How can you enjoy running after you're past your prime?

HRE wrote:

Gasser wrote:

How about guys like Shorter, Liquori, Ryan, Salazar - are they still pounding or have they packed it in?

I know that Salazar had been running about five miles a day a while ago. I haven't heard that he's stopped. Shorter still runs, about an hour a day last I heard. He once said something along the lines of "racing sort of justifies the amount of training I do." He always has talked about how much he enjoys the act of running for itself. Don't know about Liquori or who Ryan is.

Liquori doesn't run anymore. In Gary Cohen's interview he said he has damaged joints and bikes. He's really fat now. Embarrassingly so. If you mean Jim Ryun I believe he still runs because he has a running camp. Steve Ovett doesn't run anymore. I believe Steve Scott does.

I"m 58, and about 2 min/mile slower than I was at my prime. I always enjoyed running for its own sake, and I still do. I even still enjoy racing despite being so slow now. I compete against the other people running at my pace, and I find that competition just as enjoyable when I was competing to be the top woman in the whole race.

I think that if you enjoy running for its own sake there's no problem staying motivated to run when well past your prime, provided you're not injured to the point that running is painful. If you were running only for the awards it brought, perhaps you would get more benefit from a different hobby.

rghdghdf wrote:

If you can't enjoy it past your prime, you're probably not really enjoying it in your prime.

Well put.

Oh, Ryun, not Ryan.. Yeah, that makes sense. And t makes sense that he'd still run if he has a camp. I know that in his late 30s he was running road races and running up to 100 miles a week.

Just get out and do whatever you feel like doing, but most importantly avoid the silly old fools (and there's a few of them get on this forum) who take themselves, and what other silly old fools do, way, way, way too seriously.

Bob is 90 getting it done!! See him on my mornings runs all the time.. Always wins his age group:-)

Are you sure you have reached your peak? With some pros competing in their 40s, maybe it's quite early to say that you have peaked. It's more of you losing your passion.

There is always something you can improve to try to get better. Even when you get older really past your prime, then, there's still masters level.

Sorry try this truly inspiring!!

Now nearly 60. Had my last PR in my 30s 3000m s/c.

Have carried on running and racing, as I just love competing. Was still managing to win the odd local 5k into my 50s, and now just focus on age group competition, age graded times/rankings.

Still run every day, but couldn't imagine staying motivated without racing.

8/10 just for the sheer fact that someone actually correctly spelled both your's/you're's in the title.

Plus1 wrote:

someone actually correctly spelled both your's/you're's in the title.

WTF?

Might as well ask how you can enjoy anything on the downhill slide. Sometimes mediocre is pretty good: sex, pizza, beer, beach, running ...

WTF??? wrote:

Plus1 wrote:

someone actually correctly spelled both your's/you're's in the title.

WTF?

What he/she meant to say was 'someone actually correctly spelled "your" and "you're" in the title', but unfortunately their grasped of syntax and spelling leaves a lot to be desired.

its catching "grasped"

goober central wrote:

Honest question. Once you're done setting PRs and winning races, how do you motivate yourself to keep lacing up the rrunning shoes?

How can you motivate yourself if you're not a contender for Olympic gold?

I think one of the keys is modifying (or broadening) the training chestnut "Know the purpose of every training run" so that you're able to accept wherever you actually are--slowing, slower, injured, coming back, rebuilding, lazy, hobbling, feeling great, ready to race, uninteresting in racing, feeling meditative--and find the right run, every day, to go with that feeling.

Over the past few years, in my mid-to-later 50s, I've been unable to sustain uninterrupted uninjured "good" training. I've spent extended periods of time either not running or slowly rebuilding. I've gained weight twice and slowly lost it once. Sh*t just goes wrong. On two occasions last year, once in the spring and once in the fall, I had successfully built back up, dropped weight, run two or three good races--and then blown out my back and been forced to stop cold turkey for a while before getting back in the saddle.

But I've developed real coping skills. I'm able to spend virtually no time saying "F**k! There goes my season again!" I spent about two days doing that, and then I let it go and I deal with where I am, with no regret. I just do my best to learn the lessons that needed learning. And then I'm jogging again, and although I'm slow, at least I'm moving again! And I take some joy in that. Then bit by bit, I start to get back in shape. And I'm reminded of why I've always loved running: properly used, it gives you a way of mastering yourself and learning a bunch of great life-lessons.

I've always liked the way that runs could be turned towards versions of meditation.....mental cleansing.

None of what I've described should suggest that I've lost my competitive fire. It's still completely intact. I still yearn to put myself on the starting line and do something great while feeling like an animal. I still want to chase 'em down. But my running practice, such as it is, has many other dimensions.

This morning I got up on less than five hours of sleep after a gig that put me in bed at 2 AM. I'd been planning to run 12 miles; I dialed it back to 9 and ran slowly. But I put in the time, extracted the right amount of juice, and have had a great day. No complaints.

Learn how to work with what you've got, not flog yourself because you don't have what you wish you had.

There is a whole generation of runners out there have never heard of George Sheehan- quite a character back in the 70s that addressed this topic frequently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neTZygC8dNg

goober central wrote:

Honest question. Once you're done setting PRs and winning races, how do you motivate yourself to keep lacing up the rrunning shoes?

There are many things that keep me motivated in my dotage

1) Beating people half my age. And not just joggers - I mean beating people who clearly take the sport seriously who are half my age. I imagine women get the same kick out of beating guys who are the same age as them in the same way.

2) Running keeps me fit and trim. The soccer moms at my kids' school swoon over my sculpted legs. I know I have the option open with several of them if I ever wanted to ...

3) Lots of races have good masters prizes. No shame in being first in the old guy category.

KudzuRunner wrote:

Learn how to work with what you've got, not flog yourself because you don't have what you wish you had.

Didn't read most of your long, rambling response, but this sentence is really good. I edited for length for everyone's benefit.