Over 60's training

40 watchers

Canute 1 Jan 5:39pm, 1 Jan 2025 3,046 posts	0 Canute @NZD Thanks for the link to Alex Hutchinson’s article in Outside. Some athletes perform well on the basis of a high volume of intense training (eg Gordon Pirie, according to his book ‘Running Fast and Injury Free’), while others perform well, and with greater longevity, on the basis of high volume, low intensity training (eg Ed Whitlock, according to his accounts on ‘Lets Run’ and also numerous interviews). I suspect that the preponderance of athletes performing well on the basis of predominantly low intensity training probably reflects a reduced risk of injury or burn-out with low intensity training. Although I have rarely been interested in racing, I have been eager to be fit enough to enjoy fell running. My personal experience matches Alex Hutchinsons observation that for the majority of distance runners ‘easy is better than hard’.
OO61 1 Jan 9:51pm, 1 Jan 2025 671 posts	0 OO61 You're doing great Canute, keep it up. Happy New Year all
NZD 1 Jan 9:54pm, 1 Jan 2025 265 posts	0 NZD Impressive paddling @alehouse. Now well on the road to full recovery 🏃‍➡️. @Torque Steer also another very encouraging effort. And b/km now down below 900 👍. @Canute I trust your knee is still holding out? In regard to the article, one thing I didn't see mention of is age (ever so slightly relevant here!). As so often, gender specific analyses but no apparent account for athlete age (though to be fair, I haven't seen the original article - behind a paywall). Also need to consider that someone running a 5:00 marathon takes twice as long to cover the same distance as 2:30 athlete takes. So inherently, a faster runner can more easily clock up longer training distances. That will inevitably contribute to the observed strong correlation between training volume and marathon performance. Steady, easy 8.4k this morning (6:21, HR 116).
Torque Steer 1 Jan 11:36pm, 1 Jan 2025 204 posts	0 Torque Steer @alehouse impressive body of water :-)!! @NZD very true about time taken on runs and its impact upon life in general. I could manage 2 hours on a Sunday by leaving very early, running up to 20 miles, and getting back in time for the family rising but 4 hours would have been too much! Coming home tonight northern lights clearly visible
Torque Steer 1 Jan 11:37pm, 1 Jan 2025 205 posts	0 Torque Steer pink/purple rather than the green often seen. Makes the tree in the back garden look rather good
NZD 2 Jan 12:15am, 2 Jan 2025 266 posts	0 NZD Nice photo, @Torque Steer
alehouse 2 Jan 12:19pm, 2 Jan 2025 606 posts	0 alehouse Enjoyed the photo, @Torque Steer! May well be clear skies here this evening. A big change in the weather overnight: torrential rain turned to -3 and unable to get in the car, it was so frozen. The river has gone down four or five metres but has left behind a large volume of water in areas where there shouldn't be any! Managed to find a way onto part of the local parkrun course which was fine for my 25 minutes or so plod. Normally is day I would run 71 minutes but wasn't up to it: the last few years have been 70, 69, 68, etc. Must read that article! Wordle in four.
Torque Steer 2 Jan 12:54pm, 2 Jan 2025 206 posts	0 Torque Steer @Canute I never thought much of Ed Whitlock's choice of running route :-)! I enjoyed Pirie's book but it is a classic example of training specific to one individual. One has only to look at the differences in training between two athletes of comparable performance, when fully fit, in Coe and Ovett, to see that one size doesn't fit all - or produce different results. @NZD I have a paper from some years ago in my library of such stuff that explores the consequences of ageing on fitness levels eurapa.biomedcentral.com despite its age it is still relevant One quote in the paper struck me - "more easy running for faster athletes" and that goes back to my old toothpaste analogy - one has to build up from the bottom in order to extract the maximum from the tube - or in this case maximise aerobic efficiency which is the prime determinant of marathon running. One can improve aerobic efficiency (VO2 max in other language) by adding high intensity workouts of limited duration as these improve lactate threshold levels, but as always these bring with them the threat of increased injury. Thanks for tracking my b/km @alehouse the year 2000 must have been a bummer That was a huge volume of water to dispose of - could be good for skating for a few days! I have an app that warns of possible aurora activity but sometimes/often there is nothing to see. @Canute do you get good sightings where you are? A very bright and chill morn here as well - Garmin told me I had been working hard so today was to be rest or light effort only which which I heartily concurred so 2.2 miles in 26 min with HR only 116/130 despite the 30m hill. No doubt tomorrow will be different.... Wordle in five - too many choices
NZD 2 Jan 5:44pm, 2 Jan 2025 267 posts	0 NZD Happy 71st birthday @alehouse. Hope you have had an enjoyable day despite the freezing, wet conditions! Thanks, @Torque Steer. Will read later. Heading out for run shortly.
NZD 2 Jan 5:48pm, 2 Jan 2025 268 posts	0 NZD Oh, forgot to add 🎂🎈 @alehouse! (Hmm, not an exciting selection of emojis to choose from)