My guess is the only people doing that are folks that did their first IM after 50 (obviously a PB) or did their first at close to 50 and the next not long after turning 50.

There's just no way anyone is churning out a faster time at 50+ than they did in their 20s, 30s, or young 40s. Barring some kind of disaster at the race when they were younger or being a walking/talking pharmacological experiment.

I'll be 54 next month. Zero chance I'm setting a PB at this age. ZERO.

Father Time is and will always be undefeated.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'll let you know after IMTX on April 27th!
However, this will only be my 3rd 140.6 with the 1st age 40 (12hr 54min) the second age 45 (11hr 56min) and this third will be at age 50.
I prefer the shorter distances but do race 70.3 every year. I do the full distance when I age up more as a personal challenge than as a race, but I am trying to improve my time.
The past couple of years my training has been all about consistency, with most days having 3 sessions, swim in the morning, run at lunch, bike in the evening, although when work and life means I miss a session I don't sweat it. My training now as compared to when I was 40 is much better/consistent and greater volume but I know father time is coming for my legs at some point, so I'm just trying to stave him off for as long as I can.

Peak human endurance performance would be around age 30-40. Dan Plews has recently done his targeted IM PB under 8h, at age 41. Whether you classify him as almost PRO or best AG - it doesn't matter. But he was clear in his post-race interviews, that it was his last chance in life to break 8h.

Could somebody make a PB after 50? Sure. This is:

• when starting with triathlon at e.g. age 48 or
• when done his first IM distance after 50 or
• when training below 10h/week for the last 10 years and suddenly gave up work and dedicated >15h/week for training or
• when eventually got diagnosed with whatever illness (s)he been suffering from for year and finally received working medication or
• when always raced with 120psi tubulars and then switched to 30mm wide tire hookless tubeless setup etc.

There'll always be exceptions and special cases.

At 50 I was near my half Ironman times from when I was 20 or 30. Mainly because I knew how to swim at 50 and my bike gear was better. My runs were around 10 min slower. Now at 58, my swim is around the same, bike is around 2-5 min slower and run is 25 min slower than when was 30. Time catches all of us. I can't compare Ironmans because I am not doing them.

I did my first 70.3 at age 35 and carried on doing 70.3s pretty much every year after that until I set a PB last year (at age 48). I'm on the exact same bike, with the same race set-up (wheels etc.), doing the same volume of training (8-10 hours most weeks, some up to 12). So I know it's possible to set a PB at nearly 50 over a half-ironman... I'm curious to know if there is anyone out there who perhaps started Ironman racing in their late 30s/early 40s and then continued to improve their times into their 50s. I realise there's not much chance of a PB if they started Ironman racing in their 20s, but I think there must be some people who come to the sport later in life (perhaps around 40) and still find ways to improve at 50.

Did my first a month before my 49th birthday (11:27ish). Did one every year after that for another ten years (all on the same course). My fastest was six years later at age 55 (11:06). Now age 64 and have not done one since 2017. Like GMAN said, only gonna happen if you started late (or they cancel the swim).

Well I'll be a good case study for you as I've raced the same 70.3 since 2013 (5hr 56m) (every year except 2019) and this past November I PB'd that event (4hrs 57m). But my training hours and volume have steadily increased over the years.

I did my best race at 50, Arizona 2011, this was my 13th Ironman, I had many years of training and racing but never could crack the code. The factor this year was Whistler Canada, the actual race crushed me, but I took some serious fitness into Arizona. Everything clicked for me, swim, bike and run. I had a few great races after 2011, a few podium finishes, but to many elite athletes showed up at those races to get a Kona spot. I really didn't feel my ability change until Arizona 2018 around 54.

Hold my beer; I set my IM PB of 9h11 age 49, I will be 51 this year and would love to lose those 11mins

If I chose a super fast course, like Barcelona or Emilia Romana, have a perfect day, get really lucky..... and train bloody hard, I still think I can do it

49 to 51 isn't that much of a difference.

If you went 9:11 at 39, you wouldn't come close to that at 51.

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That's awesome! How have you adapted your training to keep improving as you get older?

I am 46 and haven't done a full IM yet. I probably will someday and that very well could be after I turn 50.

I got into Triathlons about 10 years ago. There was a guy at work that started an Endurance and Multisport group in the company and I was doing Marathons so I thought it was be good to join to connect with like minded people at work, get some moral support, and possible some cooperate sponsorship. The guy who stared the group was 46 years old at the time and about 6 months after I joined the group he punched his ticket to Kona. I was about the only person in the group who wasn't doing triathlons so I got sucked in and signed up for a Triathlon so I could relate to the group better.

Preparing for my first triathlon I spent a lot of time picking the brains of the 46-year old group founder who was training for Kona. He said that at age 46 he was the fastest he had been in his life. I didn't know how that was possible. I did sub17-minute 5K's when I was 16-years-old but from age 26-36 years old my goal was to try to get under 18-minutes flat and I missed it by narrow margins over and over and over again. Being frustrated with not being able to improve my 5K I went longer to half marathons and full marathons to try something new. I specialized in the half marathon for 6 years and was pretty happy with my 1hr 23 min. PR but at age 36 didn't think I would ever see a PR in the half marathon again. I tried the triathlon for the same reason that I moved to the longer running events. I had tapped out my potential and wasn't ever going to see faster times so I wanted to try something different where I could make new goals and set new PR.

Well...fast forward to age 46 and I now have the same story to tell as the guy that mentored me into triathlons a decade ago. In the past 2-1/2 years I have set lifetime PR's at every distance I have raced over a 5K. I have broke my 10k, 15K, 10 mile, half marathon, marathon PR's and although time isn't quite the same in multisport races I have PR's in every distance triathlon I have races in that time. Old half marathon PR, 1hr 23 minutes. New Half Marathon PR, 1hr 17minutes. Last 5K time 17:13 (way under the 18:00 that I couldn't beat for 10 years and getting closer to the 16:48 lifetime PR that I set in high school). So some people do peak later in life. I didn't do any triathlons in my younger days. I started at 37 years old and have progressed in triathlons over the past decade. My running coach in college told me it takes about three years to peak in endurance sports. I guess with three disciplines it takes three time longer to peak. I don't know what type of times I might have hit if I got into the sport 20 years earlier, but if Triathlon had gone like running has I would have been slower in my 30's than I am in my late 40's.

