LOLZLetter 139.5 | Running as You Age Series
The Longest Newsletter YET: Featuring those in their 60s
Welcome Back for another midweek newsletter,
This week I'm interviewing a few more people in their 60s. There was by far the most amount of volunteers to talk about their relationship with running during ages 60-69. I love it! This is probably the longest newsletter yet but there was too much valuable information and stories to cut anything.
If you enjoy this series, I appreciate you sharing and getting the word out!
Susan Age 62:
Susan began running in the 1970s when her gym teacher, who had just read Ken Cooper's book, "Aerobics," said,
"the point wasn't to go as hard as you can; the point was to do something for the rest of your life".
In gym class, they ran their own pace around the track, and Susan just kept going.
She ran her first race, the Boston Milk Run 10K, in 1982, at age 22, in the height of the running boom. She started graduate school in public health and met women who ran marathons. They formed sort of a "running study group" and inspired her to run her first marathon Cape Cod, in 1984.
Since 1982, Susan has run at least one race a year except for 1996, when her son was born. She usually does 8-12 races from 5K to marathon annually, including just recently Berlin.
What has changed since beginning running?
Both my body and running have changed over the past 40 years. It now takes me a good two miles to warm up in a run, and no way can I wake up and run out the door. I need more recovery between runs. I used to run six days a week; now, five, with one speed-focused session and a long run with pace work.
Also, as a post-menopausal woman who has had three children, I need to make more frequent bathroom stops. Here's a tip, ladies: Speax undies.
I understand my older male running buddies also need more frequent pit stops.
I've always done some cross-training, but now I do heavier weight work at the gym twice a week. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis this year, and my doctor encouraged that in addition to running. Now I do mobility routines, and I try to do yoga class at least every few weeks. And before each run, I do a lunge matrix.
Probably the most different thing about running now versus back in the day is I have a coach. In the '80s and '90s, we got our training plans and advice from Runners World. Now, everyone seems to have a coach, whether virtual or in-person.
And can we talk about "nutrition"?
During my first 15 marathons (1984-2000), including my lifetime PR in Boston 1991 of 3:24:49, I wouldn't have dreamed of eating during a race. Gatorade, only sipped in the last 10K, was the primary source of calories. Now I still tinker with gels and drinks and chews and all that, trying to find the perfect combo that will keep my energy up without upsetting my stomach.
I know my lifetime PRs are a good 30 years behind me, but I still enjoy pushing myself for "five-year PRs" and improving my age-graded performance.
According to the WMA road age-grading calculator, I'm performing better now than my age peers than I was at my absolute prime at 31. Overall, my best times had declined by about 10-12% since my early 30s, especially with the short/fast races like the 5K.
I've run several hundred races over the years and have gained wisdom about how to race strategically and not to get too upset about poor performance.
I'll live to run another day. Speaking of injuries, although I did have a metatarsal fracture two years ago, I seem to have fewer of the tendonitis-type injuries I used to get routinely.
By this age, why I run has become clear to me: for fitness, performance, and social community. I think it's the last - being part of the tribe of runners - that has had the most meaningful impact on lifelong running.
Ray Sharp in Wenatchee, Wa age 61
You can find Ray on Instagram and Twitter.
Ray began running in 1972 and was inspired by Frank Shorter's win in the Olympic Marathon in Munich. He competed in high school cross country and track for four years. He was not fast enough for division 1, so he found he was a natural at race walking.
He made the USA Junior team and competed in race walking. In his 20s, he won national titles, set American records, and competed many times against the best in the world. He never reached his life goal, making an Olympic team. By age 29, he had chronic fatigue and could not string together many good days of training.
It wasn't until his 40s-50s that he began consistently training again and made a few more USA Teams in the 50k Race Walking. At age 58, he won 2 gold medals and one silver medal at the World Masters Athletics in Malaga, Spain.
