Old Dudes: At what age did you start feeling old?

I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.

Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.

In time the curtain-edges will grow light.

Till then I see what's really always there:

Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,

Making all thought impossible but how

And where and when I shall myself die.

Arid interrogation: yet the dread

Of dying, and being dead,

Flashes afresh to hold and horrify.

The mind blanks at the glare. Not in remorse

- The good not done, the love not given, time

Torn off unused - nor wretchedly because

An only life can take so long to climb

Clear of its wrong beginnings, and may never;

But at the total emptiness for ever,

The sure extinction that we travel to

And shall be lost in always. Not to be here,

Not to be anywhere,

And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true.

This is a special way of being afraid

No trick dispels. Religion used to try,

That vast, moth-eaten musical brocade

Created to pretend we never die,

And specious stuff that says No rational being

Can fear a thing it will not feel, not seeing

That this is what we fear - no sight, no sound,

No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with,

Nothing to love or link with,

The anasthetic from which none come round.

And so it stays just on the edge of vision,

A small, unfocused blur, a standing chill

That slows each impulse down to indecision.

Most things may never happen: this one will,

And realisation of it rages out

In furnace-fear when we are caught without

People or drink. Courage is no good:

It means not scaring others. Being brave

Lets no one off the grave.

Death is no different whined at than withstood.

Slowly light strengthens, and the room takes shape.

It stands plain as a wardrobe, what we know,

Have always known, know that we can't escape,

Yet can't accept. One side will have to go.

Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ring

In locked-up offices, and all the uncaring

Intricate rented world begins to rouse.

The sky is white as clay, with no sun.

Work has to be done.

Postmen like doctors go from house to house.

Philip Larkin

old guy who wasted his youth wrote:

gccg wrote:

Man, this is depressing. Have anyone of you managed to NOT feel old, stay relatively fast, and not gain weight in your late 40s, and into your 50s?

I'm almost 49 now. I started running again with purpose about 5 years ago. I don't have the speed I used to have, but my stamina is MUCH better than I ever had.

No it is not. Either you are training more now, or you simply weren't trying when you were younger.

For regular competitors it's is when you realize you are past your peak (usually early '30's). Of course, pinpointing your peak is retrospective, so it might not hit home until mid'30's! Frankly, though, at 52 I don't feel old, even though I know I look it. I think if you just love running, the 'feeling old' thing does not apply. I have not raced for years but still do reps, hills and (occasional)track work like I still care about times, which I don't.

I am 49, run 2 marathons a year under 3 hours, 5ks just under 18, do one workout on the track a week and one long run a week. Been averaging about 55 for the week over the past few years. I have noticed that it just takes longer to recover from the tougher runs lately and do not have as many of those feeling good days. Those first few steps in the morning upon waking up are not fun, feel like an 80 year old. ...but I still love running and will do it until I can't anymore.

To the OP, I don't feel old yet.

Well among other things when your pubic hair starts turning gray and you start experiencing ED it is kind of hard to ignore the fact that yes you are getting old. I still run 40 miles a week and do 20+ races a year.

At close to 60, I'm slower than I was at 55 or 50 or 45 etc. I have more soreness after workouts. I tend to get injured easily and it takes longer to recover.

But feeling old? NO WAY! I still hang out w/ running club buds, enjoy some beer and pizza. I still dig interval workouts (long runs, less so). I still make plans for really cool races I want to run or swim (this past summer--5 mile swim). I worry about time but also remind myself that age grading is the "Botox" for your race times.

Aging can't be helped. Feeling old can be.

You should all read this. http://www.pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/gp003.pdf

I was 23 and in Graduate school.. I was in my 5th year of college running at a D1 school and everyone starting calling me Old Balls Wade... And I realized they were right when I would go to a party and the girls were 18... But I'm 24 now and trying to find time to ride my bike and run while working 60 plus hour weeks and finshing up my masters.. That is when I really felt old. I am more concered about my article I am trying to publish instead of hitting 80 miles for the week. Enjoy your undergrad boys, cause the real world BLOWS a fat one..

I can only hope next year when I am done with school and making my own work schedule I can get back to 80 miles a week and run a solid marathon. Nothing earth shattering but under 2:30 would be nice.

I come from a different background than most of you, in that I didn't run when I was younger. I didn't start until 2 years when I was in the process of losing 100 pounds.

So for me, even though I'm near 37, I have never ran faster or felt better, and of course look better than I have since my early 20s (before I gained the 100 pounds).

At this point there is a real chance that every race is a potential PR so that in and of itself is motivating.

What was the question?

Goes in phases:

31-32/found I didn't have that high speed gear for mile/1500

33/34/same goes for 5K

35/39/things keep backsliding injury-wise

40s/mostly good, found that injury recovery takes a long time

51/blew out my knee--not exactly feeling old, but older with less likelihood of recovery. Start thinking about other health issues too; blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. My dad had first heart attack at my age, and died just two years later.

I'm 62. The guy who wrote that it happens in phases is right. I was doing great and didn't feel old until 61, when a combination of injuries and health issues caused the wheels to fall off. I'm coming back but as other posters said, recovery takes longer. In fact, recovery is the single big limiting factor. I can no longer train hard every other day. It catches up to me and I have to take extra recovery days.

I believe that after 55, you really can't take time off. A month off after a big race or an injury and you'll take 6 months of hard work just to struggle back to where you were before... assuming you ever get back.

On the bright side, my peers are getting slower faster. Ten years ago, I'd place 7th or 8th in a local 5k. Now I usually win or if the fast guys show up, place in the top three. Racing is still a matter of putting on the number and doing your best that day.

57 years old. Ran a bunch of marathons in the 2:45 range. PR was 2:43, or 6:13 a mile. I can't even do a mile repeat at 6:13 anymore, and doing a 400 at 6:13 pace is daunting. I ask myself on the track, how did I ever run 104 laps at this pace without a break? I still broke 3 hours at age 51, but then a string of minor but nagging injuries have slowed me down. I can still knock out 70-80 miles a week, and do a 25 miler on Sunday. But speed? Funny, when I'm doing speedwork, my breathing feels like I'm trying, my legs feel like I'm trying, but my watch says that I'm slow. 50-55 seems to be the spot where almost everyone feels the age, unless you started running when you're 45. I started when I was 25, and 140+ marathons later, the legs just aren't as lively as when I was 35. Oh well. Compared to most I'm still okay since I still shop for racing shoes, although they probably don't really help when you can only go 6:45 a mile.

41, my last marathon. Two injuries owing to training and racing in flats followed right afterwards and it was essentially all over.

However, try asking the regular person who attends the gym 3-5 times a week and does a bit of cardiovascular work to run a single 6:45 mile. You will then find out that you're doing GREAT!

The key is to continue moving, stay on top of your diet but occasionally do splurge and take full rest days frequently.

The universal standard of getting old is ear hair- you can look it up

standards and records dept wrote:

The universal standard of getting old is ear hair- you can look it up

Ear AND nose hair.

47 wasn't fun, but 48 seems to be going better.

Just roll with the punches and keep moving ~ some days (years) are better than others?!

yNoT

Physically, in my mid-forties, when the injuries started. Mentally it still hasn't happened - I'm still surprised when I see an old guy in the mirror.

JohnnyO wrote:

standards and records dept wrote:

The universal standard of getting old is ear hair- you can look it up

Ear AND nose hair.

Don't forget the bushy eyebrow thing! :)