Both my mentor and I started triathlon later on (late 30's early 40's). Multisport training made me a much faster runner than pure running did. I am sure there are tons of people on ST that have discovered those same type of benefits from multisport training. You can be fast after 50. You probably can even PR after 50 if you didn't get into the sport until your late 30's to early 40's.

Or people who started around 40 but didn't train/diet properly until they were closer to 50..... Not that I would know about that....... :)

Just to give some context when I was 25, I opened the front end of several open marathons sub 1:20 (generally 1:19xx). By 44, my open half marathon was 1:21. I could not even get close to my "jogging time from age 25". I did my half IM PB at 40 (4:14), but I never really raced a fast course at 25 (4:23 on 1990 gear, tech and training). My 56 year old PB on the same course I went 4:14 at 40 was 4:54). The 56 year old day was a lot slower on the bike due to wind, but also a 4km longer course (so 6.5 min there). The run alone was 23 minutes slower though, and granted transitions were longer (like 3 min longer) but 40 min slower is 40 min. Wind and a longer course only explains 10 min on 40. The rest is slowing down and at 58, I went 5:18 on the same course that I went 4:54 two years earlier (granted even a suckier day on the bike that was 12 min slower, swim was not wetsuit and 3 min slower and froze in a cold rain on the bike). I still THINK I can take it back under 5 hrs on a good day on that course this year at 59, but I gotta do it....times from the treadmill and the trainer and pool suggest it is possible, but that's cherry picking my good days in training....have to put them together in real life on a single day

All you guys talking about getting faster over 50 started late. You just did not race hard when you were 20-29 (or 30-34). Look at Lionel...he can't match his 20-29 times these days. Guys like Jan Frodeno are exceptional in their early 40's but they have to pick and choose battles. As is Cam Brown. That guy is insanely fast in his 50's, but he has the standard age degrading over his Kona podiums from his mid 20's.

If you started late 30's, got faster in 40's and think you'll be a stud in the 50's, you just may but eventually you become the guy with 25 years of miles in the legs who slows down. Enough miles in the legs and we all get slower. Some people start at 17 and hit that slowdown at 35 (example Alistair Brownlee). Some of you start at 35 and hit it at 50 - 52.

The fun part here is seeing who slows down less, but the funny things is the studs that beat me by 20 minutes when were were 25, beat me by 20 min now closing in on 60 !!! Just straight out age degradation from when we were younger (provided we stayed in decent shape...the guys who got waaaaay out of shape have zero chance...their age degradation is a disaster)

I think I'll be faster at 50. Have two different Ironman times in the 9:40s and I think I can get close to 9 hours on a fast course. That's my plan at least. That being said, the bike has always been around 5:10-5:30 and I think I'll lose most of that time getting close to 4:40 on the bike. Running is my strength so I absolutely think I'll set a PR after I turn 50.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

That was an complete knee jerk reaction you sent out ;-) Hard to understand others' situation when we assume things. jkjk, I often enjoy your very well thought out responses (but not this one as much)

I set my PR at age 50. 10:47 at IMMD (my 13th IM). I know it's a fast course but my prior PB was 11:5x at Placid in 2013. The reason I was able to do it was 2 fold
1. I got a coach and my consistency went from completing 80% of workouts to 95%. He showed me that my FTPmy wasn't as great as I wished it was (which caused me to not hit the targets for most of my rides).
2. I had more time to train. My peak 6 weeks I hit 14-16 hours whereas in the past I peaked at 11-12 hours.

I think my current ability means I didn't come close to my potential in my 20s or 30s. Also my legs don't have quite the same wear and tear as the fast people who have slowed down a ton by their early 50s.

I started tris in 1997 and have never been able to make the jump from HIM (PB was 4:59 in 2017, now it's 4:58 last year) to IM as I just didn't have the time to train. I had enough training to do well for 127.5 miles then my race would fall apart. In my early years I was quite busy working internal medicine resident (1997) which only got busier as a critical care doc and father of 2. Tris are a hobby so it was never going to play first fiddle to my career and family. It wasn't until my dtr starting driving in 2020 that I started training in earnest. When we became empty nesters was when my IM times became aligned with my HIM times as I could finally train.

I think my story is not all that uncommon as many of my friends have begun to train more as they became empty nesters.

Nailed in Paul.

I'll honestly say I really expect to PB aged 50 next March. And not because I'm training harder/smarter now than I was when I was 30. I got into triathlon in 2004, Sprint, Oly, HIM that year, and then did my First IM 11:52 in Austria 2005. Also did my first marathon in April 2005, 4h16 in London after getting crazy cramp just after 21km which I went through feeling awesome in 1h58. 1h44 was my HIM a month before, so should have been fine for a sub 4h. I trained consistently with a coach from December to July for that race, and whilst this was pre powermeters and GPS I was recording big hours throughout. Helped a lot by 2 hours of cycle commuting each day which is why I knocked out a very very easy 5h15ish bike on a UKP600 TCR Aero with Shimano spoked wheels.

2019 I ran my Half marathon PB in 1:36.

Fast forward to 2020 my last IM, and I had set a HIM PB at the end of my main training block (no taper) of 4:41, had longrun 33km in training in 2h30, and was very much looking at a IM race plan that put me through the finish with a 10:XX. In reality, I put my back out 10 days before, got through on painkillers, but completely lost my nutrition plan on the bike, started the run at about 6h25, and just snuck in under the 12h after a lurching walk/stagger from 3km in that left my pelvis wrecked for last 4 years.

So yes, I am 100% locked into beating my 11:4X IM PB in 2025 aged 50. But that's as a result of being more experienced and having the years of endurance racing behind me. I've had bad injuries that have led to ankle surgery losing me 6 years (3x2 year) in that interim, and bad luck that offset the amazing first race where I nailed every target/element of the 'plan' from gun to finish line. So I consider that whilst my 'potential' will have reduced since I was 30, then I'll be racing way closer to that potential than in past years where I was 'cruising to a finish medal'.

