CAN A 54 YEAR OLD GET FASTER? HOW TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY?
As I begin to set my objectives for 2014 (and plan accordingly) I am asking myself if at my (our) age (54) one should aim, plan and train to GET FASTER .... or understand that aging is part of the process and plan with certain moderation? ... which is definitely not my (our) nature.
Assuming that the majority think "always try faster" (i hope?) I am not sure how to set objectives in a disciplined, structured and realistic (while challenging) fashion.
Specifically: current FTP 231 / Vdot 49.5.
With similar numbers I run 4;52:48 Miami 70.3 in Oct last year and (all else equal) would like to PR that course coming Oct. 27 and gain a couple of AG positions (last year 8th in AG). Which suggests I should raise my FTP to 231 + x and my Vdot to 49.5 + y. The questions then are,
(1) what is a realistic value for x and y (within the 4 month period), and
(2) do I just follow what the standard GF and Race Prep plans suggest or dial-up the zones after each test by x% to force the speed gain?
Please share your wisdom / experience!!!
Comments
Certainly you can get faster as you get older, but I think it depends on when you start structured training in a specific sport. I did my first tri @ age 50 my first HIMs and IM @ 51. I got my PRs in both those distances 10 years later. But I had never run a step until I started doing triathlon, and I also had never raced a bike.
I don't think there's any way to predict what your "x" and "y" will be. I just kept plugging along, and I think I actually stopped getting "faster" in terms of VDOT and FTP after about 6-7 years of training. My improvements after that were all in race execution, technique (including aero on the bike and cadence on the run) and endurance.
My suggestion at this stage of your season is, plan for an 8-10 week HIM training cycle, and do the Get Faster plan before that. I'm also a big believer in Big Bike Weeks (or Big Tri Weeks), which you'd drop in about 10-12 weeks before the target race.
One thing I'm noticing as I consider my racing strategy for my age-up next year...we slow down faster the older we get. So while I was able to be competitive as a 57 or even 59 y/o, it is much harder @ 64 going against 60 y/os Looking @ the race times in IMs and HIMs in the 65-69 category (not your worry, I know), I see only 60 or 61 in almost all the top 5 places. When I was 50-54, there seemed to be no such pattern.
Juan
I am 54 also. I have gained some speed on both the run and the swim, yet its a very slow process. I just finished IM Brazil at 12:10. I was happy with the results even though it was not a PR.
My FTP is 224 and my Vdot is 46. I am now looking to stay healthy and get some small gains.
Al: where in the WIKI (or elsewhere?) can I read about Big Bike Weeks or Big Tri Weeks?
There is Big Week guidance about 3/4 down on this page: http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Self+Coaching
Got it @John, tks!!!!
In your case, since you don't have the time to really work on your running as mentioned above a big tri week timed correctly is the best way to go adding in some body comp work along the way.
@Steve, I'm 5.9, 153lb, 10-9% body fat. (last race a month ago was 150lb/9%). Always room for improvement there but not much I feel; except for maintaining same weight/fat with a bit more strength (muscle) which I'm working on (plus core/flexibility) .... and obviously continue the hard work (Vdot and Watts!!!!).
Tks all for the contribution to the discussion. Keep it coming!!