The aging runner

The aging runner…

- keeps in mind that age changes everything; therefore age-graded results are the way to go

- keeps in mind that the ability to absorb stress (training, work, family, life) decreases

- knows for sure: you overdo - you will have to pay for it

- keeps up physical routines (moderate to comfortably hard)

- emphasizes rest and listens to the body

- eats and drinks healthy

- realizes that a good training run is equal to competitions

- knows: my priorities lie elsewhere.



Agree. Joint pain is the only issue I have; everything else is absolutely fine as of a few weeks ago when i had my annual checkup. I can't run as often or as much as I would like because of the knees/hip (arthritis in both!).

I used to get a bit fed up with this but have recently tried to be a bit more positive. I would suggest;

1) Do what running you can. I have started using a treadmill (not real running, I know) because of the constant incline; running up is OK, running down is very painful! I have found interval work (very moderate!) on grass is possible and very enjoyable.

2) Supplement this with weights in the gym. I find this surprisingly satisfying now, perhaps because improvements are so measurable.

3) I'll almost certainly never compete again - but have now realised that it is possible to run regularly without the motivation of competition and the need to train for this.

4) Enjoy! Running, life,retirement, all of it. Don't worry about stuff! Within reason eat and drink what you like - as a long term runner you probably have established some healthy habits anyway. A few years ago I took ownership of a bookshop. No prior retail experience at all. But it's the best thing I've ever done! Prior to this I had a stressful job that I loathed. now life is great. Looking forward to my run this evening, probably some efforts up hill with a walk or very slow jog down as recovery. Then home to pizza and a dalliance with a very nice little Italian (wine)!

82nd AB wrote:

At 56, I have heard alot. The best advice was from the great John Campbell from NZ. Around 1993, I was fortunate enough to be standing around him before a race, and we started chit chatting about diet, longevity, etc. All the stuff you are asking about. His advice or opinion was simple: "You American's worry too much about this diet or that diet. Run everyday, work hard everyday, and when your time comes, you won't have any say, it will already be decided for you."

I think he just turned 40, and he ran a 31 minute 10k later that day. Dude was unreal.

In '93 John would have been 44 years old. I know him well and have run with JC in the States and NZ. The guy was tough as nails -- alot like the great Steve Jones. At age 41 Campbell finished 4th at Boston in 2:11:04 setting the masters course record that still stands and beating Rob de Castella along the way. Plus, he worked a full-time job too. JC's favorite pre-run energy source (and now mine too) was a few slices of wheat toast heaped with peanut butter & banana. You have quoted him well. John was indeed a very non-technical runner. His pat response to those looking for his training secret: "Just run bloody hard".

The Scot wrote:

Don't you have to balance the above argument against probable higher risk of injury from tackling the shorter distances? I know I would. Depends what kind of speed work you are doing to support your racing. My greatest fear is major disruption from injury like the hamstring tear I had last summer.

Yes. We are about the same age. I offset the risk of speed-related injuries in the following ways.

I also have had hamstring problems, but none since I started lifting and core work to get my body stronger. I starting lifting about 16 months ago and I lift at least 3 times a week with a group class, usually 5 sets of 5 reps or 3 sets of 12 reps. I also do a lot of dynamic leg work... wall balls for height, heavy sled sprints, weighted lunges, goblet squats, etc. Since I don't care about increasing weight, I keep a journal of weight lifted/week just like runners track miles/week. Since March, I've lifted 2.084 million pounds. Real lifters and crossfitters probably do twice that, but for me it's a way to keep track.

I do an extensive warm up, including ten minutes of jogging, followed by dynamic drills and strides before starting an interval workout.

I change directions on the track half way through the workout.

I bring three pair of shoes to all workouts. If I feel a twinge anywhere, I change shoes. For me, it's usually a foot, ankle, knee, or Achilles twinge. That fixes the problem maybe 4 out of 5 times.

If the twinge continues I stop the workout immediately. I think this is also a key to success for older runners. When an injury lasted two days when you were younger, you might consider running through the pain, but when the same injury sets you back a month, you learn to listen to your body.

Those of you talking about short distances causing injury, my experience is the opposite. I have some arthritis in my knees and hips, and have found my body doesn't like going over an hour. I mainly stick to 5ks and 10ks, and my joints like them a lot better than the long stuff. Runs or races over an hour really leave me hobbling around the rest of the day.

