50s have been kind of sucky. too many injuries and hard to come back from, all of a sudden. Race times mediocre, but not flat out atrocious. trying to find happiness in longer aerobic efforts since the short stuff fails in comparison to long ago PRs, which I find frustrating (even though I know I shouldn’t compare)
A small example - My marathon PR is sub-5:50 pace. Not a world beater, but, decent. Nearing 50 years of continual running with all workouts present (intervals / tempos / long runs, etc. ) - I recently ran some track races at age 62 . . . and my fastest 1-mile was 6:39. BUT - Happy to still be at it.
DanM and I are at the same point in life and pace.
This thread makes me feel both better and worst about my current state of affairs. Some of you guys are still beasts.
After 45 years of running the wheels have fallen off, more dramatically in the last 5-10 years due, in part, to structural problems, mostly with knees and back. 9-11 min miles is the norm now for 3-5 mile runs. Its due to age, lack of time and years of running which has beaten up my body and worn down cartilage.
20 - 14:57 Fat Drunk and Stupid for ~15yrs 40 - 16:xx (based on 2:35 marathon) 50 - 20:30 56 - 21:30?
My knee is a little brittle now, so I only run 1x/week. The emphasis now is on overall health and wellbeing. Preparation for +30yrs from now. I'd rather stop running altogether than continue and increase the chance of a knee replacement. I do biking w/ running equivalent workouts. So every week 6x1:00 hard, 3-4x4:00 @ 5k effort, 13-15 min tempo-ish effort. The other 2 days I lift with an emphasis on full range of motion and all using all muscle groups. Everything is intense - nothing really, "Easy".
One thing I started in my late 40s is lifting. I think this is crucial for all people +50. You need to utilize all your fast twitch muscles, as we don't normally recruit them in modern living.
Metabolism slows considerably, so you need to be aware of reflexive eating, i.e. "I usually eat now" or, "I should eat everything on my plate".
Age 20 15:42 5K Age 37 19:27 5k Age 50 18:47 5k Age 60 23:02 5k I have slowed a great deal due to 1) Injuries, and more importantly, 2) Motivation. You don’t share much info so it is impossible to render an opinion on whether you are slowing “quickly” or not. I sincerely hope that everyone at age 60+ is getting regular checkups.
As for worrying about slowing too much; go to your high school reunion. I recall feeling sad for my bloated, sickly, and deceased classmates.
58 (2021) - Full @3:28:5x (not prepared - ran it anyway)
59 (2022) - Full, Half, 5k, 10k - Who knows ?? still deciding
That's impressive.
There is a huge difference from those who started running late and those who started when they were 15. My body has more wear from all the running (high school, college, >50 marathons...) so is older than yours.
I had a meniscus tear surgery a couple years ago (which had only a temporary benefit) and I asked the orthopedic surgery looking at the MRI was this the cause of all my knee problems and he said "no this is what happens when you run for 45 years, you have bone on bone, your cartilage is shot" (or something like that). No real treatment options except for probably a knee replacement in the future (which you can't run on). I'm still running, but a lot less and am going to transition to more biking and lifting. It sucks.
As for worrying about slowing too much; go to your high school reunion. I recall feeling sad for my bloated, sickly, and deceased classmates.
I had the same reaction a few years ago at our 25 year university class reunion. Me and my spouse look pretty much the same as back in the day, just a bit grey and wrinkly, but relatively thin, fit and healthy. Some of my friends looked pretty good, much like I remembered them but a bit wrinkly and grey, maybe thinner hair. But I was shocked by how much most of them had aged.... I thank my lucky stars we are predisposed to slower aging. Better genetics or lifestyle, not sure.
Aging, and athletic aging in particular, are so unpredictable. There are so many variables, many of which are not under the control of the person, even somebody who started out with talent and has consistently made healthy and smart lifestyle choices. Running fast as an older person is not a virtue, but getting out there and trying is for sure. At age 59 I am now 7 minutes slower over 5K than I was at age 20, but I’m grateful to be out there at all. Everybody on this thread should be commended.
Running is about enjoying the present, the moment. It's nice to run "fast", but it's more important to be injury free so you can keep running. In my case, this means running longer, upping the volume, not worrying about speed.
When I was still trying to be "fast", my 5K progression:
18:49 at 50 20:04 at 51, 21:40 at 52.
I gave up on the 5k and 10k, started running volume, and half marathons, but then ran 20:51 at age 62, off of a volume of 50+ mpw.
My first half marathon at 58 was 1:44:35, by 62 I got it down to 1:36:47. No, I'm not fast, but I've never had more fun with running.
