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 | Aug 2, 2022 | Coaching, Science
By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
As a running coach, athlets often ask me about weekly mileage. How many miles should I run if I want to complete a marathon? Can I only increase my mileage by up to 10% a week? Why can so-and-so run XX miles a week and I am running only half of that? Am I losing fitness if I lower my mileage for recovery purposes for a week or two? And many, many more.
The right mileage is as individual as each runner. There is not one number that applies to everybody (Photo: Pexels)
Well, the answer to all these questions is the same. It happens to be the same answer to most running questions: It depends.
They key for any runner looking to improve on their times, distance, pace or fitness is to understand that the main goal should be based on performance, not on a pre-set number of miles. It is a matter of achieving your objectives while remaining healthy and injury-free. I recently read that you should run in between “as much as you can get away with and as little as you can get away with”. Genius!
The appropriate mileage for a runner is as individual as each athlete. It depends on a series of variables which need to be dialed appropriately so progress won’t be hindered, and injuries may stay away from the equation. Such variables are:
Goals: Before you figure out what is the right mileage for you, set up your goal. If you want to run your first or your best 5K, you will not run the same mileage as if you were training for a marathon. At the same time, a marathoner may need to run 100+ miles per week if he wants to run 2:20, while that number is a prelude to severe injury for a runner trying to break 4-hours in the same distance.
Age: Even the elites slow down as they age. They still run more than you or me, but they require more recovery in between vigorous efforts. What you could do in your 20s or 30s no longer applies in your 50s or 60s and you must accept it as part of the aging process. Look forward to competition in your age group and to be the best you can be at whatever stage of your life you’re currently at.
Experience: If you have been running for 30 years, your body is adjusted to a certain pounding on its bones and soft tissues. This alone will allow you to run longer. Not because you are holier than thou, but because you have adapted. Understand that not because you have adapted, your body can take unlimited mileage, so don’t overdo it either.
Miles are dictated by the interaction of many variables, such as goal, pace, experience and injuries, among others (Photo: Mikhail Nilov, Pexels)
Pace: Most runners want to run as fast as we can. We would love to set up PRs in every race, but that’s a chimera. So, we adapt to reality. Running slow is the key to running faster, for many physiological reasons that are beyond the scope of this post. Understand that the long run is about spending more time on your feet, pounding the surface, not about running faster. The sooner you’ll grasp and accept this concept, the faster you’ll be running.
Injuries: Certain injuries will require you to stop running altogether. For days, weeks or even months. Others will force you to reduce your mileage but not necessarily stop. Be smart and make sure you understand what your body is communicating. A shorter mileage today may be the key to avoiding zero-mile months down the road because you overdid it and now you are injured.
The 10% Rule: This is an urban myth. This is not a magic number, not even a well-reasoned percentage. If you are an experienced runner and your body has done it recently, you can increase that mileage by as much as you can tolerate it. If you are coming off 10 years on the couch eating Doritos and drinking Coke, it is advisable to take it easier. Less than 10% per week.
Sure, there is always the freak of nature that hit the gene lottery and can do whatever they want, for as long as they want at whatever pace they want, with little to no recovery time. Yes, they exist, but those are outliers. Do not compare yourself to them. It would be like comparing yourself to Eliud Kipchoge and not understanding why you can’t run a sub-2 marathon. So, be smart.
The essentials for a solid running plan are flexibility and adaptability. It must be dynamic. The best is always an individual plan, personalized just for you. But it is understandable that this is not in everybody’s reach. Generic plans downloaded from the internet may be ok, but are dime-a-dozen, with the key operating word being “generic”. If you are to use one of these, make sure you are not so rigid that you’ll end up hurt because you did too much or undertrained at the starting line because you did too little.
