Over 60s training.

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  • Ceal/JJ.
    Its this thing about other things in life that quite obviously means one can't always stick to your intended running schedules or plans. Although my good lady doesnt mind my running hobby(?) its always on my mind not to get too obsessive as to appear selfish.Then again I suppose doing it in moderation would not make it easy to achieve the goals! Plod on regardless..........

    Anyway you both are exemplary 60+ runners.
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    lincoln imp, I think that there is a fine line between not letting anything get in the way of training and appearing to be obsessive (well maybe being totally obsessive)and sticking to ones plan for the week and on the other hand being selfish to rest of family and appearing a total crank to one's friends and having a life without feeling very frustrated sometimes if one has to change one's plan. I sometimes make my week 8 days long, that helps. Paula R does that, not that we are even close to her achievements, just scale it down by 1000% and one can see that our goals are the same, to do our best. An 8 days training plan allows a day in the week for an uneventuality cropping up. However, it does mean that one's long run will be mid week sometimes and if you are working that is not so easy, especially in the winter. I am probably talking a load of tosh here! T

    To a certain extent we have to be obsessive in character to keep going out training what ever the weather, how ever one is feeling etc. going through many pain barriers and some times boredom and of course disappointment. That is the negative, the positive for me is a feeling of freedom, being in control, to be outside, see the countryside,( like JJ talking to little lambs), personal achievements, challenges, being able to solve problems whilst running (I do not mean mathmatical ones)! I could go on and on.
  • Hi everyone,

    Wow, you are an inspiration to me!

    I realy like Ceal's 8 days a week schedule. Going to try it.
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    JJ Hardly surprising your legs are tired after the 18 mile run on sunday. I think whatever the age they would be tired this week. All will be well again by the weekend when you will be ready to punish the body again!!! with another long run. what are you hoping to achieve this weekend, or do you run the longer distance alternate weekends? Or are you now tapering for the FLM? I know that the current trend is to taper for 3 weeks beforehand, and this moment I am not sure of the exact date of the FLM.

    Hi spud, what are you up to?
  • Hi

    Perhaps some of the articles contained in this link will be of interest.

    http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/veterans.htm

    SH
  • Hi Ceal,
    Nothing much today. I did a hard session yesterday so, now, i am paying for it. Tell me about your schedules, Ceal, do you train hard?
  • Ceal.....No you are not talking a lot of tosh. To a different degree you concurred what I was thinking about the self and/or family scenario. And like you say we have to discipline ourselves to go out there in adverse weathers or when we don't quite feel like it! I'm all for 8 days a week!
    Tomorrow we go down to G.Yarmouth to set up the caravan for this spring/summer. While there will do some running on beaches & roadsides.
    JJ....is also inspiring. As young Mr.Grace would say "you've all done very well". If you never watched 'Are you being served'ignore that previous sentence.
  • Snake Hips
    Thanks for the link. Will check it out.
    JJ
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    I must spend more time training and less time on this thread, or more time on some house cleaning!! But hey I enjoy talking to you guys.

    Thanks snakehips for the pp.online web site address I will look when I have finished this. I have been on their site before but have never looked at the veterans page. I followed their carbo loading menu before the half last sunday., it seemed OK.

    Spud you asked about my training schedule, I really do not do a very high mileage, I tend to go for quality rather than quantity. I always do one long run a week about 12/13 miles. This I run just above easy. Then a rest day followed by a 30/40 minute recovery run followed by a run of a similar time which I will run as fast as I am able. Sometimes I will run this on the treadmill because I can monitor my speed and distance more easily this is followed by a rest day then a session on the treadmill I will do 40/45 minutes of speed work, obviously the first 10 minutes is a warm up. This will be I mile fastish then 1k faster followed by 800 faster 400 faster still and 200 ,you got it, faster and 100 even faster. I liked putting all those words saying faster!!!! sounds good when I see it in writing. I have rests in the form of slower jogging in between sets. If time and feeling good I will repeat some of this. One feels rather B--------d at the end of this. I am going to experiment with alternating this weekly with some fast hill runs repeated over and over again with jogs in between of course. This is always followed by 1 or 2 days of rest. I only do between 20 and 30 miles a week and often nearer 25 if I have been feeling tired.

    Lincoln imp Have fun running near the sea, a wonderful experience, it always feels so healthy. Be careful on the sand, unless you are used to it. I did some training on the sand once, it wasn't very flat and the sand was soft and I ended up hurting my knee and having to walk a long way home!

