How do you feel at 35, 45, 55, 65???? Getting slower inevitable????

i'm 39 and ran my best workout ever today. But I didn't start running seriously until 4 years ago

true is that many age runners slow down due to injuries and/or a huge lifetime mileage.

but also true is that many age runners slow down because they don´t workout with the same discipline, will and effort like in their prime. ggilder is somehow right. those who continue to run with a strong will and intensity stay in expert shape for a long time.

[quote]mid40 wrote:

true is that many age runners slow down due to injuries and/or a huge lifetime mileage.

but also true is that many age runners slow down because they don´t workout with the same discipline, will and effort like in their prime. ggilder is somehow right. those who continue to run with a strong will and intensity stay in expert shape for a long time.[/quote

IF, they manage to stay injury free!

mid40 wrote:

those who continue to run with a strong will and intensity stay in expert shape for a long time.

And as you grow older you increasingly sense that running is keeping you alive, and vibrant, which is an intense motivator.

not wiser wrote:

Totally - that the less acclaimed you were, the more likely you are to keep at it. Out of all the fast people I knew from my fast, the ones who were the fastest do not run anymore.

so true.

part of the why I am so motivated now is that I am moving up the ranks as people with far faster PRs and younguns drop out of the sport.

all of a sudden I am winning. which just gets me more motivated to train. A virtuous cycle.

So what is your age and current race times?

50x wrote:

So what is your age and current race times?

46

17:15 for 5k

80:50 for half marathon

I'm holding on to my speed more than most - beating my younger age graded times by substantial amounts.

actually check that last - my age graded times are pretty consistent over 30 years.

but I used to be, oh, 10th in my age group, now I am 2nd or 3rd - people are dropping out or slowing down.

Those are good. Times I never hit. But there's guys I know in my area that had better, even in their early 50's. There's one guy who's 62 now but when he was 51 he ran a 34ish 10k on a hilly course. He also had a 1:16ish half. Pretty amazing stuff. And he wasn't even the fastest. I still cant beat him even though he's 7 years older. Except on the mile. He never ran the short stuff well but once he got out there on a long course, especially hilly ones he was unbelievable. Small guy, maybe 140 lbs at the most, never got injured, been running for decades. Last weekend he ran a sub-40 10k on a windy day and took 2nd overall.

50x wrote:

Those are good. Times I never hit. But there's guys I know in my area that had better, even in their early 50's. There's one guy who's 62 now but when he was 51 he ran a 34ish 10k on a hilly course. He also had a 1:16ish half. Pretty amazing stuff. And he wasn't even the fastest. I still cant beat him even though he's 7 years older. Except on the mile. He never ran the short stuff well but once he got out there on a long course, especially hilly ones he was unbelievable. Small guy, maybe 140 lbs at the most, never got injured, been running for decades. Last weekend he ran a sub-40 10k on a windy day and took 2nd overall.

yeah - I know a few 55 year olds who still crush me. Love those guys - pete magill runs 32 minute 10ks at 51 or thereabouts - he was on the thread earlier.

there's a 49 year old in new york - paul thomson - who runs 16 low for 5k on hilly courses. phenomenal stuff.

Well Pete Magills on another planet. Record age group potential there. Never heard of Thomson but low 16's at 49 is pretty impressive to say the least. That must be world class age graded, over 90% I would think.

agip wrote:

50x wrote:

So what is your age and current race times?

46

17:15 for 5k

80:50 for half marathon

I'm holding on to my speed more than most - beating my younger age graded times by substantial amounts.

What is your mpw and weight?

not wiser wrote:

Totally - that the less acclaimed you were, the more likely you are to keep at it. Out of all the fast people I knew from my fast, the ones who were the fastest do not run anymore.

I see the same thing in my local running community. The guys who were winning races 15-20 + years ago are mostly either not running at all or just doing it at a shadow of their former selves. Thwre are a couple still winning their age groups, but not many.

I venture to guess there are two reasons for this.

1. They're done with injuries or burnout.

2. They're still healthy enough, but figure, been there, done that.

T-Rex wrote:

IF, they manage to stay injury free!

of course. that´s what i should have written. cheers!

I've got nothing to compare with from youth, because I only started running in my mid-40s. But I'll be 54 next month and I'm still getting faster each year. I got a new PR of 17:19 in a 5K last week, which is nothing special but decent enough for my age. I expect to continue getting faster for maybe another year or two, but who knows?