Yes, I got my full IM PR at 58. The reason is quite simple. I retired, and was able to train as much as I wanted. Despite being in the sport for over 40 years, it was never a priority over family and work. It makes a huge difference when kids are grown and gone, every day is Saturday, and there are no alarm clocks.

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Athlinks / Strava

Next year I am racing 60-64. I have this grandiose hallucination of breaking 5 at the half IM on the fast course at Demi Esprit (where I mentioned going 4:14 in 2006 and 4:54 in 2021....and 5;18 in 2023 on a bad weather no wetsuit day). I want to believe I can do it, the key is not hurting my back this year. If I can do that, I think I can sustain my cardio another year with lots of high volume high intensity swimming which I think is the secret to keeping high aerobic fitness as we age. I swim around 80km per month and every session has way higher intensity than I can sustain on the bike (and running i barely break a sweat because I run so slow these days)....so hoping i can be "that guy who matches a time at 60 from when he was 55". I will need a perfect day and stop putting chips and ice cream in my mouth though.

Depends how much you'd done before you started. I hadn't swam, biked or run since the early 1980s. I improved slowly, then quickly when I had Rich Strauss as a coach. IM Arizona was a battle after throwing up in the swim. Get a good coach.


2000 IM California 14:14 age 44
2002 Roth Challenge 13:27 47
2003 IM Florida 12.18 48
2005 IM Arizona 13.07 49
2006 IM Florida 11.32 51

Should I complete IMAZ this November, it will be a personal best for me as it will be my first (and likely last) attempt at IM. Bucket list item.

I've been racing since my mid twenties and was able to do pretty much comparable times until my late 40s. The big drop offs have come since I was 55 - I'm 58 now and I can't get anywhere near my previous times. I mainly run now and each year my times get slower and my body takes longer to recover from any big effort.

It is all a out not being too good when young.

12:30 and 12:40 from cph and frankfurt as 25/27 year old.

Sub 12 should be easy at 50 with more training, less alchohol etc.

If you have been somehow "seriously" training in you 30's and 40's, that's not going to happen, regardless how you are now dedicated about your training, nutrition, recovery and equipment. If you have an history of "recreational" athlete, then you have chances to improve your results in your 50's. For example, my father, despite having always been "active", started structured running training in his early 50's and set his marathon PB (3.14) at 60y/o. He also made the podium in his AG a few times at Powerman Zofingen duathlon, possibly some help from genetics there also, then.

 
With all inputs static, I agree. However, at 50+ many of us are now empty nesters, more disposable income to buy speed and invest in a good coach, and if lucky more occupational flexibility to enable more training on a daily basis. The added experience built over time makes a difference when it comes to pacing, nutrition and race strategy.

I did. My first one was in 2016 at age 46. Most recent one was 2022 at 54, and shaved off almost 1:30. My training was better, my equipment was better, my nutrition and fueling were better, and my desire to race and not just finish was stronger.

I’m trying to remember what it was like being 50.

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"The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care.”

I agree with that and there will be certainly be outliers and exceptions largely due to the reasons you and others mentioned.

But at a macro level look at the average times at any race by AG. The 50+ AGs are slower than the 18-49 AGs. Father Time always wins.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

* When the ony FD IMs you did before 50 was extreme triatlons.

2x NXTRI in my 20`s, only HIM and sprints in the ~20 years since then, so if i hold out a couple of years more and then do a FD I'll easily set a PB with several hours ;D

There is an old saying with runners that you peak 8 years after you start serious training, at whatever age. I lost my peak 40 years ago :-)

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

I resemble this remark. Ran 7:08 1.5 miles in my military fitness test in sweats and canvas shoes in 1986. I would say that was my best ever run. I keep thinking with track spikes and a real track versus a road course with hills, that's a sub 4:30 mile (at least in a chat with slowman, he thought I should have done that, but I was soccer player and sprint track athlete before that, not an endurance guy although soccer is a combo, so I had the tools to go fast-ish over a mile in my youth).

But putting all the crying aside, you are an inspiration to the rest of us.

As for the graph, I would love to see the average times of the top 10 per age group at Ironman worlds and 70.3 Worlds. This would provide a proper gauge statistically of how much you should slow down if you train like the fast guys (not that you would have the same time, but largely the top 10 are uninjured and took care of health). So the decline of these guys is what is possible if you train hard and seriously and smart.

Data you're looking for is here: https://www.coachcox.co.uk/imstats/series/12/

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

So... you peaked when you were 24 years old and are asking if you can PR again at 59? No, that is not likely but if anyone but you had opened this thread you would have jumped right in and told them that it was not likely. You already knew the answer to that so what is your real question? Are you wondering what you have to do to prevent fatigue and burn out from 25 years of mile in the legs who slow down? Are you wanting to know how women like Keira D'Amato and Sarah Hall are able to set National Records long after they were written off as too old to compete competitively? Are you wanting to know what the records is in the 70.3 for 59 year old guys who were doing 4:20 type times in their early 20's other. Yes, you are right. Everyone slows down with ago. Some burn themselves out in 5 years from following high volume training plan year round with now extended recover or time off. Others compete for years with less than ideal training and later in life make bigger gains through improved training, nutrition, form, technic, equipment, tech. etc. So, assuming that you do everything right from an early age you should see life time PR's in you prime. I thought I was doing everything right when I was in my 20's and 30's. I was told that if I wanted to be fast to not do a Marathon because it those races were very hard on the body and it was kill my speed for up to a year and I may not even get my speed back after that. I didn't cross train because I though that specificity would bring greater results in my area of focus and that diversification in training would just dilute my adaptations. My diet was the best I knew to do in my 20 and 30'. I eat clean, no sweets or junk food when I was 3 months out from races, etc. I got enough sleep, I trained as hard as I could, etc. Looking back on what I have changed in the past ten years and the different in results the difference is night and day. Good luck with the sub 5 hr goal at 59. You realize that they tons of guys in their 20's that have the same goal to break 5 hours who think they are doing everything right in their training/nutrition/rest/etc. Some of them will learn better ways to train/race later on and hit that goal later on in life. Those you actually are doing everything right will peak in their prime and post slow times later on.
Keira D'Amato
asking what

Interesting chart. I'm actually surprised the women don't show a similar or more pronounced dip than the men, it just seems that 40s is primetime for women AG Ironman athletes. Perhaps the chart simply speaks to how few women are doing Ironman in their 20s.

