I'm 65 years old and started running 45 years ago. Right now I am running about 35 miles per week. I don't race very often because I don't like the mob scene at races. During summer months I do a lot of cross training with bike riding.
I'm 65 years old and started running 45 years ago. Right now I am running about 35 miles per week. I don't race very often because I don't like the mob scene at races. During summer months I do a lot of cross training with bike riding.
I'm in my mid-50's so I don't quite qualify for this thread but I'm a sprinter/hurdler so I can give perspective from that type of training. Maintaining my flexibility and strength has become key. I used to train 5 to 6 days a week but now it's down to 4 because I take longer to recover, especially from high intensity speed work. I had a bad injury a couple years ago and had to take off an entire season from running. Coming back was humbling, painful, and illustrated the phrase "use it or lose it," as I didn't lose it and I certainly lost it. Over that 1 year time I gained 16 lbs, dealt with thyroid issues, and saw my BP and cholesterol levels rise. It took a solid year to get back to competitive levels of fitness. So always keep your feet in the game, so to speak. Otherwise you might not be able to get back in.
I am in my early 60's and have been running for 40Plus years. I enjoy my runs as much as ever. I have averaged over 60 mpw for the last year and have no problems. My wt. (142) is the same as when I was in college. Just slower but the effort is still there. I gave up running marathons but race shorter distances. I still do long runs, speed work and on occasion run doubles. One of my pleasures in life is to go for a run in a pair of new shoes for the first time.
Almost 62 here. Somewhere around 45, I could sense the physiology just would not deliver the power it used to. That was tough to accept, but I got used to it because everybody my age is more or less in the same boat, and it's still fun to 'compete'.... running/racing 'feels' just like it did in 1975, but is a LOT slower. I had more mechanical issues back in the day than I do now; experience is a great teacher. Keeping the weight down is difficult, but I think over time it's a major factor. Don't let yourself get heavy, kills both race pace and joint health.
I'm 69. Began running in 1962 in school. I've done 11 marathons, beginning at age 54. I run everyday so long as it's not too icy. If so, I go to the gym and use the elliptical and bike. For the past decade I've been daily taking a tblspn of cod liver oil every morning, along with two tblspn of plant based Udo oil, two capsules of salmon oil, and a 12 oz smoothie. I did stop drinking 17 years ago and rarely have ice cream. I do 30-33 miles a week. If I don't feel like running, I walk the distance. Takes longer but feels great. Overall nutrition, everyday is the key. Lots of fruit and vegetables, no red meat, fish usually salmon three days every week. Some chicken. Also some light upper body weights each day. Just stay active. Watch what you eat.
I think whatever works for you. I do none of those dietary things. I eat the balance meals my wife cooks. I try to not over eat or drink too much alcohol. I have never been a big ice cream eater. I run similar mileage in four days, cross train the other days. Seem to race ok at ten days from age 67.
Best,
Igy
Been running since 69. Mostly on than off. On a 16 month running streak of 5 to 6 hours of running each week. Slow yes, but able to pick it up every now and then. No issues with mobility or running related problems. No health issues. Don't race much, just run everyday, progression type runs, start slow, work into it. Long run is about 90 minutes at the most. Go to sleep at 9 every night or try to. Very little sugar in the diet. Lots of green and oolong tea.
I absolutely loved this too, made me smile.
63 Male: Holding up great. Why.... I have always been in the gym after high school. Ive alway been active be it running, roller blading, lots of weight training, cycling, tennis, and my favorite, racquetball. I began running to better my racquetball endurance. And it worked great. Now, I do both, but not running to extreme, just 4 miles, 3 times a day. The racquetball is twice a week. Weight training, 2 or 3 times a week when not running or racquetball. I really thing that cross training or "mixing it up" keeps it real. Ive seen too many people doing only one thing and they get injured if they try anything else other than their 1 thing. Even if its mowing the grass. So, my advice, don't get addicted to one exercise, mix it up all the time. Don't try to be the best because there is always someone who is addicted to one thing more than the next guy.
I can only speak for myself but as I age, I have found stretching and partaking in yoga as we’ll as pilates has been advantageous. I am much less stiff therefore my body seems more forgiving and less likely to get injured when running.
Groucho Mark wrote:
Gargage Man wrote:
I don't know a single person who did physical labor as a career whose body didn't break down after 50. Bad backs, knees, shoulders, plus pain med addictions from working through injuries... no good. That's probably what did your uncle in, not the running.
I am a late-50's carpenter, and for the most part agree. Most of the 50+ guys on jobsites are pretty gimpy. Hauling tools up and down eight flights of stairs in heavy boots all day takes a toll for sure. There is a reason masters runners are almost never blue-collar. I now only do that work six months/year and focus on diet/sleep etc., and minimize my running and cross-training during a job stint.
I just finished a project and last week was able to bump back up to 45 miles, 7:30-8:30 miles plus some faster stuff, including a session of 10x100 in mid-14's. In my 40s I rolled just under 14s to race well under 5:00 for the mile, so maybe I'll race again this summer after a long break. I spend a good part of the summer hiking and climbing in the mountains. My mountaineering friend is in his early 60's, hikes massively in the summer, and runs a few times a week in the winter, no biomechanical probs between the two of us, knock wood. Both of us have had the same weight we are now since college.
