Sorry if it's been posted previously. Should be interesting to Masters runners -
Maniac 505
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
two out of thee ain't bad, especially when I usually get zip in running articles.
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"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
I liked it.
Some of it seems like common sense: “"If you can't let up on the competitive part of it, if you have to go as fast at 50 as you did at 20, you will grind yourself into the ground and become stressed out, bitter and unhealthy,"
Some of it seems painfully obvious (pun intended): “A study published last year in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine reinforced other recent research showing that intensity tends to diminish the view of physical activity as pleasant.” Duh!
Some I’d like to learn more about: “Older athletes struggling against declining performance are prone to excess training, which can hurt the immune system and raise levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. A number of medical experts, including Kenneth Cooper, the physician long ago credited with founding the aerobics movement, now believe that extreme exercise can increase the body's vulnerability to disease like cancer.”
Thanks for posting.
Be safe. Be kind.
I'm not buying it. The article almost pits one extreme (trying to be as fast at 50 as you were at 20) against the other (not competing at all). Well, isn't there a middle ground? Everyone can and should set challenging but reasonable and attainable goals, as long as they modify those goals as their capabilities change. Everyone can and should learn and adjust to what their body is capable of now, and not stick to the workout schedule that they had 15 years ago. And anyone can still be competitive, as long as they understand that it will likely be under different terms than it was years ago. That is why age groups, especially the older age groups, become so important; they allow us all to be reasonably competitive at any age, or at least to see how we fare against our peers.
I also think we can still have some intensity in our workouts, and that doing so upon occasion is a good thing. I look forward to challenging workouts, and take the fatigue that follows as a sign that I worked hard and accomplished something in those workouts. But I also realize that a hard workout today is different from the intense workouts I had years ago.
So, just by applying a little common sense instead of being bull-headed (I'm not stubborn!!) should enable us all to continue to challenge ourselves and be competitive for as long as the desire lives, and the body allows.
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
I think Jay put it very well.
I also wonder where I fit into this scenerio of "older" runners, namely those over 50, rethinking comparisons with their "younger" years. I started running in my mid 50s, participated in my first race at age 56, and am now 65.
TomS
I think Jay put it very well. I also wonder where I fit into this scenerio of "older" runners, namely those over 50, rethinking comparisons with their "younger" years. I started running in my mid 50s, participated in my first race at age 56, and am now 65. TomS
I was thinking along the same lines, Tom. I never ran at all (other than HS baseball punishment laps) unitl I was in my mid 30's. So now I'm 48 and running better than ever - has my body taken the same abuse that someone who started in their 20's and is now in their 30's has? I don't think this elite athlete's situation applies generally to older runners and athletes.