Tips from a 52 year old 3.17 marathon runner
Running strong when over 40 is a big goal for many runners. When reaching 40 we are over our prime when it comes to physical activities, running included. What happens is, that we loose fast twitch muscles and a bit of our muscle mass. This facts impacts running. With each year that passes by we need to train … not harder but smarter.
There is also a large group of people who only discovered running after turning 40. It’s a bit different for this group of people since those of you who belong into the group don’t have a reference point from earlier.
But the fact is that we need to consider about all that’s happening in our bodies and except the changes, not fight them. If we do so, we still will be able to run fast or for a long period of time and what’s most important: stay injury free while doing so.
My first advice running strong when over 40 is to incorporate strength and cross training
There is a way to postpone the loss of muscle mass and still have strong muscles that work the way we want. The way is easy, we all now it but we all (more or less) struggle to do the right thing. Train our muscles. Not only by running but we need to incorporate strength training into our weekly routine.
Ideal would be to do at least 2 strength training sessions a week. That doesn’t mean we need to go to the gym and lift heavy weights. A good all body strength session can be done at home and we don’t need much equipment. Believe it or not but it’s enough to do strength training with your own body weight or some resistant bands.
But don’t just work on your legs, glutes and core muscles. Yes, they are the most important when it comes to running, work on you whole body.
A good alternative to strength training is pilates. It also works the whole body, all muscle groups that need work and sometimes pilates can be even more efficient and beneficial then strength training. Some time ago I hosted a pilates instructor on my podcast and if you want to find out more about it, well just click on the link below and listen to our interview.
Yoga and Pilates for runners with Molina
When it comes to cross training I like to think about biking and swimming. Yes, when I was young triathlon was my sport. While on your bike you don’t have the impact on your legs and you are still working with your leg and core muscles. The movement is a bit different then while running, but you are going to gain fitness. When it comes to biking there is another benefit: the heart rate is lower then during running. So biking is a good way to work on your aerobic fitness.
Now, when it comes to swimming the story is a bit different. While swimming more or less all the muscles you have in your body are working. It’s more like a full body workout and while swimming you need to take more care about your breathing, this can help you become a stronger and more efficient runner.
Sure, there are many other sports and activities you can do to stay healthy and in shape. But be aware that we only have so much time, so use the time you have smart and do what you think is best for you.
Let’s move on to expectations
Now, someone who just started running might have a goal to run a local 5k or 10k race, maybe even his or her first half marathon or marathon, but this group of runners is not looking much into time goals. It’s more about conquering the distance. So when in your 40’s running your first marathon is a big goal but a goal that’s also achievable.
The shorter the distance the more difficult it get’s to run faster. While many runners struggle to run a 5 or 10k PB when over 40, many runners still are able to run a fast half marathon or marathon. Those two running events are longer but you also need more experience to run them. You need to know your body, that’s why on those longer running events, even those 50 or 100 mile races, you can see older runners amongst the best.
Back to expectations. I know that I maybe have 2 or 3 more fast marathons in my legs but that’s probably it. It’s not so much about the race itself, it’s more about the impact of training over 2-4 months that’s difficult. All those fast interval sessions and tempo runs. But the faster we want to run the more of them we need to do.
So be realistic when setting goals. Know your body and set your time goals according to how you are feeling. It’s useless to set unrealistic goals that will only get you ill or injured while trying to reach them.
Recover properly
I talked about rest and recovery quite a few times in my podcast episodes. If you want to learn more about my personal opinion on the topic, just browse through
It’s a big and important topic and in our 40’s it becomes even more so. We need to recover, so we don’t get overtrained or injured. Let’s take a look at a normal marathon training plan. It’s 3-4 weeks building up the volume and intensity and then there is a down week so our bodies can recover from the training load and start with the next 3-4 week cycle.
Now, when over 40 this cycle should not be 5 weeks long, instead you should aim for a 4 week cycle, if feeling tired from training even a 3 week cycle, so your body has more time to adapt to the training and recover from it.
Run your easy runs easy
During my 40’s I made quite some mistakes. I ran my easy runs too fast and my fast runs too slow. Why too slow? To be honest, I was so tired from my easy runs that I was not able to run my fast runs faster than I did. This is my final but also important tip: run your easy runs rather super easy then just a bit too fast.
By running easy you will build a good aerobic capacity, the foundation of your training, on witch you can then build your speed endurance and also top end speed, for those aiming for a time goal. And those just aiming to get through a race: it will teach you how to run for a longer period of time. It will give you the confidence needed to make it to the finish line.
And last but not least: running slow impacts your aging. The more slower miles you’ll run the more you’re gonna slow down the aging process in your body and work on your health.
More tips
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