Running Stronger, Even As You Age

There are all kinds of runners in the world. Some of us run for a very short span of our lives. Others look forward to the decline that will happen as they age. Yet, there are those of us who are looking forward to maintaining, or, dare we say, improving our running as we age. For those who feel this way, there are many things that you can do to get to this level. But, by far, the best is to increase your strength and endurance.

Here, we’ll focus on some of the things that you can do to become a strong runner even up into the upper age brackets. Listed below are a few tips that will help you in your journey:

• Up hill running can be an outstanding way to build leg strength for continued running. You will need to start slowly. Try to run a hilly course only one day a week at first. Over time, you’ll build up to running repeats up a modest sized hill. Run up harder, and then walk down.
• Endurance is also a key factor as well. Slow endurance runs will help you in a race. By increasing a 6 mile run to a ten mile run, you’ll get through that 10k without a problem. After this point, you can increase distance by 2 miles every other week.
• Do you feel like you are slowing down at the end of longer runs? If so, increase the number of speed sessions you are completing. As you are doing your speed work sessions, make sure you are running 'negative splits' (i.e. split times should be continuously faster as your workout progresses).
• One week a month, push yourself harder. Instead of risking injury with continuously piling on the mileage, doing it once a month will lessen your risk of injury and give you the edge to run strong.
• Strengthen your postural muscles. Why bother with this? They help you to stay upright. They allow you to breathe better. And, they can help you avoid fatigue early on. You can do this by heading to the gym a few times a week.
• Stretching is very important. The faster you run, the more your legs need to stretch beyond their normal range. You need to stretch thoroughly after your warm up.
• Test your progress by doing a few challenging runs.

Maintaining running strength/speed/endurance is possible for most runners if they will follow the tips and techniques listed above. Incorporate some positive changes in your running routine and see/feel the difference!

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