Related to the original topic, I've met quite a few people that continued to improve at running and triathlon from an already relatively high level until ~50yo. The consistent factors I've found amongst this group are:

- Relatively late start (were not a college runner, for instance)
- Lifestyle generally built around training
- High and increasing training load year over year (for many years)
- Avoid injuries and weight gain
- Likely: latent talent that most of us don't have

Anyway, it's my opinion that continuing to improve at something as endurance based and difficult to execute as Ironman up to 50ish is something many here, who didn't come close to their genetic ceiling, could theoretically accomplish. I just think doing it likely comes at the expense of committing to years of high volume training and not deciding to try it for a race you signed up for in nine months.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

I went sub 9 days off my 50th , caveat it was Cozumel but even with the downhill swim I was sub 9 on not a great day

I age up to 55-59 next year and on a flat course I have a very low 9s in me ( assuming I can fix my dodgy back which has held me back for two years ) - I am happy about that as the 50-54 is crazy competitive

I started IM age 43 and was at my peak from 2016 to 2019 but never did a flat course so hard to compare

Well... take this for what's it's worth:

My Ironman PB was Wisconsin in 2007. 10:19. Was my first IM. I have raced 6 IM distance races s after that, including Kona and Norseman. Other than outlier Norseman (black shirt), all were under 11 hrs (well, Kona 11:01)

Of those seven, my 7th full Irondistance was last September, age 53 in Chattanooga. I finished in 10:17. 3rd in AG (punched ticket to Kona again).

So... a PB at 53.

That said - yes, the swim is the swim there.

But that all said - more context: I ran Boston for the 4th time last year. Ran 3:08. Which was actually a PB from 9-10 standalone Marys. At Boston of all courses.

I'm running Boston again on 15th. And Unbound 200 on June 1. And Kona in October. Not a bad season.

Whether I'm better, near-same, or not, don't care... just having a hell of a lot of fun.

This describes me. I started in my 30s and set a PB in 70.3 distance last year at age 52. My workout structure has changed ie. I have a good coach that pushes me to my limit which i didn't have previously. That seems to be the biggest difference. I am also very close to my half marathon times from my 30s. I think that if I run focused, that I would be able to beat my PB in that distance as well.

sure the CHOO swim is the swim AND the bike is 4miles long... :)

IMO, 10:17 at CHOO is incredible.

The question is very vague.
since you are asking the questions to AGers, there are tons of people out there who did their ironmans training with wrong strategy and methods, ending up in disasters for years and also for 10+ years. then at some point you meet the right guy/coach who makes you training smarter and you do your PB easy. this has nothing to do with your age.
professionals always peak in the 30s and this is due to genetic. then of course it is impossible for them to do a PB at 55 because they really hit their best at 30-35years

so asking this question to an AG means that you are searching for someone who performed well below his/her potential and then getting older, he/she trained only smarter.
so the answer is yes, there are many out there in this situation. not me :-)

\

I'd love to do Norseman someday! Congrats on the black shirt!

Thank you. And you're right, that bike is a little longer.

All in all - that loop across the river on the run at Choo is no joke. So I was pretty stoked.

that course is legit even before factoring the oppressive heat and lack of shade.... you should be stoked.

Not a particularly vague question, seems fairly clear: I'd like to know if anyone had their fastest race after age 50, for whatever reason. If people learned from their mistakes and went faster in spite of being older, then they might have useful tips for someone else trying to go faster in spite of getting older The problem I have is that I am sure I am making many mistakes in my training and racing, I just don't know what those mistakes are (it's hard to know what you don't know sometimes). By listening to advice from people who PBed at 50+, maybe I can improve...

So far, the tips I have heard from guys who went fast after 50 are:
1. get a coach and train smarter
2. buy better gear (I ride a 15 year old Cervelo P2)
3. retire and train more
4. wait for my kids to leave home and train more (my youngest child is 2, so...)

None of which is financially possible for me right now, so I'll hang tight in hopes of other tips.

That graph is basically in line with the marathon world record by age chart. Around about 8% slower than peak for 50y


One saving grace in triathlons is that improvement in equipment can partially offset age losses. A 50yo today was racing at his peak in 1999, on round tubes and steel frames, racing flats, and probably not a wetsuit. Even going from peak 90's equip to peak 2020's equip is worth >8%

My best 70.3 in my early 30s was a 4:14, and I did a 4:12 at age 46 (ran 3min faster). Can I do it now I am 50? I don't know, ad I don't ride nearly as much so my bike fitness is way down, but I definitely can run the same or close to the same as my 30s and close to my best of 1:21...

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
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Just to be clear, I am not trying to set PBs at 59 or 60, nor was I trying at 40 because I was quite athletic active from 14-30. What I am talking about is how close I or any of us can stay at 60 (or 50, or 40, or 37). I think ultimately that is the goal if wanting to staying in the game for times. There are other reasons to stay in the game and concede time performance if that is no longer exciting. In my case, my run times are so limited, that I like the race to T2 and then from there my goal is how my first quarter, second quarter, third and fourth quarter of a half IM run are even paced.

