Recovery is the Key for this Old Guy
Some thoughts ---
Age 53 and a half now. I've been quite cognitive of my change in perceived effort over the last 8 years. It's weird; I can feel Father Time slowly chipping away at my energy levels, though I must say compared to some other friend of family dads my age, I am in a pretty good spot comparatively.
During the last 8 years the lost of energy has been noticeable, however it has been solely in very small increments. EN workouts have been readily achievable during the latter half of my 40s and into the my 50s. But now with age 53, the incremental decline is more noticeable. With EN workout durations I can readily achieve the desired targets, even the wattage levels on the bike. The big difference is the necessity to take longer recovery period between intervals (this is true for both run and bike) otherwise the subsequent interval has a much greater perceived effort than the prior one.
For myself, I have found that adding an additional 1min rest period, above and beyond what the EN training plan calls for, is the solution for me whenever the bike intervals exceed 8min in duration and whenever the run intervals exceed 1 mile in duration. With the extra recovery duration, I find that this old fart can still hit the pace and wattage goals within the intervals. I just need a little more recovery to get set for the next intervals.
Comments
I hear ya there too. Sometimes a day off does wonders; even two occasionally and I am fresh again ready to go. I also rarely run on consecutive days. Back to back runs greater than an hour take their toll as does back to back intensity runs, while shorter duration at Z1 or low Z2 I can handle back to back. It's about finding that sweat-spot of gaining fitness and recovering fully.
For the first time, well, ever, I'm on Injured Reserve with overuse injuries. One swimming related - left ulnar tendonitis - and one run related - right high hamstring tendonitis. So I've been doing a bit of thinking along these lines the past four weeks while impatiently waiting to heal up.
One thought is the multi-level nature of "recovery". There is a need for recovery within intervals of equal effort; between such intervals; between workouts; recovering from a long or hard race; recovering between seasons punctuated by an A race; and following an injury. Speaking of the last, it has long been obvious to me, both in my role as a physician/surgeon, and in my life as an athlete, that there is a direct correlation between age and the time it takes for an injury (like a surgical wound or an overused tendon) to "heal". [I put heal in quotations, because even that term is problematic. Does healing mean it no longer hurts at rest? No longer hurts when used? Can be documented to appear normal on imaging studies like and MRI? Is no longer more susceptible to re-injruy? And which of those should be used to allow one to return to normal physical use?]
What used to take 6 weeks to feel better now takes 12. So it would make sense, I suppose, that at a different level of recovery, say, between intervals, what used to take 2 minutes might take 4. Now, over the years, when I've been making a decision about how much time to take between intervals, or workouts, I've used the following criteria:
I suspect that I have not been applying these principles to my need for recovery between seasons. So I went back into my training log to see what I could learn: did I put myself in a danger zone by being too greedy year-over-year? "Down Time" below is a relative term, usually indicating unstructured swim/bike/run @ 7-8 hours a week, and/or skiing, which for me is a pretty intense activity. Here's what I found (I wish I could access by workouts before 2007, but they are hiding on a retired computer which is no longer functional):
Looking at this list, it's a wonder I didn't start to break down earlier. In 2008/9/10/11, I was routinely getting three months of unstructured reduced physical activity each year. My results in those years were pretty darn good.I was routinely winning races, getting superb time (PRs, Course records) and qualifying for Kona. The last 4 years, I have routinely been disappointed with my IM performances. The only thing which go me back to Kona several times was the precipitous drop-off in the presence and performance of my age peers.
This year, I am taking 2 months of enforced down time (I have hernia surgery scheduled for this Friday) followed by another two months primarily devoted to skiing. Then, I'm hoping to do only one IM at the end of the year, and key in on some shorter races @ the USAT National Championships. Time will tell how well I'l respond to that.
Since this is the OFs forum, I'll end with some age-related comments. Yeah, it's true we need more recovery of all kinds as our bodies wind down. We are still capable of remarkable things. But one thing which weighs on me is the ticking of my biological clock. A "younger" man (late 40s) might be very willing to take a year or two completely off and feel confident that he can get back into the game. Me, I'm having thoughts that each time I try this might be my last, and so I have to take full advantage of every day I have left. What I need to learn is that "taking full advantage of every day I have left" might actually mean using that day (or week, or month) to rest and get ready to enjoy whatever I have left do.
