aging and feeling good while running

As if there wasn't already enough good suggestions....here is a fairly simple 8-week program for improving balance, strength and mobility that some might find useful.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/proprioceptive-training.htm

You can really just stay at weeks one-two and do just fine. Frankly, it gets too hard ....for me anyway... towards the later weeks.

I had good results with this. Definitely helps restore some youthful feel.

All the best....

PS TDF...already ordered the Z-health CD. The kickbike is next. Feel like you deserve a commission.....

"Don't try to "mark the hydrant" with the studs in training group; instead, hang back and amuse the ladies :)"

Trouble is, it's the ladies who are the ones pushing the pace (can a lady be a "stud?"

toivo-

It's all pretty good advice you're getting here. You know what I mean by fancy. Don't do anything STUPID! (like sprinting up that hill in front of your place. At least not yet.) Strides are a good starting point. Afew of the exercises sound good too. Actually I've always done some of those things, I just didn't know they were possibly doing me good! Go get a good DEEP MASSAGE from you know who, or a similar sadist. None of your touchy feely good New Agey massages. I know I could use one! Gotta go, my sciatica is starting to kill me sittin' here.

Norske Yack Rabbit

toivo wrote:

I'd agree with TDF. Strengthen those feet. Assuming you don''t have any plantar problems walk around the house at first barefoot. Light rope-skipping maybe, on carpet.

Replace shoes regularly. Shoe Gu is make-up for broken down shoes!

Toivo

I agree that the combination of the aging process and the same type of shoes for an extended period has probably created some imbalance or weakness. I'll see what I can do to strengthen the feet. I don't mind giving up racing, but it would be a BIG adjustment for me to have to give up running. I'm sure I could get through it, especially with some of the advice that has been in this thread, but I'm not going to give up easily.

Not sure if you caught this on the thread @ Karhu shoes or not. This might be an effective activity for hip flexibility, agility, coordination, etc.

Check it out cool dude!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErdnK4_JG54

-Toiv

Food for thought. For the last 2 season's I've acted as an assistant X-C coach. In retro spect running with these kids has helped me at least as much as any thing that I may have helped them with. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but these were great young people. Some of their youth may have rubbed off. By the end off those season's, I ran faster and freer than I had in a long time.

Even enjoyed a few interval sessions, something I couldn't seem to manage on my own.

We tried stuff from the Greene/ Pate book as well as lots of drills and some plyo's. Way more ab and flexibility work than I was doing on my own. (They even taught me how to work an iPod.) So maybe a little of that youthful energy can spill over. I for one will go back next fall to give it that chance.

In the summer of 2006 there was a reunion for many of the top NorCal runners from the 1970's and 1980's. About 100 folks were invited. Of all of us I was one of about 5-10 that were still running. The rest had retired their legs due to injuries and wear and tear. Included were 2 past Boston Marathon winners and a number of Olympians. I was the tail end of what constituted "good" back during the first running boom.

Running is a wear and tear sport.

If you have done it for 30 years or more the chances are that you are never going to feel like you did back in the day.

I listen to my body (an overused term, I know) and don't do workouts that injure me. Big hills, sprints, intervals. They all speed up the end. I stay away from big miles too. I am a jogger who still can, at age 63, run under 21 minutes for 5K. Nothing great. I used to run in the 15's. I just keep retreating, grudgingly but it is a retreat.

I am like Joe Johnson retreating before Sherman during the Civil War. I am giving up land for time. I avoid pitch battles but I know that somewhere, sometime, I am going to have to surrender. It just ain't yet.

Yeah, I agree that playing with kids is probably the next best thing to being one.

I was just talking with the Norwegian Jackrabbit about Fartlek today. People today seem to forget its derivation..."speed play."

I have 80 acres out in the sticks and dream of a Gunder Hagg-style fartlek course.

Another idea is to construct an outdoor circuit training course where you could swing, jump (off, up, down, around, etc.), climb, push/pull up, crawl, you-name-it. Work every muscle and have fun doing it.

Toivo

Toivo,

The outdoor circuit training....as you describe....can be loads of fun and very invigorating. It's something I'd wholeheartedly endorse.

I set up a course a few years ago with a friend of mine who, by the way, is 12 years older than I am. And I'm well.....not young...

It went like this....

- 1min jump rope

- 1min rebounder

- 1min crunches on stability ball

- run around the house several times and navigate obstacles. There were numerous ropes tied between two trees. Some we had to jump over. Some we crawled under. One person lead and the other followed. We also included side-to-side running, backwards running, one-legged hops, two-legged hops, bounding, backwards running and whatever else we could think of. Then we ran down to the basement.

- pull-ups

- 1min shuttle run

- Back outside where we played a hole of wiffle ball golf....and/or threw a football around....and/or kicked a soccer ball around etc.....

Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

It was a lot of fun and we got really strong and ran quite well. I ran 38:55 at Falmouth which was a good result for me. It was a little tough to sustain because I didn't have the time to keep inventing new circuits. But the idea was good and I've gone back to it on numerous occasions.

I think the reason we succeeded with it was that we didn't make it too hard and we had developed a bit of strength before jumping in to it. And we added "stations" that were fun and slightly silly. We didn't necessarily care if it had any other purpose except to keep moving and have fun.

So...there you go....we looked like idiots but what the hell.

