The sad devolution of a runner

Maybe take a short break from running, do cycling or something else. Then resume running.

It's up to you and you alone.

The guys that I look up to are still training as consistently as they can and racing their asses off. I have friends 61, 62, 67, and 68 who are still getting it. 5k's, 10k's and half marathons. At 62, a 42:00 10k and a 1:34 half ain't bad at all. Some sprint triathlons and the occasional IronMan too.

Your choice. PS - Those extra 7 pounds are a lot more critical now than they would have been 30 years ago. I'd start there.

Just trying is going through the motions.

If you aren't motivated to run hard workouts, then quit.

take some time off. It is never too late. Look at the great Ed W. 37:33 at age 70-74. A WR mind you, but shows it can get done and that's faster than my PR in 40s.

Leave the pilot light on in case the spark comes back.

All my friends I train and race with are younger than me. There are 3 of us in our 50s and the rest are mid 30s and low 40s. Kicking their asses in races keeps us going. Not every race but it keeps us in the game.

The 3 of us in our 50s try and race the same events as much as possible. We keep score and the winner takes the pot at the end of the year.

Another fun thing we try and do is run as many local 5ks. We're all drinking beer before 8:30 am. High school kids are wicked fast but under age. Last person from the previous race buys the beer for the next race.

Life is short...Death is forever. Keep running.

Hey, at least you can run. Savor it.

I have been going through the same thing at 51. I've slowed a lot. When I try and do speedwork, I just can't go the way I used to. I've had to rethink why I run. I've found I still enjoy running, but I will no longer compete. I will run an occasional half in different city or do a low key trail race. It's hard to go from being competitive to a "fun" runner. At some point, my body no longer responded to the training stimulus. It happens to everyone, young and old.

I suggest trail running and leave the garmin at home!

1. Yoga. Open up those hips

2. Fewer carbs, avoid grains, more healthy fat, including saturated.

3. Hokas. So good they should be banned by WADA

4. Cross-training, including strength

5. Soft surfaces

6. Less intervals, more strides

7. Run long runs in the mountains

8. Lose the watch

9. Smile at the pretty women

10. Laugh at how seriously you took things before

wow... good advice!

58 on the rebound wrote:

1. Yoga. Open up those hips

2. Fewer carbs, avoid grains, more healthy fat, including saturated.

3. Hokas. So good they should be banned by WADA

4. Cross-training, including strength

5. Soft surfaces

6. Less intervals, more strides

7. Run long runs in the mountains

8. Lose the watch

9. Smile at the pretty women

10. Laugh at how seriously you took things before

I am 57 (getting on 58) and simply can't do the training I used to do. not just in terms of times but the frequency of hard(ish) efforts has to be a lot less than in days of yore. Injuries keep derailing training as well. would like to compete but never seem able to get into anything like reasonable shape.

I have been strongly tempted to give the whole running thing up. But, life without running is not as much fun as life with running! My advice to you is to carry on running but do whatever you feel like in the way of training. In my case it's more fartleks, strides, intervals (but not too intensive) than long runs. May not be the best thing in terms of improved performance but it's what I want to do - and at my age that is far more important than a few seconds off a 10k or 5k time!

Fewer strides, more intervals. Maybe some thing like the Nike Free 5.0 for your easy days. Good luck

Thanks for the posts. I "sad" in my subject line might have been a bit of an embellishment but I do miss not having the fire in my belly. It happened fast. I was pretty involved competitor up through 58 but as after I stopped racing it changed. For you guys in your 50's enjoy it.Now at 60, I still run and am glad for that. Sometimes I wonder if I should try to climb back in with a race? Maybe that would put the fire back in the belly. Although truthfully, I don't want to run a race just to be shocked how much slower I am.

You're going to be slow because you haven't trained.

There are other targets you can aim for, Masters All-American standards (track, road racing standards suck); AG% PRs; Masters specific meets; US Masters state, national and world championships; US Masters Rankings

http://www.nationalmastersnews.com/aas.htm#

Just pretend you're at High School again, you're not as fast as college kids but you can whip most of them and anyone your age.