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I started at age 60. I'm 66 now and walk/run about 50 minutes 4X a week. If the course is level, I prefer to run the whole way. I've run a few 10Ks but that's not really my thing. I enjoy the solitary aspect and listening to audiobooks on my iPhone.
When the weather's too hot, as it often is in the summer, I run indoors. I hate treadmills. We have a huge master suite with a sitting area and I've arranged the furniture so I have a 42-foot unobstructed diagonal length that I can run back-and-forth. The carpet is sturdy loop pile with a thick pad, so far the wear's not too bad.
I started at the age of 56 and am now 63 years old, my son encouraged me to start. I feel that being overweight is more of a problem for your knee joints than running, not to mention the other health problems associated with being overweight.
I like knowing that I am fitter than most 40 year old men, and being slimmer (5'11" and 160 lbs) than most guys my age.
I also enjoy the friendly competitive atmosphere at races and can usually finish in the top 10% of the field. My best half marathon, which is 13.1 miles, was 1 hour 37 minutes.
I would encourage you to join a group of beginners at a local running store as the mutual encouragement and guidance from an experienced coach will be a great help.
I figured this had to have been discussed before, but I did a search and wasn't able to find it.
I'm just wondering if anyone out there starting running when they were in their fifties. I have been walking quite a bit to help dump some weight I gained while on prednisone for a medical issue, along with eating healthfully.
I was never really a runner, but when I was younger, say in my Thirties, and I wanted to lose some pounds, I would walk interspersed with bursts of running during my walk, and it seemed to make the weight come off faster.
I started doing this two weeks ago during my walks again. It feels great while I'm running, but I can't go really far before I have to slow to a walk again, and then I run a little more. This weekend I found I could run more times than I could two weeks ago, and that was sort of encouraging. I was wondering if it is possible at this age to work my way up to actually running a whole mile. My walk is usually around 2 - 2.5 miles long.
My advice, based on personal experience (started running again at 61; stopped due to lower back issues in my mid-40's):
Discuss your plans with your doctor. He/she can do an EKG (and other) tests and give you some idea of what you should be capable of (my doc, who was a sports medicine specialist, gave me a simple rule once I was declared physically OK to start running: it doesn't matter how beat up/tired you feel after you finish your run. What's important is that you don't feel that way - that you feel recovered - when you wake up the next day.)
Ramp up slowly. When I was in college I regularly ran 50-70 miles/week at a decent (7:00 min/mile) pace. That's hard baggage to unload, even 40 years later. You have to remember that ... you're old. Parts wear down more quickly, you don't have as much muscle mass, etc. Put athletic pride aside and start slowly. I did sets of 4 runs based on time: 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes. If I didn't feel comfortable at the 4th run of any of those times, I'd do one or two more. Once I was comfortable with 30 minutes, I paid less attention to duration and started looking for hills, lengthening runs, etc. ... pushing, but not punishing myself (it's supposed to be fun, after all).
Don't forget about the rest of your body. The very, very best thing that came out of my return to running was a deep appreciation of how important it is to do core and upper body exercises. I never have back issues any more, and my upper body strength helps my running form (cadence and carriage are always important, at any age). When I was a kid I'd just run. I got away with that because I was young. Now I have to be more "tactical" and thoughtful about the body as a whole.
Don't feel compelled to compete. Some people find racing rewarding and fulfilling. I find the race itself is fun, but also have found that the build-up to race day produces more tension than it's worth. Maybe when I retire I'll feel differently and will need something to give my days some "edge," but for now I have work to do that, and that's enough.
i started running in my early fifties. i was a daily bike rider (about 30 miles) and figured since i travel a lot, that running would be easier than hauling a bike and finding a place to ride. i found out real quick, a 30 mile bike ride a day did not translate into a daily runner. so, after some google searching, i found a website called "couch to a 5k." if i remember correctly, it took 9 weeks to go from a no-running guy to a 5k. it worked for me and i couldn't run 25 yards the first day.