And yes, I still "race" my races, although today's race pace is slower than my easy pace of 20 years ago.

I did the calculator and it says I have a 3.9% chance of heart attack next 10 years. The calculator is ok but only looks at about 7 risk factors, there are 15 risk factors total. Also your calculator says I have only 3.9% chance of heart attack but say to go on statins. As I said before I am not going on statins.

Can't agree at all. There is no way to measure "free radicals". He is selling you a line of bull!

How old are you mark? When did arthritis hit? Do you have it in your hands and feet also. Have you tried glucosamine/condroitin?

northof55 wrote:

Can't agree at all. There is no way to measure "free radicals". He is selling you a line of bull!

I don't remember the exact words, but that was my take away from the conversation. It was 15 years ago. Surely, tests can measure byproducts like free radicals in the blood? Can any medical guys/gals on here comment?

Approaching 60 here, averaging 60-80 minutes a day of aerobic exercise this year, and for most of my life. I have predisposition for high cholesterol and learned recently that I have high blood sugar. Holding off on medication, with my endocrinologist's blessing, and trying to control things through diet. I've eliminated refined white flour products, white rice, most sugary desserts, eating more oats, fish. I have always eaten lots of salad and vegetables but eat more of that too. Nuts instead of chips are my go to snack food.

I've lost about 5 lb, and overall feel better, but blood sugar is still borderline high.

Benefactor wrote:

Unfortunately, people in our age cohort grew up in the biggest failed lifestyle experiment in history: low-fat/high-carb coupled with chronic cardio exercise in an attempt to make up for the lack of true quality movement and strength development throughout the day. Until we address this on a personal level, you only have to look around you to see where it will lead.

You are 75% right and you are 25% wrong. You are wrong about aerobic exercise. For every study claiming "aerobic exercise" is bad for you, there are 50 studies saying that aerobic exercise is the single best thing for heart health and in fact the more the better. The most effective forms of aerobic exercise in order are: running on treadmill (too boring), running outside, eliptical, XC skiing (not practical), swimming, cycling, circuit weight training or supersets or 30 second or less rest between sets and walking (if your fitness level is so low that walking is in aerobic range for you).

You are correct about low fat diet. Any diet lower than 15 to 20% fat will result in decreased testosterone level which leads to a host of problems too long to list. It can also lead to joint issues due to lack of lubrication.

You are correct on high carb diets. If you fail to eat sufficient protein your muscles will weaken, your recovery will be poor, your iron levels will fall resulting in reduced aerobic capacity. You need ideally 1 g of protein per pound of body weight, moderate carbs and 15-20% fat ideally.

You are correct about the lack of strength training. Use it or lose it. If you fail to use resistance training your muscles will continue to weaken and atrophy as you age. Your loss of bone density will accelerate. Your testosterone levels will fall. Your cortisol production will increase. The quality of your life will decrease. You will get the dreaded "skinny-fat runner" look as you age.

You are correct about 3 out 4 of the things you said.

Ideally you want to do as much aerobic exercise as your joints can stand and you can stay injury free and you need to supplement this with strength training.

How a bout 4/4: I run, should say jog, 30-60 miles/week. I used to think I was running "easy", but now realize that approaching 60, my "easy" 7:30-8:00 miles were probably at least marathon pace. I might start runs at 8:30, but stupid pride would have me pushing slightly harder all the time and finishing 7:00 or even faster. In other words, accumulating lactate, however marginally, all the time. Always over AeT. I wondered, like most others here, why I was fighting niggles, injuries and illness all the time.

Finally got a HR monitor, tried Maffetone's 180-age, swallowed my pride, and slowed down to 11:00+ miles (initially). This was a shuffling jog compared to my previous running, but reflected how poorly developed I was aerobically, despite running up to 70 miles/week. I had to walk up hills I used to charge up.

Now, a few months into the program I jog 10:00 miles 40-50 miles/week almost effortlessly, and very happily, as all my joints are now loose and healthy for the first extended time in 45 years in the sport. I stopped beating the crap out of my body. Maybe I will get back to sub-9:00 or even 8:00 for daily runs as my AeT changes, maybe not. A long as I feel healthy and energized, I don't care.

