Over 50 running

I am not 50 yet but I had an accident when I was 40. After over 3 years of no running, I have been working my way back but the pounding irritates my back causing muscle spasms which leads to tightness in my calves and achilles.

After 6 weeks off, I started back by only running uphill on the treadmill. This greatly lessens the pounding and has been really good for my back. Can't tell yet how it will go but I have been at it over 5 weeks and getting stronger all the time.

The first thing I do is start the same 15 minutes every day. I am currently running at 9:13 pace so I begin at 1%incline for 2.5 minutes. I then increase the incline 1% every 2.5 minutes. Once I get to 15 minutes, I increase the incline based on how hard I want to work out. I am doing most of my running after the warmup at between 7 and 10% incline.

Tonight, I did a hard workout where I kept increasing the incline 1% every 2.5 minutes until I couldn't go any farther. I made it 37.5 minutes running the last 2.5 minutes at 15% incline. At 9:13 pace, that compared to running under 5:30 at level. An easy day is running the 15 minute warmup followed by 45 minutes at 7% incline. That would equate to about 7:30 a mile.

I jumped in a 5 mile race a couple weeks ago and ran about 3 minutes faster than I was training at so I hope this can be a good substitute. If it isn't, I'll just have to start running mountain races as long as they only go uphill.

There is some great advice here. I'm 64 and have been running since 1958. I've found that I was running OK until about 2 years ago. Things really go to hell around the mid to late 60s. Just look at the no. of runners finishing marathons in the 65-69 group compared to 60-64. The fall off is remarkable. My guess about your situation is that you are training too fast which is the most common error almost all runners seem to make. Try for about 12-15 hours/week with maybe a little speed thrown in once in a while. Wear a heart rate monitor and keep it at about 70% of max. heart rate. Use the formula 180 minus your age to establish your max training heart rate. Get Dr. Maffetone's latest book. I'm just getting over a plantar fasciitis injury now. However, that is the first injury I've had in the last 32 years. I attribute it to jumping into barefoot running too aggressively. Read all you can and EXPERIMENT to find out what suits you.

I will turn 59 next month. About a year ago I began to face many of the issues discussed in this and other posts, i.e. mounting injuries, sliding performance, and chronic joint fatigue. After some consultation with an orthopaedic physician and physical therapist I mapped out a plan that will hopefully allow me to continue in the sport. Like others, I have incorporated spin classes, pool running, and swimming as a substitute for easy days. I have been on the plan for two months, so the the results, though much improved, are short term. My attitude is that I am smart enough to figure this out. I am hopeful that I can continue in my chosen sport well into my 60s. However, I must out of necessity change my approach to training. We'll see how I progress into future. Hopefully the following will help you. Here is an rough outline of my schedule; some days will have two sessions.

Monday: Repetition/Intervals/Pool Run and Core

Tuesday: Spin Class/Swimming

Wednesday: Tempo/Intervals/Pool Run and Core

Thursday: Spin Class/Swimming

Friday: Easy Run/Pool Run or Rest

Saturday: Long Run with Pool Run after/Tempo or Race

Sunday: Easy Run or Rest

I try to swim, spin, and do core exercises each at least twice a week. I pool run as a second workout or continue the "mileage" in the pool. I periodize the intervals, repetitions, tempos and long runs according to training cycle.

Ghost of Igloi

Reid, That was an excellent post with great advice and information. I would encourage all runners to check out the principle of periodization you wrote of in your post. The variety of training seems to really help all athletes regardless of age and ability. I will be 50 in December and have competed at a high level for the last 37 years. I credit a lot of this durability to continuous changes in training emphasis. For those that are interested, Pete Magil's blog, "Younger legs for older runners", offers a wealth of information. Good luck and God bless.

The Lizard of Remorse

A living man is blind and drink his drops

What matter of the ditches are impure

What matters if I leave it all once more

Endure the toil of growing up and the ignamity of

boyhood

Who distress before charging into man

and the unfinished man came to face to face within

his own clumsiness

A finished man many among his enemies

how in the name of heaven can he escape that

defying and disfigured shape itself against his eyes

until last thing he thinks that shape must be his shape

But what is good about the escape is if an

honor find him in the wintery blasts and I am

convinced to live all again and yet again it it

as bothered to pitch into the frogs pawns if a blinds' man ditch, a blind man battery

My fiftirth year has come and gone and I sat as a

solitaty man, in a crowded London shop on a book

and an empty cup at a marble table top.

Blessings don't dome before your 50th year

My 50th has come and gave me longest and slicing I give my body with a moment of blaze and in at those twenty minutes it seem great my happiness that I was blessed and could not leave when I became 50

A poem by Willima Buckley Yates

What sorts of intervals do you do? intervals have not gone well for me and maybe you're doing something smarter than I am.

Since turning 50 three years ago, here's the basic program I've followed. Luckily, I've been able to run 7 days a week (though not without aches and pains).

Two cycles per year

10 weeks distance, approx. 50 mpw:

M 5 miles easy

T 7 mi. uptempo

W 11 mi. hills, trails

T 5 mi. easy

F 7 mi. tempo

S 5 mi. easy

S 15 mi. @ 7 min./mi. pace

4 weeks hills: Same as above but substitute 3 - 5 x 4:00 hill repeats on Tues. and Fri.

4 weeks intervals: Same but substitute 8 x 600m with 200m jog on Tues. and 4 x 1200m with 400m jog on Fri.

6 weeks sharpening and peak racing.

2 weeks off

This probably isn't state of the art, but I know how to get the best out of myself with this program, which is basically what I was doing 30 years ago only with less volume.

I'm probably courting disaster by not doing any weights or core and only minimal stretching, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.