The middle agers group. (Upper 30s,40s & 50ish folks)

45 y/o Returning after a very lengthy break. Add away, as i’m looking to get back at it

Good morning everyone, 3.30am at work with next to nothing going on so I am pacing the office, not much else I can do but the step challenges keep getting hit which is the main thing.
Hope you all had a great weekend as I know I did and still managed, just about, to stay on target which was a great relief.

Hey there, starting over... could use some friends my age for a little encouragement 😊

I am also in the 50s group with a lot of disabilities and struggling to lose weight after having so many surgeries-looking for some friends for some motivation. Not really sure how to send a friend request so if anyone can help me with that I would appreciate it:) ☺️

Happy Monday all you May ages . Hope to tackle a new week. Trying to get on track working out and eating right good luck all

Good morning!!!! 8 miler this morning easy run, 1 week until labor day 10k race....

Good Monday morning! I feel like I've been away for too long. The kids are now settled into their school routines and I've gotten into a new workout routine too. Gave up HIIT and am now alternating days of running and yoga and absolutely love it. Have a great week everyone!

Good Morning all! Rainy mornings the past couple weeks are wrecking my morning workouts! Today I worked on speed intervals on the TM but not the same as a nice run outside! Hoping Wednesday the rain stays away! Make it a great day!

runnergirl089 wrote: »

Djproulx wrote: »

runnergirl089 wrote: »

I'll be 47 soon. I run and do strength training. My body is betraying me though. My running pace is slowing and I'm getting injuries I've never had before (e g. tennis elbow). Hoping to learn how other people are adjusting.

Reading this post (and the follow up responses) and I"m wondering why your running pace is slowing? Are you a long time runner? Could be due to lots of reasons, such as maybe not enough recovery between hard runs, general performance drop from overtraining, effects of a lingering injury? There are ways to build both speed and endurance - are you following a running program?

I honestly thought it was because I'm aging. My pace started slowing during the training for my 2nd marathon about 3 years ago. I did overtrain for it, my pace slowed and I developed bad insomnia. I took about a year off of distance running but still ran 3-4 miles a few times a week. I just can't seem to get a decent pace back now that I'm running distance again. I'm training for the Army 10 miler now and my training plan is as follows:

Mon: off
Tues: speed or hill intervals (half the distance of my endurance run) and strength training to maintain.
Weds: off (or strength training if not done on Tues)
Thurs: tempo run (half the distance of my endurance run)
Fri: 3 mi easy and strength training
Sat: off
Sun: endurance run

Maybe I'm not pushing myself enough. I do fear going through the insomnia again as I felt like I was going insane at the time. Thoughts?

Looking at the weekly schedule you've presented, I"m wondering about two things:

1. You show quite a high ratio of quality sessions(the hard work sessions, such as tempo runs, speed intervals, etc.) in relation to your recovery paced volume (in this case, your Friday easy run and Sunday endurance run. I'm assuming Sunday run is being done at an easy pace.) Both coaches I have trained with stressed the need to do 80-85% of your runs at a recovery pace, with only 15-20% done as higher intensity work (speed, tempo, etc.) Are you recovering well and feeling good during the endurance run?

2. Also, are you keeping enough separation between your hard efforts and your recovery paced runs? If the recovery runs are any more than about 60-65% of max, then you may not be getting the recovery benefits. For example, my open half marathon pace is about 8:40/mile. (because I'm an old fart of 60, lol). So for my recovery runs, I do not go any faster than a 10:00 pace, and often run at a 10:15/min pace during long runs. The purpose of these runs is to build endurance while allowing your body to recover easily before your next hard effort.

If you want a suggestion for building speed endurance at the 10mile or half marathon distance, my absolute favorite workout is 400's alternating between 5k race pace and just above half marathon pace. That workout could look like this:

1 mile ez warm up

16 x 400's. (example: lap 1 @ 7:45/min, lap 2 @8:45-9:00/min, lap 3 @ 7:45, lap 4@ 8:45-9:00, etc)

1 mile ez cool down

The idea with this one is to build your speed for longer distance, using the "easy" laps as active recovery. I typically start week 1 by doing 12x400's, then increase to 16, 20, or even 24 400's as I reach peak. This workout has really improved both my 1/2marathon as well as 5k times when done consistently.

