August 18, 2015 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Running Role Models/Runners You Admire

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Running Role Models/Runners You Admire

At my advancing age, I admire those runners over 50 such as:

These Bloggers:

AJH from Age Groups Rock
Pam from We Run Disney
Holly from HoHo Runs
Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home
Linda from SeeLindaRun
Judy from Chocolaterunsjudy
Sherri from Adventures of a Middle-Aged Drama Queen
Shelly from My Journey to Fit
Charlotte from I Run in the Rain

(Sorry I couldn’t list all the over 50 bloggers… and yes, you younger runners are inspiring too, but let’s face it, it’s easier for you. You’ll see!))

I love to read about older women who are staying fit, being active, organizing running groups, running races from 5ks through marathons.

and of course, older runners that I have read about:

Anne Garrett, who at age 80 set a Half Marathon record and then at 81, set a 5K record

Harriette Thompson who ran a marathon at age 92.

Joan Benoit Samuelson at age 58, who can still finish a marathon in less than 3 hours.

I admire any older woman who is out there running, fast or slow, alone or in a group. I hope to be able to do the same for a very long time…

running at age 62 years young

Happy Running! Who do you admire as a runner?

July 9, 2015 by Darlene

Thinking Out Loud Thursday: That Elusive Speed

So I’m linking up today with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.

I have been thinking about running goals and speed.

I was getting faster for awhile..

and then things slowed down for whatever reason.

Of course as we age, we slow down.

But what if we started running when we were old. Do we still slow down?

So it seems that if we don’t slow down then it’s a Win-Win.

After a few months of running, my 5k finish times went down to a consistent 29-30 minutes.

Then all of a sudden, I was able to run 27-28 minute 5ks.

Now, I am back to finishing at 29-30 minutes.

Did I slow down or is that where I should be for my age??

Am I going to get even slower? If so, I need to adjust my goals!!

The same thing happened with Half Marathons.

I finished my first one in around 2:26.

Of course, eventually I got faster and finished one in 2:09

Now, I am back to finishing close to 2:26.

So will I continue to run at this speed? Or can I get faster? Or as I age will I get even slower?

Just food for thought.

On another related topic….

I decided to run some 5ks this summer.

TEAM Sarcoma 5k on July 11 (this Saturday)
Silks & Satins 5k on July 24 (in 2 weeks)

Both take place in Saratoga – the first one in the park and the second in town starting at the race track.

How fast will I be? Who knows?

Happy Running! Do you struggle with race goals related to speed?

May 14, 2015 by Darlene

#REALWomenMove

Go to http://www.skirtsports.com/ambassadors/ to read about the awesome ambassador captains

Part of my responsibility of being a Skirts Sports Ambassador Captain is posting every month on a different topic.

Last month, the topic was: (You can click on the links to read my posts.)

“261” and honoring the anniversary of Kathrine Switzer; the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon and

Women conquering barriers

This month, the topic is what REALwomenmove means to me:

REALwomenmove women are Real bodies.

When I was almost 55, I decided to join a running club and run my first 5K. I had never done anything athletic until I was in my 40s when I learned to play tennis. Many people may have thought that I was too old and most of the runners in the group were indeed younger. But I quickly got addicted to racing and here I am, 62, and wearing running skirts (even if it shows the cellulite on my thighs.)

REALwomenmove women are Real inspiration.

Through reading running blogs, I have met some inspiring women. Women who in their 60s are competing in triathlons and women who smile while going through their cancer treatments….

A REALwomenmove woman is proud of who she is.

Sometimes when I race, I win an award because I am the only one in my age group. That’s ok. I am still proud of my accomplishment.

A REALwomenmove woman is confident.

When I first started running, I only ran 5ks. I did that for several years. Then when I had a serious health scare, I decided that life was short and I needed a challenge. I decided to run a half marathon and I was confident that I could do it (despite my hubby’s fears.)

A REALwomenmove woman do not judge other women.

Though my running years, I have run with many diverse groups of women – beginning runners, older runners, runners with young kids, slow runners, fast runners… No matter what, we are women and we are runners. We support each other!!

A REALwomenmove woman is comfortable in her own body.

My body has enabled to play tennis and even compete at state and national levels.

Now running has taken precedence over tennis and I have run over 100 races including 12 half marathons.

A REALwomenmove woman accepts and loves herself as she is.

Yes, I am still uncoordinated and clumsy. Hence, a broken ankle and a broken foot. But I focus on my strengths and accept my weaknesses.

To a REALwomenmove woman, an active life is important to her health and happiness.

Every time, I get injured, people ask “are you going to stop running now?” I say “Hell, no!”

Being active is who I am. It is important to my life. It makes me happy and it makes me feel healthy.

Be sure to drop by the Skirt Sports website to see how the Ambassadors move!

Happy Running! How do you move?

