(NON FINANCIAL) Retirement plans/ dreams/ discussion.

MallyGirl

I didn't start running till I did a couch to 5k in my 40s but didn't keep it up. I tried again a couple of years ago but got injured Tried for 3rd time lucky by joining a running club on 4th Jan and was doing OK till I kicked a table with my little toe 3 weeks ago - not even a running injury. I still hope to do my first 10k in a few weeks but haven't managed that distance yet due to not being able to get a shoe on for a while.

bluenose1

I didn't start running until my late 40s really. My PB for 5K Park Run is 31 minutes, and I think that was a week the course was unintentionally too short by about 0.5K as most of the runners got PBs that week.
My excuse for running slow is I am following the Maffetone method where your heart rate should not exceed 180 minus your heart rate to improve aerobic fitness etc. An added advantage with running slow especially as I am now in my 50s is less injuries.
I LOVE doing my local Park Run, first couple of times I didn't really talk to anyone but now I often volunteer and always go for a coffee with the group after the run. Met some really nice people from all walks of life.
Doesn't matter your fitness level, there is always a tail walker who stays at the back. Great start to my weekend and really good for my stress after a week in work.
Never done a 10k, trying to summon up the courage.

k6chris

bluenose1 wrote: »

I didn't start running until my late 40s really. My PB for 5K Park Run is 31 minutes, and I think that was a week the course was unintentionally too short by about 0.5K as most of the runners got PBs that week.
My excuse for running slow is I am following the Maffetone method where your heart rate should not exceed 180 minus your heart rate to improve aerobic fitness etc. An added advantage with running slow especially as I am now in my 50s is less injuries.
I LOVE doing my local Park Run, first couple of times I didn't really talk to anyone but now I often volunteer and always go for a coffee with the group after the run. Met some really nice people from all walks of life.
Doesn't matter your fitness level, there is always a tail walker who stays at the back. Great start to my weekend and really good for my stress after a week in work.
Never done a 10k, trying to summon up the courage.

Well done and keep going. 10k is well within your grasp and low heart-rate running is very good for building up distances.



Parkrun really is for everyone, if anyone is not sure then just find your local one and go along and watch! You can run it, walk it and your dog is welcome! Anyone thinking of taking up running should try the 'Couch to 5K' app, available from the NHS (Google it). Many, many people who "can't run" have discovered they can, that they enjoy it and that it is doing them some good.

Marine_life

bluenose1 wrote: »

My excuse for running slow is I am following the Maffetone method where your heart rate should not exceed 180 minus your heart rate to improve aerobic fitness etc.

When I was marathon training I read some guidance that said you shouldn't exceed 70% of your MHR when racing (I had a tendency to go out too fast). I had a heart rate monitor and I set an alarm to go off above 70% ....the alarm was going almost constantly for the first 5km so I switched it off....

MallyGirl

at my current state of fitness my heart rate rises so rapidly that I wouldn't get above a fast walk if I took that into account. I am hoping it will get better.
I did a couple of Parkruns some years ago but the timing isn't convenient right now. DD has an activity that starts at 10 so the morning has always been geared up around getting the dogs walked and back for breakfast with her before then. Once she can drive herself or gives up Stagecoach (after 13 years attendance) I will try going again.

bugslett

k6chris wrote: »

Over the winter I stupidly entered a 40 mile Ultra, taking place in May. Over the last 6 days I have run 110 km in training. I bloody hate running now :rotfl:

On another thread I commented how much our thinking aligns and it does it again.

I hate running too. Fortunately I arrived at that conclusion before actually doing any:D.

Terron

k6chris wrote: »

Parkrun really is for everyone, if anyone is not sure then just find your local one and go along and watch! You can run it, walk it and your dog is welcome! Anyone thinking of taking up running should try the 'Couch to 5K' app, available from the NHS (Google it). Many, many people who "can't run" have discovered they can, that they enjoy it and that it is doing them some good.

It would have to be walk for me. I injured my knee over 10 years ago and it has never fully healed.

ex-pat_scot

Marine_life wrote: »

I was a big runner in my early 30's with a 10k best of 36:40 and a half marathon of 1:22. But running was a sport I loved to hate. I trained a lot, sometimes twice a day and raced almost every weekend. I was always sore or injured and when my times stopped improving I became disheartened and I eventually gave up running completely.

I returned briefly in my 40's to tick the box on a marathon (completed in 3:40) and was so disappointed (with my time) that I ran another one three weeks later (in 3:46!), but then gave up again.

Looking back I wish I have savoured those days. I wish someone had said to me "enjoy this, because its the best you'll ever be". Sometimes in life its almost like we need that outside in view to give us some perspective.

I started running again last year (at age 53, now 54) and am determined to enjoy it for as long as possible. My knees give me the occasional problem which I can manage by keeping distance below 10k and not running more than two days in succession. Can now run a relatively relaxed 5k in 25 minutes. I may do a park run but at the moment I want to make sure I enjoy every run...who knows how many more there will be.

There's a thesis in this thread somewhere - the mindset of the runner, the training required, the deferred gratification of the race, vs planning and saving for pensions!

I ran modestly in my teens and early twenties, then switched to bike racing, then stopped for 10 years whilst the career, exams, house renovation, marriage and children all came along.
I hit mid thirties with a feeling of "has been" so started running again, getting faster and culminating with a sub 3 hr marathon a few days before my 40th.
I lost focus (and a lot of challenge from Mrs XPS) on the running since then - i did quite a few ultras throughout, but for the past few years have been simply ticking over a few times a week with the dog or with colleagues, and the odd 5k /parkrun a few times a year.
I'm now on the cusp of 50, and like ML am looking back wistfully at my youthful vigour. I feel much more sluggish, and don't do the "hard yards" - the weekly 20 mile long run required for a strong stable base and marathon/ ultra preparation.

it's easy to blame working patterns for not allowing me the space or focus on fitness, but that's a bit half hearted. I'm still OK at a 5k (I hit 18:40 last summer but usually it's 19 mins) but I'm heavier, older, wheezier and just plain tired all the time. Life is catching up with me and my relentless travel/work schedule.

I keep saying I will do triathlons and get back into long distance racing (bike / run), but I've done little about it for the last few years. It's one of the things I would really like to get back into properly when I slow down, but I'm about to enter the VM50 category and I suspect it will be when I'm VM55 when I become competitive again!

GunJack

Terron wrote: »

It would have to be walk for me. I injured my knee over 10 years ago and it has never fully healed.

Can fully sympathise..did mine at 19 and it's screwed with exercise/weight ever since

TBC15

The only time I ever get above a brisk pace is when Greggs is about to close.

With this training regime I have suffered no injuries to date.