I'll be 61 next month. I also notice I need more rest time between intervals some, but not all, of the time. I'll follow the same two modifications as Al. First add more time to the rest interval. If that doesn't work, then shorten the length of the interval ( do 2 x 5' vs 1 x 10'). If I'm still not able to hit the watts or pace running or swimming, I end the session. Retreat and live to fight another day.
I've learned that I need more rest between hard sessions than when I was younger. I've also learned that if I take complete rest for more than 10 days, my fitness drops like a rock.. So use it or lose it. So now I only take an extended complete rest if I'm ill, after an IM or if I'm injured. However, after seeing the trend about rest over multiple years in Al's post, I think I may take a bit more time off between now and Jan. I too have been on the multiple IM per year schedule the last few years and I know I need a break. So only one IM (Chatt) for sure (well maybe two as I'm tempted by AZ again) but lots of local Olys next summer for me. I just need a break from the endless IM training grind.
@ Bruce - looks like you now have 2 IMs next year!
@ Paul...Yep the AZ desert is calling me again. Have a score to settle with that course.
{multi-level nature of "recovery". There is a need for recovery within intervals of equal effort; between such intervals; between workouts; recovering from a long or hard race; recovering between seasons punctuated by an A race; and following an injury}
@53 I probably qualify as an OF but hardly think of myself as one... I also believe this discussion applies to all and like almost every thing all the various recovery intervals/time is highly individual...
Some of my thoughts on Recovery/Rest during intervals.
There is a big difference between training and Racing or RR type training. For racing/RR's/ endurance type training minimal rest is key.. For most of power/speed training the length/intensity of rest/recovery intervals accomplishes different things , and works different systems/adaptations , there is certainly room for a variety. When I first started this game I kept to minimal rest, keeping the intensity a bit high on those rest intervals because I was always trying to keep the total IF or pace/speed of the wko as high as possible.... NOW I could care less what the total numbers of the WKO is and only focus on the work within the interval. I have gradually over time increased my time between sets with lower volume but only do this on Z4-5 work while accomplishing more overall quality work... Swim- I love the hard/easy sets in swimming allowing for more recovery .... Bike- intervals are often dictated by terrain so vary quite a bit but when on the trainer will do a minimum same time rest/work on Z5 and at least 5min @ .50 on Z4... Run - will almost do equal rest/work intervals all the way up to 1 mile repeats..
I have set some Self Imposed limits/ targets of total work per session/week that I think I can handle on an ongoing basis and will hardly ever exceed these...
Swim- up to 2000yds of intervals per session up to twice a week but usually only once.
Bike- up to 40min FTP one session once a week , up to 20min V02 on session once per week. Next is an either or and depends on HIM or IM specific....up to 2-3hrs ABP or up to 4-5hr IM pace once session once per week .
Run - up to 4 miles Z4 once per session once per week OR up to 2 miles Z5 once per session once per week...
Rest within the Week- a day off or 2 days easy.... this is another when I first started I could NOT go easy... now I can GO easy... what do I consider easy? 10-15 seconds per 100yds swim slower than threshold , 60-90" slower than my EP for the run, IF .50-60 on the bike...
Rest after Racing- for true recovery in general , I believe in the 1 day per every mile run , so 3 days for sprint, 6 for OLY, 13 for HIM and 26 for IM...
Rest between Seasons- I think as a minimum 2-4 weeks downtime for all SBR but then after that is a good time to do single sport , lower intensity , no structure.... etc MTB , trail running , just ride , swim, or run with no targets or goals.... Letting the ATL/CTL fall as low as you can before starting a structured build.
own without a plan. Having been a member here since 2010 I do know enough about
myself and how to train me. I’m 59 now and aged up to 60 for this season 2016
coming. I too notice a decline in my ability to recover and since I wasn’t
following a structured plan for racing last year I found out the idea, for me,
was there isn’t 7 days in a week for training. For me it’s closer to 9 sometimes
8 depending on feel. I had recovery days at times every 4th day. That recovery
allowed me to keep my head in the game as well as physically recovering.
Since the racing is done in the summer HR was key in training, racing and
recovery. I’m still happy to be playing!