Since then (yes, since age 58), he has run ten marathons under 3:07, including two times sub-3 hours. He also finished 5th in his first 100-mile trail race in February 2020. In June 2021, he ran a lifetime PR of 2:57:52 at the Tunnel Vision Marathon in North Bend, Washington.
Next up for Ray is running the Boston Marathon and the California Ironman, plus CIM in Sacramento in December.
Has anything changed as you've gotten older?
My running has gone through so many changes in the last 49 years! Injuries, illness, weight gain, weight loss, years of intense training, and years when I did next to nothing.
I'm sure I was overtraining in my 20s when I was hyper-focused on making Olympic teams and trying to keep up with the best athletes from other countries, many of whom were likely doping in one way or another. I moved to a higher altitude to try to eke out that last percent that would get me to the top, but the hard training finally broke me.
Now, I'm generally more sensible with my training, taking many more easy days than hard ones. My goal marathon pace is under 7 minutes per mile, 6:50 in ideal conditions, but most of my running is at 8, 9, or 10 minutes per mile.
I am trying to train smarter, not harder, and am often pleasantly surprised in races when I can maintain a faster pace than I run in training.
Has what do you do before a run changed?
Now that I am retired, I have the luxury of eating a good breakfast with protein and then running around midday to benefit from heat training. I will do some very light stretching. I run by feel more than the watch and like to push the pace in the last few miles of long runs.
What do you do differently since when you started?
After almost 50 years, I finally have enough confidence not to race the clock on training days constantly but to use easy aerobic runs to build a broader base of fitness, so I can feel fresh and fast, not tired and burned out for races!
I think the most important things I do differently now, aside from going slower on most training days, are wearing very cushioned shoes (Hoka Bondi and Clifton for training, Nike Next Percent in races) and cycling for cross-training and recovery.
What keeps you motivated to run?
I am still motivated by the same kinds of goals -- time and place in upcoming races --, but I have learned that it's counter-productive for me to put too much pressure on myself to achieve them. When I am genuinely enjoying a workout or race, focused on the moment and not the end goal, that's when the magic happens when I feel like I'm "flowing." As for upcoming goals, I hope to finish in the top three for the M60-64 age group at CIM in December (I was 4th in 2019) and run well at the Grandmaster Ultras 100 Mile in February.
What are POSITIVE things you've noticed since growing older with the sport?
Running and racing are all positive for me now. It's an ongoing adventure and a way to meet people. I'm excited to continue this long journey, to keep striving, to see where it leads me.
Matthew F Age 63:
Matthew has run for over 50 years and has also suffered from a heart attack.
How has running changed for you over the last 50 years?
In many ways, running has been the same, but in other ways, it has changed. Running has always been flexible. It is not dependent on a gym or specific location. It is not time of day restricted, and it does not require other people or a team.
Running also provides the opportunity to go on a tour every run. It's amazing how many parks, restaurants, interesting shops, and sites are found on a run. Of course, the farther the run, the more places to see.
The most significant changes are in technology:
Fewer injuries caused by poorly constructed shoes.
Chip timing has reduced starting line position anxieties and eliminated concerns over exact time results.
GPS watches have made training, measurement, tracking, and analysis much easier.
Better orthotics. 20+ years ago, I got a set of custom orthotic inserts that cured a long-standing Achilles tendonitis issue.
More races(pre-pandemic…and they will come back). The races are of different lengths and have become more inclusive of walkers and people with disabilities.
There are more post-race beer tents, and the snack selections have improved.
I have also changed over the years. Running was a fun activity when I was younger. It is still fun, but now it has become a health component.
Prior to a heart attack, I viewed running to avoid concern over calories and weight. When I was running, weight control was not an issue. I also viewed it as a way of not getting a heart attack and avoiding the "family tradition" of coronary artery disease.
I have realized that running didn't prevent the heart attack, but it did prevent death! In more recent months, I have noticed that I don't run as fast as I did in the past…but that does come with age.
