Adjusting for age and gender

Not much training to report again today.  I walked the same 6km course as yesterday, on a crisp and sunny morning.  The arch pain was barely perceptible when I walked on the outside of the right foot, but there were occasions during the day when I stepped awkwardly, for some reason, and felt sharper pain.  The plan remains to continue the daily walk until Sunday and then maybe jog a little.



Age wasn't an issue during the 1983 Victorian Marathon
Championship (4th place in 2:22:12)

Later in the day, I devoted some time to calculating the finishing scores for various annual running competitions held this year for members of Terrigal Trotters (I am the backup calculator).  Our competitions run from July to June and most are based on points scored using a system developed for the World Masters Athletics organisation.  The system assigns points to a performance based on the age and gender of the athlete.  To gain 1000 points the performance has to be virtually the world's best for that age and gender.  Lesser performances are assigned points based on their relationship to the world's best performance.  Calculators are available on the web (an example can be found here), and you can also download a table of all the factors for use in spreadsheets and other software.  This is what I have done for the Terrigal Trotters calculations.

It's a great system for clubs, such as Terrigal Trotters, whose members are mostly past their athletic prime.  It creates a level playing field for all of the runners in the club and gives something for old blokes like me to get excited and competitive about.

A sub-3 hour marathon for someone my age would earn 875 points, and I have in my mind the need to be capable of a performance earning 900 points to give me a buffer.  Coincidentally, or perhaps not, my best ever marathon time of 2:19:06 when I was aged 29, would have earned me 900 points, so a symmetry exists.

The highest points I have earned for an event in the past year were 846, so it's evident that, assuming I can resume training properly in three weeks time, not only do I have to get back to my recent fitness, but I have to take myself to a new level.