Running in your 40s is a shxtshow

Rainy Day wrote:

I am 6 weeks into trying to get back into shape in my early 40s. It’s brutal, but I am seeing some improvement. 6 weeks into training 10 years ago, I’d be running nearly a minute per mile faster than I am now.

I also have an extra 10 lbs over my PR weight. I’m hoping by week 10-12 and some cooler weather, things will start to turn. There are a lot of guys our age and older that are running fast times.

Give yourself more like 20-24 weeks. Be patient. The payoff is worth it.

The biggest problem with getting old is the idea that you can still improve with doing less. If you were running under 15 minutes for 5k on 75 miles per week. You are not going to be able to run comparable times on 35 miles per week. You can't do more with less. You have to come to grips with the fact that your body isn't going to react to training the same. There are outliers of course.

For me at age 46, I can still turn over as fast, but my stride length has shortened, costing me an estimated 7 inches per stride.....Which over a 10K would be a about 2 to 2:30 minutes. Which means that last December running 35:50 at Club Nationals,....Would have been good for 33:20 15 years earlier. Not my fastest but a solid effort in crappy conditions.

I am in the same boat as you. I had been neglecting speed work for years thinking I would be able to run X pace for 12X400 without issue. Over time the speed slipped away until almost all workouts ended up being almost at marathon pace. My long runs started to take much more out of me. So I adjusted what I do now. my cycle of workouts look something like this.

Sunday 12-15 miles

M 8-10 miles easy

T 8-10 miles

W 3-5 miles worth of work of 800 to 2 mile repeats with a good amount of rest.

T 5-10 miles easy

F tempo run 15 min to 30 depending on the time between 10K and HM pace.

S 5-10 miles

S 16-18 miles (some times put in 20-30 min worth of HM to Marathon pace in towards the end if I feel good. If do that I cut the Friday workout out. )

M off or 3-4 miles

T 8-10 miles easy

W 3 miles worth of track work ranging in distance of 200 to 600 m worth of work and a good. amount of recovery so I can run fast and smooth without feeling like I am going to die.

T 8-10 miles easy

F Tempo ranging from 30 to 45 min at HM to Marathon effort. If I tempo ed in the long run I do 8-10 miles.

S 8-10 miles

S 12-15 miles

This is what things may look like as build up to a 5K or Half Marathon. As you noted my easy pace has slowed way down. I find If I run with people its easier to go a little faster on my easy days.

Good luck turning things around!

fhdhejjdjdn wrote:

old owl. wrote:

Haha, just wait until the 60's, it gets even more frustrating

If you think that’s bad, kiddo, just wait til your 70s.

You whipper snappers don’t know what you’re talkin bout. Just wait until your 110s. I would give anything to have the body of a 70 year old!!

Age brings physical declines and that is unavoidable. Once you hit your mid 40's and beyond, you need to make adjustments. Those are:

1. Stop racing your younger self - there's no going back

2. Be open to new ideas about training - your body and mind need more rest than before. Consider replacing some easy/junk/recovery mileage with cross training that reduces pounding. Your heart doesn't know the difference but, your joints will thank you. Also take up strength training, yoga, etc. as this will make your body function better and set you up for healthier golden years.

3. Eat better food and hydrate more

4. Shelve your ego - this works hand-in-hand with point #2. The biggest mistake that I see most masters make is to pull out the old training logs and try to replicate their training from 20 years ago. Worse? They buy a book and then skip to the "Advanced Runner" training plan because they still see themselves as such.

5. Accept your age - you are still going to beat a lot of younger runners but, stop trying to race guys half your age just to prove something to yourself or to impress others. Use the age grading tables to draw comparisons (see point #1) or just work to dominate your age group.

6. Run soft surfaces as much as possible - better for your body, makes you stronger overall

7. Stop overthinking your training - in a perfect world, you can run 12-14 varied sessions, take daily naps, get massages, and spend six hours in the weight room each week. Most of us have work, family, and volunteer obligations at our advanced age and cannot train like college kids and pros. The problem is that we try to train like them and stress out over how to get the volume, the "sub maximal CV hill tempo progression lactate fartlek" work, etc. in each week. Keep it simple! Find some good sessions that work for you that you enjoy doing and do those consistently. I see a lot of older guys getting hurt trying to do the latest marginal gain stuff they read about rather than improving with time honored methods. Look at guys like Tommy Hughes, Gene Dykes, or the late Ed Whitlock. Simple and consistent training makes (made) them successful and not changing their training scheme every month because of some Podium Runner article about the latest lab rat study or LRC thread about what Tinman is pushing this week.

What's your mpw?

I ran a lot of unstructured miles in my 20’s without ever racing, took my 30’s almost entirely off and started jogging again at 41. Dropped nearly 70lbs by 43 and decided to actually learn how to train (thank heavens for the internet!) Went from 21min 5k to just about 18 flat in six months. 44 now with another 5 months of training under my belt ( although I’ve been down a couple days with a sinus infection after a tempo run before I completely recovered from a cold :( ) I still feel more bandwidth and look forward to seeing what I can do in a month or two.

Biggest difference I notice between running young and old is after a lay-off you seem to loose efficiency faster. Took a week off a couple months ago and cross trained daily (stationary bike) and after resuming running it took the better part of 6 weeks to feel somewhat ‘normal’ again....Seems like as a younger guy I’d come off a lay-off feeling fresh and raring to go instead of less-than before. maybe it’s mental.

