Older runners: When did you start feeling old?

38, moreso at 44...today, at 55, well I COULD say

it's inevitable

AVOID marathons, is my primary counsel

that and don't train too much in racing flats

vent0lin3 wrote:

I started feeling old when my ewections became as flaccid as old yeller's tongue on a 95 degwee day and I couldn't wabbit a turtle wace in the village.

Sorry to hear you're impotent, Ventolin. Perhaps you could benefit from a fwuffer?

George Burns once said "sex at 90 is like shooting pool with a rope."

I will be 60 at the end of September and find myself forced to do more supplemental exercises and cross training in order to remain somewhat competitive as a masters runner.

What are you talking about????

DaveW wrote:

The bad thing is that masters runners in this sport failed to create a sport. The good thing is that the kids today make the times run by masters runners in their prime look trivial. I wonder if the runners today will repeat the same cycle when they become "masters". I don't think so.

What shoes are all of you training in now?

I noticed that, around 1992, shoe companies began the truly horrific practics of RUINING good shoes.

My injury bugs began when I began training in flats, and not trainers, simply because I greatly disliked what NIKE and ASICS *formerly Onitsuka (moment of silence please)* had done to my former favorites, either that or discontinue them.

I HATE Them for that.

I've stopped timing my splits on daily runs. At times, if I feel the urge or need for a long run, I'll wear a watch it to ensure I run a full hour or 75-minutes. When I do those long runs for time (hello Nobby and HRE) I find I really plod now. The desire to draw blood on a training run just isn't there anymore.

52. Then I got seriously injured for the first time in 80,000 miles..I could never come back.flexibility was gone..one surgery and 5 cortisone shots did something to my leg...

8 minute pace is a tempo run now

Instead of asking for anecdotal opinions we can get a better picture by looking at age group records. Bloomsday is a big (usually about 50,000 runners) 12K race in Spokane, WA.

Age group records summarized here:

http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/AgeGroupRecords.htm

There is virtually no drop until age 40, then a gradual drop of about 4 minutes per decade. The biggest drop is from age 50 to 60, 5 min 14 seconds (as it happens the same guy holds both of those records).

Still, from these numbers there is no special age where you should expect to suddenly 'start feeling old.'

And another way to look at it: the 80 yrs+ record of 53 min 11 sec (held by Christopher Hurd) would have beaten 98.4 percent of entrants of all ages in last year's race.

Started running at age 32--slow but steady improvement for 8-9 yrs. Pr'd from 1 mile to marathon after 8 yrs of running. Since then, there has been a gradual decline. 67 in less than 1 month: total miles run: 71,500+. Ran more miles in 2009 than I have since the early 80's:2,700. Did qualify for Boston in '08 at 64 1/2--time 3:57. Retired now. More time to run--but I need it. Old 10 mile course use to take me around 80 minutes. Now same course--25 yrs later 1hr 40-50+ min. I am very greatful I still can run!!

When I got to 40 - everything started to hurt, and much as i wanted to, I just couldnt do the workouts.

What amazes me is people like Paul Gregory in the UK - his lifetime 10K best is 32:30 set in his 20s, and this year he just went No3 all time on the M55 and over rankings with a 10K in 32:43 run at the Silverstone 10K. That's a mere 13 seconds slow-down in 30 years. Holy, holy shit.

I started feeling really old when I went to run this morning. I am now 60 and I'm sure that 4 hours of steady consumption of nothing but champagne and birthday cake yesterday evening has nothing to do with how suddenly old I felt on this morning's 8 miler.