I did my first Ironman in 1999, when I was 40 years old. Over the last 24 years, I've done the same Ironman Lake Placid course, so the course is 99.9% the same but my times have skyrocketed. Here's a snapshot:
Year Swim Bike Run Total 1999 1:38:05 6:21:33 3:54:26 12:13:43 2000 1:38:09 6:13:11 3:47:36 11:34:23 2001 1:13:00 5:40:40 3:44:13 10:52:16 2002 1:10:42 6:01:08 3:56:37 11:23:38 2003 1:12:11 6:41:11 4:11:47 12:20:51 2004 1:13:45 6:45:42 5:30:58 13:46:49 2005 1:13:43 6:56:33 4:21:24 12:51:18 2006 1:15:08 6:30:22 4:09:49 12:14:47 2007 1:16:15 6:40:31 5:12:39 13:31:01 2008 1:09:52 6:51:20 4:28:55 12:52:00 2009 1:12:01 6:34:28 4:16:46 12:26:24 2010 1:13:36 6:41:37 4:21:06 12:36:39 2011 1:11:44 6:43:43 4:44:56 12:58:57 2012 1:15:27 6:52:13 5:15:44 13:49:24 2013 1:15:14 6:26:17 5:15:27 13:24:16 2014 1:12:22 7:01:35 6:12:31 13:59:55 2015 1:15:54 7:14:37 6:57:39 15:57:30 2016 1:16:49 7:13:01 6:27:38 15:26:10 2017 1:18:17 7:28:11 6:31:47 15:48:50 2018 1:19:18 7:19:46 6:23:28 15:29:09 2019 1:17:38 7:13:31 6:49:42 15:50:06 2020 2021 1:15:55 7:37:04 6:51:51 16:21:41 2022 1:16:55 7:10:52 6:57:31 15:51:43 2023 1:18:04 7:27:34 6:44:53 15:52:32 2024 This will be a PR for me in the 65-69 AG.

I have a lot of excuses such as it rained one year, I had a hernia operation on June 1st and still did the race in July, dealt with a severe case of lyme disease, children, work, family, etc. The consistent item is 140.6 in the Adirondaks - nonetheless, it's a datapoint with the variables being age, technology, training, etc.

The table was all screwed up in my last post. Here's the second attempt: Year Swim Bike Run Total
1999 1:38:05 6:21:33 3:54:26 12:13:43

2000 1:38:09 6:13:11 3:47:36 11:34:23

2001 1:13:00 5:40:40 3:44:13 10:52:16

2002 1:10:42 6:01:08 3:56:37 11:23:38

2003 1:12:11 6:41:11 4:11:47 12:20:51

2004 1:13:45 6:45:42 5:30:58 13:46:49

2005 1:13:43 6:56:33 4:21:24 12:51:18

2006 1:15:08 6:30:22 4:09:49 12:14:47

2007 1:16:15 6:40:31 5:12:39 13:31:01

2008 1:09:52 6:51:20 4:28:55 12:52:00

2009 1:12:01 6:34:28 4:16:46 12:26:24

2010 1:13:36 6:41:37 4:21:06 12:36:39

2011 1:11:44 6:43:43 4:44:56 12:58:57

2012 1:15:27 6:52:13 5:15:44 13:49:24

2013 1:15:14 6:26:17 5:15:27 13:24:16

2014 1:12:22 7:01:35 6:12:31 13:59:55

2015 1:15:54 7:14:37 6:57:39 15:57:30

2016 1:16:49 7:13:01 6:27:38 15:26:10

2017 1:18:17 7:28:11 6:31:47 15:48:50

2018 1:19:18 7:19:46 6:23:28 15:29:09

2019 1:17:38 7:13:31 6:49:42 15:50:06 2020 2021 1:15:55 7:37:04 6:51:51 16:21:41

2022 1:16:55 7:10:52 6:57:31 15:51:43

2023 1:18:04 7:27:34 6:44:53 15:52:32

Let's make this happen at St. George 70.3!!!

Haha, well, as I said my bike fitness is far below my normal level, so no run fitness can fix that!

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

Well get your ass off the couch and ST and get on Rouvy and do endless snow canyon repeats ASAP before you get to St. George and get on the Macca approved cabbage and water diet (I say this as I sit on my ass, on ST eating a bag for Doritos, so any hopes of going sub 5 at 60 next year are slipping fast unless I get my act together....I don't think I can blame it on being loaded up at work)

I can't say for Ironman distance but a lot of people in my tri club (myself included) did have PBs at age 50 for the Oly distance.
I think a lot of gains can be made in swimming and cycling and understanding pacing. You also should have gained a lot of wisdom to know when to push and when to conserve. And how to not freak out in transitions or when conditions are challenging. It can't be understated how important the mental aspect is.

Personally, for the swim, when younger I didn't really focus on it. When you are older and have time to train and really focus, you can make incremental improvements with form and the feeling of effort. Newer wetsuits (like the ROKA Maverick) are frickin amazing as well.
With cycling I think a lot of advances in understanding how to hold watts, in addition to better equipment, have helped a lot. For instance, in my 20's I would push massive gears at probably 70 cadence. Now I use easier gears at 90 cadence. Incredibly I am actually faster now.

That said, running - there is no substitute for youth and fresh joints.

Examples: racing for nearly 30 years, Wildflower Olympic distance. My avg swim was around 24:40. But when I focused on swimming, in 2014 and 2015 I went sub 22. That's the equivalent of taking 2 mins off the run time, right?
For the bike, when I was young and dumb and strong I went 1:01 for the Oly distance (1989!). At age 48 I went 1:00:28 at nationals. At age 49 went 59:19. And at age 50 went 59:57 at Worlds.

Sadly, running declines. I used to break 40 mins in a 10k during an Oly race. Now I am lucky to break 44.

The other part is stuff declines after ~52 years old (so do it now!). Frankly, I hate running now because it freaking hurts. Swimming and cycling are still good because it's non-impact. In 2022, age 56, at Nationals, went 25:27 on the swim (I panicked and had to breast stroke for a bit), 1:02:37 on the bike and 47:51 on the run.

I'm 57 now and sort of resigned to just do Sprint distance! That said, I plan on doing Nationals Oly again this year. I think I can get the swim and bike down but the run is doubtful.

If you at 49 yrs old are still run-fit, well that's awesome. Lots of LSD plus speedwork once a week. Swim at least 3x week-tempo and threshold; don't waste time with slow yards. Bike one x week hard effort, the rest easier - focus on high cadence and maintaining speed. Believe it or not, racing on Zwift will teach you a lot about cadence, heart rate, and watts; this translates remarkably well to the real world.

And spend a lot of time with injury prevention and take at least one day a week off.

Perhaps most importantly, train with people who are faster than you and who have more wisdom when it comes to race tactics and mental focus. This will help beyond what you might imagine.