Harold Age 64:
Harold began running cross country in 1971 as a freshman in Newport, Maine. At just under 5 feet and 90 pounds, the soccer coaches cut him from the soccer team to protect him from getting injured. He found out quickly that he fit in better with the Cross Country team — a band of misfits, than the cool kids on the soccer team.
What have you noticed changed as you've gotten older?
I am much slower. Effort levels that used to be 7 min pace are now 9:30 or slower. The biggest thing is recovering from injuries takes a lot longer.
When did you first start noticing the changes?
Changes started to set in in my early 50's, but I have noticed a considerable decline over the past couple of years.
Has what do you do before a run changed?
Before, I would just run, get up to pace within the first couple of strides, and go. Now, if I do a workout, I take the time to do a ballistic warm-up with some bodyweight squats and balance work.
I still am not good at pre-workout warm-ups, but I take the first 5-10 minutes to run easy instead of jumping up to pace.
Yes, I still enjoy running faster and doing speed work once or twice a week, but I need more recovery time between intervals, and the top-end speed isn't the same.
What do you do differently since when you started?
The biggest difference for me now is I love to run.
Whereas before, I ran more to keep my weight in check or blow off the pressures of work. When I was younger, I didn't train — I just ran. Now, I also toy around with different shoes more!
Usually, the newfangled things are good for minor gains, but I tend to keep coming back to the basics. Run a lot, some of it fast, most of it slow, take a day off when you need it, eat decently, sleep well and if you are going to race, practice running at the pace you want to achieve or a little faster, more than you want to.
What keeps you motivated to run?
I love running because I still can. Learning to be a better runner is a lifelong activity. Being a better runner does not always mean that you will be a faster runner. It means that you respect the sport more, know the history, that running is evolving and changing from where it was or even ten years ago.
The one thing that has been a constant throughout my life is running. As long as I can, I will be a runner because it is a part of who I am, not simply something I do.
Has the race distance you like to do changed?
I like the shorter, faster races, and while my times have slowed considerably, I still prefer them. The 5K is the one I prefer.
I have never been a big racer and have had significant difficulty with pre-race anxiety issues. I let my and others' expectations of what I "might" be able to do, overtake the reality of what I could do based on the training I had done or more likely hadn't done.
After COVID-19 becomes a nuisance, not a pandemic, I plan to start racing more. I enjoy the camaraderie of being around other runners, and the pandemic has shown me how much I missed it when I couldn't race, even when I wanted to.
What are POSITIVE things you've noticed since growing older with the sport?
The running shoes are light years ahead of where they were. We are in a period of running shoe Nirvana right now. I love them, but still am searching for that shoe that "just" works for me.
Technology like GPS watches and Stryd Power pod are improving how we train and data on how I am running in certain situations.
But technology is a double-edged sword and does take away from the "just run" for the love of running at times when we get too absorbed into the data points and graphs.
Running is not about creating data points, and sometimes I forget that and become over-reliant on technology. Then I cut back on the tech for a while, until the next piece of must-have tech comes into the house :-)
Running is all about what you make it to be. I have learned over the years that you have to do the work if you want to be a better runner. It doesn't matter what age you are, you can be a better runner, but it does not mean you will be a faster one.
Aging does take away your speed, but not the love of running.
Thank you, Harold, for your time! You can find Harold on his blog. He has A LOT of great information!
Thank you to all of my newsletter guests today, Susan, Ray, Matthew and Harold.
More of the running as you age series:
30s: Katie, Vanessa, and Jessica
40s: Melissa and Matthew
40s (Part 2): Laura and Jonathan
50s: Andrew and Frank
50s (Part 2): Tom and Jen
What is Keeping Me Entertained?
Crawlin Crab Half Marathon 1:32.32
After a Spring of Injury and Illness, Keira D'Amato Returns to the Roads This Fall
Episode #95: Kate Grace, US Champion and Olympian in the 800m
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