Curious about how aging impacts your running routine? This episode of Brian's Run Pod offers an in-depth look at the intersection of running and the natural aging process. We explore the physiological changes such as muscle mass loss, decreased bone density, and reduced VO2 max, and how these shifts affect your performance and recovery. Discover common injuries like runner's knee and Achilles tendon tears, and hear a personal story about dealing with "policeman's heel." Learn why it's crucial to listen to your body and consult a healthcare professional before starting or continuing your running journey as you age.
Wondering how to keep your muscles healthy and strong in your senior years? This episode sheds light on essential stretching routines and nutritional guidelines tailored for older runners. We'll walk you through key stretches for your hamstrings, quads, and glutes, emphasizing the importance of easing into them to prevent strain. On the nutrition front, we discuss the need for easy-to-digest carbs before running and the pivotal role of protein in recovery. Find out why older athletes should aim for at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily and the significance of timely post-exercise nutrition for muscle repair.
Want to know how to adapt your training and nutrition to stay fit as you age? This episode covers the necessity of incorporating strength training to prevent injuries and maintain aerobic capacity as you grow older. We discuss the psychological benefits of exercise and how cross-training can keep you active when running isn’t an option. Finally, we delve into the history of the 5000 meters Olympic event, highlighting the achievements of athletes like Lassi Viren, Meseret Defar, and Mo Farah, and the dominance of countries like Ethiopia and Kenya. Tune in to learn more about maintaining your running routine and the fascinating history of this iconic race.
Plus, we have a new feature on the podcast you can now send me a message. Yep you heard it right- Brian's Run Pod has become interactive with the audience. If you look at the top of the Episode description tap on "Send us a Text Message". You can tell me what you think of the episode or alternatively what you would like covered. If your lucky I might even read them out on the podcast.
Curious about how aging impacts your running routine? This episode of Brian's Run Pod offers an in-depth look at the intersection of running and the natural aging process. We explore the physiological changes such as muscle mass loss, decreased bone density, and reduced VO2 max, and how these shifts affect your performance and recovery. Discover common injuries like runner's knee and Achilles tendon tears, and hear a personal story about dealing with "policeman's heel." Learn why it's crucial to listen to your body and consult a healthcare professional before starting or continuing your running journey as you age.
Wondering how to keep your muscles healthy and strong in your senior years? This episode sheds light on essential stretching routines and nutritional guidelines tailored for older runners. We'll walk you through key stretches for your hamstrings, quads, and glutes, emphasizing the importance of easing into them to prevent strain. On the nutrition front, we discuss the need for easy-to-digest carbs before running and the pivotal role of protein in recovery. Find out why older athletes should aim for at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily and the significance of timely post-exercise nutrition for muscle repair.
Want to know how to adapt your training and nutrition to stay fit as you age? This episode covers the necessity of incorporating strength training to prevent injuries and maintain aerobic capacity as you grow older. We discuss the psychological benefits of exercise and how cross-training can keep you active when running isn’t an option. Finally, we delve into the history of the 5000 meters Olympic event, highlighting the achievements of athletes like Lassi Viren, Meseret Defar, and Mo Farah, and the dominance of countries like Ethiopia and Kenya. Tune in to learn more about maintaining your running routine and the fascinating history of this iconic race.
Plus, we have a new feature on the podcast you can now send me a message. Yep you heard it right- Brian's Run Pod has become interactive with the audience. If you look at the top of the Episode description tap on "Send us a Text Message". You can tell me what you think of the episode or alternatively what you would like covered. If your lucky I might even read them out on the podcast.
So you're thinking about running but not sure how to take the first step. My name is Brian Patterson and I'm here to help. Welcome to Brian's RomPod. Welcome back to brian's rom pod, your weekly dose of everything running. Um, I'm your host, brian patterson, and we're diving into a topic that affects every runner eventually running and aging something that I know really. So what we're going to look at is kind of the science of running and ageing, sort of related injuries, my story I'm 61, and also some tips for those who are, let's say, in their senior years in terms of their running, and also not forgetting we'll be continuing our series of Olympic running events or a history of so well, without further ado, let's crack on and get into it.