    JJ I am totally exhausted and extremely impressed reading your programme at the moment, You must be so fit. It must be great to be able to pack all those miles in. I guess it just takes time to get to that stage. I remember only too well when it used to nearly kill me to run 6 miles, and now of course its like a walk in the park(unless one is racing it)

    That sees me signed off and out.
  • Hi Peeps,

    Ceal, how do you put your schedule together? Do you have a couch? What are your plans for the future?
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    JJ your long training runs will give you such good endurance, with the ability to train faster as you train shorter runs. But of course you know this already. I guess it will make the shoreter distances like 12/13 miles seem really short. Great.

    Snakes, thanks for the website, I have explored the veterans section, very encouraging.

    Spud,my plans for the future are another half in May at Sandringham. I am quite selective over which races I run in. I prefer them to be in attractive locations, if possible. I will do the odd 10k etc over next 3 months or so, but have not decided yet which.
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    JJ How can it be an offence if your body is telling you that what you have decided to do is the RIGHT action. On the pp.online web site under veterans, it definately suggests that us wrinklies' should have 5 rest days every fortnight. I think one has to find what suits oneself at the appropiate moments. I think that because of family commitments every now and again ie looking after my wonderful grandchildre who definately come second to running (I think)! thus I am forced to take an invountary rest. It is difficult to get rid of the feelings of guilt which occurr at such times especially if one has already planned in concrete the plan for the week. I think that we have to learn to be flexible for a variety of reasons. Why I wonder does one have to wait until one is over 60 to learn/relearn these lessons. ummm pause for thought I think!!
  • Hi everybody, I'm back again and trying to catch up with your chat It seems that us female over 60's are in the minority. Ceal, your times are terrific. Don't be afraid of a marathon - just run a bit slower and a bit longer. I reckon that the worst thing about a marathon is the training. But once you have done it, the marathon itself is relatively easy.
    I am meticulously following the Runner's World current programme for sub 4 - the four times a week schedule. I actually find it harder than the five times a week but it is nice to have that extra day off. I run in the evenings and am lucky because I have a myriad of country lanes running alongside the sea - but it is quite hilly. So far I have made all my targets - but only just. I hope that I will be speedier on a flat course like the FLM. Last night I did my 20 miler which is why I am sitting in front of the computer tonight! I did it just inside the target time in 3.03. I always do my long run on Wednesday evenings because my husband goes to bridge club and I have the evening free! I think that the most important thing is to believe in yourself. Don't sell yourself short. If you want to do a good time in a marathon you can do it. But on the day the challenge will be mental rather than physical. You have to be totally focused on keeping to a regular pace, keeping the shortest line and concentrating on who/what is ahead so that you can avoid jams and keep flowing. When you begin to hurt or slow down, call up all your mental strength and you will soon get through it. Jeez, I sound like Paula Radcliffe!
  • Evening P.
    Welcome back. Good sound advice. I think the most important thing is to enjoy it all. Enjoyment comes from being successful in your own terms, no-one else's, and success comes from doing sufficient training as is appropriate for your success.
    This is all getting a bit navel gazing. I shall go thread wandering , there's some very funny stuff out there. I also run the (im)mature runners thread under 'general' but there's a lot of interlopers so you will need to be broad-minded!
    JJ
    BTW P. Check out that website that was posted on here earlier. It's very interesting.
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    Good to hear from you Pussy. Glad I am not on my own, I found your input very interesting and encouraging. I too find that the programmes in runners' world very useful.

    Boy oh boy 20 miles, I think a runner is more impressed with someone running that distance in a training run than a non runner. The response I usually get from a non runner is, oh I cannot run, I am not a runner I just get our of breath. End of conversation!

    Both you and Johnny must be mentally preparing yourselves for the race from now onwards. Do either of you make use of the pace making groups that there are now available in FLM or have you considered it at all? We over 60's are meant to get more dehydrated than our younger counterparts. Do you find , either of you need to take on a lot of water when you run the longer distances, more than younger runners?. On a training run I presume that you can only take max a ltr of fluid with you. Do you use a sports drink to help with the fluid loss. I sweat a lot more than most people, which I know can keep me cooler but can be a problem getting fluid back in.
  • Morning Ceal. I don't really need to prepare mentally. I enjoy the whole thing and I'm quite relaxed about it.
    On the matter of liquid intake I too sweat alot but I'm not conscious of the need to take on gallons of liquid.

