and ...

Saturday, August 30, 2025 One week from today I am competing in the New Jersey Senior Games meet in Woodbridge, NJ. I registered for the 200, 400, and 800, just because I was not sure which race or races I'd want to run. I definitely will run the 800 . . . and possibly the 200, depending on whether it is after the 800 and how much time is between them. I will be competing against myself in the 800--I will wear my finger timer and see if I can hit that 600 in 1:45 or less so that I might improve my PR of 2:23 by a few seconds.   Last Sunday I had a good practice with the team. I did an 800 (goal 2:40) with a minute rest, then a 400 (goal 1:20), 5 minute rest and then 3 x 200 with 45 second rests (goal high 30s). I did 2:41, 1:16, then 31, 35, 31.  Monday I had Pilates mat and then went to the gym. I did leg exercises (which made my glutes really sore for a few days). Tuesday I ran to and from Pilates reformer lesson, then went to the gym for chest exercises. Wednesday I ha...

Friday, August 22, 2025 It has been a good training week. It has been cooler here in Philadelphia, which has made running a little easier. I had Pilates Reformer lessons with Megan on Tuesday and Thursday, and both went well. I worked out regularly at the gym, doing leg strengthening exercises on Monday and Thursday. Wednesday I went to Franklin Field track at U Penn and did 4 x 1k intervals with 2 minute rests between. Averaged a 4:45 pace. I finished with three 200 meters at 36, 39, 38 seconds.  Today, Friday, I went back to the track and ran "broken" 800s: 600 (goal 1:47, first 400 at like 72), one minute rest and then a 200 (goal 42 seconds). 4 minute rest and repeat. Here is how I did: 1:50; 36 and 1:54; 36.   So, both of my 600s were a little slow. The goal was to do 1:12 in the first 400 meters, and then finish with a 35 second 200 meters. I think I hit the first 400 at 1:16, so my last 200 was I need to work harder on this so that I can reach my goal of running th...

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Last Friday I did a tempo run along the river trail. I went out about 3:00 p.m.  It was really hot and humid. The plan was to run 1 K, rest 2 minutes, run another, for a total of 4-6. When I set up this custom run on my Apple Watch, I forgot to set it to kilometers, so I ended up running miles, which always confuses me a bit--it makes it seem I am running slower than I actually am. Anyway, this was a tough workout, due to the heat and humidity, as well as to the fact that my aerobic strength (that I need to build to compete in the 800 meters) isn't great (yet). According to my Strava record, I ran a total of 8.54 km (this includes my slow warmup jog to the trail, maybe a kilometer and a half-ish?) with an average pace of 6:23 (so I met my goal of 6:40 or better per km). It was a total of 4 separate miles at tempo pace. After, I ran a cool-down jog back home of 2 km at 8 minutes each.  Sunday I made it to track practice with my team. It was great to wor...

Videos of my races at Nationals Not sure of the quality of these on this blog site, but I will post anyway. First is my 400 meter prelim on Thursday. I was in lane 3. Fastest guy (David Jones) was in lane 2. I needed to place first or second to go on to the final on Friday.  Second vid is of the 400 meter final on Friday. I am again in lane 3, but the fastest guy is in lane 4 this time around. I placed second! I was proud of my accomplishment--going from 5th place at last summer's outdoor Nationals in Sacramento at 1:01, to Silver this year at 58.93.  Finally, the last vid is of my 800 meter heat (the slow heat). I easily won, but I don't possess the skill or experience yet in the 800 to pace myself--I went out great first 400 meters (like I did the first time I ran it in June at the Eliot Denman race in New Jersey--when I finished at 2:23), but without anyone to push me, I ran too slowly the second lap, and I placed 7th overall--at 2:28 (behind all the winners who ran in the ...

Friday, August 15th, 2025 Track Workouts  from past two weeks:  Wednesday, August 6th at Pequot Lakes HS track--10 x 300 meters with 90 second rests. Goal was do do each at 60 seconds. I ran 8 of these under 60 (58-59 seconds) and 2 at 60.  Drove home from lake that weekend (9th and 10th) . . .  Back to Penn track on Wednesday, August 13th. At mid-day did a tough workout in the heat and humidity. Was happy I made it through, though my second 800 was a flop--way too slow! 2 sets of 400, 800, 300 with 2.5 minutes between (and gave myself 5 min between the sets): 1:25, 2:56, 52.  And then 1:21, 3:10, 56.  Alison suggested that my second 800 (and maybe the first?) should have been closer to 2:50 . . . so, I have a lot of work to do!   Today, Friday the 15th, I plan on doing a tempo run of 1Ks, with 2 min rests between, at a fast pace, of 6:40 or better. It is 90 ish and humid again today, so I think I will wait until late afternoon.  Sunday I go...

Monday, August 4, 2025 A Couple of Recent Track Workouts Last Tuesday (July 29) I completed a track workout (first after Nationals) at the Pequot Lakes High School track. 2 sets of: 300m, 500m, 400m, with negative splits--last 100 meters of each repetition ran at a faster pace. Was supposed to look like this: 300=37+18 to finish at 55 seconds 500=80+18 to finish at 1:38 400=57+18 to finish at 75 seconds 3 minutes between reps, and a 1,200 meter jog between the sets. Here is how I did: First set-- 300 in 58; 500 in 1:41; 400 in 1:17 Second set-- 300 in 52; 500 in 1:41; 400 in 1:17 So both of my 500s were 3 seconds slow. However, I was managing to make the last split a negative in almost all of the reps, which was the point of this workout.   Yesterday, Sunday (August 3) I completed another workout on the track (I had to wait 5 days for the Canadian wildfire smoke to clear out!). This workout went well, especially since I did the same workout in June with Alison and Lorraine o...

 Tuesday, July 22, 2025 (This is my 60th post to this blog!) USATF Masters National Championship Meet in Huntsville, Alabama Here is a photo of me starting off in the 400 meter preliminary race: What an amazing experience! I had a great time at the meet. Best news--it's over, and I did NOT re-injure myself, nor did I get a new injury! I ran the 400 meter prelim on Thursday, and I took second in the heat, running 59.60 (a tad slower than my PR at Indoor worlds in March). Behind me in the picture above is David Jones, an excellent, experienced sprinter who just aged up into the 60-64 group. He won the heat (and, spoiler alert, he won the final, finishing in 57.87). I felt good in the prelim race. The next day, Friday, we had the final. I took second! My first individual medal at a big meet. Plus, I ran a new PR, crossing the line at 58.93. I was thrilled. So happy I could give it my best. Again, the race felt smooth, and my legs got a little lactic the last 20 meters, but not so bad....