I think that your instinct to play more is a good one.

PTF how old were you when you ran that time at Falmouth? That is a very good time! I have been running Falmouth since 1975 with a only few years off.

Uf Da!!!

Hat's off, toivo

You apparently took the words out of the mouth of a pile of Master's runner's when you started this thread!!

There is some pure vitality issuing forth here.

This may sound daffy, but I used to cool down on playground swings when I was working out of town. (Couldn't be caught in the act by anyone I knew), but talk about a core and hip flexor workout.

Keep it coming guys.

TDF.... that Falmouth was 7 years ago. I was 44. Seems more recent. Weather was cooler so that helped. Haven't run Falmouth in a couple of years but may go back this year. It's just down the road.

I think there's only handful of folks who have run as many Falmouth's as you. I must have seen you numerous times. Will you be there this year?

By the way, the Z-health CD arrived yesterday. I watched the DVD and tried the exercises. I like it. I believe they will be helpful. They don't seem like much at first. But I can see how they could be very powerful. I like the fact that it's not too time-consuming or complicated. I just got the Quick Start guide to see if I take to it.

Thanks again for that....

a trainer.....can you recommend any stretches for joint mobility, specifically for the hips? My stride isn't what it used to be.

I'm going to check out that book "Framework."

A couple of very easy ones.....hip circles. Stand, or kneel and bend your knee and circle forward several times, then backwards. Do on both legs. You can also do this in water, which adds some nice resistance. Also try the circles with an extended leg, you 'draw' the circle on the floor with your toe. Or you can also do this lying on your back with your leg pointed up in the air. Then it is actually a Pilates move, but still a hip circle. I like to do it with one bent leg resting on a stability ball and the other leg extended. You have to try and keep the leg on the ball from moving, which can be difficult if your hips are not real mobile. High knees, where you do one high knee to the front, then out to the side, and then the same thing on the other leg. It is those side moves that help to loosen up the hips nicely.

There are some good stretches in the Whartons Stretch Book with a rope that are excellent also, bascially taking that hip through it's full ROM.

After a workout sitting on the floor in a half or full straddle stretch is also good.

Just remember that you really need to work on everything...you can't really isolate just your hips. But I do understand that hips do get tight, we don't often do things to work them through their ROM. Nice side benefit is that it feels really good when they are loose. One more thing.....I do this at night, I lay on the bed with my knees bent and then let my legs fall out to the sides, so that my knees are out and my feet are together...like a frog? If you feel any pain or tightness in one hip over the other, you can bet that there is a misalignment going on there. Then use that Frame Work book to learn some new moves...

a trainer the Z-Health mobility work has something like this: satnding up do one leg straight in front of you, across your body, out to the side, and behind you. Rotate both directions. But like you said it is more that targeting one joint. For the life of me I can't figure out which exercise has significantly got rid of the tight hips I have had for over 20 years. I think it really is a mix of all the exercises together

You are also right, and I think no one else has mentioned AIS (Active Isolated Stretching) in this thread. It is the one stretching routine that loosened up my muscles. I used to have a tape where they demonstrated the stretches but I lent it out and it dissappeared. As well as they helped my muscles, however, it did not help my joints and the rotations that my joints were making that I think the new exercises I am doing are targeting. But a big YES to AIS if you are looking for a good stretching routine.

PTF You beat me by almost 3 1/2 minutes that year! I'll be back to Falmouth (my hometown)- I grew up about a mile from the finish and my parents still live in town! My goal is to finish in the top 100 (something I have never done) and even though I am getting older I keep trying to find the magic bullet that will straighten my form out and let me run with coordination and ease again.

I keep doing the Z-Health daily and trying to get the feel for doing the exercises correctly. There is no sweat involved, they are short and sweet, and I feel immediate improvements upon completing them.

I can go you one better on your Z health stretch, because it is difficult to maintain proper posture while trying to hold your leg out in front or to the side. Do it in the pool, and put a noodle under your heel. The noodle supports the leg and you can easily move from front to side, and then the good rotation in the hip to the back. Anyone that does that move LOVES it...and sees some solid progress in ROM of the hip. We don't do that many things in life where we move our hips around like that, unless you dance or do gymnastics, or even swim breaststroke. Glad you reminded me about that move, it is one of the best.

Someone earlier had talked about the obstacle like course that they built....I wish I had room for that, it is one of the things that is part of a true Egoscue program. He believes you should be able to climb a tree, stand on your head, turn a cartweel, hang upside down....all of those things we probably all did as kids that kept us supple and healthy. And...it is a blast to do. The only thing I haven't done lately is climb a tree, but I can still do all of the others....and as WE get older, it can make you the coolest grandparent on the block if you can do all of those things with children.

Yeah, it's amazing how we lose those simple abilities!

Even swinging on a playground swing feels really weird now (inner ear stuff I guess.)

Climbing a tree is easy where I live, but I don't dare to do a cartwheel...yet. And how about jumping off things? Instead of landing like a cat, I hit the ground like a 150 pound sack of frozen russets!

As I said above, my very remote 80 acres affords me the privacy to act like I'm off my rocker. In town, I'd probably have some restraining orders served against me.

Maybe I should build a "Masters Athlete Playground" where can all cavort in privacy and "dignity."

-Toivo

(p.s. Just noticed that this thread hit 100)