Used to like racing is it possible to like after a 15 year layoff

Early to Mid 90’s after running and racing I packed it in after the pb’s stopped happening .Took up cycling like it but never raced .

Started running trails again on the Niagara Escarpment in Southern Ontario and I am starting to enjoy running .I am now 55 , 35 lbs heavier than when I ran in the 90’s.

Would like to start racing again , do I need 6 months of steady running before racing , should I stick to the trails .

Pb . 15.52 5k, 33.02 10K, 54.54 10 mls .

Would love to run sub 20 for 5k , but I could only manage 3-4 days a week running as I am subsceptible to MAD CALF disease .

Thoughts

Depending on your current state of fitness you might come back relatively far rather quickly. The weight should come off in six months, but the last five poiunds will haunt you.

Depending, relatively and rather…

You’ll find that getting the last 25% is much harder than it used to be as recovery from harder workouts is slow. Be very careful for the first two months. Very careful. It seemed to me that the muscles and mind remembered what to do, but the body was nowhere near ready.

I used to race back in the 80’s and early 90’s … then life started happening and my focus shifted to family.

Now that my kids are in high school I have time to train … I just tell people that I’m coming off a 14 year taper.

Sure! why not?
“the last 5 lbs will haunt you…”
ah so true.

I was also 15 years between my first and 2nd Ironmans. You can certainly achieve your goal but you now live in a different body which has different requirements and different limitations. Just talk a lot with the other 55-65 year olds around you and glean the pearls that they drop. You can do it!