Speaker 1:
So the science of running and aging. So what happens? The related injuries you can get and potential injuries are you can get runner's knee I suppose you could get that at any time Pain caused by your kneecap rubbing against your thigh bone, achilles tendon, tear. Pain along the back of your foot where your heel connects to the calf muscle, shin splints. Pain along the bottom and front of your legs causes, by inflammation and stress, fractures, minor breaks in your bone. I think the key thing here is just to listen to your body. Slow down when you need to, and this may mean taking days or weeks off from your running routine to avoid injury. Keep in mind that you lose endurance more quickly as you age and, instead of jumping back into your past running routine, start slowly, alternate jogging and walking, or even try cross training until you build back up to where you were. Talk to your doctor first. Let them know about your health conditions you have, and they'll let you know if it's safe for you to start a running routine.
Speaker 1:
Natural physiological changes with ageing, muscle mass, bone density and VO2 max. Getting older is inevitable, as are many of the declines in physical and cognitive function that occur as our bodies move forward in time. With age, our mental capacities sometimes suffer, though there is evidence that this can be prevented by maintaining social relationships. Engaged in high-level cognitive activity and finding meaning and purpose in our work and hobbies is physical decline, which can take the form of slower walking speeds just watch your grandma reduced overall muscle mass, decreased strength and power and a loss of mitochondria. Although I was very heartened to hear that Lucy, our Pilates instructor, said that her grandma was a dancer and does reformer pilates, so that was a really nice story.
Speaker 1:
There is a general consensus that our maximal aerobic capacity, or VO2 max, which is the maximal rate at which we can take up and use oxygen, undergoes a steep decline as we get older. Up until about the age of 30, the VO2 max increases a fair amount, assuming you're physically active and not a couch potato. But around age 30 to 40, we begin to see somewhat a linear decline in our aerobic capacity each decade. The impact on performance and recovery times. So since exercise training can increase the VO2 max times. So since exercise training can increase the VO2 max, one would think that as long as one just keeps exercising at the same level throughout life, one should be able to maintain their aerobic fitness levels. If this were the case, you theoretically never really slow down so long as you can also maintain your muscle mass, strength and mitochondrial capacity to match your cardiovascular system. It doesn't take much observation to conclude that we can't really maintain this peak performance throughout life. And just as watch the career trajectories of high level and even amateur athletes or even your own performance, inevitably we fail to produce the same times or gym numbers as we age, despite maintaining a high level of training. The fantasy of maintaining a youthful cardiovascular fitness throughout life may be just that a fantasy. As it turns out, there is a consistently observed and very linear decline in VO2 max throughout life, no matter how active one is.
Speaker 1:
What about my story? Well, at the moment I have an injury as the time of recording, and I have what is commonly known as policeman's heel, and apparently this is a common injury of a certain age. In fact, I was talking to my sister about this In fact she's had it a couple of times as well and she kind of suggested stretching and also using a cold press as well, which I think is really good advice. So I'm 61 and a little overweight, and I suppose, year on year, I have not been doing as much running. In the last couple of years, in fact, I was doing quite a bit during the pandemic in the last couple of years. In fact, I was doing quite a bit during the pandemic. So maybe the injury has come about due to me not doing a lot of running outside. I don't know. Sometimes you don't realise you're missing running when you get injured and the only substitute at the gym is the cross trainer or elliptical machine. It is a novelty now, but I keep gazing longingly over to the treadmills, wishing I was doing a steady 5k.
Speaker 1:
So my goals are that I'm under no illusion that I can run the same times as I did five years ago. I think nothing of going out for an interval session of a 5 to 6k or even doing a 10k run on Strava. I did a 10k run of 64 minutes with an average pace of 630, and that was, I think, I'm only like maybe two or three years ago. My cadence was about 160. I mean, though, it's not ideal, but anyway, if I try to do that now, I'd find it hard to come to complete a 4k, never mind 10k.
Speaker 1:
So my goals are just to get over the injury, either with the help of a professional or self-treatment. So, for instance, as I said, the ice pack and rolling my foot over a golf ball, and it would be good to get up to 5k and run consistently and maybe start to work on my cadence. And I said no, my running assessment from my money running assessment, from my running assessment, which was in a previous podcast. If you didn't listen to that, then please do go back and listen to that. At least get me to achieve the goals that I've set myself what are the tips for aging runners? Now I'll provide a link in the show notes to this excellent article in Runners World about maintaining longevity in the sport.
