lakie wrote:
Any advice for training once someone gets past the age of 35?
I've only been running for a few years and am somewhat competitive in my age group (low 35 min 10k, 1:15 half marathon) for local races. Recently, I haven't been able to make much improvement. Any thoughts on what others in my age group have done with some success?
I'm currently done track work twice a week and try to run on soft surfaces although most of my running is on hard pavement. I
I've found there are really two main types of 35+ runners:
1) Ones that have been running hard since their early teens and continue to run.
2) Ones who never ran in high school or college and had some sort of fitness epiphany around age 30 and are still relatively new to running.
Type 1 above USUALLY has more problems with injuries and sometimes motivation.
Type 2 above USUALLY is more gung ho about running, doesn't have the mileage on their bodies yet and has fewer problems with injuries.
There are examples that fall outside the two types of course, but those are the main ones. I started running at age 8. By the time I was about 32 I started having calf and Achilles problems -- these problems lead to a loss of motivation. I know a couple other guys who started running in their mid 30s and are now setting PRs in their mid 40s. Two completely different paths.
Other than those observations, the direction provided by others in this thread is solid.