I'm an old guy trying to get fit again - any ideas and how fast can i get?

Your 10K time for a 27 year old yields an age grade of 88.2. Plugging this into a performance predictor for a 50 year old yields a time in the 34's...

http://www.panix.com/~elflord/wava.html

http://fairmodel.econ.yale.edu/aging/runoth.htm

I think a sub 17, 5K is reasonable given your recognition of the need to loose a lot of weight and take it slow.

hopeful masters champ wrote:

Would love to hear any success stories of comebacks, any advice or other good thoughts. Thanks!

On targets, I agree with the poster showing you to the age grading calculators. Given time, you should be capable of well under 17.

OK, here's some motivation. I am 44 now. I was a very similar speed to you at 5k, more of a miler than 10k type. I had 13 years "off", although I didn't gain quite so much weight as I kept up some running - an easy 5 miles a couple of times per week - and I gained 35lb. (To be fair, 5 more years off and I bet I'd have equalled you around the waist..) Now I'm 2-3 seasons back in, 10lb off my youthful racing weight, and within a couple of seconds per mile of where the age grade calculators suggest - 4:15 1500, 9:05 for 3000. More interestingly, my legs are actually stronger than in my youth (I never did weights seriously then) and I have a pretty good chance of beating my (rather soft) 100m time from high school, and my only injuries have been of the stepping-in-rabbit-holes variety. Hopefully there's a bit more progress to come this summer. Most importantly, running and racing are really enjoyable again, and I'm in the scoring team for my club despite being an 'old git'.

Here are my tips for the first 6-8 months...

1. Get Matt Fitzgerald's book, Racing Weight. It has all the latest science on weight loss for athletes, and tons of helpful tips on managing your appetite.

2. Get serious about weights and circuits before you get serious about running. (Especially if you live somewhere cold!) The intense stuff will get weight off you faster than running, and will rebuild your muscles so they can eventually take the strain of running without injury. The problem with mileage, or indeed other cardio work, is that it just makes you hungrier and tireder.

3. Train for sprinting first. If you have a track club nearby, hang out with sprinters and throwers. Start with drills and strides and hill sprints, not steady runs. You can actually enjoy a training session (or even a masters competition season) without needing to be super-skinny nor constantly comparing times to the past. The intense work will be better for fat loss, and help get your running form back. And when you are fit again, you'll be able to kick at the end of races!

4. If you can find a club (or, failing that, a school or college to support), get involved. Volunteer, coach the kids, officiate. Set a goal of PRs in shot put and javelin while you still can - but no triple jumping until you're a bit lighter!. Being around track and athletes every week is a huge motivator.

Hopefully weight will come down fast enough that you can resume steady running in a few months. In the meantime, nothing wrong with lots of easy walking, biking, ellipticals - anything low-impact.

Good luck!

- Andy

The racing calculators tend to be a little bit harder to hit compared (relative) to your (in your prime) performances, however you should have a shot at low 17s, maybe sub-17. People decline at different rates so it's an inexact science. An occasional outlier like Linda Somers or Pete Magill skews the bar, and yet most former sub-15 guys would really struggle to break 17:30 at 50 based on the runners I know in my USATF region who are putting in hard work, of which there are many.

biggus dickus wrote:

I think a sub 17, 5K is reasonable given your recognition of the need to loose a lot of weight and take it slow.

I think RUNNING sub-17 is possible, but maybe not "reasonable". There just aren't that many sub-17 guys over 50.

The problem isn't speed or endurance, there are quite a few 50 year-olds CAPABLE of sub-17 when healthy, the problem is getting fit and sharp enough for sub-17 while remaining healthy.

I know a guy who who's PR is almost 3 minutes faster for the 10k than the OP's and he's run exactly one sub-17 (barely) 5k after turning 50. I know a couple of other 50+ year-old guys who have slower PRs than the OP and who broke 17 several times in a season, but that season was it due to the injury bug.

It's just really tricky staying healthy while doing the track work and mileage necessary for sub-17.

biggus dickus wrote:

I think a sub 17, 5K is reasonable given your recognition of the need to loose a lot of weight and take it slow.

How loose should the weight be?

Thanks for the tips so far, especially Captainrobbo ... I will save all this for help and inspiration. Makes a lot of sense and I will strongly consider that approach.

Glad to know I can possibly aspire to sub-17. I know I may not be able to train hard enough to get that, but nice to know the potential - from one standard of evaluation - is there. I know there's so many other factors, too.

BTW, when I used the name "hopeful masters champ," I'm talking local road races, not anything bigger than that, LOL! Really, it would just be fun to be reasonably competitive in my age group - that's what would be fun.

Would love any more inspiration from others who have been there, done that.

If you looking for a good training program post your e-mail.

It took me about a year to really get into good competitive shape. I started off in my mid 40s and I had to lose about 10 lbs, but I had been out of shape for almost 20 years. Take it slow. You are not what you used to be, and you can get injured VERY easily. I'd say to really pay attention to diet and do the low impact stuff for awhile until the weight drops off in order to lessen the impact on your joints. Once you get to within 10 lbs of your target weight you can start running. Try cross training like weights, elliptical, swimming, biking, and yoga. Remember that fitness is a 3 legged stool --you need cardio, strength, and flexibility work. Add proper rest and nutrition and you're on your way.

Driving Miss Nancy wrote:

How loose should the weight be?

As loose as your sister.

[quote]50 year old git wrote:

It took me about a year to really get into good competitive shape. I started off in my mid 40s and I had to lose about 10 lbs, but I had been out of shape for almost 20 years. Take it slow. You are not what you used to be, and you can get injured VERY easily. I'd say to really pay attention to diet and do the low impact stuff for awhile until the weight drops off in order to lessen the impact on your joints. Once you get to within 10 lbs of your target weight you can start running. Try cross training like weights, elliptical, swimming, biking, and yoga. Remember that fitness is a 3 legged stool --you need cardio, strength, and flexibility work. Add proper rest and nutrition and you're on your way.[/quote

I would agree with the above. I'm about the same age as the OP and too have gained weight from my original training weight - about 35lbs. Be very careful until you get the weight down. Training with additional 50-60lbs is very stressful on the leg joints. It's essentially like training with a weight pack every day, and you can imagine the effect that would have on your leg joints over time. And this doesn't even take into consideration the fact that the joints and ligaments are not nearly as pliable.

It DOES feel like I'm carrying around, literally, 50 pounds ... as if it was tied around my gut or something. The problem with the extra weight, more than anything, is that the rest of my frame didn't change (narrow, thin, etc.). It confounds me sometimes to see these really overweight guys able to jog even 10:00 pace and I can't really do it ... then I realize how that they may be 250 pounds or more, but they have a much bigger frame and the musculature to carry it ... or carry it better than me, anyway.

Thanks