The caveat to this w/respect to IM distance is obviously, fueling. IMO, in particular, I think it's under-explained how a long swim depletes calories and with IM distance, you are starting from a deficit. It is essential to refuel after the swim. Personally, the "hunger" I get after swimming 4000+ yards is different than the same amount of time on the bike. I feel like I need "real food" with salt and protein. That may be something to dial in on. KIND bars are pretty tasty as an example.
As I have got older I find that fueling needs require more protein vs pure carbs which tend to make me crash. Plus there is the simple need for the feeling of satiation. Oranges and bananas are good for that as well.
I am not yet convinced that Maurten drink mixes do this. It makes me feel like vomiting.

Good luck and let us know what you learn and how you progress.
For reference it would be interesting to know what your previous PB splits are for IM distance as well as your bike equipment and swim/bike/run frequency and amounts are per week.

I have competed in Ironman events at 26, 27, 56 and 57. The race at 27 was a DNF largely from inadequate training but I was well trained for the event at 26. Even so, I probably went a bit too hard on the bike and blew up in the second half of the run for a time of 11:23.

At 56 I was also reasonably well trained. My half IM times were approximately 30 minutes slower than at 26 but my full I’m time was 10:59. The better time was due to better pacing and probably better nutrition. I was 30 minutes behind a PB starting the run but ran 55 minutes faster. I would say the course probably contributed too (Busselton at 56 versus Forster-Tuncurry at 26).

I had a great coach at 26 and my training really well planned but I didn’t have the experience to use that properly. Having power metres available when I was 56 made pacing a lot easier and there was a lot more nutrition options and information available by then too. I think it shows that I probably could have done a lot better at 26 than I did but I was still relatively happy with my effort back then.

So for me I did get a PB after 50 when having properly trained in my 20”s but experience, equipment and knowledge all improved. I still hope/plan to better my PB again at 59 or 60 but I haven’t done that yet so it doesn’t count.

Thanks for the response, it's given me some stuff to think about and reconsider. The info about fuelling with protein rings true to me, as does the stuff about active recovery, rest and the way running beats me up. I'd love to be able to train with others but I live in a small town with no tri club and do my training at weird times (lunch times, and straight after work) so haven't been able to connect with anyone. The cadence advice is definitely applicable, I need to improve on that. The idea of stashing some "real food" in T1 is a good one. I wonder what a PBJ sandwich at the start of the bike would do for me?

My IM PB splits were 1:08/5:51/4:03 on the Penticton IMC course. Bike probably is a limiter (15 year old Cervelo P2) but I'm a teacher and a dad of nine kids, so can't justify buying a new bike while the old one still works (and I've taken good care of it, so it still works). I have a 70.3 PB of 4:35, so I know I should be able to bring my IM time down a bit, in theory at least. Currently my training frequency is 2 swims, 3 bikes, 3 runs each week. Total volume in the 8-10 hour range which I realise is on the low side, so I've started to edge that up to 12 hpw. I know the path to improvement leads through increased volume and frequency, so I'm trying to find ways to increase those. I started riding my mountain bike to work (30 minutes, almost all uphill!) this week to sneak in some more bike volume, I'm hoping to fit that in 3 times a week.

Thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it.

IMAZ 2015 12:03 Age 53
IMAZ 2017 11:39 55
IMAZ. 2019 10:55 57
IMAZ. 2021 10:48 59 (Kona Qual)


I had two things going for me.....my first full was in my early 50s and I have gradually increased my training load.

Through 2021 I was still fortunate enough that the more I trained, the faster I got.

Bad bike accident a couple of months before Kona in 22 and it has been a bit of a struggle ever since. We will see what those times look like in my mid 60s......hopefully there is a comeback story still in here

My PR at Ironman was set at age 60. Kids were grown, RETIRED, plenty of sleep (rest), and time to train. Also it was at IM Arizona with cool weather and little wind. 11:21, previous best was 11:40.
I did my first Ironman in Kona in ‘82 and had done an IM about every other year since then.

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Team Zoot So Cal

Wow, reading these replies some of you guys are absolutely flying, much respect. I just want to go sub 12H IM by age 40 (next year). After that it's all gravy.

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Nutmeg State

I'm sure there's someone out in the world who did their first IM at 50+ and it didn't go so well

They trained a little bit better, or they had better luck on the second try, and beat that time, setting PB

Then they stopped, so the PB was retained

Theoretically, anyway?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

PB 9.27 at age 56 in Roth.....but I only raced one IM before turning 50 (at age 41) on a super hilly course, on a road bike with clip on aero bars and hit the wall on the run and walked at least 2 miles. I was an hour slower. I have no doubt that if I'd raced Roth at 41 with the same knowledge and kit as I did age 56 I'd have gone faster than 9.27. Maybe that partly answers your question.

This is basically what I figured: the knowledge/experience you had gained outweighed the loss of the purely physiological advantages of being younger. So by being smarter with training and racing you can "make up for" the depredations of aging. Of course for all those who made no mistakes in their training/racing when they were younger, this won't work and they can't set PBs... It's the knowledge that I'm after, specifically how to adapt my training to maximise improvements in fitness and speed now that I am a bit older.

Can you share more about your training structure? S/B/R most days? Duration and weekly voume?

"It's the knowledge that I'm after, specifically how to adapt my training to maximise improvements in fitness and speed now that I am a bit older."


My take on racing age 50+....


Swim - I'm an average swimmer and I've never felt the need to improve whilst focusing on long distance. The extra work and time required to save even 2 minutes say in the Ironman swim is disproportionate to the actual benefit. I swim about 65 minutes on 8k average a week.


Bike - the backbone of a good Ironman, not just in terms of having a fast split but also not being wasted for the run. Lots of miles, lots of TT's, lots of time in the aero position. Through the miserable UK winter I ride indoor intervals on an old turbo trainer with no sessions more than 2 hours for most of Dec - Feb. You can do all of this at age 50+ with little risk of injury. My big weeks were 200 miles. An absolutely key consideration is to maximise you bike set up. That doesn't mean spending a fortune but it means buying the best proven bits of kit you can afford and getting into a position you can hold for several hours.


Run - the hard part. You will not be able to run as far, as fast and as often as you did when much younger. So you need to adapt. I run 3 or 4 times a week (mainly 3). Long run, shorter but harder interval and either a brick/hill workout or easy run. Make every run count, no junk miles, run on softer surfaces, wear good well cushioned shoes. My biggest week will be 30 miles total.


