Moses was doing 6 miles a day off season with Rono, training for 400 hurdles, plus tons of other work.
I don't know what his 800 time was, or even if he raced at 48. Dynamic stretching after an icebath. How many 40 year olds are doing that?
high school xc coach wrote:
im 38 now.
ive trained for one marathon, at 35. Only did 50 to 55 per week during the cycle. That is high mileage for me. Though not higher than I had gone before. It wasn't a drastic step up. Mileage beats me up. I felt like crap the entire time and could not wait for my taper. And then i quit running for 6 months.
Last year, i started doing some 800/1500 style training. 20 to 25 miles per week. Faster than I had done since high school. I never felt better. And the kicker was that I ended running a better 5k than I had on previous years with higher mileage.
I'm interested in some specifics- what type of running? What do you supplement your running with?
I don't know which is harder. But it seems middle distance runners have far longer careers and slow down less much later in life. Just my impression.
40- and 50-plus, if you're SMART about it, 800-1500 training is much better for you than distance. Just don't go too hard, don't do too much, focus on longer-term development. Mix it up. Plyos, etc.
runn wrote:
high school xc coach wrote:
im 38 now.
ive trained for one marathon, at 35. Only did 50 to 55 per week during the cycle. That is high mileage for me. Though not higher than I had gone before. It wasn't a drastic step up. Mileage beats me up. I felt like crap the entire time and could not wait for my taper. And then i quit running for 6 months.
Last year, i started doing some 800/1500 style training. 20 to 25 miles per week. Faster than I had done since high school. I never felt better. And the kicker was that I ended running a better 5k than I had on previous years with higher mileage.
I'm interested in some specifics- what type of running? What do you supplement your running with?
I have always lifted weights. various upper body, and typically only deadlifts for lower body.
When i marathon trained, the last 3 months were typically 12 to 20 miles between half marathon and marathon pace. the rest easy with some strides thrown in at the end. Easy days done by heart rate so. So i am very cautious.
Last year, doing 800/1500 type training i basically went on a two week cycle where I did something like 8x200 @400 to 800 pace with 90s rest. 8x400 @ 10 seconds faster than mile pace. 5 or 6x800 @3k pace. and a tempo run. throw in some time trials and some other workouts like 4x400 @ 800 pace or faster, and that is pretty much the gist of it. 5 days of running per week. 2 workout days. A long run of about 7 miles. and 2 easy mileage days of 3 to 5 miles.
One thing i tried to do that my body didn't tolerate well was 10 second all out hill sprints. I think the issue is i always jump into them too fast. maybe i need to do them at 80 or 90% at first? Or start with only 2 instead of going right to 5? or maybe my body just won't tolerate them either way. I'll give it another go this spring.
runn wrote:
high school xc coach wrote:
im 38 now.
ive trained for one marathon, at 35. Only did 50 to 55 per week during the cycle. That is high mileage for me. Though not higher than I had gone before. It wasn't a drastic step up. Mileage beats me up. I felt like crap the entire time and could not wait for my taper. And then i quit running for 6 months.
Last year, i started doing some 800/1500 style training. 20 to 25 miles per week. Faster than I had done since high school. I never felt better. And the kicker was that I ended running a better 5k than I had on previous years with higher mileage.
I'm interested in some specifics- what type of running? What do you supplement your running with?
and to be clear, i am not a good runner. My one marathon was a 3:23. Last year, I would say I got into 2:20 to 2:25 800 shape, 5:10 to 5:20 1600 shape. Basing this off of 4x400 in 68 average. 8x400 with 1:15 rest in 1:17 average.
My best 5k time trial was a 19:39 off of the mid distance training vs. 20:09 off of the marathon training.
Why do you think older runners move on to the marathon or even start doing Ultras? It's easier.
quickndirty wrote:
Why do you think older runners move on to the marathon or even start doing Ultras? It's easier.
I can't speak for everybody, but where I live, there aren't any races under 5k. If you want an all comers track meet, it's a 90 minute drive, and they basically only occur during one month of the year.
Bad Wigins wrote:
strung out wrote:
I hate this expression. A piece of string IS a piece of rope.
Other way around. A piece of rope is made from pieces of string wound together.
I just checked a real piece of rope and it was made from three strings. But each of the three strings was itself made of at least 6 smaller strings. So a rope is at least 3 x 6 = 18 times as long as a string.
If I had a magnifying glass, I could find out if those little strings are made of even smaller ones.
Both String and Rope are made from the same micro fibres . Some Rope has more micro Fibers per length , but sometimes it is the other way around . Manufacturing process does not define Rope or String , it is the End user that defines this.
I train like a marathoner for three months/year in the winter, and like a 4/8/15 guy the other nine. Never get bored, and never get niggles, much less injuries.
high school xc coach wrote:
One thing i tried to do that my body didn't tolerate well was 10 second all out hill sprints. I think the issue is i always jump into them too fast. maybe i need to do them at 80 or 90% at first? Or start with only 2 instead of going right to 5? or maybe my body just won't tolerate them either way. I'll give it another go this spring.
All-out work is much tougher than most people think. I like doing all- out 60s, but only when I'm not sore from a previous workout, and properly warmed up. And it's wise to be a bit careful with the first few. Still, I'm usually sore for two days after a session of 3x3x60m.
My body handles mile- paced workouts much better.
Thanks, this looks great.
I was an 800 guy when I was young. I just spent 3 years with on and off injuries that I finally seem to be over. I want to come back as an 800 guy.
I prefer mid-D type training as an older runner. I was better at 5k-half marathon when I was younger but high-mileage and tempo work makes me feel consistently tired and "fried" now (cortisol, test suppression). Mid-D work does make my muscles sore similar to lifting and, as others have said, if you get injured it's likely to be a more severe muscular or connective tissue injury vs. an overuse injury. Also as already mentioned, strength training and stretching are a must. I prefer to do any easy runs over 5k on a soft surface.