ReThinking Exercise at Age 60

Muddy girl wrote:

Just turned 66. Female. Been running for 51 years. I have had two injuries since I turned 60 that took me over a year (each) to get back to racing. I'm actually still coming back from the last one. I did a lot of PT and worked hard after the first injury to drop the excess weight (I have never been super skinny) and ran well after a year and a half. This time, I'm only running 5 days a week (35-40 miles) and running in the pool the other two days (so boring). It's going to take a while before I can say I'm running decently again.

I do Dynamic stretching in the morning, "prehab/strength" at night. Today I ran a 6k race at a pace that is 40 sec. mile slower than what I used to run long runs at in my 40s (on trails even). So that's depressing. I run mostly grass and trails, which distracts me from whatever pace I am running. [I haven't bought a Garmin (yet) and use a timex and my phone. ] Today was over 3 minutes slower than what I ran 2 years ago at the same course, but on the plus side, I was able to run and finish and I don't think I re-injured anything. My teammate and I agreed that we are grateful to be able to keep doing something we love because you don't know what life has in store for you.

Miserable Gits wrote:

There’s always a lot of negativity in this type of thread, particularly on here but wherever the subject of oldies exercising comes up. Why don’t we just keep quiet, stay in our lane and wait for the inevitable?

I am early 50s and train with and race against athletes both older and much younger, getting beaten in competition by more of both than I would like. Does it matter? No, not at all.

I train (sprints and jumps now) for health reasons, my sanity and the fact that use it or lose it is all too true as you age. Anything lost or diminished is increasingly difficult to regain.

Mostly I do it because I enjoy it. This seems to be beyond the ken of many on here and elsewhere.

My more senior friends approach it for much the same reasons. Some are exceptional for their age (see EM and WMAF champs) , others not so much. They have all found their own way of navigating the inevitable loss of performance.

Someone mentioned age grading earlier. It’s just a handy metric. I don’t bother with it, preferring to see where I am languishing on our national ladder based on the actual data. Sobering, inspiring and comical in almost equal measure.

I don’t expect to be as quick or jump as far as a teenager (both of mine are club athletes), but I am definitely going to try and beat my equally decrepit mate from another club in the next league match. Then we are going to have a laugh afterwards looking at the results board.

Do not go gentle into that good night…

kundee wrote:

Miserable Gits wrote:

There’s always a lot of negativity in this type of thread, particularly on here but wherever the subject of oldies exercising comes up. Why don’t we just keep quiet, stay in our lane and wait for the inevitable?

I am early 50s and train with and race against athletes both older and much younger, getting beaten in competition by more of both than I would like. Does it matter? No, not at all.

I train (sprints and jumps now) for health reasons, my sanity and the fact that use it or lose it is all too true as you age. Anything lost or diminished is increasingly difficult to regain.

Mostly I do it because I enjoy it. This seems to be beyond the ken of many on here and elsewhere.

My more senior friends approach it for much the same reasons. Some are exceptional for their age (see EM and WMAF champs) , others not so much. They have all found their own way of navigating the inevitable loss of performance.

Someone mentioned age grading earlier. It’s just a handy metric. I don’t bother with it, preferring to see where I am languishing on our national ladder based on the actual data. Sobering, inspiring and comical in almost equal measure.

I don’t expect to be as quick or jump as far as a teenager (both of mine are club athletes), but I am definitely going to try and beat my equally decrepit mate from another club in the next league match. Then we are going to have a laugh afterwards looking at the results board.

Do not go gentle into that good night…

Sounds like give up and wait to die.

RLT wrote:

Read through many of the posts on this thread, and I can't believe no one has yet mentioned red light therapy, also called photobiomodulation. A couple years ago, I invested a few thousand dollars in a full body red light panel (bit of a misnomer - it's NIR and IR wavelengths). It's totally worth the money for me and my husband. I'm in my mid-40s, and am able to train and recover like I was in my mid-30s, same for my husband. And over all have less aches and pains, more energy, better sleep. It takes 24 min 5 days a week (we do 12 minutes front, 12 on the back). I listen to an audiobook or play on my on my phone, so it goes quickly.