Speaker 1:
Despite what people think, you can start running at any age. In fact, more runners than ever are lacing up their golden years, according to a survey from 2015 to 2022,. According to a survey from 2015 to 2022, the number of participants from running USA aged 55 to 65 increased from 10.8% to 16% and runners 65 and older increased from 2.6% to 9% in that time frame. I absolutely love the fact that at my age, I'm still running and still able to do my training program. Connie Brown, 80, a real estate broker in Sarasota, florida, tells Runners World I enjoy running by myself while listening to a good book. I love running shorter races, listening to country music and I love socializing of running, talking and sharing with friends on a level that is closer than most people would guess. My running friends are some of my very closest friends.
Speaker 1:
Running after 50 may require some adjustments in your schedule, like most rest days, for example, but that will only help you maintain longevity in the sport. By simply moving forward, you're already ahead of enhancing your health and fitness and lengthening your life, considering research says that those who regularly exercise live longer than their sedentary counterparts. Runners are proving it can be done in a healthy and sustainable way. As Charlene Hubbard, 59, a flexologist at Stretch Lab from Beavertown, oregon, muscle mass and strength naturally decrease with age, which is why it's more important than ever to implement cross-training into your running routine. I do workouts to maintain muscular balance and strength, yoga and stretching to maintain flexibility and balance, and these have been crucial for running as I age, says Hubbard Christine. Chris Christenberry, 62, a healthcare executive in Tampa, florida, agrees, saying he turns to cycling, swimming and strength training more often these days by swapping some of the running days for across training activities. You can still maintain a high level of physical activity, but without the same repetitive movement.
Speaker 1:
As I've grown, gotten older, I have paid more attention to moderation in what I do, says Brown. In my early years I ran six days a week, up to four to five marathons a year, and now I run three days a week, one marathon a year, occasionally two, and do a lot more cross-training by participating in other sports such as biking, swimming and tennis and pickleball I don't know what pickleball is. Anyway, that that was an article about aging and running, but I will give you a link in the show notes to that particular article. To prevent injury and to help you feel good during your runs, make time to prepare your body for the work ahead and to have downtime, giving your mind and muscles adequate rest or is essential for older runners. Another challenge that I face as an older adult runner is that nowadays it takes me longer to get out of the house to go for a run because my body needs a longer warm-up than it did when I was younger, says Perez, who also wrote this article, and I know giving myself extra time to warm up before starting my runs. I also need more recovery time after a longer run. When I was younger, I could run sort of you know 10 miles, he says, and go out the next day and do another run. Nowadays I need a recovery day or two after a long run. If you're not feeling great at the start or most of your runs, or feeling super tired the day after your run, take those signs as that you need less intensity. You can still move your body in other ways, say via yoga or doing other forms of exercises, but you may benefit from added rest or even taking a longer walking, warm up and cool down.
Speaker 1:
I think the key message here is that you are going to have to make changes to your training dependent on how you're feeling. So something that does come across really strong is the strength training and flexibility. Senior runners can easily improve muscle tone by any number of simple exercises involving resistance, which can be divided into two categories strength and plyometrics. In essence, strength training is making simple exercises harder by adding weight or resistance in some way, and the muscles have to work harder to resist the weight. So over the few weeks of consistent effort, they develop more strength, either through hypertrophy and, and this can be trained either naturally or by machines. Good, simple examples of strength work are, let's say, maybe hill repetition, circuit classes, classic push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, start jumps and squats, gym workout with advice from instructors or personal trainers at your local gym, best practice and specific machines to use. Remember the two golden rules in strength training Increase the load carefully, increase the load gradually In the beginning, as with running.
Speaker 1:
Don't do too much too soon. And these days, the easy days in between sessions, are really important to allow the body to rest, recover and get stronger, something I'm really guilty of in terms of. I'm not very good at the flexibility part of the training and and these are many benefits of maintaining the flexibility and strength of after 60 or even 50 years of age. It will improve our overall physical performance, improve posture, decrease the risk of injuries and continue to give us all the essential enjoyment from our running as we get older. If you are a regular runner, you will be familiar with the reality that distance running shortens tendons and ligaments, resulting in stiffer feeling muscles, especially after longer runs.
