Decent thread…as there are a lot of very talented old farts in our sport…
I would say Bryan has the best plan…Stay constistent and realistic with both your goals and your time commitments…I’ve managed to poke my nose at the front of at least a few races every year for almost 30 years…some years were banner…maybe a dozen or more wins…some not so much, maybe just one or two…I have had one or two injuries (IT band issues in college…and a torn meniscus from a mountain bike crash a few years ago)…but I’ve been pretty damn durable other than that.
Consistency is the key…You will slow down as you age…but, you can minimize downtime by staying consistent and listening to your body…bailing on the last 800 during a track workout when you feel the slight calf twinge…or bagging the last set of 50s when that shoulder feels worked…is far better than losing 2-3 weeks to a real injury.
I don’t stretch much…I don’t do yoga…I don’t rub special stuff on my legs…I don’t eat some special diet…I don’t take a multi-vitamin.
There’s no secret…just be consistent, listen to your body and do the work.
46 years old, 23 years of triathlon. and Chrones disease
i no longer do long distance, i went from 25 hours a week training to 10 hours, i don’t wear a heart rate monitor, i don’t have a power meter, i just go with the flow.
i don’t follow the young guns, i don’t follow a training program
i go “racing” with no expectation but finish, and usually surprise myself
Dev, you are still a baby. :o) Just wait to see how you do when you get into your 50’s. It sure seems to get harder, and slower, each year. So few in the older Age groups. Most I know had to dropout because they could not run anymore. So, when I hear all these young folks talk about having many miles a week they run, well, over time, it will get most of them.
I’m 54. I can’t do tris because I can’t run after having been run down by a teenage driver talking on a cell phone a few years ago. I race tri relays and time trials. My best races of my life were when I was 50/51 years old. In '08 at age 52 I did 4:31 for the bike leg of a relay at Beach 2 Battleship (set the pace for Do-Pinman). But last Spring I got stupid and tried to take part in a field sprint at our local Tuesday Night World Championship. There was a touch of wheels and a huge pile-up. I had a couple of cracked ribs and a punctured lung. I think I had a lot of other little un-diagnosed issues … back strain type stuff. Just after I came back from the rib/lung thing, I jumped out of the saddle to chase a break at the same TNWC and herniated a disc in my back. I’ve lived with pretty much constant pain ever since. Sciatica, periformis, Raynauds, thoracic outlet … tough to pin down all the right diagnoses, but I train and race through these symptoms and the pain on an ongoing basis. I’ve thought about stopping, but even backing off much makes things feel worse. Besides, it’s too much fun. I just try to get more recovery between efforts and I stretch more and have found a really good massage therapist who helps me a lot.
I’ve resumed some resistance training. Hadn’t done it in several years. I do core exercises and brisk walking daily, but now I do some weight training a couple times a week … more in the off-season, less in the race season. I agree that, as we age, it’s important – especially if all you do is cycling, which is non-weight bearing.
swam competitively 1968-71, been running competitively (at least in my own mind) since 1975, tri since 1986.
This year is the year of turning 50 and being grateful for every run/bike/swim that I can do.
For running injuries: have 3-4 pairs of shoes in rotation; the yoga/pilates/resistance training I find helpful but boring; don’t ignore any pain; ice is your friend, keep it close; run less, bike more. However every injury has its own etiology and has to be managed appropriately. In fact I’m less injured now than I used to be, since I know what all the pains mean and what needs to be done to placate them. Achilles pain = eccentric calf raises, knee pain = leg extensions, glute/hamstring pain = lower back and core strengthening plus piriformis point massage, ITB = replace shoes since the old ones are allowing underpronation/supination, back pain = swim more, and so on and on and on.
Swim and bike have not yet been major problems. One shoulder impingement, dealt with by some specific shoulder strengthening exercises; one piriformis issue from the stock Cervelo saddle, still being managed as above.
So, swim and bike as much as you like until the bike crash which is a whole new set of injuries. Traumatic injuries are a lot harder to deal with than overuse injuries. Those are the real career-enders. So, I do a lot of trainer biking, will never do a bike race, and stay off the roads as far as possible. A mutt on the MUT (multi-use trail) can take you down just as effectively as a car, but I figure the chances of avoiding serious injury are better.
The “run more” approach has worked for me at age 51. As a triathlete, I ran 3-4x per week. As a retired triathlete, I run 4-5x week, although 1 or 2 of those might be 40-45 minutes (the rest longer). With little or no time on the bike, my overall training volume is lower. Running that often feels like it puts less stress on my legs. Each run seems easier than when I was younger, but times for the few races I do are comparable to those I posted when I was 10 years younger.
