I haven't posted for a while, but I just wrapped up my 2012 race season (I think.)

I've been training and running a few events over the summer and fall, and just completed a 10K Turkey Trot last Saturday.  It was a gorgeous late fall day, and there were lots of enthusiastic runners. 

I'm feeling a little lost - I don't know what my next event will be.  There's an interesting half marathon in my area in late March 2013, but I'm not sure it's realistic for me to seriously train for my first ever Half during the Midwest winter.  I have never trained outdoors in snow/ice.

I think a fall 2013 half marathon is more realistic for me.  I need to increase my distance very gradually, so I'll probably just try to maintain a fitness base over the winter, then start adding distance in the early spring.

Well wishes to Phyllis and and anyone else who isn't feeling up to snuff!  And continued thanks to everyone for continuing to post your stories and inspiring us all to keep running!  Run strong, friends!

Sally-welcome back!  Looking over your races, the Dexter-Ann Arbor 10K brought a smile to my face; my wife ran that race 30 years ago when we lived there!  Where has the time gone. 

URun-  you made a lot of good decisions at your marathon.  Those kind of temps are nothing to fool with.  A marathon in WI was cancelled half way through earlier this year due to temps like that.  You finished!!  And feeling good enough to plan another.  And no ER visit for IV fluids.  Good job!

Debra- Nice time on the W2W 5K- you're getting closer and closer to sub-30.  Way to go.

The forecast looks good enough for an outdoor run this Friday; then it will be TM in the basement for the following 9 days as deer season opens here in WI.  Don't think I'll be running outside at dawn for a while.

Run strong and safe friends.

I'm 61and my challenge for next year is to complete the FLORIDA DOUBLE IRON(4.8mile swim,224mile bike, 52.4mile run), did an IRON PLUS at the event this year and the VIRGINIA DOUBLE IRON unofficially as part of a two person relay team in October. The main challenge seems to be balancing the training with family,work and all other life events.

I have tried three times to post a picture of our granddaughter, but Internet Explorer keeps shutting down when I click on the camera icon.  Don't know what the problem is.

Well I'm 52 and I've completed...

2011 Oakland Half Marathon

2011 NorCal Tough Mudder, Squaw Valley(13 miles/24 challenges)

2012 NorCal Tough Mudder, Northstar at Tahoe (11 miles/22 challenges)

and I'll be running in the Walnut Creek Half Marathon in a little over 3 weeks

My goal for next year is to run 4 of the California Series Half Marathons and complete the Spartan Race Trifecta (three races: Sprint-3 miles, Super-8 to 10 miles, and Beast-10 to 12 miles)

sipsip- I am also 59 and did my first HM in September. My goal was to finish without injury, so I did a run/walk/run method. (There are several on this over 50 thread who do some version of this.)  I ran 2 minutes and walked 1 and just kept repeating that.  Of course hills sometimes dictated walking sooner or running longer in order to take advantage of the down hills.  I did a similar method last month and finished a full marathon, but used a 1:1 ration for that one.  Your fitness may be a bit beyond mine, perhaps you could do 5 min running, then walk a minute, then repeat.  some people will do a mile, then walk 1-2 minutes; you can vary it based on what works best for you.  I'd suggest trying some variant of this on your 12 miler coming up and see how it works.  Most of all, Good Luck!  Enjoy the race and finish injury free, that's the main idea.

Gary-those goals you have are REAL challenges!  Wow.  Good luck and keep us updated on how the training goes!

Dave-You also have great goals for 2013!  I'm still working on my 2013 plan, but do have several HM scheduled.  Good luck with your training and racing.

Run strong and safe friends.  Best of luck to all racing this weekend.

I'm 58 and started running a little in June because I want to do a Tough Mudder event on 1 December and that covers about 12 miles.  I already enjoyed bike riding and racquetball a few times a week, but haven't run or jogged in several years.  I started with treadmill running with 1 mile in 12 minutes, worked up to 3 miles twice a week by end of August.  Then I figured I better pick up the distance and work my way off the treadmill to something more similar to the TM running.  I worked up to a 10 mile treadmill run the end of October,  started some outdoor running and entered an organized 10K trail run which I did at 11:01 minutes/mile on 4 November, did 10.5 miles a few days ago in about 2 hours, 10 minutes. But this thread is about challenges, so

My Challenges:  1.  I felt stiff in my leg muscles every morning after a run after I started making them longer, especially the outdoor running.  2.  I need more rest time than younger days, so usually run about every third day.  3.  I feel a little disappointed at the speed, but realize age has an effect.  4.  I worry a bit that too much running may cause knee or back problems if I keep it up.  5.  It's difficult to work in the time required for long runs while still trying to keep up with other activities.

I enjoyed reading posts on this web page from people in my age group since we have a lot of things in common and I hope to gain some insights.

I'll complete the TM in less than two weeks and was thinking it would be a shame to waste all the work I did getting up to a long run.  Logically, it seemed like I could just keep adding a mile or so per week to my long run and do a Marathon, sort of a "check the box thing" since I was getting close anyway.  A friend who always enjoyed running told me I'd be better off with a Half Marathon as full Marathons aren't really a logical extension of anything and were a completely different animal.  So right now, I'm thinking of doing intervals for about 5 miles once a week (Tuesday?), easy 5 mile runs once a week (Fridays?), and a long run on Sundays working up to roughly 13 miles sometime in December.  Because I'd like to go a little faster if I'm going to bother to enter a race, I thought I'd register for a 17 March Half Marathon by which time my interval training should give me a decent race pace.  Any advice or thoughts from more experienced runners?

sederleaf - I'm a fellow Ann Arborite (judging from your events), and I thought I would share my winter running routines with you... it's kind of important conditioning-wise I think to keep running during the winter or else it's harder to get going in the spring.  At first I did a lot of treadmill running during the winter, but then I learned how to dress and what kind of shoes to wear and found that running outside in the cold was actually really, really great.

For obvious reasons, I would skip running on the sleety, icy days, and instead of running outside I'd find something indoors to do cardio-wise.

For clothes, I found that thin layers are the best. When it's below 30, three layers is fine. Below 20, an over layer of thin-sulate or somethign fleecy helps keep you warm enough, but still breathable.  If it's windy, I'll do a windbreaker.

For shoes, I found a pair of gore-tex trail running shoes (mine are Brooks), that keep my feet dry in the slush. They are a little heavier than my "summer" shoes, and they are great.

For headgear, we are most likey to have very different needs there, given that I shave my head and it gets real cold real fast.  But you definitely want to wear something that keeps heat in, especially when you are running in below 20 degree weather. I have a hoodie/head-glove kind of thing that covers my whole head and covers my mouth/nose as well so that I'm not sucking in freezing air.

As a side note: I love running in the snow and when it is snowing. There is nothing like blazing a trail through freshly fallen snow. Folks in passing cars look at you like your nuts (and you kind of are, but in a great way), and it's fun.

Enjoy the winter and get out there..!

-b

http://runningthrutime.blogspot.com

6/17/2012          AnnArbor HM 2:09:01

6/3/2012          DexAA HM 2:00:31

3/11/2012          St Pat's 5K 0:25:42

11/10/2011          AnnArborTT 10K 0:52:27

10/9/2011          Chicago Marathon 4:49:55 (cramps @23m, but finished running!)

9/3/2011          Milford 30K   DNF  (cramped out at 14m)

6/25/2011          Solstice 10M 1:27:15

6/5/2011          DexAA HM 1:58:53

5/1/2011          BurnsPark10K 0:51:58

10/17/2010          Detroit HM 2:06:19

6/6/2010          Dex-AA HM  2:09:30