Todays permitted exercise!

[Llani Boy]

I've never done drills or strides.

I do like to warm up and get a bit of a lather on before a race though, especially to get my breathing going.

I've also never had a proper training schedule and just run when I can and am usually knackered at the end.

All the above is probably to my detriment and has probably contributed to many injuries and niggles.

Having said all that, I have been contacted by a very, very good fell runner who wants to take me into his stable and provide me with some coaching.

There will be a financial cost and I am seriously considering his offer, but my two concerns are

1. At 64 am I too old to change my ways?

2, Will having a structure to my running lessen my enjoyment?

[Travs]

I've never done drills or strides.

I do like to warm up and get a bit of a lather on before a race though, especially to get my breathing going.

I've also never had a proper training schedule and just run when I can and am usually knackered at the end.

All the above is probably to my detriment and has contributed to many injuries and niggles.

Having said all that, I have been contacted by a very, very good fell runner who wants to take me into his stable and provide me with some coaching.

There will be a financial cost and I am seriously considering his offer, but my two concerns are

1. At 64 am I too old to change my ways?

2, Will having a structure to my running lessen my enjoyment?

1) Only one way to find out!

2) This one is difficult. I know from experience in a different sport that as commitment and the stakes go up, it can take the enjoyment out of it.... But for everyone its a question of does the end result justify the trade-off.

Personally, I sometimes find it difficult to keep getting out twice a day, nearly every day. But for me the trade-off is worth it, as still getting pb's and even a couple of podium finishes this year.... Although I don't think I could push above my current mileage... If anything increases now it'll have to be intensity rather than miles/time.

[Graham Breeze]

1. At 64 am I too old to change my ways?

2, Will having a structure to my running lessen my enjoyment?

Certainly not too old physically but the question is whether the mental discipline will be repaid by more success - however you measure that. Coaching is about discipline but to use a cruder illustration: if you cut out alcohol, fatty food, sugar, etc you would lose weight, run faster and win more prizes - for certain. But are those "sacrifices" worth it to yourself? Is an abstemious life worth living? (I used to say that half a stone doesn't sound like much - but if you think of it in terms of running with 14 tubs of lard round your waist...

Of course you can get better at 64 but at a price and if the reward outweighs the price, your enjoyment will increase - but it all depends where your balance lies.

(By the way when I was racing I always warmed up, I wore a heart monitor to check I was not taking it easy in the race and I always stretched before starting; and I hated being beaten by people whom I didn't consider to be better runners, believing that to be a mental and not a physical failure).

[anthonykay]

I've never done drills or strides.

I do like to warm up and get a bit of a lather on before a race though, especially to get my breathing going.

I've also never had a proper training schedule and just run when I can and am usually knackered at the end.

All the above is probably to my detriment and has probably contributed to many injuries and niggles.

Having said all that, I have been contacted by a very, very good fell runner who wants to take me into his stable and provide me with some coaching.

There will be a financial cost and I am seriously considering his offer, but my two concerns are

1. At 64 am I too old to change my ways?

2, Will having a structure to my running lessen my enjoyment?

I'm very much on the same page as Llani; any of those first four sentences could have been written by me.

I have always considered my running as a recreation; something to enjoy and to help me relax away from work (when I was working full-time). I have trained as hard as I have felt able to, without worrying about whether I was doing the right sort of training or the right amount. But one advantage of this rather lax attitude is that I have never found it very upsetting when I have had to take time off running due to injury; running is an enjoyable part of my life, but there is much else in life. And at 64, I'm not likely to change my ways, and I'm not worrying about the fact that there may not be many years left of running. Oh, and in answer to Paul McCartney, my wife does still appear to need me, and she does still feed me.

[Mossdog]

I've never done drills or strides.

I have been contacted by a very, very good fell runner who wants to take me into his stable and provide me with some coaching.

There will be a financial cost and I am seriously considering his offer, but my two concerns are

1. At 64 am I too old to change my ways?

2, Will having a structure to my running lessen my enjoyment?

If we all offer to chip in towards the cost Llani, will you open a diary thread on this site so we can vicariously follow the highs and any lows? Seriously though, I'd be well chuffed if a decent runner and trainer saw a glowing ember of potential in my running efforts. As Travs said, if you don't try it.... (as long as there's a get out clause and you're not subscribed for the next decade!).

After weeks of a sustained back injury over the summer, I'm back to my modest 30 -35 miles a week mainly on my local fells. For me, I'm less competitive with myself now and cautious of pushing it too far (distance and physically) due to potentially annoying injury. My goal, at 63 years of age, is to be running on the fells for a least the next decade or more (if I'm spared by The Almighty !!)and simply enjoying the buzz of running over the heather and tops.

[noel]

I paid to get a structured training program from Fell Running Guide (Dave Taylor) several years ago. I found it quite useful. Not that I followed it to the letter, but it helped me add a bit more structure to my weekly training rather than just going out for medium paced runs.

My runs were still enjoyable. And it wasn't too prescriptive, it was more about building in the right amounts of the right intensity each week.

You're never too old until you think you are.

[Graham Breeze]

If we all offer to chip in towards the cost Llani, will you open a diary thread on this site so we can vicariously follow the highs and any lows? Seriously though, I'd be well chuffed if a decent runner and trainer saw a glowing ember of potential in my running efforts. As Travs said, if you don't try it.... (as long as there's a get out clause and you're not subscribed for the next decade!).

After weeks of a sustained back injury over the summer, I'm back to my modest 30 -35 miles a week mainly on my local fells. For me, I'm less competitive with myself now and cautious of pushing it too far (distance and physically) due to potentially annoying injury. My goal, at 63 years of age, is to be running on the fells for a least the next decade or more (if I'm spared by The Almighty !!)and simply enjoying the buzz of running over the heather and tops.

Vicarious?

If I'm investing shouldn't I expect a dividend return of lots of PBS vouchers?

[Travs]

I approached a very renowned coach a couple of years ago, with a view to working with me.... i would have been the weakest runner in his "team" by some margin, and the cost was pretty eye-watering, but was prepared to make the sacrifice.

Alas, they were fully booked and as far as i'm aware i'm still on their waiting-list.

Although if he was to get back in touch with me tomorrow i would probably politely decline... training-wise i'm in a much different place now due to switching training groups at my club, and a combination of being very happy with things, and respect for my club/coach, wouldn't want to get anybody else involved at this stage.

[Mike T]

8.58 miles, 2,589 feet, 2 hours 37 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, and up the steps opposite Loughrigg Tarn. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. A moderate breeze from the south west. Virtually constant drizzle. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery in places. Quite a few walkers about; no other runners seen.

[Marco]

Having said all that, I have been contacted by a very, very good fell runner who wants to take me into his stable and provide me with some coaching.

There will be a financial cost and I am seriously considering his offer, but my two concerns are

1. At 64 am I too old to change my ways?

2, Will having a structure to my running lessen my enjoyment?

In answer to your questions:

1. No. Having run a marathon this year you have proved that you are able to try new things.

2. Sadly, having read your posts for many years, I think the answer to this is 'Yes, to some degree'

The thing that concerns me, however, is the fact that there will be a financial cost. During my racing years I trained with two international runners, and also became good friends with the head coach at Tipton Harriers. All three of them offered good advice, and no financial reward was asked for.

Looking back, I can say that the 'advice' I have had to pay for in life has not been worth the cost, whilst some of the advice I have been given free of charge has been priceless. I therefore wonder if this offer is about making you faster, or making your prospective coach richer.