How to Keep Running Strong After 40: Key Adjustments for Running Longevity
As you get to the big 4-0 and beyond, running gets more challenging.
Gone are the days when we could train as much as we want, skimp on recovery, eat anything without gaining weight and get by on little sleep.
It’s not that you can’t still run at a surprisingly high level, but it gets tougher.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. While age takes away a bit of natural speed and the ability to recover quite as quickly, it give us two big benefits, experience and adaptability.
There are ways that you can continue to enjoy your running and run well into your 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond. And not just enjoy it but also continue to get better and improve.
1. Aim to optimize, not maximize your training.
· Younger runners can get away with trying to do as much as possible, given their ability to recover faster. For a younger runner, “doing more” is a reliable way to “do better”. For masters runners, things change. For one thing, many masters runners now have an enviable base level of fitness as a result of years of training. That base of training doesn’t easily disappear. Years of training build more mitochondria, more and bigger blood vessels and capillaries (an old coach of mine referred this as your “internal plumbing”), and neuromuscular coordination and efficiency. The result of this is that you may no longer need miles and miles of slow running to create basic aerobic adaptations. I’m not saying these adaptations aren’t important at any age, but as you get older, you can focus more on specificity.
· Aim for no more than 2 hard workouts per week. Masters runners can generally handle no more than 2 hard sessions per week. What’s a hard session? Intervals, tempo runs hill reps and long runs. Anything that gets your heart rate above zone 2 or lasts longer than about 60 minutes. I like to do intervals or tempo runs on Wednesday and a long run on Sunday. This give you 2-3 days of easy zone two training or cross training to allow you to recover from your harder efforts. This also allows you be recovered enough to give your hard workouts the effort they deserve, rather than going into the session with tired legs and low motivation and making a mess of it.
· Keep your easy days easy. Generally no more than 40-45 minutes of running for most runners and at a very comfortable pace. Like the pace you might run as a warmup to a race or an interval session. You have to recover properly, especially as you age, to put in the required effort on the hard days.
· Allow at least one rest day. Many runners hate rest days. They feel like they’re slacking off or that their fitness is deteriorating. Actually, the opposite is true. When you rest, your body has the opportunity to recover and rebuild and become stronger. The mental side of this is equally important. Giving yourself a chance to relax and forget about running once or twice a week allows you to be mentally sharper and more focused on the days that you run.
2. Schedule Micro and Macro recovery periods.
· Micro recovery periods include rest days or down weeks where you run significantly less than your typical weeks. Many runners take an easier week every 4th week to help with recovery. While it doesn’t have to be strictly every 4th week, it doesn’t hurt to have occasional weeks of lighter training, such as doing a mini-taper before a low key race.
· Macro recovery periods are longer stretches of two to four weeks of significantly reduced training such as at the end of a racing season, or following a marathon or half marathon. These should be scheduled once or twice per year to give you a chance to really recover and reset physically and mentally.
3. Consider speed and mobility training.
· Many masters runners never sprint. They seem to think sprinting is for kids, or they’re afraid of injury and so they rarely run faster than about 5k race pace. This can be a mistake. Faster running builds stronger muscles, improves neuromuscular recruitment and improves your running efficiency. The risk of injury is real, though, so it’s crucial to warm up and cool down properly before and after and to build up to it slowly. Aim for 3-4 acceleration runs of 60-80m starting slowly and building to maybe 80% effort on the first one, working up to 90% effort for the last one. You can build up to as many as 10 of these as part of a warmup for an interval session or after an easy run. This shouldn’t be a hard workout and shouldn’t leave you sore the next day. Think of running quick but relaxed and never allow yourself to struggle on these. If you start to feel fatigued, call it a day. One or two of these sessions a week will help preserve speed, activate your fast twitch muscle fibers and improve your efficiency at race pace.
· Another thing masters runners often neglect are drills. You’ve likely seen sprinters performing these drills at your local track or prior to competition. A skips, B skips, high knees, butt kicks etc. You can search these up on Youtube for a proper demonstration. It wouldn’t hurt to have a running coach or training partner observe you on these to make sure your form doesn’t suck. These drills build specific strength and mobility in your running muscles and can greatly help with your speed and running economy, which tends to decline with age.
By incorporating these 3 elements regularly in your training, you can keep running faster for longer and maybe even capture a bit of that fountain of youth that running can help you access.
Cheers,
Dan.