April 15, 2015 by Darlene

261 Fearless

Each month, one of my responsibilities as a Skirt Sports Ambassador Captain is to post on a particular topic.

This month it’s:

“261” and honoring the anniversary of Kathrine Switzer; the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon

Women conquering barriers

I wrote a post recently about women conquering barriers HERE – AGE being the barrier.

I can’t tell you how many times, I have heard women say:

I’m too old to run.
I used to run when I was younger…
I can’t run fast, I’m too old.
A half marathon at my age?
I don’t want to wreck my knees.
I don’t want to wind up needing a hip replaced.
Won’t you get arthritis?
Etc. etc etc

If you run, you know that none of this is true. There are so many runners at my age and older. Some are still fast and some are not. It doesn’t matter. They are out there running and enjoying life.

I met Joan Benoit Samuelson several years ago. She is so nice. She is still running marathons and she is still fast.

Kathrine Switzer is “fearless”ly still running at almost 70 years old.

You can read more about 261 Fearless on her site here.

So everyone be “FEARLESS” and run until …..

Don’t let your age be a barrier to fitness.

Happy Running!

April 8, 2015 by Darlene

“Older” Women Move

Yes, we do.

Take a lesson from 91 year old marathoner Hariette Thompson.

And Anne Garrett, who at age 80 set a Half Marathon record and then at 81, set a 5K record.

There’s also 99 year old Ida Keeling who sprinted to a 100m World record.

According to this NYTimes article:

Men, as might be expected, get slower as they age. At a recent five-kilometer race in Pine Beach, N.J., which drew nearly 1,000 runners, the fastest man was 24 years old and the men’s times increased with each five-year age group.

But the women were different — their times were all over the place with older women beating younger women in almost every age category.”

But with average runners, he said, older women may be faster because, oddly enough, they are trying harder than younger women and discovering for the first time what they are capable of.

Most middle-aged women grew up when track and cross-country teams were for men only. Some of those women, who had no opportunity to race when they were young, are just learning to be athletes and are running faster than younger women who may not care as much.

Have you read Margaret Webb’s book, Older, Faster, Stronger?

According to Joe Friel in his book, Fast After 50:

Aging doesn’t mean runners have to stop racing. It also doesn’t mean they have to slow down. High intensity workouts and strength training could be the keys to staying competitive.

Now let’s get personal.

I started running at age 55. I happily finished my first 5k at 37:36. At age 61, I PRed with a time of 27:11 and I plan to improve on that this year!

Biggest Loser 5K Run Walk

I ran my first Half Marathon at age 57. My finish time was 2:28:27. My most recent half marathon time was 2:09:40.

Yes, we “older women” move!!

Stockadeathon 15K

Happy Running! Do you have examples of older women who move?

February 11, 2015 by Darlene

What I am Loving…

80-Year-Old Woman Sets A Half Marathon Record!! What’s even more impressive about Garrett’s half marathon times is that they keep getting faster—an unusual trend for runners her age.

Oh yeah!! Hopefully, that will be ME!

I have the skirt…

Runners World 5K

And this video #likeagirl:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

I went to school pre-Title IX. When I was in high school, the boys played sports and the girls were cheerleaders. I wasn’t popular or coordinated enough to be a cheerleader. I was a nerd. I was in National Honor Society and Key club and we sold hot chocolate at the football games.

I didn’t attempt a sport until my 40’s when I learned to play tennis. I was on a team and we competed at the national level. That finally gave me some confidence.

2002 – I’m the one on the right

In my 50’s, my tennis friends convinced me to try running. Well, I haven’t looked back. Running is the sport for me!!

I am “running like a girl” and beating 2 guys!

Serial podcast – It’s my new treadmill distraction. The story is addictive.

Sales. Who doesn’t love a bargain? I got a jacket at Target for $8 (clearance & cartwell app), a skirt at Burlington Coat factory for $5(sale) and a tank at Penny’s for $2 (sale & coupon), running shoes from Amazon for $10 (had a gift card).

this jacket in white

tank

Happy Running! What are you loving today?

(Don’t forget to enter my Runner’s Choice giveaway HERE.)

October 14, 2014 by Darlene

Older Faster Stronger

Sounds like something to aspire to…but I’m already at the older part.

running at age 61!

For 5k distances I am much faster than I was when I started. In fact I just broke a 4 year old PR.

my first 5k time was 37:36 and a recent 5K time was 27:11

Now I need to work on stronger.

Obviously I am stronger than when I started. (I have completed 9 half marathons.) But I would like to struggle less when running longer distances.

Here are some quotes from the book above:

Masters athletes are proving that as much as 50 percent of age-related decline, maybe even 70 percent, is due not to aging but to deconditioning …When scientists probe the bodies of endurance athletes, they discover 80-year-olds with muscles and cardiac capacities akin to those of 20-year-olds.

That is great news!