I get the impression that many people kind of give up a bit as they get older. They assume they're going to slow down, so they end up doing so, as a self-fulfilling prophesy.

I know lots of formerly competitive runners who are done due to permanent injury, but don't underestimate the 'been there, done that' factor. Even if you're completely healthy, how many decades do you want to keep running your body into the ground just so you can win a cheap plastic age group medal (that you already have hundreds of) at Saturday's Podunk 5k?

Sometimes you just fade away...

I realized I wasn't able or willing to train as much or as hard as I needed to just maintain where I was. As I got older more training was needed to surpass where I was and get better. I never really had any serious injuries. After years of running 100 miles a week you just get bored.

High School: 70-80 miles a week at peak, 50-60 average.

15:53 5k, 9:32 2 mile, 4:27 mile

20s: Average 90-100 miles a week, peaks of 120-140.

15:47 5k, 1:09 half marathon, 2:32 marathon.

Stopped running competitively in 2007 right before my 30th birthday..:)

I've run 9 or 10 marathon, 5 or 6 half-marathons, 5 or 6 10 milers, hundreds of other races. I've won a lot. Won some gear. Won some money. It was fun, but then stopped being fun and started feeling like a burden.

So....I started lifting weights, put on some muscle, got ripped, won a sword at a bodybuilding competition, joined the Army and now run and lift because I enjoy it.

I'll be 37 in January and enjoy working out more now than I did 10 years ago. I run 30-40 miles a week, about 5 days a week, am 5'6' 170lbs (vs 140 as a competitive runner), still lift 3-4 days week, and still have always been the fastest runner in my unit running "only" 11:00 2 mile. On a post of over 20,000 soldiers I still place top 3 at any post wide competitive 5k.

Find pride and enjoyment in whatever little circle you want to fit into. I enjoy being able to outlift the few faster runners I've come across and being able to outrun the stronger lifters AND doing this at 37.

It's very interesting. What is deemed "fast" in the competitive running community and what is deemed "strong" in the serious lifting community is vastly different that what you could realistically say is "fast" or "strong". Go to any local 5k and people who train and run for these events struggle to break 18:00. I'd guess the top 1% will break 18:00. Go to the gym and watch people lift. See who is really strong. Watch hundreds of people lift weights, try to get better, try to get stronger, maybe 1% are benching over 225 or deadlifting over 300.

Anyway. The key to athletic happiness while getting older is enjoy the little things, enjoy the little victories, maintaining is a victory..:)

Alan

not wiser wrote:

Point is: I still love to get out there. Turning older has not changed that one bit. Having a child hasn't changed that, although the lack of sleep is not helping recovery.

Likewise, I just like to run, +/- an hour a day, a bit longer on weekends.

Sort of an anomaly here, I've been running/racing for a long time (about 35 of the past 38 years)and still at it. Started a bit later (didn't run my first mile or 800/880 until age 19) and peaked later than some (25-33), so that might have something to do with it.

As far as losing the fire/moving onto other things, I actually tried that at 35 and again at 42 and the results were disastrous. Both times I cut back on miles to 15-30 miles per week and ended up getting injured within six months. Both respites ended up with long-term injuries that took years to overcome, including a full year or more of practically no running at all. I got over the last one at age 46 and decided no more, not going down without a big fight.

Anymore I basically have one gear other than easy pace, and that's in the threshold range. Fast stuff feels terrible and I can't seem to hold a good marathon pace for the full distance anymore. But have run mid 36 for 10K and 1:19 for half marathon this year. At those distances I haven't lost much in 10 years, even though I actually 'felt' better at say 48 to 51 than I do now. By maintaining, my age grade scores keep going up up up, and that's motivating. Looking for my first 90 percent.

At 26 you have no idea. I thought I was feeling the effects of aging in my early 30's when in reality it was more just not taking care of myself as well as I could've been (consistency, nutrition, sleep). Now in early 40's I realize that the actual effects of aging are very real, very unavoidable, and very dramatic. Not only do times get slower, but the time it takes to warm up, recover, heal from injury, get into shape, etc. do as well. To be honest, the time issue is the smallest effect of them all. Just maintaining takes WAY more work than it used to.