You may not know but I've never been 60 before. So I'm still learning what my old skeletal frame, muscles and joints can cope with running wise, if my daily running regime is to be maintained. After all, having given up the sex, drugs and rock and roll as I was advised what other pleasures in life do I have. (No eating a bag of Maynard's Wine Gums will not compensate for my daily fix!). Obviously, it's key to remain injury free. I think a lot of my injuries over the last few years have resulted from trying to fit in with the training of others; very often sessions I've set for them myself. Sessions young bodies could cope with, but I couldn't.
The benefit of training solo is that you can plan your own sessions and have more of a chance of sticking to them. I'm not planning too far ahead though at the moment. I'm a bit torn between trying to get some speed back over 5ks and 10ks or pushing the long run up and up to possibly tackle a spring marathon. But my concern is that will tackling 20s and over blunt my speed at my age, whereas in my thirties the marathon training strengthened me for all distances down to 10k. Of course there is that nagging niggle that if I hadn't
got caught up with marathon fever (4 in '83; 5 in '84; 3 in '85) then my 5k and 10k times would have been better. Plus I turned my back altogether on the track; only returning as a V40 in 1989. Who knows?
Anyway, not sure about plans long term but at least this week was planned and today's run was to be 9 miles in 78 minutes. Had in mind usual 2 mile intro then 6 at 8.30 plus last easier mile back at 9. The pick up in pace from 2 didn't quite materialise but managed to pull it back to record 78.03. There was a danger of "taking off" as last Sunday but some times we have to hold back and not get carried away. Reason being all being well I'll do another 5k on Sunday.
So there's days for "having a go" and days for holding back and sticking to the plan. I remember a night I put up a session at the local club and said it would be 8 miles at 8 mins......64 minutes total as I had raced on the previous Sunday. All went well with the group of a dozen or so staying together for the first couple of miles. The first to break away was what I call a "Tuesday night racer". He never races at weekends so Tuesday his his only chance to show how good he is. Away he went ....and one by one went the rest. With two miles of the run left there was just two of us. But she too couldn't hold back and I was left to run the last 2 miles alone. I arrived back at the club house........in 63.50. So why had the other 11 elected to do the session then been carried away by the "Tuesday night racer"?
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