I am 55–59age group. I find that i worry about the amount of training vs rest I get. I will feel good and step up the volume then get very tired. Most plans do not seem to take age into consideration. It would take agood coach with experience with older athletes to coach us. Then More time to get to know us as an individual. Is their anyone with this experience who coaches ? Also does your coach take much time getting to know your strengths and weaknesses ?
Same age group, same exact situation/concern as you describe (but I just race the bike, not tri). And like you, I’ve often thought that some 30-something coach couldn’t possibly relate to what it’s like to try to train and compete at this age.
I have no answers for you, but I’ll watch this thread with interest.
+1 Same age group. Hope someone with real experience answers.
I’m curious, how often do you take rest weeks? I’ve found that I can go two real hard weeks then have to take one easy or my legs become fried.
Dennis - I’m one age group senior to you, 60-64, but then so is my coach! he won the age group at IM Wisconsin so I figure he has all the bases covered.
You can see him - Jim Dicker - at www.trainingbible.com .
I coached a 60-64 year old guy to his first and second IM finishes. He is a 3:25 runner (very fast for his age), but the poor guy could barely swim and was a very weak rider. This guy was amazing in that he had the fountain of youth and I had to keep holding him back. I was very worried that I’d burn him out, but he kept pushing me for more training. One thing that helped him is that he was 5’6" and 140 lbs. His body was just taking less pounding than “bigger older guys” and was able to recover well from runs, and could go forever albeit very slow on the bike.
You’re right that a younger coach would not be able to relate to how he was feeling and in my mid 40’s I still have no clue how he was feeling. I really needed to have an open pathway of back and forth with him!
Dev
Interesting post. I’m in that AG, and contemplating retirement soon. With retirement there would be much more time available for training and I’m planning to do that. But I wonder the same question that you are posing - how much can our old—er bodies take compared to the younger guys?
I’m planning to ramp up the training to see where my limit is. Of course I’ll have more time for stretching, yoga, pilates, massage therapy, etc, so hopefully that will help. Wish me luck!
I’m in the 65-69 AG and have had the same coach since 03 except for 2yrs
and am very happy. He races 40-45 and has the ability to understand from a
conversation (ie words I use, tone of my voice or what ever) and adjust my
w/o as needed. I feel very fortunate to be coached by him. He was USAT coach of
the year 2009. He was telling me 3/4 of the athletes he coaches are all american.
Among the elite athletes he coaches is Jarred Shoemaker(flated in Sidney and 8th in Seoul)
My program does not lack for intensity. He has guided my training to the point
of qualifying for Kona x2 and making team USA 03 and finishing 7th in ITU worlds
in Portugal
I think that any GOOD coach that knows what he is doing should know that as we age that recovery becomes slower. If you are communicating your need for more (or less) rest and he is not taking that (along with all of the other life situations) and applying it to the equation then something is wrong.
Thanks for posting this topic. I will be 55 in August and in my first year of tri training. Huge adjustment to multisport training. I find that it’s more of a mental challenge to cope with the 10-15/hours a week.
I also don’t like gym workouts, so once a week, I have the Coach with me for that workout so it helps a lot.
I am the oldest male in our Tri club, so workouts are typically done with people half my age. I hold my own on the bike, but seriously lag in swim.
Had to make adjustments with my Coach who competes in the 45-49 AG. Went from a 3 week build/4th week recovery to 2 week build then recovery week. Mondays are rest days and Tuesdays used to have swim, run and gym. Switched gym to Wednesdays.
All in all, over time, the adjustments I made with my Coach have been helpful. We have had to deal with several injuries during this period as well (bike crashes)
Once in a while I just have to back off and forgo one of the workouts.
I find it hard to do a run off the bike after a long, hilly ride.
So, overall happy with the direction I am getting, My coach does not baby me, but listens and adjusts if necessary.
Oh the joys of getting older. I’ll be 59 this year and I’m noticing a difference from just four years ago. I’m only ever going to do short course tris along with 5/10 kms runs but will still do century rides. No point or benefit of training for longer stuff at my age IMO. Its kind of like scuba diving - I don’t do the deep cold water wreck dives any more. Know your physiological limitations as we get older.
It doesn’t just apply to older athletes - not everyone is the same. Some older people have no problem with high volume training and/or significant intensity. Others need more rest. A good coach who takes time to know the needs and abilities of an athlete should be able to tailor a plan to work for an individual - regardless of age.
It would be very difficult to write a “cookie cutter” plan for older athletes since their individual needs and abilites may vary widely. The thing is, in many instances receiving individualized coaching costs more than a group type of plan. What you want is out there, but whether it fits within your budget is something only you can determine.
50-54 AG weighing in here.
I hired Cherie Gruenfeld,who at age 67, is still taking IM World championships home with her efforts. She can be reached through Triathlontrainingseries.com or PM IanPeace, who posts here about hiring her.
Very glad I have a coach who has “been there, done that” in terms of old–er athletes.
No point or benefit of training for longer stuff at my age IMO.
I disagree. As I get older it’s definately easier to go long than to go fast.
One thing I’m learning is that it’s getting harder to “listen to my body.” (It’s getting harder to listen to much of anything … mis-spent youth … too much loud rock and roll in the late 60s/early 70s.)
