Older runners, what was your decline like?

Precipitous.

Negativesplitter wrote:

[quote]Old spice wrote:

For all you older runners out there, what was your drop in performance like over time?

Sudden drop(s) or a steady (more or less linear) decline over time?

Steady. My experience and observation has been that, absent injury, the age grading data are a superb predictor of performance over time.

Now at 64 if I have a good training cycle I know I will run the same age graded marathon time, within a narrow range of about 5 minutes, that I was running 15 years ago.

I have a 50 year old friend whose annual best marathon time on an age graded basis has likewise not changed for over 20 years.

Unless we get hurt or find a way to train harder I can tell you what we will be running in five more years.

At my current age (63) the overall rate of slowing is about 3 sec/mile/year. The past few years I have been improving by about that much each year, so my improvement relative to age-cohorts is about 6-7 sec/year. This is after a massive drop-off in my 50s (about a minute/mile, initiated by a serious achilles injury). I will never see a 4:xx mile again, which in my 40s I could do in training, but most my age never will either. Just happy to be pain-free and improving slowly.

Same age as banned Pete. I started running/racing around age 40. Peaked at 1:29 HM around age 45. Was in 1:32 shape at age 51 when I got a winter case of bronchitis that lasted about six weeks. Lost something and couldn't come back to anything close to my previous fitness. I have had to stop during runs, my HR is about 20 bpm higher at the same paces. I've been running my lunch runs at what used to be my marathon long run paces.

I'm also 15 lbs over my best racing weight, so there's that as well.

In the loop wrote:

Same age as banned Pete. I started running/racing around age 40. Peaked at 1:29 HM around age 45. Was in 1:32 shape at age 51 when I got a winter case of bronchitis that lasted about six weeks. Lost something and couldn't come back to anything close to my previous fitness. I have had to stop during runs, my HR is about 20 bpm higher at the same paces. I've been running my lunch runs at what used to be my marathon long run paces.

I'm also 15 lbs over my best racing weight, so there's that as well.

15lbs overweight is good for least 30s a mile, maybe as much as a minute if you'll a smaller guy and we are talking 8+ minute paces.

I've never been a very fast runner. I didn't start running until 1982 at age 27. My marathon PR at age 29 was 3:21:04. I could consistently run between 3:30 to 3:45 throughout my 30's. In my 40's I gradually began gaining weight, even though my training was pretty much the same as far as annual mileage. My times slowed dramatically and I ultimately ran a very slow 4:53 at age 48, and thought it was simply because I was getting older. I was in denial about how much effect the weight gain had on my times. I was running at 220 lbs! My 1984 PR was at about 155 lbs., so I was in serious denial. After that 4:53 I decided I needed to lose the weight because instead of just good muscle soreness after a marathon, my joints were what was hurting. I dropped my weight back down to 160 over the course of a year, but didn't expect to drop my marathon finish times by all that much. However, at age 50, 51, 52, and 53 my times went down to 3:30, 3:27, 3:23, and another 3:23 respectively. I qualified and ran at Boston 4x in my 50's ('06, '07, '08, & 2011) and 2x in my early 60's, (2016 and 2017).

But, since that time I have seen a major decline in my pace, even with my weight still in check and still trying to train at about 2,000 miles each year. I could barely manage a 4:30 at age 64 at my last marathon. Other factors have entered into the equation, like exercise induced asthma and other minor issues, but I'm feeling like my marathon days are numbered. I'm just happy to still be out there. Feels strange to be almost the oldest runner in town now.

Looking at the masters records theres a steady but moderate decline 50-70 and sharp decline after 70-75.

Heres a vid of M60 800m.... The jerks played old time rock'n'roll at the finish ?

https://youtu.be/hpfYzFhB-HY

There's another vid of an M85 running a 400m in 1:20.XX.

https://youtu.be/Jp5hh3KJ6Dg

Motivates me to continue eating in a way clinically proven to reverse atherosclerosis and keep doing my strength and plyos.

January's coming! Time of the year when all the new runners out there remind us how far we've come. No matter how much slower we've gotten. ?

Quinntessential wrote:I have to ask, why were you possibly banned...?

No idea. Happened several years ago. I had a registered name before (just “Pete”) and could create a new one I suppose, but if somebody mustered up enough of their emotional energy to ban me I figured maybe that was a good reason for me to give this place less of mine. :-)

thanks for sharing this vid. great. i love the fight and how fast this race looks to be, and it was! not for young lads but for m60 - superb!

Steady decline for me. I Find age-grading is a good way to measure my decline. I’m 60 now and over the past 8 years I’ve slowed down very close to the age-graded expectation which is about 10 seconds per year.

I work a great deal on massaging and stretching to combat injuries, tightness and an ever shortening stride length.

started at the age of 37, peaked at 44.

since then i had years with bad drops, others were fine.

10 miles:

44years: 57:10

52years: 61:05

same course. so no chance to get sub 60 again for me i guess. :/

Gentlemen,

I’m in my 50’s, and there are changes! I felt like I was in near the best shape of my life two months ago, running and working out 2x/day, but one of my once-bulletproof knees started giving me trouble (torn meniscus). I rehabbed it in PT, and feel much better, but I’m switching my workouts to kickboxing (at home) as, believe it or not, there is less impact. I still get the endorphin flow and still get a heavy sweat going!

