So, I'm 6'4" and 101kg and 62 y/o, plus I'm new to running... except that I've done a few half-marathons and one marathon (Beachy Head)... but I got round those slowly by mixing jogging and having a long stride so that I can walk faster than many (slower folk) jog... My times are rubbish. i.e. I've kind of cheated !
Basically I've always been a cyclist and happy doing regular 50 to 100+K outings in hilly terrain... plus done some long open water swims etc., so underlying fitness is there. Being big, always hated running..
Just completed week 4 of C25K pretty easily (I've been adding an extra interval on the end) but wondering if my pace is right... Week 5 is getting serious...
I've been walking at 5.5km/h and jogging at 9. My "natural" pace is more like 10-11km/h but I find it hard to go slower as my stride breaks up and rhythm goes out the window. This is all treadmill at the moment as the roads here are treacherous and the fields muddy and very slippery...
So, are those sensible paces? Should I up it or slow it?
My hr sits around 135 at the pace I'm doing (I want to bring that down) and cadence is 130spm. I'm also altering my diet which is pretty good but a bit carb-heavy to bring my weight down to below 100.
Just need the confidence that I'm not doing this wrong...
End game here is a sprint triathlon... something I never thought I could do, but now seems possible(ish)...
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Nickod
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Welcome to the forum and well done on your progress.
Forget numbers, just make sure that you can speak aloud clear ungasping sentences as you run. This easy conversational pace equates to approximately 75% of your maximum heart rate, which is the perfect zone to build the solid aerobic base required to run faster and further, which is why it is the pace at which elite athletes spend up to 80% of their training time.
Thanks - I read that last night - very useful indeed. I firmly believe that most of this is about about the mental side, not the physical (assuming nothing breaks!) - if you've spent a lifetime being told that you're not a runner and that you can only do "sitting down sports", it's tricky to get the confidence to a) just get started, b) believe that you can complete it and c) to shore that confidence up by knowing that you're doing it right (for you).
A couple of years ago I couldn't do a length of crawl, then I was given a stupid challenge to do a long (over 6km) open water swim in under 2 hours in just 6 months... having done that, the previous silly target of a sprint triathlon became almost tenable if I could find a way to get the running side sorted. At my age, I don't know how many more years there are where this might be physically achievable...
You are correct about the mental limitations that we, or others, impose on ourselves and moving out of our comfort zones can be very empowering, demolishing so many of those artificial boundaries. Alongside that we have to have realistic expectations and with running in particular, not to compare with others......it is a personal journey.
I am 65 and am setting out this morning to restart C25k after completing chemotherapy last month. I don't expect to have the pace that I had previously, but I do know that by running on a regular basis my life will be enhanced and I will be joining all the other runners in their 60s, 70s and 80s who are not writing themselves off prematurely.
Good luck with the return to running... hope the remission is permanent...
We have a 67y/o great friend who has done 117 marathons (and some doubles, like the Comrades Marathon in SA) and is still going strong - he's done every Beachy Head marathon since it started - the year I did it (2019) the weather was atrocious and he took 5:15 (he's done it in around 4:00 before) - I was a full hour and a half slower - the weather on the seven sisters was so bad that one of the ladies I was with was blown over...
My excuse is that he's a full 30kg lighter than me! It's so unfair - he eats twice as much as I do (no dairy at all) but just seems to burn it off...
Age (assuming the basic mechanics are working) is no issue!
Your jogging pace is fine. About 6'40"/km. (We tend to use pace rather than speed, but it's not hard to convert between the two.)
Your natural pace is fine too, especially given you're a giant. 😉 Mine is similar, and I have to fight it.
Most important is what Tim (IannodaTruffe) said: are you able to speak complete sentences without gasping?
It might help to shorten your stride a little and increase the cadence a tad. Check you're not heel-striking. Make sure you're landing the foot under your centre of gravity. Don't kick your leg back.
You will need to slow down when you get outside and off the dreadmill. There are uneven surfaces and hills out there.
Oddly, I find running outside easier as I dictate my speed, not the treadmill... Also, on the treadmill you have to concentrate all the time else it ends badly! Outside you can zone out and the varying terrain creates interest; treadmills are (IMHO) tedious/boring in the extreme... It is however very hilly here...
I hear what you say about cadence and stride - my shoes are good and cushioned (as is the treadmill) - outside it's all cross-country (avoid roads) and I use Brooke trail shoes.
I'll watch the heel landing - good call on that - thanks.
My breathing is fine (so far!) - rate and depth increase slightly when running but nowhere near panting or out of breath. No sign (touch wood) of stitches yet either.
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