As I mentioned in a post last week, I received my doctors clearance to start running after a 6 month recovery from chronic achilles tendonitis. I did the Disney Half Marathon last Saturday and took it very slow, basically 3 hours run/walk with some photo opportunity stops. It was a good easy start, but everyone said I shouldn’t have done it. Anyway, I was somewhat sore in my calves, quads and glutes but otherwise feel fine.
This week, I was running with a friend and at the end he and I sprinted to a finish. I must have lost my mind because this could have been extremely costly had I gotten reinjured. I used to be a very quick sprinter and I actually forgot all about my injury. I got up to full speed and actually kicked his butt. Not bad for an older guy. BUT, I immediately became very concerned when I felt a slight twinge in my ankle.
The good news is that I am fine, the concerning thing is I must have lost my mind. To the other guys out there that are 50 or older, remember that we are no longer 25, don’t be a jerk like I was, trying to prove that you can still do it!
Man I’m glad your ok but this story would have been so much better if it was a tale of your achillies tearing off the bone and filling your shoes with blood but you kept sprinting for victory anyway and then tore off your HTFU bracelet and ate it.
I had a buddy, training for his first marathon… ran ~20 miles on Sunday (his longest ever, having ramped up dramatically from a longest-ever run of about 12 only a couple weeks earlier… classic no-no), then played in his regular soccer league match Monday evening, and on Tuesday morning hobbles into work wondering what could have gone wrong. “But I felt just fine during the run/match,” he protests. My standard answer to him is, “Dude, WTF - you think you’re still 20 years old??” Duh.
(BTW, I’m currently gimped off running w/ an AT/heel issue even though I was doing none of the above; just slightly bitter…)
That’s why I do my long runs after my soccer games. Still clinging to my 20’s… for 6 more months.
As far as endurance sports are concerned, don’t hang on to your 20’s, kick them to curb. You may be a lot faster in your 30’s
Don’t ever do that again! Or we’ll change your board name to FungIdiot!
Seriously, after 30 let alone after 50 you don’t EVER want to launch in to an all out sprint without a sprint-specific warmup that includes both stretching and gradually increasing stride outs. The end of a long slow run has you as tight as when you get out of bed in the morning.
Oh, and doing a marathon as your first thing after a layoff? Big mistake…I wouldn’t even have walked 26 miles as my first foray in to restarting.
So let me get this straight: You are 50 years old. You have had a serious case of Achilles tendonitis. You are just back to running. The first thing you do coming back is run a 1/2 marathon. It’s beats you up bad. Then, you are doing all out sprinting for the finish line with a friend in your next training run**. What’s on the schedule for tommorow - hill sprints in your racing flats?Have I got all that right? I just want to be sure before I say the following, with the utmost respect, of course - you sir, have no idea what you are doing! Are you crazy?? **Do you have anyone giving you advice, or did you come up with this all on your own?
