Nearing 50 and my legs are trashed

also the 30/50 cut back rule!

Example:

week 1: 100% what you want to run/goal

week 2: cut back 30% - replace with smimming or biking

week 3: 100% what you want to run/goal

week 4: cut back 50% - replace with swimming or biking

Repeat and build milage

I'm 49 years old and my running strategy is to always start each run really slow and back it down from there.

For what it's worth, I'm 55 and I've competed in middle-distance (track between 800m & 5000m), road (mostly 5000m), and x-country, virtually continuously since age 13/14 (I think I've got a pennant somewhere for the English Schools National X-Country in 1972).

I'm still competing, and running about 17:50 for 5k, which is age-graded better than what I ran when I was 25.

I don't do a ton of mileage (not exactly sure what, as I run by time, not distance), but in a base period, I do a 90 min run every two weeks, which I only started in the last couple of years (used to very rarely run more than 60 min). I would also do a track session - anything from fast 200ms to 4 x 1 mile - and something like a tempo run, or a 50-60 min run with a fast finish each week.

I do take one or two days off (or just jog a couple of miles to burn some calories) a week, and have had to space the harder sessions, but haven't had any real consistent leg problems.

My guess is that if you have been coming back off a layoff, and running in the heat, that may be the problem. I find it's sometimes just like hitting the wall in the marathon, and yet you come back on cooler day and you are flying.

I'd say that 17:42 for 5k at 49 off a layoff suggests that you really aren't too far off, and that when the weather changes you might find that you're running some very competitive age group times.

[quote]Really?????... wrote:]

Have none of you really heard of Testosterone replacement therapy?

.... Stop fighting it ....And please stop bitching about it. /quote]

A. "Testosterone. " Yes, we know about doping, but most of us don't want to cheat.

B. "Stop fighting." That's the worst advice I've seen on this thread.

C. "Stop bitching." OK fair enough, but I don't think the OP is bitching, he's just looking for ways to keep training hard and racing.

Cavorty, not bad at all at 55. I'm the same age and 3 minutes behind you, although I can credit myself 25 seconds as I live and race at 5000 feet.

Do you ever get injured?

Are you a heel or toe planter? Do you think it matters?

I am 58 and haven't really competed since my early 40s, so I have little to offer by way of advice. Assuming there is no underlying illness, I suspect if you decided to seek professional help, you'd be better of with a PT than an MD. I would like to add two other thoughts: first, with the single exception of the poster who said "stop bitching," I am struck by the polite and helpful tone of this thread. It's heartening to read a thread without the words "douche bag" and "moron" being mentioned.Second, when I ran in high school, prior to the first running boom,we'd often run in the park on Sunday mornings, and there would be one old-- probably 40-- guy out there, jogging around in a sweatsuit with a towel around his neck We thought he was crazy. It's inspiring to see so many of you in your 40s to 60s still out there training and competing. So many of you have earned my respect and admiration.

here is example of a 30/50 cut back looks like:

week 1 - 50 miles

week 2 - 35 miles plus biking

week 3 - 50 miles

week 4 - 25 miles plus biking

I got to 85 miles week on this program, worked out great....it would look like this

week 1 - 85

week 2 - 60

week 3 - 85

week 4 - 42.5

of course worked up to this....also on the cut back weeks is a good time to work out in the weight room..Squals, leg extentions, etc....

marathnr wrote:

Tailgunner wrote:

-Throw away the watch

...

-read more of Pete MaGill's stuff

man, this is GREAT advice and this is what I find myself doing now, been running for 33 years, since age 14, and I am in pain all the time. Follow this plan and you'll feel better

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Yawn ... We are getting OLD; not ever guy is Ed Whitlock. Do you think any of us will be running faster at 60 than at 20, 30,40,50...? We are old; do what you can with what you have for as long as you can ..

I'm in my mid 50's-been a competitive runner for 40 years and over the past few years can agree with every post on this thread. I'm also a competitive swimmer so spend ample time in the water. I was thinking I had to give up running as I just didn't want to deal with the daily pain but then I tried on a HOKA shoe. Not trying to plug a product so I won't say anymore but apparently it was developed for "hurt ultra runners". It has turned my running around. I went from only being able to run 3-4 times a week to going back to 6-7 times per week. I don't recommend doing faster paced runs in them but use them for easy recovery days. You have to be ok with looking like a wack, but it sure beats the pain.

One thing that is definitely true is that when you hit 50 or so you care less and less about looking like a wack.

Wow, great stuff folks.

I have had a CBC and all the thyroid stuff, etc. All good but Vit D and magnesium a bit low but in range. Taking supplements.

I do eat well and TRY to get food in immediately after the run but that is excellent advice.

I actually started speed skating at age 6 until I was 21 and have been going strong since with almost NO let up. So the years are perhaps taking a toll on the old legs...?

I always tell some of the club runners that sometimes an injury is a blessing in disguise because it gives (forces) you a chance to recover. I haven't been truly injured in over 5 years and have taken almost NO BREAKS.

I'm wondering if following the Kenyan plan of taking two full weeks each winter and again another time might make good sense. Just take a holiday and lay on a beach for a week.

One last thought for now. I also have to walk almost 4 additional miles a day M-F (house to train, train to office and back) Perhaps this is adding to the shot legs?

Cheers

a previous post mentioned Mark Robertson and Eric Cressey. Watch their videos on strength and MOBILITY. I've spent the summer working on my hip and ankle mobility, core stabilization, and lunge and legged squats. I'm in my 50s and my legs and back feel better now than 10 years ago.

After 50 it is all stop loss. A few freaks of nature are able to improve in their 50s and hit fanatastic times. For the rest, the emphasis needs to be on delaying the decline, not trying to compete against the PRs of 10-15 years ago. Strength training and some sort of stretching program (yoga, pilates, active/isolated Wharton stuff, whatever works) are a must.

What I have noticed successful grand master runners doing in my area is having short periodization in their training for specific races. A few weeks of base, a few weeks of strength and a few weeks of specific endurance. 12 weeks is all that is really needed for a marathon build up. 6-9 weeks is enough for road races. Each training cycle is followed by a week or two of easy jogging and recovery. Older legs will still respond to training stimulus. The problem is that people go well beyond the amount of stimulus they can handle or get locked into the same training pattern week to week. They end up with dead legs as a result when they would do much better if they shortened their training cycle.

I am 72 and have been running nearly 60 years. I currently focus on hill and trail races and tend to win my diminishing age group whenever I manage to complete the races without running off the course. My times (mediocre for younger cohorts, but often fogey course records) have not been deteriorating much over the last five years.

A key to my longevity as a runner is cross country skiing in the winter, using the skating method. I find that this training, with a focus on uphills (I like to ski up downhill ski areas, much to the amusement of observers on the lifts above me), strengthens my legs and body without the impact damage of roads and speedwork.

GG

This thread is a clear warning not to get back into running. It was fun when I was a kid (15-24) but I don't want to end up like you guys. I'll stick to resistance training from now on!

Bump.

Yes. Hire a good running coach and find a legit ortho massage therapist; helps to replace the IPA's with Pabst, too.

Can you describe running in the 1950's? Where and how much did you run?