Running now that I'm old

Interesting. Do you have a recent 1 or 2 mile race or TT? If not, maybe hop on the track and see what you can do right now. That will help inform any suggestions for your training.

Forget your old PRs.

You are in your 40s. Just enjoy running. Run as long as you have time for and don't put a mile goal on it.

Eventually you will get a bit stronger again and maybe a little faster but don't expect too much.

kjohnson1053 wrote:

Background: I used to be fairly decent in my teens and 20s. 18-19 minutes for 5k, low 5 minute range for a mile, around 2:06 for the 800. I got away from running being a dad to 4 kids and have finally gotten back to it in my 40s. I've been running about 25-30 mpw for the past year to year and a half. I use heart rate training. I try to keep my heart rate for most runs between 127 and 137 beats per minute. I do some sort of speed work once a week.

What is that HR range based on? Is this a percentage of your known maximum heart rate? "Heart rate training" doesn't give us a lot of information to go by. Heart rate training usually involves different zones on different days. Are you doing Maffetone training... everything at the super conservative Maffetone HR? Happy to chime in if we get a little more info.

A target heart rate range of 120-135 bpm seems very low for every day runs.

I am in my early 40s and run 25-35 mpw. I do my runs by feel/time but wear a Garmin watch so I get hr data after the run. A typical 5 mile run is somewhere in the 140-155 range depending on weather, etc. 10-15 mile long runs are basically the same with usual cardiac drift into the 160s or even 170s on warm days.

I recommend doing a mile or 5k time trial then use a training pace of 2 mins plus mile or 90 secs plus 5k for steady state training runs. Add another 30 secs per mile (or more) for easy runs.

If that feels ridiculously hard then back off but if the pace is manageable I wouldn't worry about your heart rate.

Why are you bothering with Heart Rate in the first place?

Just go out and try alternating hard days with recovery days. On the harder days, push yourself. On the recovery days, run so you are trying at a lower perceived exertion level.

I hear so many runners that seem to limit themselves because they are worried about the heart rate level, and i have to wonder if they are cheating themselves in so doing,

Go for what you are trying to achieve and temper that by listening to your body and working with it.

Ditch the HR monitor. Completely.

Run more miles. Much more.

You are probably still capable of lifetime PRs.

Expect better.

Ernest wrote:

Ditch the HR monitor. Completely.

Run more miles. Much more.

You are probably still capable of lifetime PRs.

Expect better.

All of this. You're not getting any faster because you're doing the same thing every week. Stop limiting your pace based on heart rate. Run more miles. See how fast you can get.

I came back to running in my 40s, and you probably have a good 4-7 years to be fast, depending on your age. You've gotten over the hard part by getting back to consistent daily training. Don't throw away the opportunity to be fast again because your HR monitor says so.

Is your weight/height or BMI in the right range? Don't underestimate the importance of being at a healthy weight.

Then you need to modulate your training with some days harder/faster, and some days longer, and some days slower/easier. Also, run more miles. Even if you're only running mile-5/10K races, there are big fitness rewards for getting to 30-40 miles, and eventually stepping up to 40-50 miles. You'll have to build into it gradually, but if you've increased fitness, it won't necessarily take up much more of your time.

And you are not old. Older yes but nobody would consider 40's as old. Ignore your li9fetime PR's they are history. What are your 40's decade times. And then 50's times. Or use age graded calculator to see how your "old" time compare to when you were younger.

Now running should be more fun and less competitive time based. Enjoy that you run.

from a "young " 67 year old guy

Buy a reputable training book. I’m currently seeing great success with Pfitzinger’s Faster Road Racing. I’m turning 42 next month and after 6 years of being back into running (after a very long hiatus) I set a PR in the 5k. I’ve never been very fast (19:16), but I finally feel like I’m figuring out what training stimulus works for me and how to keep from getting injured. I’m already in better shape than I was last time around and expect to set a new PR in 6-7 weeks when I race again.

Forget about HR training and don’t worry about pace for the moment. Like someone above said, run a 1 mile time trial. Then, use that time to set your paces based on whatever chart is in the book you choose. It will tell you how fast to run your easy runs, threshold workouts, etc…

Just getting out of your own head will help immensely. After a few training cycles, you might even scare your lifetime PRs, but don’t put pressure on yourself. Enjoy the process of getting into great shape. Enjoy BEING in great shape.

