len lost the speed after 25 years. but more to the point len didn't recognize and understand his new body after 25 years. len is cruisin' for a bruisin' unless he adapts his training, his outlook, his habits to his body.
len needs to engage in training judo. rather than forcing his body to train and respond the way it did at age-20 or 25, he needs to use the strengths of his body to his advantage. and not just body, but his mind and perhaps even his financial resources.
1. len can't or shouldn't train with the pedal to the floor. len may well end up with heart arrythmias by the time gets into his early 50s if he does. which isn't horrible, just, he'll either adapt his training then, to inoculate himself against these problems, or he can adapt his training now and perhaps not ever experience these problems. fortunately, len's strength is his body's ability to train more regularly, and to adapt to low- and moderate-intensity exercise. len should use this to his advantage. more training, more sessions, and even bricks, not for the sake of bricks, but because a 4-mile run after a bike or swim means an older-body-warmed-up, and it's not just 4 miles, it's akin to the last 4 miles of an 8- or 12-mile run (because of the work done before the run commenced).
2. maybe len has a little more time now. maybe his kids don't need to be babysat. maybe he has a little more freedom in his schedule. this gives len the opportunity to train that he didn't have when he was younger. maybe there's a little bit more serenity, a little less stress. maybe len can use this to his advantage. but he needs to understand the advantage. because he isn't catting around any more he can get the sleep he needs. he's able to make adult decisions about habits like how much he drinks, what he eats.
3. with age comes a level of discipline. len can make decisions about diet, about time apportionment, about whether he's going to spend his time occupied by unprofitable endeavors. len gets along with people better now. he makes and keeps friends better now. he's more comfortable being a joiner. he can find groups of people to train with who'll keep him honest (that is, who'll help him stick to his training regime), with whom he can run or swim or ride regularly. he can form or join his own training enclaves.
4. len is old enough to tell himself the truth. it's a matter of consistency and volume. len has the capacity to see how many training sessions he averages per week (maybe it's 4, maybe it's 12). he can see the difference between what he does and what he needs to do. he can make informed and sober decisions about what to do in order to move from 4 sessions to 8. he has the capacity, the time, the discipline and the freedom to do so, and the wherewithal to change his behavior.
5. len will understand that the fitness that used to take him 4 months to generate now takes him 8 months.
and when he uses his natural advantages and looks back at what his behavioral changes have wrought, he can see how he's now running sub-40min for 10k.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
Last edited by:
Slowman: Feb 18, 17 7:39