General - I don't take dietary supplements. I've used High 5 Energy source to train and race for years. I use SiS Rego for recovery. Nothing else other than a sensible diet. I rarely drink alcohol, in the run up to Roth I went about 18 months without drinking a drop. I don't obsess about weight but seem to naturally get down to about 75kg by the time my A race comes around (I'm 6'0" tall). Rest is vital, I don't train more now than I did when younger, despite more time, but I do rest more....I spend most afternoons here in Europe with my feet up for two hours watching cycling on Discovery+!


I also train completely alone. I'm not in a swim squad, never ride with friends and run solo for every session. Long distance triathlon is a solitary individual sport not a team game and I make every session MY session and don't swim/ride/run at the pace of someone else.


I hope some of the above is useful.

I am 58 now I think maybe I could. I have done 3 ironmans one I dnfed (embrunman because I didn't make bike cutoff at top of col de lizard). I did not train seriously for any of them. Biggest bike week was 120 miles. I did them because friends asked me to do with them.

My running sucks compared to my prime. At age 16 I did 5 K in 16:10. Two weeks ago with solid training I almost died doing 26 min. I could lose 10 pds and go maybe a min faster.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Thanks for this reply, I appreciate the advice. I can apply most of it to my training. My struggle will be with the "down-time" aspect of training as my job and family life are really quite full-on and carving out 12 hours in a week to train is a challenge. Training is really my "down-time" so I need to find ways to be smart with speeding up recovery. I'll look into the "SiS Rego" supplement you mentioned.

Short Version: If I did every session in the week it would look something like this:

Monday - Friday
AM - Swim between 2,200 - 4,200 yards (40mins - 1hr 15min)
Lunch - 45 mins on Treadmill (5 miles)
PM - between 1hr - 1hr 30min on bike trainer (20 - 30 miles)

Saturday (not fixed)
AM - Swim 3,200-4,200 yards (1hr - 1hr 15min)
PM - Run 10-15 miles (1hr 30min - 2hr 10min)

Sunday (not fixed)
AM - Swim 3,200-4,200 yards (1hr - 1hr 15min)
PM - TT Bike Outside 30 - 80 miles (1hr 30min - 4hr)

Totals:
Swim: 16,000 - 20,000yards (7hrs)
Run: 35-40 miles
Bike: 130 - 210 miles
Hours: 18 - 23 hours

Longer Version:
I don't plan in any rest days because those are going to occur on their own due to life/work/family commitments, which are not always controllable.
So although I have 19 individual sessions planned through a week I normally make about 14-15 of these, with some weeks hitting all 19. Also on race weeks I will taper in depending on the race length (I mainly do sprints and Olympics, with 1 70.3 in November each year - and the 5 yearly IM).

Swim:
All sessions start with a 1,200 yard warmup, of which 400 is straight swim, 400 is position 11 drill (because I have a terrible crossover), and the 400 pull buoy.
Main sets will be a mix of 10x100yd @ 1.30 pace 15sec rest; 5x200yd @ 1.38 pace 15sec rest; 4x250yd @ 1.40 pace 15sec rest. Then longer sets but nothing over 500yd with total each day depending on my early work requirements.

Run:
Monday-Friday is generally boring - on the treadmill at steady state for 45 mins at lunch time. Pretty much every day I can make this happen. In a non-airconditioned room that gets hot as balls, so racing in June and July in Texas is not a problem for me.
Weekend runs are outside around a local park, with pace determined by time available. If I only have 1hr then I run hard, and if I have 2+hrs then I'll run slower.

Bike:
Monday-Friday are on the bike trainer with a mix of session types. Typically there will be 2 harder sessions of either VO2, Tempo, Thresh - may not be flashy but I utilize the Garmin workouts as they work with the Tacx Flux S trainer and I don't have internet access for Zwift etc. The other 3 sessions will be base work.
Weekend ride will be dependent on the next race, so hard intervals before sprint races and currently longer IM pace rides.

I walk about 10 miles a week with my dog, with walks every day acting as both active recovery and mental relaxation.
I also drink too much beer.
This works for me and is not supposed to be a plan to eek out the very last ounce of performance in the pursuit of peak athletic ability, but it keeps me fit, healthy and without injury, and at the front of my local races.

Thanks for the information. That's a pretty impressive week! Holy shit, that would leave me utterly drained, kudos to you.

I see you have ranges for each sport and your totals vary from 18 to 23 hours per week, but could you explain your system for adapting this plan to have "stretch" weeks and "recovery" weeks? Do you step back all your running one week and swim more that week, for example? Or do you step back all three sports in the same week? I'd love to get my volume up (goal at the moment is 12 hpw, so still nowhere near what you are managing) without crushing myself in the process. I see you use family/work interventions as rest days, but I'm curious to know how you vary the programme on a weekly (or monthly) basis.

Thank you!

A beating man would say it's very unlikely that I will PR.
(My PRs from my 40s are respectable).


But.....

I am going to try!!

My chances are much better, if I believe it's possible!!


That said, I am going to have to do things differently.

I haven't quite figured out what this means yet!!

Unfortunately there isn't some grand plan behind this that I execute, and the 23 hours a week is a max volume which I only occasionally hit.

The increase/decrease in time/volume naturally occurs - such as I might have a work appointment to get to after swimming which means I shorten the swim time, but that means I'm doing those 100yd repeats all out. Yesterday I was out of the office all day so ran at lunch at a park and then ran again in the evening instead of the bike workout. Flexability and consistency has been my mantra.
I don't have a coach, I go to occasional swim clinics, I gave up riding with groups (prefer to walk my dog on Saturday mornings), this is just how I stay motivated, healthy, and performing high enough that I'm happy.

If I look at the last 3 weeks for instance I had a sprint race March 16th and olympic race March 24th, for the week between those races I did 12 individual sessions, and took the Saturday off - total 11 hours.
The week after the olympic I completed 13 sessions - 17hrs 30mins.
The following week I did 17 sessions - 18hrs 30min.
So far this week (today being day 5 of the week) I have completed 12 sessions - 11hrs 35mins. I anticipate that I will finish this week with 18 sessions but maybe I don't and that is okay.

