Jul 16

How do ageing runners keep going into their later years? Here goes:

I started Ageing Runner to chronicle my developing understanding of running as I get older but…I am not starting from scratch. I think I know a few things already so…how do I put them into words?

It can be hard to wrangle and articulate the swirling jumble in your head and bring it into some sort of order. To freeze it in place, nail your colours to the mast and say this is my best shot at explaining things right now… but here goes:

Taking what I know today, my best hypothesis is:

Those running successfully through their 50s, 60s, 70s and into their 80s have avoided being permanently debilitated through disease or physical injury and have stayed motivated through the years. 

Seems obvious but is most likely wrong. It does gives me three main areas to explore though. The first is about identity, success and motivation. The second is about health, particularly as we age. The third is about running and living in a way that reduces the likelihood of injury.

When it comes to identity, I am a runner. I feel it deeply. Even when I hardly ran for a few years, I was a runner. I was just a runner who couldn’t run. I want to explore how being a runner is part of who I am. I don’t struggle for motivation but I can’t take that for granted. I want to explore what success looks like and still be enjoying running as I get older.

From a general physical and mental health perspective, I am doing OK but am under no illusions.  I know that as we age the likelihood of debilitating illness and disease increases. I want to find out more and reduce that likelihood. I want to explore how my running is connected to my mental health.  My life is much smoother when I am running consistently. I think that running keeps me level.

From an injury perspective, I am running about 40 miles a week without much issue. It has been like that for a couple of years but has not always been the case. I think that I have now found a way of running that suits me and is gentle on my body. I want to find out more and live my life in a way that reduces the likelihood of a debilitating injury.

The job now is to explore each of these areas and live alongside the hypothesis for a while and see how things develop.

I would love to hear your thoughts, worries and words of wisdom.

We run, we chat, we smile.

Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 11

Ageing Runner – Feels like home

This the first running post that I have written for a very long time and I am experiencing an incredible sense of release. It feels like I have been circling for years and have landed somewhere safe. After less than 24 hours, Ageing Runner already feels like home.

I have been in a lonely place. A few years ago, I was blogging almost daily. I was a broken runner looking for a way to run in a therapeutic way that nurtured rather than damaged my body.

Like most in my position, I spent a lot of money trying to fix things. I found a whole industry  happy to take my money. I was diligent but didn’t find a solution. Before I knew it, five years had passed and I had been on the sidelines for most of it.  In my head I was a still a runner. I was just a runner who couldn’t run.

I had things going on with my feet, calves, hip and groin. It felt like I was at the end of the road. I joined my local gym and saw lots of faces I recognised from over the years. It was like a graveyard of broken runners. There was not a lot of joy in their faces, they pretty much looked the way I felt. Bereft of a core part of their life. I could not let that be me.

I read a lot. I found Danny Dreyer’s ChiRunning and gave it a really good go. I read Chris McDougall’s Born to Run . I dabbled with barefooting but ironically ended up with more shoes than ever.  I had Vivobarefoot, Sockwa, Merrels, Lunas, Xeros, Freets and Vibram Fivefingers. I had a lovely pair of Runamoks (beautifully  hand-crafted running moccasins) and even a pair of German engineered chain mail shoes. You can’t buy barefoot running but there were plenty of people out there ready to sell it to me.

None of them solved my problem. I couldn’t spend my way of this one. It wasn’t the shoes, it was my inability to run in them in a way that was healthy.

I decided to ditch the shoes completely and rebuild by stride from the ground up. I started small and made the commitment to run barefoot every day for a year. My first run was 40 seconds. It took three months to get to the 5k point. Across the year, I covered over 1000 miles in total (including a barefoot marathon) and my running style had changed completely.

I started the ‘Barefoot Beginner’ blog looking for a way to run injury free. I enjoyed building a community of like minded runners but my own project came to a natural conclusion and my connection to the community faded away.

Years later, here I am, blogging about running again…and it feels good.

I hope you can join me on this exploration of running as we age. It is a race we are all running. I would love to hear your thoughts, worries and words of wisdom.

We run, we chat, we smile.

Chris