Speaker 1:
Loss of flexibility with age happens naturally anyway. So if you intend to run regular distances as you get older, your body gets a double whammy. The whole process where they're self-inflicted by running many miles, as with age, catching up with us, slowly decreases with the range of motion, making us less flexible. Muscle tone also decreases with the years and the resulting feeling, for example, that the local hill on one of your regular runs just seems that little bit harder now, unless you're prepared to take a little time to address this. It results in, let's say, lower knee lift, less hip flexibility and so on, and so we end up even more slowly. However, all is not lost. With a little work you can regain the flexibility after 50 or 60 years, 60 build and to build muscle strength too. Simple steps and a few minutes a week can and will improve and even reverse the process temporary. We lose flexibility with age due to changes in tissue connectivity. This results in less elasticity, putting a more strain on our bodies, especially our lower limbs, as we are running regularly, as mentioned before, but well worth mentioning again so you grasp the key point. This results in lower knee lift, shorter stride length, coupled with reduced hip movement and all key biomechanical elements in how to run better.
Speaker 1:
The simplest way to keep muscles flexible at any age is by warming up well or just taking the first 10 minutes of any run. Very easy, coupled with some pre-run dynamic stretches. So, post-run, for the last 10 minutes of your run you just dial back the pace to finish with an even easier few minutes running and, soon after finishing, incorporating some static stretching in the key muscle groups used in running. So what are the best stretches for older runners?
Speaker 1:
Hamstring stretches. Your hamstrings are the big muscles at the rear of the upper leg, between your knee and your backside. Stand upright and cross one foot over the other and slowly bend forward to stretch the hamstring without straining your back too much. It is fine to hold onto a door, wall or table to assist balance, if necessary. Repeat with feet crossed the other way. For the other hamstring Quad stretches. Your quads are the big muscles on the front of your upper leg between the hips and knees, and stand upright. Bend one knee to enable you to grasp your foot. Pull the foot towards your backside as far as comfortable and while trying to keep the quad muscle in line with your standing leg, you should feel the quadriceps on the front of the thigh pulling slightly. Repeat standing on the other leg. For the opposite quad muscles Glute stretches.
Speaker 1:
Your glute muscles are the collective group of muscles around the backside and are really important to the carter. If you're a runner, kneel down on the mat or carpet, slowly, lean forward and prostrate yourself so that your hands are flat on the floor and you are bent double. Slowly push your hands forward and you should feel the muscles in your backside stretching out. This is good for the lower back as well. So remember the two golden rules, for stretching is stretch, but don't strain. Ease into each stretch slowly. Feeling slightly uncomfortable is fine as you coax tight muscles to stretch, but it shouldn't feel painful at all, if in doubt on any exercise or on the side of caution, and seek help from a gym instructor or an experienced runner or sports enthusiast.
Speaker 1:
Now, what are the nutritional needs? The basis of nutrition remain the same when it comes to older runners. Fuel with the simple to digest carbs bananas, bagels, toast, cereal prior to your runs to give your muscles the energy they need quickly, and keep getting those carbs in regularly. If you're running long, make sure to recover with protein and carbs immediately after your runs, especially long and hard efforts. Don't forget to stay hydrated. Also, the protein will help repair the muscles, especially if you've been doing, let's say, maybe a strength training session.
Speaker 1:
However, certain details change as we age. For those who live in oestrogen-dominant bodies in particular, obvious shifts in hormone balance make this common concern. Likewise, for those living in bodies fuelled by testosterone, similar shifts can happen and similar principles apply. Fueling with the right nutrition for older others can help you stay in the game. We all tend to lose, as we said, muscle mass as we keep going on banging on about muscle mass as we age. The good news is it's a bit of the use it or lose it phenomenon. As active humans, we already do a lot to protect our muscles and our bones. However, reducing mileage and adding strength training think heavy weights will help us to ensure that we are protecting this valuable asset.
Speaker 1:
Nutritionally, this means focusing on the protein size, as I said, intake throughout the day and during recovery. As we age, our needs go up. Our older athletes should aim to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight, or more daily. Ask your local registered dietitian for a more personalized goal if you have particular concerns, or even again a personal trainer or gym instructor. Then they can give you some good advice, and this protein intake should be spread out throughout the day. Your body can absorb so much protein at any one time. After that, the protein part of your food is wasted and the rest is used for energy.
Speaker 1:
Just like for younger athletes, a particularly important time for protein intake is during recovery from workouts, particularly strength stress sessions and long or intense runs, or even, let's say, if you're doing the interval runs. Make sure to ingest protein and carbs at this time. Your body needs the carb energy in order to rebuild with the protein building blocks. For women, aim to do this within 30 minutes. Men should also aim to for this snack as soon as possible, but likely have up to, let's say, two hours to benefit.