i had to go back and use the program again a few years ago, after having a medical layoff of about 6 months or so. i was able to skip several steps and was back to 5k in just a few weeks. last year i had another medical set back and now i usually run 2 miles on the days i run and 20 miles on the days i ride a bike, i could probably improve on both. i also have an elliptical, that i spend 30 minutes on, when i can't run outside or ride my bike. i have noticed that the elliptical does keep me in shape enough to run or ride.
one more thing, always wear good running shoes, the rest of the attire you can buy at target or walmart.
i started running in my early fifties. i was a daily bike rider (about 30 miles) and figured since i travel a lot, that running would be easier than hauling a bike and finding a place to ride. i found out real quick, a 30 mile bike ride a day did not translate into a daily runner. so, after some google searching, i found a website called "couch to a 5k." if i remember correctly, it took 9 weeks to go from a no-running guy to a 5k. it worked for me and i couldn't run 25 yards the first day.
i had to go back and use the program again a few years ago, after having a medical layoff of about 6 months or so. i was able to skip several steps and was back to 5k in just a few weeks. last year i had another medical set back and now i usually run 2 miles on the days i run and 20 miles on the days i ride a bike, i could probably improve on both. i also have an elliptical, that i spend 30 minutes on, when i can't run outside or ride my bike. i have noticed that the elliptical does keep me in shape enough to run or ride.
one more thing, always wear good running shoes, the rest of the attire you can buy at target or walmart.
I used couch to 5K too and it taught me how to build up to running sensibly. The run/walk/run actually works.
I used couch to 5K too and it taught me how to build up to running sensibly. The run/walk/run actually works.
I just went to that site. I've sort of been doing that, but not measuring or timing precisely or in any pattern. Basically, I've just counted the steps that I run; for example, I ran 100 steps, then walked for a while, then ran 60, then walked for a while, then ran 40, walked and then tried another 40 but by then my legs didn't wanna. This was over the course of a two-mile paved walking trail.
I think I will try their method and see how that goes. Wow. I just want to be able to run one mile right now. The thought of a 5K seems as if it would take longer than eight weeks. We'll see.
Also, I went out three days in a row. Today was only one mile, and I couldn't run as far as the last two days because my leg muscles are sore and so are the insides of both legs just above the ankle. Don't know what's there, but it is sore. So I will skip a couple of days. Or just walk for a couple.
Location: The Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Chicagoland, Alberta Canada
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I commend you for doing this and keep trying. Don't think about the time that it will take you to get somewhere (like running a 5 K). But really see every step as a way to stay healthy/active for life.
Who cares how long it takes? Just make sure you enjoy it and don't get injured.
On the flip side of that, don't worry about time but do have goals. Sign up for a 5K no matter if you think you are ready or not. You can always walk the whole thing, you won't be the only one!!!
I figured this had to have been discussed before, but I did a search and wasn't able to find it.
I'm just wondering if anyone out there starting running when they were in their fifties. I have been walking quite a bit to help dump some weight I gained while on prednisone for a medical issue, along with eating healthfully.
I was never really a runner, but when I was younger, say in my Thirties, and I wanted to lose some pounds, I would walk interspersed with bursts of running during my walk, and it seemed to make the weight come off faster.
I started doing this two weeks ago during my walks again. It feels great while I'm running, but I can't go really far before I have to slow to a walk again, and then I run a little more. This weekend I found I could run more times than I could two weeks ago, and that was sort of encouraging. I was wondering if it is possible at this age to work my way up to actually running a whole mile. My walk is usually around 2 - 2.5 miles long.
I think you're doing it exactly right with the run-walk-run. IMO the goal should not be so much to put in miles, but to put in time. The body starts burning fat only after 30 minutes of exercise, due to the way our energy systems function. Team Oregon Tip
I was a fitness jogger since my 20's but only started entering races in my 50's. I would go out jogging 2 or 3 times per week in my 20's, 30's, and 40's, but only in my 50's did running start to consume me. I learned about intervals, tempo runs, bought a Garmin watch, subscribed to Running Times....the whole nine yards!
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