    Training up to 10 miles I drink maybe 1/2 pint of water before leaving and that's it.
    Training over 10 miles I drink about 1/2 pint of 50/50 water sports drink mixed and take a similar quantity with me in a 'D' shaped, hand held water bottle. That saw me through 18 miles quite comfortably.

    Racing's different. Start hydrated with 50/50 sports drink mix but not to the level where it's sloshing about or where I'm going to need to stop for a pee. Up to 10 mile races I don't drink during the run.

    Half marathons I use two water stations if available. Preferably early on and mid-race. I drink maybe half a cup each time; no more.

    Marathons I take very small quantities about every 2 miles. More on this one later.

    A lot of current research is suggesting that large intakes of fluid are not necessary on a daily basis and can even be a bad thing. The idea is that too much liquid is washing out vital minerals and salts. I guess we're back to the old saying 'moderation in all things'. It usually works.
    JJ
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    JJ Thanks for the fluid intake advice.

    How was your run yesterday as guest of your local club? I ran about 15 miles yesterday, just under half of that was into a severe head wind. I was running around our local resevoir. My legs felt so heavy afterward. It was my hardest training run for a while. I chatted to some younger runners afterwards. (In their 30's). They also found it tough and had very tired legs. Sometimes I felt as if I was hardly moving forward! The local Sailing Club were out in force and I was kept entertained by the numerous captsizes, which kept my mind off my body for some fo the time. As usual after a long run, In found it difficult to relax and thus I did not sleep well, however, tonight should see me passing out very easily.

    On Friday, I took action and changed my session from a sprint speed session on the treadmill to running hills. There is advice on the pponline site about this. I ran as follows:-

    10 mins warm up
    3x1 mile runs uphill, gradient 3 with a scant 5 mins slower jog inbetween. I ran the hills at about my half marathon pace.

    3 miles was all I could manage at that speed and gradient. This amounted to just over 5 miles, run in 47 minutes including the warm up. Next week I wil try and add another mile to the session and so on each week. Challenge is to reach 6 mile repeats and then try and reduce the interval rest inbetween. Then to repeat the process with gradient 4. I think that should take me a good few weeks/months to complete. Will keep you posted on this. I may find it makes me too tired.
  • Hi folks......back again. Had a couple of runs whilst down in Norfolk. Steady 5miles on Friday morn and 4miles beach and roads near Yarmouth. As my immediate taste is only for 10k that is why I dont do double figured mileages. What I have found out is I feel better about my training runs by making sure of a few minutes jog warm-up(previously used to fervently run for 3 miles at same pace with no warmup first)and also varying the speeds of the running. So I reckon I will try some interval training for a change!
  • BTW the 4miles run was Sunday evening.
  • cealceal ✭✭✭
    L/imp sounds like sensisble running. Enjoy.

    JJ. the time sounded good for the 18 mile training run, especially as you had something left in the tank. I cannot remember what time you are hoping to achieve on the day, I will keep in touch.
  • Anyone out there in the ether?

    Ceal. Will be v. happy with anything inside 4 hours.

    After 18 on Sunday I rested on Monday, ran 6 on Tuesday, ran 7 this morning with 6 x 250m sprints (relatively) and some longer faster bits. I have been soooooo...tired all day today I could have easily gone for a lie down at work. Bed v. early tonight and no, definitely no, training tomorrow.

    Hope all's well with everyone else.
    JJ
  • JJ and Ceal.....
    You are both the doyen of the 60agers. I wish I could emulate your performances. Still, all the more for having a go! Had a 7 miler today around a 3mile perimeter lake so had to contend with a stiff Northerly headwind at times. Suppose although offputting it does toughen your run after all it could be just as windy on race days.
    Tomorrow no run....just gym work. Then Friday a little 3 miler.
  • LI.
    You run 7, I run 7. Looks like we have a competition going. Anything that makes you work harder at training is a good thing. You can also put a tail wind to good use by doing some sprints with longer strides. This will help your speed and, psychologically, you look and feel like a fast runner so make sure someone's watching. I haven't done gym work in years. Maybe I'm missing something.
    Rest day today. Doing a bit of a taper for Hastings 1/2m on Sunday.
    Keep at it.
    JJ
  • JJ.
    Sprints are something I will have to get into. I now know that just plodding along at same pace trying to go faster that way won't be the answer. Tailwind idea of longer strides sounds ok....conversely recovery pace could be suited to a headwind!
    Good luck on your half at Hastings......maybe you'll get a chess set at the finish.
    LI
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