question for 50+ runners

zatopek,

I had similar issues at that age. I have found spin biking, walking, and swimming to be most effective on easy days. You might tap into the 50+ thread for additional ideas and recommendations.

Igy

Let me grab 49 of my friends, then we will get back to you

Im 62, been running since 1977 and am around 100000 miles.

Walking helped me a lot because at my age my baseline fitness level is low enough that it can help.

Ive never run less than 30 miles a week from 50-62 and will get around 2000 miles this year.

Also, sometimes I'll do these doubles like 5K in the morning and 2 miles at night.

There was a time that that would have been an absolute joke.

Remember the old rule that you don't do doubles unless the combined mileage of the two workouts is 12 miles or more...

No more, ALL rules are out the window.

Walkinga second workout DID help in all ways.

Fitness, maintenance ..

Ive never done two hard days in a row though..Dont think I could.

Once a week, is about it..

Running two days in a row is a rough thing for me ever since I turned 50. Swimming, pool running, cycling... all of these things help. But part of it is learning that life is cruel and what we used to do (running wise) we can no longer do.

Getting older sucks, but I'm firmly convinced that 50+ is a great time.

you're getting older and your body is shutting down

Thanks Igy. I have a stationary bike so that is a possibility. Do you ride hard on the bike or just put in miles?

Thanks for the reply. Good ideas about doubling on good days and also the walking. Thanks.

Hi Karling

Thanks for the advice. Yes it is hard to accept especially when you generally feel good in all parts of life except running.

You need to nail down EXACTLY where your aerobic threshhold is and stay below it 90% of the time. A year ago, at age 59, it was 10:30/mile for me. Today, it is 9:15. It makes speed work days a joy again, while staying strong and recovered the rest of the time. 50 miles/week is very easy for me now.

You also need to switch to fat-burning dietarily.

How do you do that?

Been at it since 69. I'm on a 16 month running streak. Mostly slow and steady runs, progression runs each day of about 45 minutes. On the weekends one hour+. I have found that mental energy is a limiting factor, not so much physical energy. If my mental energy is there my physical energy is there. I run each to not get hurt, not get injured. Just get out and do it, train don't strain, feel pleasantly tired not overly tired. Then go out and do it again the next day. Have been mostly injury free since 08. I do a 30 minute, stride the straights and jog the turns run each week for leg turnover but nothing too fast. Maybe Ernst Van Aaken stuff.

Also two a days aren't too much of a problem for me. 30/45, 45/45 etc because everything is slow and steady or start slow and let the run come to you. Also lowering expectations is important. Just running everyday at a steady pace without getting hurt or injured is enough. I did the 100+ stuff back when like everyone. Now I just run everyday. Like to stay in reasonably good running shape and enter the occasional race.

Have you had a physical? Check your blood profile and general health. I ran into a wall of sorts early last year (at 58) and ran out of energy, was having difficulty finishing workouts and feeling fatigue. And then my race times started falling off the charts. So I had a check up and found that I was pre-diabetic and very high cholesterol. I change my diet and had a radical turn around. At 59 I'm running the times I did at 50-51 and faster than 53-57, while putting in pretty good miles for our age and generally feeling much better.

The diet includes more fish (3X a week), red meat only 2X a month, less refined flour, low sugar, lots of salads, oatmeal, nuts for snacks instead of chips. Things like that.

You may not have the same issues, but there might be something revealing with a physical.

I'm closing in on 59. Ten years ago I could still pull off the standard marathon training schedules that included a tempo run, repeats on the track, a long run, all within one training week, including strides on some days.

I have learned through trial and error, injury and fatigue that the number of days between harder workouts is key for me.

I am finishing training for an October marathon and have gradually built to a schedule of harder workouts about 5 days apart and at least for now, that has been working well.

The schedule looks like this: 75 min, 75 min, 45 min, long/hard workout, rest day, repeat. A easier five day fall back period every month or so also helps.

There is an easy day before and a day off after every hard day.

I've been rotating the harder workouts using Jack Daniels Marathon Plan A.

He prescribes two hard workout per week but I use only the longer one.

I expect that I will need to space the harder efforts every 6 days within a few years, then 7 and so on.

I wouldn't think of doing a tempo and long run on the same weekend but the above strategy allows me to rotate these 3 workouts every five days, so that each workout is repeated every fifteen days:

2 hours, containing 105 minutes of marathon effort on a hilly course

2.5 hours easy

160 minutes(includes 8 x 6 min T)

Most runners can still train harder; we just need less of it and more days between the hard efforts.

The aging athlete is a fascinating topic to me. Some of my favorite runners to get out there with are nearly twice my age. I am 30 and would like to believe my best years of running are still ahead. There's nothing more empowering than to go on a long run on a Saturday morning and hear stories from a 55 year old about their sub 3 a decade ago, and still think that's 15 years away from me. All joking aside about getting old and past your prime, trust me, we're all watching and taking notes. Every single one of you out there fighting father time is the next generation's biggest motivator, don't ever forget that!!

Bike is better than nothing, but I found the elliptical machine more useful running-wise than spinning. Sometimes, when I really don't feel like running, I hit the gym, lift and work on my core.

[a tempo run, a 10x400 and a 2 hour run in a single week IS overtraining for you, by the look of it. It may not have been in the past, but it's clearly leaving you too fried to run on other days - a sure sign you're overdoing it.

I'm 54 and have cut back on speed work as it kills me. I run about 50 miles / week over 6 days - just steady / easy running with a few pickups, and use low-key races as training.

good luck

I'm 54 and find I feel that way often but it goes away after 20 minutes of easy jogging with some stops for dynamic stretching. I also walk my dog for a mile before most of my runs. I have one fast day and one long run separated by three to four days. On my day off from running I do walk.

I just run for fun these days. What is your aim, what are you trying to do? Stay competitive?

I don't have those bad days that you describe, because I'm not trying to fight anything, just running, walking, biking for fun. When I want to go fast I do, I don't have to force it.