Over-50 runners doing >50MPW?

The flippant answer is I got a divorce and she got custody of Atlanta. The further true is I came out to Boulder in 1985 to train and decided to stay. I'm not really a Georgia boy by birth. I'm an air force brat and only lived in GA for the last 3 years of high school and the stayed to go to UGA and then raced out of Stone Mountain until 1983 (1969-1983). I moved to TN for a year plus. I've now been in Boulder for 20 years.

Thanks. Looks like it might be a bit more than 75-85 to me.

There are guys over 50 who have done 140 to 160 mile weeks.

This guy and his 50 plus wife are doing 100 mile weeks:

53 17:24 Dave Hill 05/23/2004 Tucson 5000

54 17:25 Dave Hill 05/22/2005 Tucson 5000

Actually, the popular story around Tucson that my wife Michele and I habitually run 100 miles per week is somewhat of an exaggeration. I did get up to around 100 for a few weeks at the end of 2004, leading up to the Tucson half-marathon where I ran 74 minutes something. I was trying to peak for the Las Vegas marathon but injured my calf (not running-related, but it affected my running). For the first few months of 2005, I wasn't able to train properly, because of the injury, hence the "slow" result in the Tucson 5000. I have since run 16.52, but as that is slower than my average pace for my best ever marathon, I don't regard it as anything special.

In recent months, I have been averaging about 50 miles a week, but I am now back into full training and this week will be my first at 100 this year (including 2 speed workouts). I am planning to go up to 120 this summer, while training for the Twin Cities marathon. This is something of an experiment to see if a near-55 year old can sustain that type of workload and then race well. I guess the proof will be in the results of the TCM.

Michele (who also turns 55 this year) typically runs 85-90 mile weeks when in full training, although she also might go up to 100 this summer. She is a former Olympic marathon trials qualifier and is used to running high mileage.

Age is just a number. There are no rules and there are no limits, except for injury and enthusiasm.

I ran 123 last week, but cut back to 68 to get the

speedwork in the heat this week.

Hi Dave Hill,

I just wanted to say "hi!" You and your lovely wife Michele an ispiration. As I've recently set about running after a very long lay off and I've been searching for people who are doing it, running like always. I saw an article about you in one of the running mags and it encouraged me to keep at it.

My husband and I lived out in Saquaro National Monument for over a year. A short time yes, but I'm looking forward to moving back someday.

I've done over 100 miles a week this winter now have cut back and to 78-92 and doing long intervals.

I look forward to seeing your marathon results from Twin Cities. I hope you have great treing between now and then. Way to go!

Is Michele looking forward to qualifing for 2008 trials?

Hi Patti,

Thanks for your kind words. I hope your running gives you all the enjoyment that you could wish for.

If you ever get back to Tucson, do let us know. You can contact us through the Southern Arizona Roadrunners website, via the Running Groups link.

Yes, Michele would love to qualify for the 2008 trials, although it's asking a lot. But wouldn't it be a great story - a 57 year old on the start line !

Interesting.

Dave, I'm looking to do Twin Cities also, but at this point it might be in jeapordy. My slow comeback from injury (see my post on first page) made having a decent race an iffy proposition at best-but now after building up to 70 miles a week I have pulled a muscle in my back (re-occuring old injury) and have missed 2 1/2 of the last 3 weeks of training. I can't afford that kind of down time if I want to be competitive at all. Since your "slow" 5K times form last year were exactly my "fast" times from a year and a half ago I probably wouldn't have been any competition for you anyway.

Lived in Tucson many years ago (mid 70's) for a year. It was turning into a sprawl then, I can imagine what it's like now.

Good luck with your training, with the heat in Tucson 100-120 mile weeks will toughen you up for a good fall marathon. With any luck I might be out there with you, but things aren't looking great at the moment.

Benji,

Sorry to hear of your marital woes. BT,DT. Good luck!

Dave,

When you crank up your training, do you just do high mileage weeks (120, or whatever) one after another. I ask

because while I've been able to edge my mileage back up into the 70's in the past year or so, I've found it helpful to cut back a bit every fourth week. Doing that, I've been able to stay healthy. I also include Pilates,

massage, occasional acupuncture, more trail running, and possibly smarter training (although I'm not so sure about that last one).

