50 and over 5k and beyond

1

still running at 61 (Read 26 times)

Altair5


Runs in the rain

    Hello! I am a 61 year old male runner. I started running in 1993 for health reasons and completed my first half marathon that year. Since then I have completed 4 full marathons, the last being in 2004. My best time for a marathon was 4:10:44 in the 1998 Long Island Marathon. My best time for the half was 1:44:36 in the 1995 Long Island Half Marathon.  The south shore of Long Island is very flat without hills. I did a lot of running on the Long Beach boardwalk which had other people around for company and a nice view of the ocean. In 2003 I moved to upstate New York. Running here is very different: there are many hills, some of which are too steep for me to run up without stopping for a rest. Also, once I get out of the village I am out in the country with nobody around but horses and cows. I do enjoy the nice views of the valley. I began a new job in 2005 and due to the irregular work hours I stopped running on a regular basis. My heath suffered with my weight and cholesterol going up.  Whenever I tried to resume running injuries would stop me .I had pain in a knee and it hurt to put weight on it and stopped running for a long time.. In summer of 2010 I started to work up to long millage and strained the Achilles tendon of my ankle attempting to do a 12 mile run.  In April of 2011 my tendon was still sore, but I decided to try running again. I started with slow 1 mile runs and I was really out of shape and breathing heavy just from those. I figured out that my injuries were likely caused by pushing myself to do longer runs and this time I was going to take the time to gradually build up my millage. My tendon pain disappeared after 2 months of running short distance on a regular basis! I found Running AHEAD and the map making tool was invaluable in creating new courses and getting the distance and elevation information. In September of 2011 I did a 5K in 0:27:41, an 8:55 pace.  I increased the distance of my long run by only a quarter mile each week. I was up to an over 15 mile run by March of 2012. Currently my long run is 10 miles and I am working to increase that. I want to do a half marathon in September and my goal is to do another full marathon sometime, if not this year, then in 2014. I thought joining this group will be helpful for me to share experiences of being older runners.  – Altair5

    Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?
    Get up, get out, get out of the door!

    Chantilly75


      Sounds like you're coming along nicely.

      Gradually increasing distance is the way to go when we get older.

      Good luck on your training!

      "dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,

      you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"

      Sonata Arctica

       

       

       

       

       


      justrundan

        Altair5- ramping up slowly is certainly the way to go!  I just started 2 years ago, and have been able to avoid significant injury (so far) by doing just that. I also use the run/walk method for longer runs and races over 10K.

         

        The forum "Hi!" is a group of >50 y/o runners that are a great support for each other.  Come on over and join us!

        Dan

         

         

         

         

        NH Runner


          Hey Altair5, welcome aboard!

           

          You've got a solid base going and shouldn't have any trouble running a half marathon this year.   It's all about staying healthy and you're an experienced runner so you should be fine.

           

          I'm in your age group as well and love to race.  I ran a marathon last year, but am going to stick with half marathons or less this year and give myself a break.  Goals are fun and mine are to run a PR in both the 5K and the half marathon.  We'll see how that pans out...lol

           

          Anyway, feel free to jump in on the "workout for week ending" thread as well, the more the merrier...

          Altair5


          Runs in the rain

            Hi NH Runner, Chantilly75 and justrundan! I do not expect, baring injury, to have any problems completing a half marathon in September. I did a long run of 10.4 miles last week which included a long upward slope of about 6 miles at the end (see my map "ROOTS" for details). I think most HMs would be easier than that and even if I had to run a HM tommorow I would expect the additional 2.7 miles would not be a problem as far as being able to finish. A full marathon by the end of September is more questionable. If I average an additional quarter mile to my long run each week then that would be up to almost 18 miles by then, about 8 miles short of 26.2. The marathon distance would perhaps be doable, but certainly tough without adequate training. If I were to increase by a half  mile or more each week I would have several 20-plus runs and then should be able to do the full marathon with no problems. My concern is the risk of injury if I try to push myself too fast to go the long distances. As the summer goes along I will have to make the judgement as to my training pace and what I feel ready for. If I have the time and ambition to keep up with doing five short runs plus a long run during the week and if I try to increase the distance and/or pace of each of those runs I think I would be able to do longer long runs. However, I am not in a hurry and if I have to wait until 2014 to do a full marathon, well at least by then I should have had plenty of time to train for it.

             

            I will join the threads for the group "Hi" and the "workout for week ending" and will see you all there!

             

            -Altair5

            Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?
            Get up, get out, get out of the door!