Wells argues that exercise can improve our bodies at any age… “If we had a drug that did what exercise did, it would be the biggest revolution ever and would be promoted all over the world. And all you have to do is go out for a run.”

“Exercise can help keep you young.” … runners who stick with the program can delay the decline. We have to work for it, but it’s worth it.

It’s not all a bed of roses. We, as we get older, will have:

Likely injuries
Declining cardiac output
Slowing times
Loss of lung capacity
Loss of dexterity and flexibility
Loss of bone density
Loss of lean muscle mass

So how can runners maximize the benefits of exercise and minimize the risk of injury?

Easy running, 75% of weekly mileage
Target race paces, 5% to 10% of weekly mileage
Fast running or hills, 15% to 20% weekly mileage

Recently, I have been running once or twice a week – easy runs of 3-5 miles. Once a week, in the running group, we do intervals and run on hills. (I will have to do that on my own when the group runs end.) On the weekend, when I have 5K races, that is my fast running and many times it is followed also by easy running. I always give myself time to recover, rarely running 2 days in a row and never before & after a long run.

I think that is why I don’t (knock on wood) have any overuse injuries like knee, hip or foot pain.

and “More Is Better.”

Wells says that more exercise is almost always better than less. “I believe training for a marathon is good for your health,” says Wells, “because it stresses the oxygen transport pathway; it puts pressure on your lungs, your heart, your blood, your muscles, inside your muscles, your brain, your nervous system. The stress stimulates your body to adapt and improve. Your body adapts as long as it has time also to recover.”

91 year old marathoner Hariette Thompson

I doubt that I will run a marathon but I plan to continue what I have been doing and train for several half marathons each year.

Now research and the performances of masters athletes show “that older people can adapt with the same relative improvements as healthy young adults–in bone density, aerobic capacity, muscle strength, and cardiovascular fitness in general.”

Most of this is what I’ve known all along but it’s nice to see it in print.

Happy Running! What do you think about running when you are older?

May 9, 2014 by Darlene

Foto Friday and my birthday

Tulips, what else?

Unfortunately, due to a long winter and a cold spring, the prettiest tulips have not bloomed yet.

Anyway, I love having my birthday when the tulips are in bloom!

61 years young!

even Google remembered!

Happy Running! What is your favorite flower?

April 10, 2014 by Darlene

#TBT

I’ve been friends with Andrea since Aug 1973 & Judy since Aug 1974.

Wow, that’s a long time. (Probably most of you reading this were not even born.)

We shared several apts together and did a lot of partying in the old days of our youth.

Andrea lives in NJ (and I only see her sporadically. Thank God for FB.) Judy lives locally. (I see her all the time.)

None of us did any fitness/sportswise when we were younger (unless bar hopping a sport.)

Now Andrea is avid skier and biker. Judy plays tennis.

They don’t run but they also don’t think I am crazy for running. (In fact, I may stay with Andrea when I run a race next fall.)

Nov 2013

May 1975

Happy Running! Do you still keep in touch with old friends? Are they runners?

January 21, 2014 by Darlene

Good News for Us Oldies but Goodies

Is there any scientific study to substantiate the claim that older people (over 45) should limit high impact exercises such as jogging, sprinting, etc.?

According to Ask Wells:

Actually, much of the recent science about high-impact exercise by “older people” …reaches the opposite conclusion, suggesting that in many cases high-impact exercise can be beneficial for those middle aged and beyond. A seminal 2003 study of people aged 30 to past 70, for instance, found that while sedentary adults lost about 10 percent of their maximal endurance capacity every decade, young and middle-aged athletes who regularly engaged in intense and high-impact exercise, such as running intervals, experienced a much slower decline, losing only about 5 percent of their capacity per decade until age 70, when the loss of capacity accelerated for everyone.

There is also little evidence to support the widespread belief that high-impact exercise speeds the onset of arthritis. In a 2013 study, adult runners, including many aged 45 or older, had a lower incidence of knee osteoarthritis and hip replacement than age-matched walkers, with the adults who accumulated the most mileage over the course of seven years having the lowest risk, possibly, the study’s author speculated, because running improved the health of joint cartilage and kept them lean as they aged. Similarly, a 2006 review of studies about jogging and joints concluded that “long-distance running does not increase the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees and hips for healthy people who have no other counter-indications for this kind of physical activity,” and “might even have a protective effect against joint degeneration.”

Running and similar high-impact activities likewise have a salutary effect on bone density, said Dr. Michael Joyner, an exercise physiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and an expert on aging athletes, of whom he is one. Over all, he continued, he is “skeptical” of the idea that older people should avoid high-impact activities. “A lot of concerns about age-appropriate exercise modalities have turned out to be more speculative than real over the years,” he said, adding that during his research and personal workouts, he’s seen many seasoned adults pounding the pavement without ill effects.

HOORAY!! Cuz I’m be running until I can’t!