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Runners World Articles: Archives Masterful Aging - Just because you're over 40 doesn't mean you have to slow down I'm not going to tell you that running gets easier as you get older. But I do believe that it's possible to make training adjustments that will keep you running strongly in your 40's, 50's and beyond. Take Sally, for example. She had run 20 miles a week for 20 years. Then, at age 50, she hit a wall. Her weekly miles dwindled as her injuries multiplied. Even worse, her mom told her: "You're too old to be running." It's true that you lose muscle strength, balance, bone density and reaction time as you age. Added together, all of these things make injuries more likely when you're over 40. And once you're injured, it takes roughly twice as long for the injury to heal. Thing is, all of these changes occur at an even faster rate if you don't run. So I told Sally to forget her mother's advice. Instead, I had her follow the same training precautions that I've been following since my 40th birthday. She took my advice, and is now running injury-free. Here's how you can do the same: Lengthen your warmup. When you were younger, you probably were able to skip warming up without suffering negative consequences. Don't even think about such rebellious behavior at 40-plus. Over the years your connective tissue has gotten stiffer. Without a proper warmup, that tissue won't function as well, making small tears more likely. Start every workout with some fast walking. Then progress to very slow running. Don't allow yourself to speed up to your normal pace until 10 minutes into your workout. Do the minimum. Practice the subtle art of finding the minimum amount of training needed to reap maximum results. For instance, try cutting out one workout a week and see what happens. You'll probably find that working out slightly less will not only reduce injuries, but may even boost your performance as well. Practice simple division. Long runs may take a toll on your leg muscles. If you still want to put in the miles but don't want to suffer the consequences, split your long run into two segments- one in the morning and one at night. Make your easy days easier. If you run more than three days a week, make sure to alternate hard and easy days. The day after a long run, hill work or a speed session, run extremely easy. Keep the length of your workout short and run as slowly as possible. Run in a pool. Water running allows you to burn calories and strengthen leg muscles while eliminating the impact that can lead to injuries. If your body complains when you run more than three days a week, use pool running on your alternate days. Switch to walking. If you've run continuously from start to finish during your workouts, try inserting 1-minute walking breaks for every 5 minutes of running. The walking gives you the chance to use different muscles and lower your body temperature, both of which allow you to run longer without getting tired. Back off early. As you age, your body needs more time to recover from strenuous exercise. At the first sign of trouble-dead legs, lingering aches, exhaustion-hold yourself to only three runs a week, cut your mileage in half and keep your workout intensity to a minimum for two weeks. The sooner you back off, the sooner your legs will rebound. Inspiration Guaranteed. Comparing your race times to those you recorded when you were younger and faster can be frustrating. So don't do it. Instead, try one of the following midlife motivators: 1. Focus on distance, not speed. Try to run a marathon in every state, or try running in a number of national parks. 2. Aim for a "prediction best." Instead of trying to run your fastest race ever, try to run as close to your predicted finishing time as you can. 3. Attempt something different. . Whether it's a trail run, hill climb, midnight run, biathlon or road relay, a new event means a new personal best.
From Runner's World, September 1999, p. 40
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