racerdb wrote:
Charlie wrote:Just a nice gradual return to running with no concrete plans to race. However I will at least entertain myself with the goals of a sub 5 mile and a sub 60 400 after turning 60 later this year.
This post caught my attention...
I'm not too familiar with the top times of 60+ runners but those would both be solid times in the 50's... Without disclosing too much info what have you done in the past? And why aren't you injured like everyone else on this tread?:>)
I am also thinking of dropping down to the mile next summer to see what I have in me...
Interested in hearing your thoughts on training.
Dave
Where to start....
With your recent background of training/racing I would train / approach the mile leveraging your strength. You might feel a bit stale but with some smart rest without losing fitness you could leverage that strength in the mile.
You also might want to check out Earl Fee.
Injury is often due to not letting the body recover. Goals can often cloud our judgement. If the NUMBER ONE GOAL was to not get injured there would be way fewer injuries. Some would argue you must risk injury as this is the only way to be your best. Short term this is probably true but long term as in a life time of running WELL this is not true.
As we age we recover slower and it takes less to cause us to break down. So how do we get our maintenance miles and recover? Some guys usually the top ones seem to have remarkable recovery rates and that is one of the keys to being a top distance runner. But even these guys lose that ability as they get older. So eventually everyone has to deal with this issue of maintaining the base and getting a good recovery so you can do another quality workout. Non impact cross training that has a good carry over to running. Roger does this by giving his legs a break from all of the impact damage by switching to XC Skiing. In my case hiking up and down hills was the answer.
Here are a few ideas
1. Eccentric muscle strength is extremely important and usually lost in older runners. When you land your muscles elongate in a controlled manner. If this "strength" is not there to absorb impact you cause more damage also you lose more energy. I believe that all the downhill hiking I do really helps with eccentric strength.
2.Great runners often literally fall of a cliff performance wise and never come back. I think this is because they are worn out. This often happens after a specific injury that causes them to miss several months of training. I think it would happen anyways because they have used up all of the regeneration cycles .
Here is a copy paste with some key words/ideasf:
Telomere shortening limits the regenerative capacity of primary cells in vitro by inducing cellular senescence characterized by a permanent growth arrest of cells with critically short telomeres.
3. To get the most out of your running over a lifetime you have to minimize the cost of training to reach your goal performance level. If you just want to reach your highest level over the short term say the next 5 years or whatever you will pay for that in the future.
I think I am better at 1500/mile than 5k. Four months prior to turning 44 I ran a bunch of 1500s for the first time. Really enjoyed the shorter distance. Started at 4:36 and work my way down to 4:13. This also ended with chronic calf issues and pf. Finally quit running did a few come backs each time getting a bit smarter. Staying fit on the bike ect. Ran 16:45 on the track just prior to turning 50 on 20mpw using the hiking and only running quality but pf got me again. A few years ago in my late 50s I was posting here for about a year and a half and ended up with no injury and getting down pretty close to 5 just by guestimate but lost the motivation. However I do feel that I did finally figure out how I can approach my best without getting injured and remaining healthy. My base is hiking on hills . My running is purposeful quality. But all ways having FUN with it.