Saturday I went out for a 68 mile solo jaunt on my road bike. I was looking forward to the ride and had a good attitude about it. But it turned into a horrible sufferfest. Muggy and windy and my back got very sore (I’d done a lot of tractor work the day before and the bouncing about killed me). The last hour on the bike was miserable. I decided I needed some time off and that I might take a few days and bag it. Get some deep rest.
I took Sunday off.
Today I got up and debated whether I should take another day off or get on back out there. I decided to just head out on the TT bike and roll some tempo … see how it felt. As soon as I turned the pedals I knew the legs were good. I cranked out 45 miles and averaged 22.5 mph. For that particular route and with the bike in “training configuration,” that was one of the best jaunts on that course I’ve ever done. And conditions weren’t that ideal. Great temperature range in the high 60s, but it was quite blustery out.
Go figure. Tomorrow I’ll probably feel like I need a walker.
.
One thing I’m learning is that it’s getting harder to “listen to my body.” (It’s getting harder to listen to much of anything … mis-spent youth … too much loud rock and roll in the late 60s/early 70s.)
Saturday I went out for a 68 mile solo jaunt on my road bike. I was looking forward to the ride and had a good attitude about it. But it turned into a horrible sufferfest. Muggy and windy and my back got very sore (I’d done a lot of tractor work the day before and the bouncing about killed me). The last hour on the bike was miserable. I decided I needed some time off and that I might take a few days and bag it. Get some deep rest.
I took Sunday off.
Today I got up and debated whether I should take another day off or get on back out there. I decided to just head out on the TT bike and roll some tempo … see how it felt. As soon as I turned the pedals I knew the legs were good. I cranked out 45 miles and averaged 22.5 mph. For that particular route and with the bike in “training configuration,” that was one of the best jaunts on that course I’ve ever done. And conditions weren’t that ideal. Great temperature range in the high 60s, but it was quite blustery out.
Go figure. Tomorrow I’ll probably feel like I need a walker.
.
Do they make “Aero” walkers?
Thanks for posting this topic. I will be 55 in August and in my first year of tri training. Huge adjustment to multisport training. I find that it’s more of a mental challenge to cope with the 10-15/hours a week.
I also don’t like gym workouts, so once a week, I have the Coach with me for that workout so it helps a lot.
I am the oldest male in our Tri club, so workouts are typically done with people half my age. I hold my own on the bike, but seriously lag in swim.
Had to make adjustments with my Coach who competes in the 45-49 AG. Went from a 3 week build/4th week recovery to 2 week build then recovery week. Mondays are rest days and Tuesdays used to have swim, run and gym. Switched gym to Wednesdays.
All in all, over time, the adjustments I made with my Coach have been helpful. We have had to deal with several injuries during this period as well (bike crashes)
Once in a while I just have to back off and forgo one of the workouts.
I find it hard to do a run off the bike after a long, hilly ride.
So, overall happy with the direction I am getting, My coach does not baby me, but listens and adjusts if necessary.
Sorry to sidetrack, but you have a coach who thinks that a recovery week is important, a rest day is also needed, that going to the gym is important, and that bricks are important?
Instead of getting him into the gym with you, you might ask him to get in the pool with you if your swim lags.
Bruce,
My 2 cents if you are going to be retired and have time on your hand would be:
Use extra time to add a daily nap of 30-60 minutes Increase weekly sleep total by 10% Add intensity on the bike and the pool, not running Add volume on the swim first. In tris, the back end of your run is likely affected most by how hard you swim above your swim FTP. Most of us are overswimming and don’t know it. Do your workouts mid/late morning and mid/late afternoon. Don’t do early morning workouts and don’t do evening workouts. Working folks do those out of neccessity, but the early morning workouts jack up your cortisol levels later in the day and late day workouts mess with your sleep (recovery). Save early afternoon for a nap.
Your older body would deal with this path better and its a good usage of your newly found available time. There is a finite limit to the pounding your body can take…just remember
TRAINING = WORK + RECOVERY
You will have the opportunity to recover more and tha’t likely where you can gain the most wrt to performance…not by jacking up the “WORK” part too much.
First the bad news - Joe Bonness aged up to 55-59 this year. 
Two coaches you should check out:
Jeff Cuddeback who is 53(?) and a World Class athlete and coach. http://www.jeffcuddeback.com/
Jon Adamson who is in his 70s now with a very impressive racing record at many distances. http://thesportfactory.com/site/coaches/coachJon_Adamson.shtml
Dev, I do all my training first thing in the morning. Am in the pool at 5:30 or try to get on the bike by 6. I have way too many things to do in life, that if I do not get the exercise over with first, I never get to it.
Now, I do start into bed at 6pm, so I try to get as much sleep as possible.
First the bad news - Joe Bonness aged up to 55-59 this year.
And the good news is?
The only thing I can think is the fact that a 4:35 Half might get you third spot…worth chasing, I suppose, but ain’t nobody going to crush his dreams and leave him sad.
And yes, to the OP, recovery is the single biggest issue - at least in my experience. Followed by loss of foot speed, of course and the veritable raft of lingering injuries which don’t really heal. Experience might indeed be overrated.