Speaker 1:
The bonus point here is protein also helps to maintain your bones. So let's say, if you have issues with the bones as you get older, then having calcium let's say, if you can have dairy products having calcium will help with that and maybe if you can have dairy products, having calcium will help with that. So what are the key takeaways from this? As I've already said, as we get older, our aerobic capacity is going to decline. We may come to a stage where we're not able to do the same training, do the same times as we did before, or even the same distances. We may not be able to do the marathons or, in my case, the 10Ks as I had done before. But I think it's always.
Speaker 1:
You've got to be conscious that you have to change your training and to allow and to adapt that you may need to add strength training so as you can stave off any injuries. Also, as we've just talked about with reference to nutrition, which would be really handy is to make sure that you are fueling yourself for any training sessions, like getting nice complex carbs, slow release carbs, and also after the training session, if you're doing strength training to make sure you're doing getting some nutrition. But it's just something that I know I've kind of struggled with on the mental health side, in terms of I'm not running at the moment but I'm still going to the gym. I find it's just as important to be going to the gym, to be doing some exercise, because that can help me from a psychological standpoint and it means that I'm doing something, I'm doing some exercise to keep my strength training. I may not be doing the running, but I am doing the cross training and I think that really helps. So it's just something that really we need to be really conscious of and I know that it's something that you know if you are looking and still really keen on running, but just to make sure that you're adding other elements of your training so that you're able to sustain that that you know running enthusiasm, as it were. Now it's that time of the podcast where we're going to be looking at a olympic running event and this week we're going to be looking at the 5,000 metres.
Speaker 1:
The 5,000 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the fifth edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 5,000 metres has been present on the Olympic Athletics Programme since 1912. The 3,000 metres was the first women's Olympic long distance track event, making its initial appearance at the 1984 Olympics, and this distance was extended to match the men's event from 1996 onwards, so not that long ago. It is the most prestigious 5,000 metre race at elite level. The competition format typically has two qualifying heats leading to a final between 15 athletes. The Olympic records for the event are 12 minutes 57.82. For the event are 12 minutes 57.82 for men, set by uh kenesia bikili in 2008, and 14 minutes 26.17 for women, set by vivian cheryuko cheryoto in 2016. At the inaugural 1912 Olympic 5000m, hans Kuhlman from Finland set the first official IAAF world record at the event. However, this remains the only time that the 5000m world record has been broken in Olympic competition. The best recorded for the Women's Olympic 3000 metres was 8 minutes 26.53 by Titania Dorovetsky at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The world record for that event was not improved during an Olympic race.
Speaker 1:
Only three athletes have won multiple titles in the event. So Lassi Viren from Finland became the first, with his back-to-back wins in 1972 and 1976, while Maserat Defra became the first woman to win titles in 2012, having previously won in 2004. Mo Farah became the third person with multiple titles and the second with back-to-back wins in 2012 and 2016. How could we forget Super Saturday? Three athletes have reached the podium on three occasions. Saturday Three athletes have reached the podium on three occasions. Defra was also the 2008 bronze medalist. Turunusa Dibaba won medals from 2004 to 2012. Parvo Nurmi won medals in the period from 1920 to 1928. Historically, athletes in this event have also had success in the 10,000 metres at the Olympics. The winner of the men's Olympic 5,000 metres has completed a long distance track double on nine occasions, the most recent being Farah at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Tarunusa Dibaba is the only woman to compete this double, having done so at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Speaker 1:
Ethiopia is the most successful nation at the event, having taken six gold medals of the 15 medals in total. The next most successful nation, depending on your definition, is either Finland or Kenya in terms of gold medals of the 15 medals in total. The next most successful nation, depending on your definition, is either Finland or Kenya in terms of gold medals. Finland is equal with Ethiopia for six, but has a total of 12 overall medals to Ethiopia's 15. Finland's period of greatness in the 1920s and 30s led to a wide usage of the nickname the flying fins.
Speaker 1:
Carola maninka was the first last finnish athlete to medal over the 5000 meters in 1980. Kenya has won 14 medals in the 5000 meters, second only to ethiopia in total medals in the event. Even john nagugi and vivian jerutu are the only kenyans to have won olympic gold. Well, I hope you enjoyed my look at another olympic running event, the 5000 meters, and as usual, I do apologize, um, if I completely demolished the names there, but, um, anyway, I will include uh links, uh in the show notes for you to have a look at. Uh, some of history about this fantastic event and, as I said, we've had some sort of major success in this event as well. Anyway, look forward to next time telling you about another running event.