I'll turn 49 next month. FWIW, I've averaged over 3,500 miles for the last three years. This year will be closer to 3,000, because I've just gotten over my first injury in 15 years. I hope to be running close to or over 70 mpw for the next several years. I guess I should go find some wood on which to knock.

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about your injury problem. Hopefully, it will clear up in time to have a good shot at the TCM. There's still, what....16 or 17 weeks to go ? It's do-able!

Yes, training in the heat of Tucson is a little different to what I was used to back in the UK, but you just have to adapt to the conditions. I do my main run at 4.30am; at the moment it's typically about 70 degrees then, so it's perfect. My afternoon run, which is currently about 30 minutes, is a little less comfortable, but I get through it ok.

If you do manage to make it to TCM, drop us an email, via the running group link on the Southern Arizona Roadrunners site and maybe we'll get together for a beer after the race.

Best of luck

It's been a long time since I did 120 mpw. Back in my prime (mid-80s) I would alternate between 120mpw and 100mpw. I was a much more frequent racer back then and I would often race on the 100-mile week. I once raced a good 10-miler off one day's rest (rest = 5 miles easy run) after running 253 miles in 14 days. Not quite Dave Bedford, but a lot of miles for me...

I haven't yet decided how to structure the mileage this summer. I'm going to try to hit straight 100's or thereabouts for 4-5 weeks before jacking it up to 120. I'll see how my body reacts, before I commit to the higher mileage. Michele puts together my training schedules, so we'll be monitoring how things go and planning accordingly.

I know that a lot of runners like to incorporate frequent "easy" weeks, but for me every fourth week would be too much. Maybe every eighth week might work for me, but I'll probably know better a few weeks down the line....I don't think there's any one answer to this; you just have to find out what works for you.

Good luck with the training.

BD:

Thanks for the post in which you detailed what a typical week of running looks like for you. I just turned 50 and am slowly boosting my mileage for a fall marathon, so i'm looking for models of how to do this . . . and do it wisely.

I wonder if some of you others (Dave Hill?) would care to put down in more detail what your training week (or 10-day cycle or whatever you do) looks like. It's good to hear that so many 50+ runners are capable of doing higher mileage, but how are you doing it? 2x daily 7 days p/wk? Singles? 2x daily only on certain days?

No problem.

Here's this week's schedule. My week finishes tomorrow with a long run and I'm currently on target for 104-105 miles for the week. Most of my 'steady' morning runs are run at 7.30 to 8 min mile pace and at 4.30 am to avoid the Tucson heat. My afternoon runs are at about 6pm, when it can still be 100 degrees here.

Monday

am. 90 mins steady, finishing off with a few 30 sec strides to shake the legs out a bit

pm. 30 mins steady

Tuesday

am. 75 mins steady

pm. 30 mins steady

Wednesday

am. Session: 6x 4 mins with 30 secs recovery, followed by 5x 1 min with 45 secs recovery

pm. 30 mins steady

Thursday

am. 90 mins steady

pm. 30 mins steady

Friday

am. 90 mins steady finishing off with strides, per Monday

pm. 30 mins steady

Saturday

am. Session: 50 min 'tempo' run, 2 min recovery, then 5x 1 min/45 secs recovery

pm. 30 mins steady

Sunday

am. 2 hrs 30 mins easy

I've been taking my Sunday's as easy 'recovery' runs but I'll be cranking them up a bit as I get nearer the marathon. I'll also be building in a third 'session' to replace the Monday morning steady run.

Hope this helps - it's a lot of running, but I enjoy it !

I'm back running after an I.t.b. injury. Thanks to advice from people on letsrun. Thanks especially to HRE. At 52, I run up to 60miles a week.Started running in my late forties and am slow.Hope to break 1:34 for a half this year and 3:20 in the Marathon.

Do any of you Oldsters do under 5K or run track races?

There are plenty of oldies around here running track races and still doing it well.Also a number of good sprinters.