Best of luck!

Old? You're only in your 40's. Wait until you are in your 60's. Then you might think about being old.

As others have said, and I agree, forget the HR monitor. All it does is place perceived limits on you. You run what you run and how you feel not what some machine is telling you.

Next, I would increase your mileage.

Add some different types of speed work to the one day that you do speedwork. Perhaps try some shorter, faster stuff like 200's and 300's.

Vary the pace and intensity of your runs.

Find some hills, or even just a hill and do some hill repeats. These can also be done after one of your distance runs. For recovery, walk back down the hills. It will help save your knees.

Pure gold.

I take for granted that everyone knows how this strategy has a proven track record, so to speak, but good to spell it out for new runners.

This has worked very well for me, Nicely said,

I can relate to this and think HR training is a good call despite the skeptics. I found the mafftone HR useful as the maximum to get to on EASY days. Google the formula. But for someone who is 45 and fit, i believe your max easy day would be 140. That's not to say that you need to get that high but that's the top.

My current training is around 30-40 mpw but i do lots of swimming and biking to supplement. Running training consists of one hard day - a mix of track workouts, tempos, and long intervals. I like to do some plyometrics or hill sprints immediately after and lift. Then the next day is easy, day after that is easy with around 1/2 mile of plyos, hops, agility stuff. Day after that i shoot for easy but throw in 2 miles of 'Mafftone max + 10 beats" miles. I just pick it up so that i'm not slogging. I also throw 2-3 of those miles into my long run which is right now, around 10 miles.

Once i added those in there, i started seeing some progress. I set the garmin for 2 mile intervals and have been watching the middle 2 miles get faster with a lower HR. It doesn't kill my recovery but my easy runs are so dang slow that my biomechanics are so different from when doing speed. This seems to have bridged that gap.

Read your post. 40's? I guess it depends on how you want to live. I always modified things as I went along. In my 40's, started to get knee discomfort, started to use glucosamine, no more discomfort. Use of a treadmill instead of roads all the time. I could say a lot more but if you really want to feel better and have more energy, go to an anti-aging MD. I could suggest all kinds of supplements, which are perfectly legal and safe but I don't have the cred of being an MD. You really can turn back the clock and get better and it won't damage you at all.

Second the motion for anything by Pfitz - his programs are legit.

We are all experiments of one . Someone else's target HR isn't necessarily yours. Anyway, all you need to know is you tried it - and it didn't work. It's folly to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.

Most effective training runs are not a steady HR anyway.

Your younger PRs show lack of aerobic fitness. 5K of 18-19 off a 2:06 800 shows that.

18-19 5K is an easy target for someone in their 40s.

FWIW, I started running in my late 30s and ran low-mid 16s for 5K in mid-40s. You might not - or might do better.... anyway, 17:xx is realistic... train and shoot for higher times, then dial it down.

I would agree with lack of aerobic fitness at that point. I had gotten slack the summer going into the season for the 5k PR, it was around 18:15. The 800 PR came about 6 months later after I had trained through the winter.

I'd like to think I am capable of lower 20s if I train right. I ran a little in my 20s after I set my PRs and still was able to run in the upper 18s and low 19s in road races with minimal training (20 mpw max). I'm 20 years older now, but I'm hoping smart training can keep potential injury at nay enough for me to eventually get fast again. I will check out the books you guys are recommending.

After reading everything you all have posted I did an experiment today. Yesterday my 8 mile run was at a 12:30 pace. Today (in warmer weather) I decided to ignore the heart rate monitor. I set a pace I felt like I could reasonably hold for 4 miles. It took me a good mile to get warmed up but my splits were much better and I didn't feel like I was killing myself. I ran 11:29, 10:20, 9:49, and 9:42. I did start to fall off pace a little on the last half mile, it was at 9:50 pace.

I experienced some cardiac drift, but it wasn't terrible. I maxed out around 151 on the last mile. My first mile was below 130, mile two was in the upper 130s and mile 3 was in the lower to mid 140s. I think with a better warm up and starting a bit more conservatively I could have even splits.

I'm thinking of doing a couple runs a week like this in addition to my speed work and then keeping my easy runs in the 130s to allow some days for recovery.