This is not a maximum performance training plan - but for me is sustainable year in year out.

So the main takeaway from your success is: being flexible with training sessions, creating multiple training opportunities every day, being super consistent over a long period of time. The result of that is you achieve large amounts of volume, which then builds the engine and makes you faster. Thanks again for the input!

Congratulations, how old are you? I just turned 53 and, with 14 sessions (14-15 hours) a week, I already feel like walking on the edge. Don't you feel the need for trading, at least, a couple of specific sessions for strength and conditioning?

I just turned 50 last month.
So far I have managed 13 years without any significant injuries (touch wood, cross fingers) without any strength/conditioning work. I know from the medical literature that at some point I should add/switch out for that strength work, but the thing is I enjoy the S/B/R and would rather do one of those than a gym workout.

Congrats to CPT Chaos with a 2:59.36 at age 50 at Boston!!!! I don't know what his PR is at the marathon, but that is solid day all around. We'll take that as a win for this thread!

Wasn't the first Whistler ironman in 2012 or 13?
I did that race it's second year. That course was epic, and very challenging.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

I've only done two and I think with better execution I could probably PR after 50. Did one at 48 and went a little over 11 hours with a disaster of a marathon. Second one at 49 went better a little over 10 hours with roughly half of a disaster on the marathon. If I could figure out hydration/nutrition and not imploding on the marathon, for sure a PR.

Otherwise in my Oly/Sprint stuff since nearing or turning 50, I'm noticeable slower, especially my running. I'd been able to quite easily run 20 minute 5Ks or 40 minute 10Ks and even some random 5Ks in the upper 18's. Now I'm really having to press hard to go sub 22 for a 5K.

I don't have any answers for what to do. I'm also trying to figure out if I need to just come to terms with 'it' or is there some way to get back on track.

My response goes somewhat beyond your original question, but I hope it offers you hope. I'm just short of my 51st birthday and on an unexpected streak of eight straight running races / triathlons with a PR, including a full distance (10:32). But my first full was at age 49, so that's no great accomplishment. The other races include a 70.3 (4:36) and running races at multiple distances (5k, 8k, 10k, 10-mile). My running PRs go from a six-flat to low 6:20s/ mile, depending on the distance. Some of the running PRs I broke over the last year were from my 30s.

I was a runner through from my late 20s to my early 40s, and switched to triathlons about 10 years ago. I continue to get faster as a triathlete because my swimming is getting better via a focus on technique and because my starting point was very slow. My training volume is a little higher each year. Last year it was 11.5 hours per week. 2018 was the first year I got serious about triathlons and it was just under 7 hours per week, which seemed like a lot at the time.

I am a faster runner as a triathlete than I was a pure runner. I was very injury prone as a runner and got hurt before a number of A races. Because of my tendency toward injury, I capped my training, especially in terms of weekly mileage. As a triathlete, I can train to my full potential in terms of volume and intensity. The super shoes help a lot too. Because of my tendency toward injury, I used to run in very heavy shoes that provided a lot of stability. The contrast between those old clunkers and today's super shoes is notable.

I don't think there are any secrets to staying fast as you age. Volume and consistency remain the key. I do more of my VO2 max stuff on the bike and in the pool than on the track to avoid impact injuries. I limit the length of my long run to 2.5 hours, and don't even go that long very often. The fast-finish long run is a thing of the past for me, and I'll peak around 45 miles per week in IM training. I've added strength training, which I try to do 2-3 times per week. And I sleep a lot. Not having to wake up because of young children is a huge advantage versus a decade or so ago.

Kudos on the PBs!

I see you've added strength and conditioning 2-3 times per week to your S/B/R and have found that helpful. I agree that it is definitely useful, but lately I have been struggling to find times in the week when I can lift without compromising either recovery (by lifting on an "easy" day) or the quality of my S/B/R workout (by lifting on a hard S/B/R day). I think lifting after a hard S/B/R workout seems like too much of an injury risk. My solution at the moment has been to split my strength training into multiple small chunks (like 5-10 minute chunks) and sprinkle them throughout the week.

How do you plan the strength training into your week?
Do you do dedicated strength "workouts" that are scheduled in the same way as S/B/R?
How long do your 2-3 sessions last?
Do you lift before/after S/B/R sessions?
Do you lift on "hard" days or "easy" days?

I recently listened to a Scientific Triathlon podcast w/ Melanie McQuaid, who is a professional triathlete that qualified for Kona past age 50. The episode had some discussion on training for masters athletes but wasn't a deep dive into that topic. She's been on some other podcasts that I think I will go back and listen to that perhaps cover the topic further. She said in the episode that she's continued to find avenues to improve despite having been in the sport for a long time and at a high level and at a high-ish age. Thought people on this thread might be interested to listen.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Thank you.

I generally lift weights after a ride or run. Strength training is definitely not my thing, so I keep it simple. I will do either a 25-minute upper body workout or a 15-minute core workout. To get myself to do it, I will shave 15 minutes off either the run or ride. I tell myself that the benefits of strength training are greater than those 2 miles I would have run. I should probably do more tri-specific routines, especially something that is swim-specific. But I don't. I usually just do a general workout from the Orange Theory app. I'm sure it is not ideal but I'm very much of the mentality that "something is better than nothing". It's hard enough to get the SBR in and I don't want to overcomplicate or overburden myself. If I do, I know I'll just skip it.

So my unscientific response to the OP is - Yes.
Nothing drastic but I was 30 minutes quicker on Saturday than 5 years ago on the same course.
PBs in each of swim, bike, run - just slightly better in each discipline - keeping old father time at bay - just.
Conditions sucked with strong wind on the bike, and high heat / humidity for the run.

IMLP 7x 1st in 2013 11:49. Last year at the age of 50 I went 10:30 and ran 3:37. My fastest IM run split of the 12 I've completed. Not my fastest IM time but my best on that course and best run split all time at the age of 50. The keys for me the last few years have been weekly runs on the treadmill, track and only 1 or 2 runs on asphalt. It took me a long time to trust all of the experienced athletes on this form who said, " you don't need to run hard." I still do a few tempo and intervals sessions but nothing compared to the way I used to bury myself.