by Adolfo Salgueiro | Feb 13, 2024 | Article, Reflection
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
A moment creeps into our lives when we realize we cannot perform at the level we are accustomed. A point where we cannot keep up with our kids. A point when we need to ask a teenager to assist with our technology queries. A point when we figure out the pace we ran in our 20s, 30s, or 40s is no longer available to us. Accepting it is not a sign of defeat but of maturity.
Age-group racing may be a great opportunity to keep your competitive juices alive (Photo Pexels)
In his pivotal essay Stages of Life, Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), stated that “we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life\’s morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening and what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie.”
Right on the money. Adjust or perish.
It is a matter of perspective. For those who started running and competing in their 50s, 60s, or later, it is not uncommon to continue getting better. Since there is no earlier record to compare, and they are expanding their physical and cardiovascular condition, setting a lifetime marathon PR at 65 is achievable. A different matter is when you set up that marathon PR in your 20s or 30s and no longer can match that physical output at 65.
If competition and progress are important to keep running, accepting the inevitable process of aging is essential. Dividing age groups every 5 years is arbitrary, sure. There is no scientific reason determining a 56-year-old cannot do what a 55-year-old can. But I do believe it is a God-sent system to reframe our expectations, our PRs, and remain improving within a segment of our lives. It is about picking up a battle with someone our own age and having a realistic chance to succeed.
There is a meme stating that age is nothing more than a better chance to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Bill Rodgers, the legendary lifetime runner and 4-time champion in both Boston and New York, puts it this way: “Every five years, everything changes. Hitting a new age group—It’s a fresh new world. We all have a wonderful opportunity, again.”
The fact is that as we age, we transit through life events that will inevitably force adaptations in our lives. Women go through menopause. You may have experienced broken limbs, heart conditions, diabetes, Parkinson\’s, or one of so many other conditions that tend to happen the longer you remain alive. They are physical and mental challenges to reckon with which will impact your physical output. So, accept your reality, don’t compare, and continue moving forward.
The way I’ve adjusted to running in my 50s after starting in my teens is as follows. I recommend you consider it.
Running as we age
– Reset your PRs: Choose if you will do so every 5, 10 years or after a life event. Make sure improvement is feasible, so frustration and depression won’t set in.
– Adjust volume and pace: Since your value as a person, or as a runner, is not based on miles per week or minutes per mile, figure out what is the most you can do without going overboard. It will be less and less as you age. Accept it or consider retiring.
– Set new goals: You may still brag about your all-time marathon PR despite knowing it won’t be broken. Understanding what’s the best you now, and going for it, will assist in keeping that fire alive.
– Set non-timed-based goals: Times are getting slower as we put more effort, so why don’t we better set goals based on different parameters? Running 1000 miles per year is a popular one.
– Embrace Age-Group Competition: Want it or not, you will be paired with runners your own age. Make the best of it. Choose your new rivals for friendly competition and/or bragging rights.
– Let your running tell stories: Running a sub-50 10K at 50? Completing my 10th marathon before age XX. Becoming an ultramarathoner in my 60s. Participating in XX races during the calendar year. Find your story.
Writer and lifetime runner Jonathan Beverly puts it this way: “If you don’t reset, your PRs and you adjust volume and speed as your age, eventually, your body will drop back to zero and force you to restart from scratch. So, you decide.” Sound advice.
And to that reader in his/her 20s or 30s who may think they’re invincible and this post is only for old farts: be aware that if you want to become a lifetime runner, you better get your best performances out of the way now, because in the blink of an eye, you will realize you can’t compare today’s performances with what they will be in 20 or 30 years.
Any thoughts? Let me know in the comment box below.
by Adolfo Salgueiro | Apr 26, 2022 | Article, Coaching
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
In our training, it is not if life will get on the way but when. It has happened to all of us regardless of how committed we may be. Whether to alter an entire training plan or to screw up a single run, if life events haven’t gotten in your way yet, keep running and they will. Being confronted with a constant barrage of personal challenges is part of the human experience. Adjusting ourselves to such reality is what keeps us moving forward.
It is important to note that just because life got in the way, quitting your goal-race, or even running altogether, is unnecessary. If we wait for perfect circumstances, we would still be waiting to start our running journey. The key is being smart enough to adapt to the reality you are confronted with so you can make sure you enjoy the benefits of whatever work you were able to stitch together during these grim times.
A well adjusted training plan and a smartly executed race, earned my trainee his coveted unicorn medal.
Let’s keep things in perspective here. If you undergo emergency triple-bypass surgery in the middle of your marathon training or if you split your femur in two, you are not running that race, period.
I started thinking of this concept because I had a trainee in last week’s Boston Marathon who was forced to make such adjustments. And despite running 14 minutes over his PR, he had a spectacular experience in the premier world marathon. His journey was worth a few tears at the finish line. A result to be proud of.
This runner worked on his BQ for a couple of years and finally got it last year. As the training was about to start, he found himself moving to another state to start a new business. Settling in a new area, changing schools for the kids, finding a home, adjusting his family to a new routine and working longer hours became the priorities. As they should have. No one expected him not to provide for his family because he had to train for Boston. Early in the training cycle it became evident that the marathon training was becoming a challenge. What to do?
Well, runner and coach had lengthy phone conversations in which matters were put into the right perspective. The runner realized that the BQ was taken care of, and he was already in the Boston Marathon. So, instead of feeling annoyed because he wouldn’t be able to run at his top capacity, we shifted the focus into finishing the race and enjoying the experience. Completing as many sessions as possible, focusing on distance instead of speed, and working towards a race to remember.
And that is exactly what happened. A well-executed race plan allowed him to finish strong, happy, smiling, with a unicorn medal around his neck and, most importantly, uninjured.
If you are about to start today’s run and you feel like the person in this image by Engin Ekyurt, from Pexels, you better adjust your expectations, or skip it altogether.
But life not only gets in the way when training for a Marathon Major. Sometimes it is the petty things that can screw up training on any given day. And we better adjust, too.
Last week, one of my trainees had a 6-mile run scheduled but got to the start with indigestion. He had eaten a hotdog about 5 hours earlier and it was giving him stomach trouble. Like the trooper he is, he went for it but at Mile 3, everything unraveled. He felt tired, dizzy and started walking.
As I always preach, we need to take the inevitable bad days as an opportunity. If we don’t learn from them, we’ll never accumulate the experience needed to confront a similar challenge the next time it is facing us. And it is a matter of when, not if.
On a bad day, you must adapt to the reality of what your body has available at that given moment. Regardless of the reason this is happening. You ate bad food, you didn’t eat at all, you just had a rift with your spouse, stressful day at work, you just got bad news, or fill in the blank. It doesn’t matter why. Accept that you just don’t have it today. If you decide to take the macho route and decide to push through when your body is not ready, you are in for trouble.
You are better off downgrading those 6 miles to 3, intervals to an easy trot, a long run to a mid-distance effort or a tempo to a comfortable walk; than forcing yourself and ending up exerting yourself beyond your limit, thus requiring extra days of recovery. Or even worse, getting injured. That will set you further behind than cutting short one day, or even skipping it.
Remember: It is all about training smarter, not necessarily training harder. Harder is important, but smarter will keep you running.
Live to run another day.