I ran a 4:21.9 mile when I was 18; the best I can say: Not bad for a drunk. Lucky for me, I cleaned it up.
As for worrying about slowing too much; go to your high school reunion. I recall feeling sad for my bloated, sickly, and deceased classmates.
I had the same reaction a few years ago at our 25 year university class reunion. Me and my spouse look pretty much the same as back in the day, just a bit grey and wrinkly, but relatively thin, fit and healthy. Some of my friends looked pretty good, much like I remembered them but a bit wrinkly and grey, maybe thinner hair. But I was shocked by how much most of them had aged.... I thank my lucky stars we are predisposed to slower aging. Better genetics or lifestyle, not sure.
The funny thing is that while my athletic performance has disintegrated over the past two years, at two weeks shy of 64 I am still lean and don't have a single gray hair. (And I'm a long-haired female, there's plenty of hair to look at.) Leanness is largely a function of diet but graying is genetic as far as I know, and I seem to have hit the jackpot. My family tends to go gray fairly late in life but this is pretty extreme. I assume everyone thinks I dye my hair but I don't...
58 (2021) - Full @3:28:5x (not prepared - ran it anyway)
59 (2022) - Full, Half, 5k, 10k - Who knows ?? still deciding
That's impressive.
Thanks, but I don't think it's that impressive - lots of folks more consistent and faster than me. I maybe more of an anomaly though since I didn't start running till later than most.
I don't know what I don't know, and never thought much about the possibility of getting slower because of my age. Just figured as long as I could continue to run/train I would get faster till I plateaued at some point. Probably should stay away from LetsRun and threads like this before I get it in my head that I can't run a marathon in under 3 hours.
Oh and because math is hard I misquoted - was actually 56 for the times in 2019. From that POV I definitely did get slower as I aged, but attribute it more to not running much in 2020 & 2021 leading up to the event because of life and other (mostly) non running related things.
Had not broken 20 for over 7 years just ran 19:53 this past weekend on the track wearing Dragonfly spikes at age 60 . Two days a work speed work with around 32 total miles a week average.
I was just reading the Bill Rogers / Priscilla Welch book on masters running last night, and they mentioned the one thing that contributes more directly to age-based slowdown than any other single factor: the inexorable slow drop in your max heart rate.
As your max HR drops, the HR at which even a well-trained runner can sustain a 5K or 10K, say, also drops. I've always been able to sustain around 95% of max for most of a 5K and 92-93% for most of a 10K. But when your max HR drops from 200 (my max in my late 40s) to, say 182 (which is where my max seems to be 15+ years later at age 64), your 95% and 92% HR drops as well--as, inevitably, does the pace you're sustaining at that %.
There's just no way around this. 170, which used to be my 85% HR and something that I could sustain/average for an entire marathon, is now my 93.4% HR, which is more like something I can sustain for a 4 or 5 mile race. Exactly the same HR; much harder subjective effort.
That's what kills you, which is to say, slows you. It's not the only thing that takes you down; musculoskeletal stuff, and especially facet joint arthritis (in my case), adds a whole other level of trouble. But even when your body parts hold together and you are able to train well for a sustained period of time, the gently falling max HR thing is shadowing you.
On the other hand: I'd rather be above ground than below ground. So no worries!
Thanks, but I don't think it's that impressive - lots of folks more consistent and faster than me. I maybe more of an anomaly though since I didn't start running till later than most.
I don't know what I don't know, and never thought much about the possibility of getting slower because of my age. Just figured as long as I could continue to run/train I would get faster till I plateaued at some point. Probably should stay away from LetsRun and threads like this before I get it in my head that I can't run a marathon in under 3 hours.
Oh and because math is hard I misquoted - was actually 56 for the times in 2019. From that POV I definitely did get slower as I aged, but attribute it more to not running much in 2020 & 2021 leading up to the event because of life and other (mostly) non running related things.
Aha, I see what you're getting at. You started six years ago. So yes, you DO have a little time ahead when you might legitimately be able to hope for incremental improvements.
I quit running at age 25 in 1983 and although I ran occasionally for the next 19 years, I didn't train, didn't race, and didn't run more than an hour. Then, in 2002, at age 44, I began training and then (in 2003) racing again--on legs much fresher than my peers of that age.
I got faster every year from 45 to 52. So I had seven years of progressively faster race times, even as I aged. I ran 19:28, 40:48, 1:30:12, and 3:30:59. Then I plateaued and began to slow. In 2014, at 56, I somehow managed to run one last balls-out race, a 20:36. But the jig was up.
The window is narrowing for you, but I don't think it's closed quite yet.