About me
I am a sixty-plus year old runner who competed intermittently in teenage and young adult life, but then stopped running because hill-walking, mountaineering and all of life’s other activities got in the way. As the years went by, life’s other activities crowded out first the mountaineering and then the hill walking so by the time I reached sixty, I was becoming alarmingly unfit. In the hope of slowing the rate of decline I took up running again. By my age I have become very aware of the vulnerability of the body to injury – though in fact it is not just the older runner who faces the risk of injury. I have been impressed by the ideas and achievements of Gordon Pirie, and started this blog to invite comments from other runners on how to apply his ideas to running ‘fast and injury free’ – or at least injury free.
April 9, 2008 at 4:53 pm |
HELLO, IMPRESSIVE ARTICLES WITH GOOD THEORETICAL SUPPORT AND ARGUMENTS.SOMETHING I HAVE TO AGREE WITH ROMANOV AND PIRIE IS ABOUT RUNNING SHOES. I NOW RUN WITH THIN SOLE SHOES AS RECOMMENDED BY ROMANOV. AFTER THE INITIAL ADAPTATION PERIOD (LAZY FEET FROM RUNNING ON BRICKS), I CAN SAY THAT THE TYPICAL RUNNING SHOE ROBS YOUR NATURAL ABILITY TO PRODUCE ELASTIC RECOIL. NOW 6 MONTHS LATER, IF I TRY TO RUN AGAIN ON REGULAR RUNNING SHOES WITH SUCH HUGHE PLATFORM SOLES(I CALL THEM BRICKS)I FEEL I’M RUNNING WITH BOOTS!!! YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT POSE/CHI SHORTCOMINGS IN REGARDS TO THE LAWS OF PHYSICS. I ALSO AGREE WITH LANDING SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF COG. IN A WAY IT GIVES YOU AND “ANCHOR” TO CATAPULT YOURSELF FORWARDS(JUST LIKE A VAULT JUMP) LANDING OVER OR BEHIND GIVES YOU UNCONTROLLED RUNNING. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE SHOE ISSUE?
GOOD SITE, VERY INFORMATIVE, I’M 43 AND ALSO COMPETED INTENSELY DURING MY LATE TEENS EARLY 20′S. STOPPED FOR A LONG TIME AND CAME BACK A YEAR AGO,2 MONTHS AGO 19:51 5K BUT WANT TO RUN 18:45. IT IS TOUGH. I CAN’T DO 16:59 ANYMORE AS I DID AT 20 YEARS OLD. I UNDERSTAND MY BEST PR IS GONE WITH THE BEE-GEES AND RONALD REAGAN BUT AS A MASTER RUNNER, I THINK EFFICIENCY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND HELP ME RUN FASTER WITHIN MY ABILITIES.
THANKS
April 9, 2008 at 7:54 pm |
Dr Ruiz,
Thank-you for your comments.
I agree with Pirie, Dr Romannov and you, that trainers/ road running shoes with a thick heel do not allow a good running style.
Well done to break the 20 minutes mark for the 5K and good luck with the pursuit of your goa of 18:45
Canute
July 21, 2009 at 11:47 pm |
Hi,
I found your site while looking for references to diet, in particular the ideas of Philip Maffetone. I have a double interest.
1. In supplying information to readers of my weekly newspaper fitness column (http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/sport/the-fitness-zone/)
2. As a 60+ triathlete I’m interested in low-level training as espoused by Lydiard, Maffetone etc and also keen to maintain lower weight levels in the interests of better performance.
If you have any pointers to articles on efficient management of weight I’d be interested to follow them up.
Cheers
Peter Gibbs
July 24, 2009 at 10:22 pm |
Peter, I am inclined towards a rather simplistc view of weight management: take regular exercise (eg run 30-50km per week) and eat moderately. Maybe I am fortunate that this works for me.
If I stop exercising regularly, my weight tends to increase by about 1 Kg per week unless I make a conscious effort to cut portion sizes at meal times.