Finally, if you want a great read on getting and staying fast as we age, then check out Joe Friel's "Fast After 50". I realize that you're much too young now, but one day you may fit the profile,

Hope this helps.

Djproulx wrote: »

runnergirl089 wrote: »

Djproulx wrote: »

runnergirl089 wrote: »

I'll be 47 soon. I run and do strength training. My body is betraying me though. My running pace is slowing and I'm getting injuries I've never had before (e g. tennis elbow). Hoping to learn how other people are adjusting.

Reading this post (and the follow up responses) and I"m wondering why your running pace is slowing? Are you a long time runner? Could be due to lots of reasons, such as maybe not enough recovery between hard runs, general performance drop from overtraining, effects of a lingering injury? There are ways to build both speed and endurance - are you following a running program?

I honestly thought it was because I'm aging. My pace started slowing during the training for my 2nd marathon about 3 years ago. I did overtrain for it, my pace slowed and I developed bad insomnia. I took about a year off of distance running but still ran 3-4 miles a few times a week. I just can't seem to get a decent pace back now that I'm running distance again. I'm training for the Army 10 miler now and my training plan is as follows:

Mon: off
Tues: speed or hill intervals (half the distance of my endurance run) and strength training to maintain.
Weds: off (or strength training if not done on Tues)
Thurs: tempo run (half the distance of my endurance run)
Fri: 3 mi easy and strength training
Sat: off
Sun: endurance run

Maybe I'm not pushing myself enough. I do fear going through the insomnia again as I felt like I was going insane at the time. Thoughts?

Looking at the weekly schedule you've presented, I"m wondering about two things:

1. You show quite a high ratio of quality sessions(the hard work sessions, such as tempo runs, speed intervals, etc.) in relation to your recovery paced volume (in this case, your Friday easy run and Sunday endurance run. I'm assuming Sunday run is being done at an easy pace.) Both coaches I have trained with stressed the need to do 80-85% of your runs at a recovery pace, with only 15-20% done as higher intensity work (speed, tempo, etc.) Are you recovering well and feeling good during the endurance run?

2. Also, are you keeping enough separation between your hard efforts and your recovery paced runs? If the recovery runs are any more than about 60-65% of max, then you may not be getting the recovery benefits. For example, my open half marathon pace is about 8:40/mile. (because I'm an old fart of 60, lol). So for my recovery runs, I do not go any faster than a 10:00 pace, and often run at a 10:15/min pace during long runs. The purpose of these runs is to build endurance while allowing your body to recover easily before your next hard effort.

If you want a suggestion for building speed endurance at the 10mile or half marathon distance, my absolute favorite workout is 400's alternating between 5k race pace and just above half marathon pace. That workout could look like this:

1 mile ez warm up

16 x 400's. (example: lap 1 @ 7:45/min, lap 2 @8:45-9:00/min, lap 3 @ 7:45, lap 4@ 8:45-9:00, etc)

1 mile ez cool down

The idea with this one is to build your speed for longer distance, using the "easy" laps as active recovery. I typically start week 1 by doing 12x400's, then increase to 16, 20, or even 24 400's as I reach peak. This workout has really improved both my 1/2marathon as well as 5k times when done consistently.

Finally, if you want a great read on getting and staying fast as we age, then check out Joe Friel's "Fast After 50". I realize that you're much too young now, but one day you may fit the profile,

Hope this helps.

This helps a great deal. Thanks! I do not feel good during my endurance runs. I've been doing this wrong and need to make some adjustments. I'm going to add your suggested interval workout (at my pace). Sounds like I need to switch the tempo run to a recovery pace too. Only a little over a month until the Army 10 miler so probably won't see much improvement in pace but I will at least feel better during the endurance runs.