You MIGHT have to give up or greatly reduce running, but there are so many other fun, aerobic things you can do! Never, never give up!

Watching this 800 was pretty inspirational honestly. Cool stuff!

Airkings wrote:

Gentlemen,

I’m in my 50’s, and there are changes! I felt like I was in near the best shape of my life two months ago, running and working out 2x/day, but one of my once-bulletproof knees started giving me trouble (torn meniscus). I rehabbed it in PT, and feel much better, but I’m switching my workouts to kickboxing (at home) as, believe it or not, there is less impact. I still get the endorphin flow and still get a heavy sweat going!

You MIGHT have to give up or greatly reduce running, but there are so many other fun, aerobic things you can do! Never, never give up!

No surgery on the torn meniscus? What kind of rehab for the knee? Are you completely done with running? (how much running were you doing?).

What a tear-jerker! Is it possible that you just went out too fast and would have been within a few seconds of your goal if you had gone out in 65/66 instead of 61/66?

As for me, at 40 I was running low mileage at and occasionally racing a 4:45 mile (almost 30 seconds off my HS PR) or a 17:00 5K, and feeling satisfied. Then I had a bout of PF that made me quit for a year or more and a could never really get back into steady running, with young kids. I tried once a few years later but was so painfully slow that I couldn't get motivated to run.

Fast forward to 18 months ago and a high-school aged kid motivated me to run daily again. Since then, I'm dropping minutes faster than he is (albeit with a few more to drop). I suspect I'll hit my ceiling in the next year or two and then have to cope with mortality once again. But for now it's like being a kid again.

My meniscus is partially torn at the root. The repair failure rate is too high for my liking. I risk osteoarthritis either way, so as long as I’m not in pain, I’m going to hold out.

I’ve been running my whole life, but not long distances. I’ve always tried to cross-train. I think that helps. I usually did 2-3 miles, and it’s very hilly. I probably could run, but I don’t want to upset the applecart, so to speak.

The rehab was formal PT. Strengthening the hip and muscles around the knee. It seems like it was very effective for me. I just made sure I worked hard at it. They gave me some bands, and I’ll continue at home.

Not sure how this will turn out long term, but I’m doing my best. Good luck to you!

Decline - what decline? Haha

TLDR - If you don't start running till your are an older runner, newbie gains can postpone/delay the inevitable...

Currently 56 years old and almost every race I have run has been a PB and in training runs I am able to go farther and faster with more frequency.

After never running competitively, or not more than for a couple weeks every few years, I decided to bucket list a marathon. Basically I fully embraced running as something I wanted in my life in January 2016.

I figured I would run for two or three years before attempting the marathon, but to measure where I was at, I decided to try a half marathon in March of that year. I ran with a local club targeting a 2 hour half and probably averaged about 25 mpw from Jan-Mar.

3/2016 - Half @ 1:54:34 (PB)

Didn't with run with much regularity the rest of 2016 and into 2017. Started a more regular pattern of running towards the end of 2017, usually anywhere from 15-30 miles per week. No real plan, just running mostly by feel, although I did track my runs on my phone using Strava.

10/2018 - 5k @ 20:51 followed by a 10k @ 45:46 (both PBs)

12/2018 - Half @ 1:40:01 (PB)

At the beginning of this year (2019) I targeted a fall marathon so I started running with a bit more purpose. I even bought a running watch and eventually a chest strap to more accurately log my times, pace and heart rate. Averaged about 25 mpw starting out and topped out at 55 mpw a few weeks before the marathon, although I did have to take most of June and part of July off due to a stray dog using my calf as a chew toy during one of my runs.

7/2019 - 5k @ 21:35 (wasn't really in shape due to holes in my calf, but was still pleased with the result - it was HOT!)

8/2019 - 5k @ 20:28 (PB)

9/2019 - 5k @ 20:51 (it may have been hot, but at least it was humid. haha)

9/2019 - 30k @ 2:21:19 (PB)

10/2019 - 5k @ 20:08 (PB)

10/2019 - 5k @ 19:55 followed by a 10k @ 44:02 (both PBs)

11/2019 - Full @ 3:15:52 (PB)

12/2019 - Half @ 1:32:17 (PB)

I don't follow a training plan, just run far, fast or sometimes far & fast (with fast being relative for someone my age). Although I use electronics to log my stuff in Strava, I always run based on how I feel, often not knowing which route I am going to take (i have lots of options once out from my front door), or how far/fast i am going until I actually do a warm up jog of 10-15 minutes. Someone I run with on occasion told my I probably run my slow runs to fast and my fast runs to slow, but whatever I am doing seems to have worked for me so far. I can't say exactly when, but some where in Sep/Oct all my training runs just seemed to get easier and recovery times got shorter even though I kept increasing pace and mileage each week. As I am writing this post I am thinking its probably due to the track work I started doing, and/or from the cooler fall temperatures (more likely?).

Anyway, the recent full and half were real close together (two weeks) so I've shut it down for the most part to give myself a chance to recharge before starting up again in January.

I still feel have a bit of room to progress before I plateau or any age related regression starts moving my times in the other direction.

It's probably a reach, but I definitely think I am capable of a sub 3 marathon. My optimism got the better of me so I went and purchased Jack Daniels v3 in an attempt to come up with some type of plan to get there.

Regardless, even if I never run any faster then what I did this year, I plan to continue enjoying my time on the roads and trails for as long as possible.