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Over 60's training

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Torque Steer 3 Jan 12:13pm, 3 Jan 2025 209 posts	0 Torque Steer @EarlyRiser - all you youngsters flooding in base aerobic conditioning, as the earlier discussions, pays long term dividends, it's squeezing the toothpaste tube time... Went out into a pleasant -4C swopping the darkness for brilliant, low angle sunshine which meant I still couldn't see where I was going! Semi abortive tempo session - supposed to be 3 x 10min at 9:15m/m but again, after the first one, and aided by a bit of downhill, it wasn't going to happen after half of the second. Breathing is fine, HR modest but I can't yet convert the requisite amounts of energy required. This will need a further boost in the meds to assist the thyroid but that's not for another 6 weeks Anyway 3.85 miles overall with HR122/140 Despite the abortive session Garmin edged my maxHR up another couple of beats to 178 based upon very flimsy evidence!! Wordle in four
Canute 3 Jan 1:55pm, 3 Jan 2025 3,049 posts	0 Canute First thing this morning outside surfaces were glistening with ice. Before I set off for my run, the village Facebook page reported an accident on the road that descends at a gentle 1 in 10 gradient through the village. Indignant commenters queried why the council rated this road as a low priority for gritting. I started on the road, walking cautiously, and began to run as soon as I was off road – traversing a rocky path with a transverse slope. Within minutes I was slithering sideways. I arrested the slide on the edge of a vertical drop of a few feet onto a grassy slope below. The only way I could proceed was to clamber on all fours to the upper side of the path and steady myself against the upper embankment. I will go out again soon, in walking boots and a stick, with no intention of running.
Derby Tup 3 Jan 2:10pm, 3 Jan 2025 69,891 posts	0 Derby Tup Take care @Canute
EarlyRiser 3 Jan 3:43pm, 3 Jan 2025 1,557 posts	0 EarlyRiser What is it with ice and runners?! Looking at you @Canute Reckon on adding into training plan an easy pace run, day after long run, to help build weekly mileage up from 20k to 20 miles. Intervals day today. 3x800m on the Feria track. Winter sun. No ice(!) Can't force myself to do four yet. Wimp. Pleased with outcome though, even pace for all. The idea is full recovery between each rep, right? Unlike tempo intervals where you restart tired. This youngster seems to need a lot of recovery! 4 minutes, pretty much matching the intervals. That's ok isn't it?
Torque Steer 3 Jan 5:42pm, 3 Jan 2025 210 posts	0 Torque Steer @Canute hope your second excursion is a bit safer!! That sounded very dodgy indeed. I didn't have any rocky paths but some tarmac corners were interesting!! @EarlyRiser nope Intervals are designed to maximise and improve LT levels and the object is to push the HR up to and beyond that level. After doing one there is not much point in fully recovering as it simply means you use a large portion of the next interval getting back up to the required LT level to get full benefit from the workout. Reduce the recovery time. If the interval is 4 min (?) reduce the recovery to say 2 min Not sure if tempo intervals are a thing - tempo runs are traditionally at LT pace or just below sort of 5K race pace less a bit, so its "comfortably hard" and would last for 15-20 min or so, or longer as one gets fit!
Welshpoppy 3 Jan 5:51pm, 3 Jan 2025 5,362 posts	0 Welshpoppy @Canute I am also giving you a stare. Still not able to run with ice!
alehouse 3 Jan 5:53pm, 3 Jan 2025 611 posts	0 alehouse To a degree I disagree, @Torque Steer ! In the early stages of reps, I would be happy with as long a recovery as needed; further down the line, in 5 or 6 weeks, say, then I would gradually reduce the recovery time, eventually to something like 4 x 4 minutes off 90 seconds. In my old plans it used to take about 16 weeks to get to that! An alternative would be to increase the distance run, depending on future race goals. I am old school: "the interval" traditionally was the amount of rest taken, whilst the running part was "the rep", or "repetition". But I know what you mean, which is the important thing! 2.2k, gently today: being kind to the body, legs particularly.
Torque Steer 3 Jan 6:08pm, 3 Jan 2025 211 posts	0 Torque Steer @alehouse yes - but @EarlyRiser is young The other benefit is that the body gets used to the cadence of faster running, which can be quite different to the steady plod mode, and that leads to greater running efficiency as well. As always the greater the stress the more observant one needs to be for signs of overuse/injury!! How are your lakes - suitably frozen over?
alehouse 3 Jan 6:42pm, 3 Jan 2025 613 posts	0 alehouse Some ice on the surface of the lakes the last two days, @Torque Steer. I again accessed the parkrun course by driving the mile or so there. Perfect surface at present for training: cinders with just a little give! A shame that it could be months before the parkrun start and finish can be safely reached. Yes, the body definitely needs to get to the cadence of faster running; I know I have a considerably different style when plodding to pinning on a number! Allotments a few metres away from parkrun changing at the rugby club, taken from a neighbour's house.
EarlyRiser 3 Jan 9:05pm, 3 Jan 2025 1,558 posts	0 EarlyRiser That's a crazy photo @alehouse Hmm. @Torque Steer. You prompted me to go back my old books! This is from Daniels' Running Formula: On intervals: "the amount of recovery [between reps] should be equal to, or a little less than, the time spent performing the preceding workbout. ... generally the longer the workbouts, the less you need to [be concerned] with recovery time being too brief. ... because the purpose is to stress VO2 max you must spend time running at VO2 max. ... a five minute run does this well because you're spending two to get up to VO2 max, and three at VO2 max... a good return on investment." He goes on to describe short intervals, and for these the need for short recoveries - "to accumulate time at VO2 max". But for longer (in time) intervals, that matters less. So for me, at my current level of conditioning and pace, 800m intervals are long (in time!), c. 4:20. Hence 4 minute recoveries should be ok according to Daniels. On what he calls 'cruise intervals' as an alternative to tempo runs: "short-rest intervals performed at threshold pace... typical duration of [intervals] varies from 3 to 15 mins with 1 minute of recovery time following each 5 mins of run time. ... advantage of brief recoveries is that blood-lactate levels remain fairly constant, and the runner experiences threshold effort throughout the entire training session, which can last a fair bit longer than [could be done] with a steady tempo run at threshold pace.". So here, yes run again before full recovery. It's true though, having to put in practice "book examples" typically set out for a younger (faster) runner needs some rethinking. It's about putting in the right amount of time at the right pace, whatever that pace happens to be. I think?!