I still do strides a few times/week, plus 10x100 in spikes every 7-10 days, and do resistance training every other day. My body fat is around 5-6%, but a lot of that is genetic.

So yes I agree on the aerobic running. But running 8:00 miles is not purely aerobic for a 19:00 5K guy. It is training the "Black Hole" of chronic (push-push) cardio. And that is a big reason why our bodies are wearing down.

broccoli Bob wrote:

This! Will be 69 in January. 35-45 MPW. Longest runs are no longer than eight. Do two LT runs per week (20:00 and 40:00). No "speed" work at all except strides and lots of 1:00 hill repeats. Nine minute pace for everything other than the LT stuff,strides & hills. LT's I try to do at 7:30ish for 20:00 and 7:50ish for 40:00. New shoes EVERY 400 miles. Lots of core work but no weights. Drink lots of water and wine. Not one to diet, but try to keep my sugar and fat content down. Love red meat. Retired but still work part-time in a fun profession. On no meds. Married to same woman for 35 years. Best 5k this year was 21:55. Don't race a lot as the cost has become too expensive for someone on a fixed income plus. Been pretty much running since 1966.

Whenever I do core work for very long (weeks) I get some lower abdominal pain, yes, some bulging and they want to do the repair with mesh. Anyone of you guys have this done? If I avoid the core work I really don't have any discomfort but wonder if I am just delaying the inevitable?

Coyote Montane wrote:

Approaching 60 here, averaging 60-80 minutes a day of aerobic exercise this year, and for most of my life. I have predisposition for high cholesterol and learned recently that I have high blood sugar. Holding off on medication, with my endocrinologist's blessing, and trying to control things through diet. I've eliminated refined white flour products, white rice, most sugary desserts, eating more oats, fish. I have always eaten lots of salad and vegetables but eat more of that too. Nuts instead of chips are my go to snack food.

I've lost about 5 lb, and overall feel better, but blood sugar is still borderline high.

Very important for blood sugar control is frequent small meals, eat 6 small meals instead of 2-3 big meals. Also lose fat, eat some protein at every meal, reduce sugar and stick to carbs low on glycemic index. All these will control blood sugar

Yeah you got a hernia. Go see sports hernia doctor, they will put in mesh and you will only miss about 14 days of running. I had it done at age 35, lived with pain for 5 years but got worse so I finally bit the bullet and got the mesh. I ran on day 9.

Twilight runner, what do you do for core?

W

northof55 wrote:

[quote]Coyote Montane wrote:

Very important for blood sugar control is frequent small meals, eat 6 small meals instead of 2-3 big meals. Also lose fat, eat some protein at every meal, reduce sugar and stick to carbs low on glycemic index. All these will control blood sugar

Working on those, for the most part, but tend to too much carb at breakfast (cereal, oatmeal, or bagel/toast), and maybe not enough protein. I've cut back on dinner portions but still feel a high and crash afterward sometimes. Thanks

fisky wrote:

northof55 wrote:

Can't agree at all. There is no way to measure "free radicals". He is selling you a line of bull!

I don't remember the exact words, but that was my take away from the conversation. It was 15 years ago. Surely, tests can measure byproducts like free radicals in the blood? Can any medical guys/gals on here comment?

Is not free radical formation part of the supercompensation process.

Ok I hear you. You are certainly doing 4/4 even if you came across against against aerobic, you are actually doing it.

Yeah I hear you on having to slow down. In my prime was doing 6:30 pace on daily runs. Now at 55 that degenerated to 9:00 pace for my daily 4M run. I agree you want to keep it aerobic and not be hammering. However, a few months ago I got pissed off about decline to 9:00 pace and could see it heading for 10:00 pace. I fought back! LOL. I decided that every third run I would do at tempo effort. Well, foolish pride caused me to do these runs at low 7:00s. What happened? I started getting worse. It was really in the anaerobic zone and I was fooling myself and I was breaking down. Just slowing to the mid 7:00s pace put me back in aerobic zone and feel much better. So now I do 2 runs at 8:45 pace then the third run is one of the following: 4 mile progression 8:30 down to 7:40 or last 3 at 7:50 or 3 x 1 at 7:30 or last 2 at 7:30 or last mile at 7:10 or 4 x 8:00 at 7:00 pace. This keeps me in aerobic range and feeling better.