I’m 51, have been running for 25 years, swam in high school and college, raced a road bike for a few years before shattering my collar bone in a sprint finish, and took up tri about five years ago. I have yet to get injured training for a tri but before tris I would get injured when training for marathons. I am competitive in my age group and outside of my age group, but then I don’t usually do big races.
I do not stretch. I don’t workout with weights (but do run and ride lots of hills). I don’t use ice or take ice baths (ice is cold, I don’t like cold). I love long runs and consequently schedule them weekly. I don’t schedule rest days but do schedule active recovery days. (I may not schedule rest days, but will occasionally take them if I feel it is necessary.) I don’t take NSAIDs. I no longer race marathons. I schedule my long runs mid-week and my long ride on weekends.
I agree with all those who say consistency is the key. Ramp up slowly and minimize downtime. Try to keep your weight under control.
Also let your experience guide you. The advantage of being experienced is that we should have learned from that experience. I’m pretty good at knowing what pains are inconsequential and which ones are looming injuries.
Dave…agreed about it getting much tougher in your 50’s. That’s why I don’t run long, I don’t run on trashed legs, I try to run when possible on short surfaces, I try to run frequently and “shorter”. I started doing that just before I turned 40, and the outcome has been that my tri performances have no suffered 5 years later. My 10K and half marathon times are just as fast or faster now than they were 5 years ago, because on the balance, on a day in day out basis, my legs are just less trashed from a more viable running program.
What’s interesting is that I can go to the track and do a set like 12x400+1x1600 (all at 10K pace with 100 m easy recovery) and be less trashed after this 1 hour session (with warmup and cooldown) than if I just run “slow” for 2 hours. I find that when you run fast, you use much better technique and use the natural elasticity in the tendons better (you have to if you want to run fast) than when running slow and thumping around. Of course, this might not apply when I am in my 50’s, but it is working really well for now.
I can’t stress enough the “don’t gain weight part”. If you don’t believe the pounding 5-10 lbs adds to your joints, put on a weight vest and head out. It’s absolutely huge. It also helps to be ~140 lbs short guy too. The actual forces on the body on a day in day out basis work in my favour over a bigger guy, and over time, I hope this is my ace in the hole.
Being able to toe the line. That’s what this sport and this post is all about.
Good stuff here. Am now 50. My strategy:
Nutritional plan
three times a week core and strength work. Circuit. About 12 minutes a session. Stretching, pushups, pullups, cord pulls, dumbbell bent over rows, one-legged calf raises.
Swim often
Cycle at high cadence, whether TT’ing or at recovery pace. My target is 100, whether at 12 mph or at 30.
Run at a 90 cadence, whether at 6:15 or 12:00 pace (try 12:00 pace at 90!). Cycling or running, the cadences are the same but only the HR will vary. Recovery under 110, going hard over 160.
All but two workouts are easy. The two workouts that are at max effort are one bike and one run, per week. Swimming doesn’t count here. Swim hard three times per week. Others easy drilling.
Yep, there are always the few exceptions. But, you cannot miss the facts. The number of folks in the Age groups starting at 50 and above really drops off big time. And the main reason is folks cannot run anymore. For the few that can, they kick butt!!
48 year old. Last year I ruined my tri season with a pelvic injury as a result of racing with a few 20-somethings at Memphis in May, passing each one of them on the course and talking smack as I did. It’s a TT start based on age - they started in the first 20 spots, or so, I started around 600. I paid a huge price for my bravado (aka ego).
Since then…Bikrim Yoga has been the ticket to recovery and no further injuries.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned how improtant it is to stay in shape. When you get into your 50s it takes 3x more effort/time to get back into shape than it does while in your 30s. Restarting a training program after a long layoff is an opportune time for injuries.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned how improtant it is to stay in shape. When you get into your 50s it takes 3x more effort/time to get back into shape than it does while in your 30s. Restarting a training program after a long layoff is an opportune time for injuries.
ABSOLUTELY!!! I guess that’s what I meant by consistency. After getting hit by a car and having to take a couple of years off, the road back has been very long, painful and trying. Any of you thinking that you’re getting old, keep going. Some of the nicest, most interesting people I ever talked to in the sport at Kona were the 75+ guys, particularly Norton Davy, a wonderful man who stated that sports, and specifically triathlon were “the Fountain of Youth”.
