I haven't posted very much here this year, that's mainly because I have had one health issue after another recently. Not particularly serious problems but just a number of them, the latest being two weeks of covid ๐ All this has impacted on my running, my running log this year is sadly looking a bit empty compared to previous years. I have now started to try and yet again build up my running, well at least until I'm hit but some other ailment! ๐
All this has prompted me to maybe re-access my previous average running target of 20k a week, I wonder if maybe at 66 I should be aiming for a lower weekly distance? I would be really interested to hear what sort of mileage other older runners do in a week.
Written by
orangeguy
Graduate10
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I think if you were comfortable running 5K that it is a lovely distance. 3 x times per week would keep your fitness ticking away nicely and you would then be doing 15K per week. You could pick a parkrun as one of them and enjoy a social Saturday morning run too.
I would really like to get back to 20k a week but the older you get the more challenging / less comfortable it seems, so maybe its time to scale it back just a bit . . .
Hi there. Hope your health issues have settled down now.
I stopped doing long runs a while ago because I was getting injuries. I'm 66 and I run 3-4 times a week, usually doing a total of 12-15 km per week. That seems to suit me perfectly.
But everyone is different, so I guess you just need to build up gradually until you find the right distance for you. Best of luck! ๐๐
The only time I may focus on distances, is if there is a race or event coming up... like the Virtual HM /10K on May 14th...and a Spitfire Run, 10K late August.
I personally don't have a running target as such, However I would like to get back to my 10k and 10k plus runs when I am fit enough, whether I go further than that I do not know .
I'll just do what is enjoyable for me .
Although I like to read what others are doing it really does not influence my own plan .
Honestly I think you should just do what is comfortable and suits you. I'm the same age as you and run quite a lot more each week - but only what I am comfortable with.
I'm 63, at the moment I am following a training plan, so that dictates what I do, but normally I would run every other day, so 3 times one week, 4 times the next. I would normally do one longer run each week, and, say, one short intervals run, but on average I would do between 20 and 30 KM per week.
Don't define yourself by your age, I know that health issues can be more common in later years but did you see the chap in his 90s that completed the London Marathon? Do what feels comfortable for you, think you'll soon know if you're overdoing it.
Aim for what you can cope with would be my take on this. At age 71, I like to have a plan which means variations on two shorter/quicker runs and one long slower one each week. I am getting towards the end of the NRC half marathon plan. The heaviest week so far was 33k. The rest have been around the 25k mark. My concession to age relates to pace rather than distance. Injuries appear if I up the pace to the point where my stride length gets too long. A comfortable 10 mile pace is 7:30/k. Pushing it I can do 7:00/k for the same distance. I decided to focus on distance rather than pace when I completed C25k 5 years ago. Bottom line, we are all different; I prefer to discover my boundaries by trying things rather than setting a limit based on my age. People older than I am run further and faster I know. Hope that helps ๐
I can do 6:30 on a 5k run still, but donโt do that often , and I run a bit faster when I do intervals, but I donโt go for sub 30 minute 5ks or 63 minute 10ks any more. I have only had one easily fixed calf niggle in the last year ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค. Being able to get out and run three times per week is much more important to me than doing pbs now.
Hi orangeguy, Iโm 64 and another one happy with 3 x 5k a week, sometimes depending on how I feel Iโll do one longer run maybe, 6 or 7k. Iโm a plodder so like others have said do what you feel comfortable with. Happy running ๐โโ๏ธ
Hiya, I regard myself as a mature runner (62) but I go with how I feel and that changes from week to week. I tend to do Parkrun , average time about 26 mins, a long run on a Sunday maybe 10 miles, club run on. Tuesday so maybe 5 miles, some intervals on Thursday maybe out for 30 mins, in-between I do lots of walking, yoga and strength training. So in reply to your question, I think it depends on what you want to do and how your body responds when you do it. That to me would be a good indication.
Thank you, its good to get other peoples thoughts on this. At the moment I trying to get my fitness back a little and currently I don't think I'm quite there yet.
Well I presume there's no rush, so you just need to go at what you feel comfortable with and don't over do it, so that you don't get an injury and out everything back. When I had covid last year, it took me months to get my breathing back properly and it was so frustrating but I had to just be sensible and slowly I got back to where I was, as I'm sure you will too.
I am 60 this year and as I only graduated the C25K programme 5 weeks ago I am currently doing around 12-13 KM a week, but will gradually be increasing the Sunday long run.
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6 Weeks Post Grad! Iโm a runner! ๐๐พโโ๏ธโค๏ธ
One run per week!!๐ฎ๐ฎ
