If you’ve ran since a young age, it can often be tough to let go. Unfortunately it’s a fact of life, no matter how well you look after yourself, as a clean athlete we lose muscle strength and aerobic capacity. The most important thing to consider as you get older is the importance of recovery, meaning you can’t race at the same level and frequency as earlier in your career.
All that said, just because you won’t be beating your PB’s of your 20’s and 30’s that doesn’t mean you can’t still set yourself goals to help maintain that competitive instinct and keep motivation levels high. Competing in the veteran age groups is also a brilliant way to maintain competitive!
My advice would be to adjust your expectations, pick realistic goals and be proud of the fact you’re still an active runner enjoying this amazing sport!
Recovery then is vital. You probably already realise that you can’t bounce back as quickly as you maybe once did and it can take several days to recover post race/hard session. Listen to your body. Don’t force runs if you’re still feeling tired or sore. Often running every other day in your 50’s is an excellent way to help manage your body. During the rest days from running consider cross training such as swimming or cycling, which are both a fantastic form of non impact training and will help improve strength in areas you might be weak.
Strength training will also play an important part as you pass the magic 50 barrier. Although vital for runners of all ages, it becomes even more significant for older runners. As we age, we lose muscle mass but regular strength training can help avoid this. Maintaining muscle strength will also ensure that your muscles absorb the load better when running, which reduces the stress on your bones and joints. Keep things nice and simple with squats, planks, press ups and lunges, which can make all the difference when it comes to injury prevention.
Alongside strength training I’d also recommend taking time to improve your flexibility and balance. I’d also highly recommend yoga or a similar class to maintain muscle elasticity. As you age you can maintain and even improve your flexibility if you work on it. Balance also becomes important as you age to help prevent falls. A really simple easy exercise to do to improve this is practice brushing your teeth on one leg each morning and evening!
All runners should take a proactive approach to injury prevention rather than a reactive approach. Don’t ignore the warning signs of an injury. As you age you will need to up your game when it comes to foam rolling and having regular massages. Rest days as previously mentioned above and listening to your body are also great ways of reducing the risk of injury. Likewise, if you are unfortunate to pick up an injury it can take longer to recover than earlier in your career. Don’t rush back too quickly as this may result in longer on the sidelines. Take a break and consider cross training instead.
As always if you’re returning from a break or a new runner it’s important to get the once over from your Dr before taking part in any serious exercise.