I'm 47 and I'm setting PRs this year. But that's because I never ran even close to as fast as the times you posted, in younger years. I've run 19:47 in the 5K and 40:33 in 10K this year, which for me is great, because I trained poorly, over ate and under achieved terribly, while younger. Will I keep getting faster? Maybe for a while. Will I eventually slow down due to age? Definitely.

Like others have posted, it's about managing expectations. Start looking a decade PRs (you best during your 40's, 50's, etc) as benchmarks. Or, look at running for enjoyment (listening to music, relaxing, enjoying nature, etc). Or try something new (trialthalons, cycling, weights) where you're starting fresh and every day is a "new PR," as opposed to comparing yourself to your 20-years-younger self.

It's important to not make excuses because you're old. From the time Joanie took Olympic Marathon Gold in 1984, she was able to run a marathon each year for the next 30 years by only getting slower by one-minute per year. So, it makes sense that Boston roughly spots you a minute per year from age 35 to age 54. However, after that you go down hill fast, but they spot you about 3 mins/year over the next 20 years. The other thing to keep in mind is that 4282 peope in the 45-49 yr old age group fininished Boston last year, but only 2381 in the 55-59 yr old age group, and 610 in the 65-69 yr old age group. So, things drop off pretty fast, but if you're running at all, that is quite an accomplishment.

Most days I can't get a good run in unless I (1) did an earlier walk/ slo jog earlier in the day, (2) took ibuprofen to reduce pain in my knees and all of the new injuries that haven't gone away, (3) applied ultrasound on my knees, (4) did at least a 1-mile warm up, and (5) did at least 10-minutes of stretching. However, I keep in mind that I have been battling injuries my whole life, my training has always been up-and-down, and my best marathons were when I weas getting in 70-80 miles a week, and running marathon pace for about 20% of those.

Do you old guys that decline rapidly drink, use too much caffeine, or not sleep well?

I wonder how much the impact of alcohol, caffeine, and thus bad sleep/recovery has.

I'm 28 and I feel kinda stiff on runs, although I run at the same pace for easy runs as i did in college (167lbs vs 185lbs now)

You have no idea. Just wait until you're dead like me. Whole new level of stiff joints. Can never seem to warm up and feel like I cant breathe, because well, I can't.

Swaglord_the_real_one_1_1 wrote:

Do you old guys that decline rapidly drink, use too much caffeine, or not sleep well?

I wonder how much the impact of alcohol, caffeine, and thus bad sleep/recovery has.

I'm 28 and I feel kinda stiff on runs, although I run at the same pace for easy runs as i did in college (167lbs vs 185lbs now)

I was drinking a beer every night when i started actually’training’. I stopped after I saw myself improving rapidly hoping to drop a few extra pds. Didn’t notice any difference whatsoever performance-wise but probably does help for weight optimization. Weight is a big deal.

Ultra running, kayaking or adventure racing? More about strenght and economy. Less about vo2max

Portland Hobby Jogger wrote:

5. Accept your age - you are still going to beat a lot of younger runners but, stop trying to race guys half your age just to prove something to yourself or to impress others. Use the age grading tables to draw comparisons (see point #1) or just work to dominate your age group.

These are great points, but I'm not down with #5. The guy I beat out for a podium spot in my last HM was 15 years younger than me. The guy who got me at the line in my last marathon was less than half my age. You guys in your 20s/30s need to step up your game so I can shuffle off to masters running in peace instead of making off with your prize money.

I think everyone is a little different when it comes to when they start falling off from training and times. I am 48 and can still go run 10 miles at 6:40-7:10 pace with no issues when in shape. I can do some 200's at :30-:34 with no issues when in shape. But I just do not have those top gears anymore and I hurt all over on some days! One thing that has helped me finally is just realizing after years and years of pounding 2,500-3,200 miles a year is that those days are over! I have turned to cycling in the summer more with some running as well. Then once summer is over I get off the bike and just run with some swimming mixed in. Biking has been a huge blessing and it's a new world with new challenges that still allow me to go after PR's. Cylciing is something you can do longer and a lot of runners I have found are very good on the bike! I also started to finally learn how to swim about 6 years ago when I was injured for 9 months! So my suggestion is as hard as it is is to accept you are not a 60-100 mile a week runner anymore and you can't do this and race each week and do 2-3 workouts and expect to be as fast or perform like you used to! Cross train more and set realistic training and workout and maybe race goals. I get more out of having a great workout or destroying strava segments than I do racing anymore. I am not am age grouper and get nothing out of a masters first place medal/ribbon.

I also think you tend to fall of the horse a little more in your 40's if you have trained and competed at a high level since JR high and HS. Those new to the sport in their 30's or those that quit cold turkey for 10=15 years after college tend to be as good as me if not better when they are in their 40's. And they could be a lot less talented but they have so much more in the tank and body!

This.

I was quite healthy without too many setbacks or issues with knees etc. But the 50's is where the wheels started falling off and for me very rapidly. Joint issues, Knees now have something called "bone of bone", arthritic back. Weight not good but its mostly mechanical issues.

Who knew 40+ years of running could do so much damage? I struggle to run 9 min pace now for 3-5 miles.

Does seem like you have dropped off faster in your 40's than you should have. You've received some good advice here and may want to get checked out. But the future is all about resetting expectations...

"bone on bone"

Tman46 wrote:

You have no idea. Just wait until you're dead like me. Whole new level of stiff joints. Can never seem to warm up and feel like I cant breathe, because well, I can't.

You dead old people at peace in your graves don't know how lucky you are. I'm Emil Zatopek and I was reincarnated into the body of David. I can't begin to tell you what that feels like!