I may be a bit slower, but as long as they make spandex and 20-something women, I'll be out there as long as possible!
Almost four years later, in my 60's now, and you betcha I am slower. Running still feels great and I actually feel stronger in my legs as far as resilience to aches and pains, and eating better and no longer getting sick every winter. Plan to race on the track this summer for the first time in ages.
I am 61 and have really enjoyed these posts. So far so good though I find I need more exercises for my quads and other leg muscles and more stretching.
Just turned 61 and everything works, no arthritis or joint problems. Been running since 1970. Former elite 28:xx 10k PR. Up to age 55 I could easily run sub-5 and sub-17, but I’ve slowed a lot especially in the last two years. If I could break 5:40 for a mile this spring I’d be pretty happy. About half the year I run casually, maybe 3 or 4 says a week for 30 to 40 minutes. Then when the weather gets nice I pick it up and put these old bones through a full periodization cycle with hills, tempo, track workouts. Racing with much decreased frequency as it no longer feels the same (though slower) as it did as a youngster, rather it’s a fight from beginning to end. Life’s good.
Old Miler wrote:
I'm 63, with 52 years running, and well over 100,000 miles. I've never had a serious injury - only occasional muscle strains. I keep getting older and slower, but am still running 55-60 MPW, doing intervals, and regularly racing. I am competitve in my age group. The older I get, the more I appreciate how much I love training and racing.
Bravo. Keep doing what you love. You are an extremely gifted individual - blessed with a structure that is amazingly rare.
Nearly 50 years of running. No serious injury. No diets or anything. A word about the common comment " slower, but it sure feels the same".
For me this applied only up to a point. Once I could not maintain about 8mmiles (this year) it did not feel the same. I felt like, and looked like, I was shuffling. I suddenly stopped enjoying it, so recently hung it up. I hike the trails, which I think will buy about 15 yrs.
No regrets. You never know how you will age running-wise. If it stops being fun, stop. Carrying on will not lengthen your life, and I'm sure many of you read recently that study showing that while it's good to be thin when young, it's better to have some weight when old.
Been running since 1977. 63 years old. 2 knee surgeries, 6 epidurals to the spine, prostate cancer and had 12 inches of colon removed from diverticulitis.
Have run many, many miles and raced many,many races but its hard to even get out of bed nowadays.
That being said, Ive run nearly 400 training miles this year...theres that anyway.
At a pace that is slower than warm up and cooldown back in the late 70's and early 80's.
Cant quit though.
Hazycosmicjive wrote:
If it stops being fun, stop. Carrying on will not lengthen your life, and I'm sure many of you read recently that study showing that while it's good to be thin when young, it's better to have some weight when old.
Yeah...I'm sure that those skinny, rail-thin middle-aged top competitive runners will disagree. They think being thin & diminutive is the only way to go. I think they forgot how genetically gifted they are to run so fast and be so injury free in their old age.
Robert E . Lee wrote:
Been running since 1977. 63 years old. 2 knee surgeries, 6 epidurals to the spine, prostate cancer and had 12 inches of colon removed from diverticulitis.
Have run many, many miles and raced many,many races but its hard to even get out of bed nowadays.
That being said, Ive run nearly 400 training miles this year...theres that anyway.
At a pace that is slower than warm up and cooldown back in the late 70's and early 80's.
Cant quit though.
Man...that sounds rough! But I'm no too far behind you in age (57) and have OA on both knees and a hip. I can barely get out of bed myself and probably should get one of those home stair lifts so I can get from the bedroom to the downstairs.
I'm not able to run no 400 miles per year like you - more like
Thin Is Not In wrote:
Hazycosmicjive wrote:
If it stops being fun, stop. Carrying on will not lengthen your life, and I'm sure many of you read recently that study showing that while it's good to be thin when young, it's better to have some weight when old.
Yeah...I'm sure that those skinny, rail-thin middle-aged top competitive runners will disagree. They think being thin & diminutive is the only way to go. I think they forgot how genetically gifted they are to run so fast and be so injury free in their old age.
speak for yourself.
I am thin and in great shape, and am very competitive on a regional scale.
I don't feel like talking about myself (how rare is that?), but i do want to say that i work out every day at the gym and at home as well as running more than any of my younger teammates. I don't have injuries and i am definitely in the best shape of my life.
All I can tell you is don't believe your old. Just do what you like and what you feel you should to be the person you want to be.
That said, have the courage to change your program based on what works for you in each new year and training cycle. I did in drastic ways, but i'll spare you the details.
I don't think you can pass this stuff off as being "genetically gifted". I worked my ass off, frankly. It's not anything i don't like, but it doesn't happen by itself, either.
Hoorible , as I type with and ice bag on my knee after an evening 20 minute walk with the Dog. Which is the only impact exercise I can do these game. However, I am not in that age bracket yet as a young 57 with the body of an old man feeling like a 90 yearold