I have a training buddy that just turned 50 and completed his 10th Ironman last year. We’ve talked quite a bit about his change in training since he was younger, and he credits his relative injury free seasons to yoga and lower intensity workouts. He puts in the miles, but isn’t so bent on going as hard as he once did, and just pays close attention to how he feels on a given day.
You cannot be on the start line if you are injured and as we age up, there are less and less guys on the start line. The key is to be at the start line!
I completely took out long runs out of my training a few years ago for long term “joint preservation reasons”. I have now done three Ironmans off a long run of exactly 13 miles. I did IMLP 2008 in 10:37 and IMC 2008 in 10:29. I broke my ankle in a ski accident last Feb, and was able to start running again 3.5 months before IMLP, got back up to a long run of 13 miles. My finish time was 10:29. Although the run was nothing to write home about (3:51), the overall time was in line with what I expected.
If I did a ton of long runs, I might be 10 minutes faster…or maybe not. Bottom line is I like how my body feels running less distance in my long runs and feeling fresh to really push the swim and bike workouts, as well as mid week track/tempo/threshold running. I really think that if you legs are fresh, you can actually do the fast runs with much less risk of injury. With my run base, I can go from a long run of 13 miles to a 26 mile IM run one day per year. Sure, I take a beating on that one day, but better to take a beating 1 day per year and spend a week recovering then taking a beating with long runs 40+ weeks per year. I think it is the week in week out beating that really wears you down and makes you more susceptible to injury by mid week. Take out that long run, and suddenly the quality of all three sports improves…sure, I might not be as fast at Ironman, but I like how fast I can do 10K’s, half marathons, Olympic tri and half marathons. I did my last marathon 5 years ago. I don’t think you can “compete” at marathon off short runs only. IM’s you can kind of compete at them just because the run pace is a lot slower and the IM run is so dependent on swim+bike fitness and execution. A pure marathon, you have to “do the work”.
I guess I like to compete at every distance from sprint tri and 10K run races to IM. I’d rather do one IM a year off shorter course focused training than try to do 12 medium to short course races being beat up from IM focus training…but that’s just me.
I turn 52 in a couple of weeks (yikes!) Started Tri’s in 2002 at 43, so far so good no big injuries other than a 16 year old and a car took 4 months to come back from that but I was 44 when that happened. Have to agree with most everything guy’s have said here. I’m currently training for IM #9 France in June, just slightly faster than middle of the pack in my age group and I’m perfectly ok with that. I figure that the vast majority of my peer group has not been off the couch since somewhere around 1986 so staying in shape and injury free is mostly what I’m in it for. I have found I have to cut back on the long running in fact I now split my long run into a morning run of around 5-6 miles and an evening run of 8 or so mid week. I did that because of some work issues a few years ago but have found it easier on my body and have done my IM marathon P.R. doing it this way. I love the lifestyle and the way it makes me look and feel. A year ago I was in a bar after Hall and Oates had played in a near by concert venue. A couple of late twenty girls asked me if I had been at the concert, I told them I did that back in the 80’s and felt no need to repeat it. They laughed and asked me how old I was, when I replied 50 one said no way then said “holy shit I would not have been freaked out if you had been hitting on me” I laughed so hard I almost spit Bass Ale out my nose!
Totally awesome (the Hall and Oats post concert story). I’ll hopefully see you in Nice for IM France! Last year, I got ID’d at the liquor store buying some wine. At the time I thought it was cool, then she looks at the ID card and says, “Oh my God, you’re as old as my dad!!!”…so the moment of youthfulness quickly evaporated in smoke!!!
I found that moderation in all 3 disciplines is a must if you want to stay healthy and injury free as you age. I train for nothing longer than Oly’s, and even that training is within a strict confine. The thing is, tri’s are an enjoyable past time for me, not the center of my universe.
I love to surf more than anything, it trumps all other activities in my life, and has for many years. By staying healthy and injury free, I am hoping to surf well into my 60’s. I’m 47 right now and still ride a 6’1" shortboard, as opposed to my friends that had to start riding longboards due to being fat and out of shape.
until the bike crash which is a whole new set of injuries. Traumatic injuries are a lot harder to deal with than overuse injuries. Those are the real career-enders. So, I do a lot of trainer biking, will never do a bike race, and stay off the roads as far as possible. A mutt on the MUT (multi-use trail) can take you down just as effectively as a car, but I figure the chances of avoiding serious injury are better.