I have been running and doing road races (5k to marathon) since my early 30s. Of course, there were times when I was more serious than others. I also had some breaks where I did no running and no races. Though I was never anything close to elite status, I did occasionally win an age group award and I did manage to qualify for Boston when I was 41. Since turning 60 in 2018, I have not run any races, and my training has been on-again, off-again. But now that I am retired, I am getting the fire to again test myself against my peers.
Any of you older folks out there in E-R-land still racing competitively? If so, I’d be curious how you answer the below questions. Seeing how other people have successfully adjusted their training regimen might help me put together my come-back training plans. I have given my answers below.
On average, how many days per week do you run? I am currently trying to shift from every other day to a two on, one off schedule…but being careful not to push too hard.
How many miles per week do you average? Am around 26-28.
Do you have a disciplined, planned training approach, or do you just wing it? I am in between. I try to include hill repeats, some interval running and tempo runs on a regular basis, but I don’t have a calendar drawn up.
What cross training do you do? I kayak occasionally and do 45 minutes of weight training every other day. Also do a fair amount of brisk walking with my wife.
How often do you race? I have done a 10K and 2 15K in the past 4 years and that is it. But plan to do more once I feel I am in decent racing shape.
How do your current race times compare with your peak running performances? My most recent races are between 1:00 and 1:15 minutes per mile slower than my best performances, which occurred in my 30s. Of course, if I were to race today they would almost certainly be slower still.
What do you think are the most important factors in your training for keeping your race times competitive? Since I am not currently competitive, I can’t answer this. I occasionally do some stride work, but haven’t run on a track in years. I probably will need to incorporate that back into my plan at some point.
Any of you older folks out there in E-R-land still racing competitively? If so, I’d be curious how you answer the below questions. Seeing how other people have successfully adjusted their training regimen might help me put together my come-back training plans. I have given my answers below.
On average, how many days per week do you run? I am currently trying to shift from every other day to a two on, one off schedule…but being careful not to push too hard.
How many miles per week do you average? Am around 26-28.
Do you have a disciplined, planned training approach, or do you just wing it? I am in between. I try to include hill repeats, some interval running and tempo runs on a regular basis, but I don’t have a calendar drawn up.
What cross training do you do? I kayak occasionally and do 45 minutes of weight training every other day. Also do a fair amount of brisk walking with my wife.
How often do you race? I have done a 10K and 2 15K in the past 4 years and that is it. But plan to do more once I feel I am in decent racing shape.
How do your current race times compare with your peak running performances? My most recent races are between 1:00 and 1:15 minutes per mile slower than my best performances, which occurred in my 30s. Of course, if I were to race today they would almost certainly be slower still.
What do you think are the most important factors in your training for keeping your race times competitive? Since I am not currently competitive, I can’t answer this. I occasionally do some stride work, but haven’t run on a track in years. I probably will need to incorporate that back into my plan at some point.
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