Try finding a red light bed near you and pay the few hundred for a month package or whatever to try it out. The beds are ridiculously expensive (well over $100K), but panels are affordable, just make sure they're from a reputable company and not a China knock-off.

runn wrote:

rakesh patel wrote:

As someone about to turn 39, I'd like to say that this thread has been incredibly informative and eye-opening. Definitely motivates me to make the most of the next 4-5 years before I hit 44...

It's difficult to come to grips with, this slowing down process, but there comes a point where you look at other guys your age and realize how important it is to be healthy.

For me, I broke 5:00 in the mile at 49. I read that a small number of American men break 5:00 after 50 years old.

I thought it would be a piece of cake.

50,51 life got in the way. 52, I had trouble training to break 5:00 but I did manage a couple 5:15-5:20.

53, the bottom fell out. Couldn't train with the intensity or mileage. From 55 on (I'm 66) even getting decent mileage became tough. Motivation slipped and now, I've discovered a love for running because of the run itself. 2 miles is fine, more is better but weekly mileage is low and I'm happy and healthy and living a good life.

fisky wrote:

iplod wrote:

At 73, I have OA in both knees. I have been told x-rays do show some space between the joints. Until last year, I was having good results with cortisone injections. (The shots stopped working, which is not unusual). Switched to gel injections every six months, also working well and Medicare pays for it. I would like to avoid knee replacement, hopefully.

Around age 71, I was diagnosed with arthritis in the right knee... nearly but not quite bone on bone between the lower edge of the kneecap and the tibia. I was given a synthetic hyaluronic acid injection and told it would last about six months. (I assume this is the gel injections you're getting now.) I asked myself, "What caused this?" Sure... running, but why this particular location and why only on the right knee?

To make a long story a little less long. A previous injury was causing me to overstride on my right leg when I'd get tired. I changed my shoes, my stride, and my gym workouts to shorten my right hamstring tendon to prevent overstriding. It worked for me. If your cartilage loss is on the lower kneecap, this might work for you. If it's on the side of the kneecap, then maybe a form change or orthotics to help the kneecap track properly would help.

Grassrunner wrote:

fisky wrote:

Around age 71, I was diagnosed with arthritis in the right knee... nearly but not quite bone on bone between the lower edge of the kneecap and the tibia. I was given a synthetic hyaluronic acid injection and told it would last about six months. (I assume this is the gel injections you're getting now.) I asked myself, "What caused this?" Sure... running, but why this particular location and why only on the right knee?

To make a long story a little less long. A previous injury was causing me to overstride on my right leg when I'd get tired. I changed my shoes, my stride, and my gym workouts to shorten my right hamstring tendon to prevent overstriding. It worked for me. If your cartilage loss is on the lower kneecap, this might work for you. If it's on the side of the kneecap, then maybe a form change or orthotics to help the kneecap track properly would help.

You should set up a coaching business for aging farts like us. You have a gift for out-of-the-box thinking for dealing with our struggles that is impossible to find elsewhere.

Grassrunner wrote:

runn wrote:

It's difficult to come to grips with, this slowing down process, but there comes a point where you look at other guys your age and realize how important it is to be healthy.

For me, I broke 5:00 in the mile at 49. I read that a small number of American men break 5:00 after 50 years old.

I thought it would be a piece of cake.

50,51 life got in the way. 52, I had trouble training to break 5:00 but I did manage a couple 5:15-5:20.

53, the bottom fell out. Couldn't train with the intensity or mileage. From 55 on (I'm 66) even getting decent mileage became tough. Motivation slipped and now, I've discovered a love for running because of the run itself. 2 miles is fine, more is better but weekly mileage is low and I'm happy and healthy and living a good life.

Pretty much my story right there. The fall-off, the emotions, everything. I was getting fitter and fitter as I got into my mid-40s, got back to sub-60 for 10 miles, then got hit by a car and needed an ACL repair. The wheels just never returned. Fast-forward to now, turning 60 next year, doing all the "right things" people have discussed in this thread, but 8:30 miles feel like 5:30 miles, so return to being even at my age-grade equivalent from 15 years ago looks unlikely, and despite my best efforts to keep healthy, I'm shut down again with a stubborn adductor strain for who knows how long. I'm trying to stay motivated to continue the good fight - PT, cross-training, gym, nutrition, sleep, etc.. We'll see....