I came to cycling through triathlon which I came to from running. If you are comfortable on a bike, cycling is pretty rad. I do some gravel riding and there are some women in their 60s that join the A group (which is honestly not that crazy). That one is about 30 miles and maybe 2000 feet of elevation over the course of 3 hours usually.

You can also get a smart trainer and hook your bike up to that and do zwift, trainer road, etc..when the weather is trash. Like this weekend, for example.

I still run a lot, as much as 40-50 mpw but there is a ton of cycling in there. It very much translates for me and I haven’t had a running injury other than tearing up my feet/toenails in a long long time. Cycling can also introduce injuries but those are avoidable with good fit and strength training. A thought for a mix alternative where you see a ton of billy goat like older people on their bikes tearing up the youngins.

Anonymous wrote:53. Used to be a serious runner. I ran 7 marathons in my mid 20s-early 30s pre-kids. I would think nothing of a 90 minute run. I used to run 5 days a week minimum and then do machine weights. Running was always my go-to cardio. I was a soccer player until college--midfield so endurance is my thing.

Around 50, running just started jacking up my lower back. I would get phantom hip pain and for a day or so after a run lower back pain. I pretty much gave up running. Now Peloton is my hard cardio of choice. I also do a 'cross-fit type' barbell workout 2x week and Solidcore.

I plan to add back in at least one 3-6 mile run per week. I only like running in cool and cold weather. I love cold weather runs. From June-early September I will not run outside. I hate DC heat and humidity.

Most of the older runners I know were not runners in their youth. Those that really were serious runners tend to have too many injuries. I got hamstring tendonitis and have issues with my piriformis.

Friends that didn't pick up running until middle age have none of that.

53. Used to be a serious runner. I ran 7 marathons in my mid 20s-early 30s pre-kids. I would think nothing of a 90 minute run. I used to run 5 days a week minimum and then do machine weights. Running was always my go-to cardio. I was a soccer player until college--midfield so endurance is my thing.

Around 50, running just started jacking up my lower back. I would get phantom hip pain and for a day or so after a run lower back pain. I pretty much gave up running. Now Peloton is my hard cardio of choice. I also do a 'cross-fit type' barbell workout 2x week and Solidcore.

I plan to add back in at least one 3-6 mile run per week. I only like running in cool and cold weather. I love cold weather runs. From June-early September I will not run outside. I hate DC heat and humidity.

I still love it. I don't think I'm going to do any more really long races (half marathon and up) but I like 10 mile races and under. I think as long as we are still enjoying it, we should keep going. But if you DO hate it, you can always mix in alternative forms of exercise and scale up on those and down on running.

I think the professional runners take week-long or even longer breaks. For example, Daniels' Running Formula would have breaks built in, and my kids' running club has breaks. Maybe you just need a break for a few weeks or longer! Then you can come back with renewed energy.

I get it - I've run all my life and I absolutely have a love/hate relationship with it. I look back at all the running I did in my 20s and 30s and I was definitely punishing myself with it at times. I'm 43 now and I have ongoing knee issues, so I'm not really able to run anymore. Even though I hated it at times, I miss it so much and I'm so sad I'm not able to do it anymore. It was definitely a toxic relationship haha.

I have had a very similar running path as the OP, except OP is more accomplished. At this point I only do interval run/walks at most three times/week, at least one time/week. I do lots of other workouts instead (HIIT, strength, Pilates, walking).

Sometimes I think about ramping back up, but at 50+ I doubt I will. I'll probably continue with what I'm doing as it covers total body with a variety of exercise types versus focusing on running.

As other PPs said, I always loved having done it once it's over. I also liked hearing medical professionals say "you must be a runner" when they checked my heart rate.

Oh, I'm an intermittent runner - knee problems - but I love it. I don't love it when I'm running, but I love having done it.

Is there anything about the running you still love?

I just picked it up again in late August, and as fall approaches I can feel myself getting faster and going further (I mean, not far! no more than 3 miles). But getting faster and going further delights me!

I do make a point of going slower than I think I should be going - and that makes for a more pleasant run. It isn't about the speed, it is about just doing it, I remind myself. And I'm never going to get back to my best times (in HS). For me, this means checking my pace AFTER my run, not obsessing about it mid-run, where I might be tempted to run faster to get my pace down when I don't need to.

There's a middle ground: Run, but at a pace and for distances that are comfortable. It should never be torture (unless you want that). I run on and off, and it's always discouraging to restart after a long break and realizing that I'm way slower and can run much less than before. But if I keep it up, it comes back. At 51, I'm about 4 months into running more regularly and more than I've ever done before, and I'm approaching being in better shape than I've ever been before. The progress is slower than when I was younger, but it's still steady progress.

So you have two choices: Keep it up and gradually get back to where you were before, or similar, or just decide that you're going to be only an occasional runner and accept that you're going to be slower than you were before. Either one is fine!

I prefer daily/close to daily 3-mile runs to longer runs. I've just worked hard to incorporate them into my routine (summer was so good because I did my runs early in the morning, felt great the rest of the day).

I agree it's more fun with other people, but overtime I've grown to prefer flexibility of running alone on my own schedule.

Do you run with people? I go with a running club and do their training programs. It's a lot more fun with other people, trying to get through tough workouts.

I can sort of relate with running because I used to run semi-regularly and would also keep signing myself up for races that were just brutal. I pretty much stopped running and now do exclusively strength, spinning, and HIIT, but I still kind of feel this way about exercise generally. It sucks. It’s a slog. It hurts my body. But it also feels necessary and it’s a little addictive.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been running for 25 years. Im 50 now. Everything from 5ks to marathons. At one point I averaged 8-9 minute miles but now with age, weight gain, and less time to train my pace is 11-13 minute miles. So, I jog and slog a few times a week. But it’s not usually fun anymore. Sometimes it is though. I’m signed up for Army 10 miler but my last 7 mile run was torture and I don’t know whether I’m going to run it now.

Every run I ask myself whether I should quit running entirely and just do daily walks. Trouble is, running feels like part of my identity. And I don’t want to lose my cardio strength. And walking feels like giving up.

In addition to running I hike weekly and do CrossFit, bike occasionally.

I don’t know what my question is. Just wondering if others can relate to the love of (and simultaneous moderate hatred of) running, I guess.

You describe me to a T - pace and everything. I’ve gotten more into weight training lately but still force myself to run occasionally because I know I’ll feel great afterward. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship!

I am nearly 50 and I always think that I sort of hate running but I love having run. I feel so good afterward—there’s nothing like it for calming anxiety. So I just don’t run long distances anymore. I never ran marathons, but I’d routinely do 10k on a weekend. Now I do 2-3 miles a couple of times a week. I’m not fast, but I don’t hate the process anymore.

I’ve been running for 25 years. Im 50 now. Everything from 5ks to marathons. At one point I averaged 8-9 minute miles but now with age, weight gain, and less time to train my pace is 11-13 minute miles. So, I jog and slog a few times a week. But it’s not usually fun anymore. Sometimes it is though. I’m signed up for Army 10 miler but my last 7 mile run was torture and I don’t know whether I’m going to run it now.

Every run I ask myself whether I should quit running entirely and just do daily walks. Trouble is, running feels like part of my identity. And I don’t want to lose my cardio strength. And walking feels like giving up.

In addition to running I hike weekly and do CrossFit, bike occasionally.

I don’t know what my question is. Just wondering if others can relate to the love of (and simultaneous moderate hatred of) running, I guess.