Great article by Patricia Wuest......
By Patricia Wuest
Next time you line up at the start of a race, take a look around. Chances are there are women of all ages standing near you, from young girls to women who put on their first pair of running shoes more than 40 years ago. What is it about running that appeals to so many women, from teenagers to seniors, recreational joggers to elite athletes?
"It's a lifelong passion for me," says 52-year-old Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the first Olympic women's marathon in 1984 at age 27 and held the American record in the marathon for 18 years.
At age 50, she competed in the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston, meeting her goal of finishing the race under 2:50. "The important thing is I still make running a priority in my life. It's not about how much you run, it's about the act of running and reaping the benefits."
You have to train and eat right to be a long-term runner like Samuelson. Here's our decade-by-decade guide to help you run for life.
In Your 20s
If you're younger than 30, you're strong, flexible and have stamina in spades, so you can train hard, recover quickly and perform well.
"Bone density and muscle mass are at their highest at this age," says running coach Christine Hinton. "This translates to better strength, reduced injury risk and increased speed."
Your VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake)--essentially, your cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance--is also at its best.
But there can be a downside to all these advantages.
"If you increase your mileage and intensity too much, too soon, you put yourself at serious risk for injuries, from shin splints to stress fractures," says running coach Christine Luff. While this is true for runners of all ages, women in their 20s often keep irregular schedules, whether it's sleeping, eating or training, says Luff.
To avoid overtraining and injury, take at least one easy day between hard runs and incorporate cross training into your routine. "Cross-training is important," says Luff, "because it helps strengthen non-running muscles while giving running muscles a chance to rest and recover."
Try cycling or swimming: "These allow runners to continue to develop their cardiovascular systems," says Hinton, and gives the hips, knees and ankles a rest.
In addition to training, get educated about healthy eating, says Lisa Dorfman, director of sports nutrition and performance at the University of Miami.
"Women coming out of their college years have erratic eating habits," she says. "They grab ice cream after being at the club, but ignore fruits, veggies and whole grains. Good eating habits support running and prevent injuries."
In Your 30s
This decade is a study in contrasts. At 30, a woman is often at her physical peak, but by 40, her aerobic capacity and muscle mass declines. Ball State University researchers found athletes who train vigorously often don't experience significant drop-offs in performance until they reach their middle 40s or early 50s. By logging miles, pushing the pace and adding cross-training, a woman in her 30s can be competitive, especially at longer distances.
"Women who had 5k PRs in their 20s," Hinton says, "can now look to 10k and longer races to perform their best." Why? Thank the "10-year rule," says Dr. David Brock, assistant professor of exercise and movement science at the University of Vermont.
"It's not that women in their 30s necessarily do better at longer distances," he says. "You reach your peak potential about 10 years after you start running, no matter what decade you start. If everything else is relatively equal, a 30-year-old woman who has been training for 10 years will do better in a race than a 22-year-old training for two years."
By the late 30s, it's harder to recover from a long run or race. That's because muscles store glycogen, the fuel your body uses during exercise, so when you lose muscle mass with age, you also lose some of your glycogen reserves. This means it takes longer to replenish them after a hard effort.
The best way to refuel: Eat carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, yogurt, whole grains or beans.
"Women this age lose track of what they're eating because they're so busy," says Dorfman. "It's important to eat healthy on a regular schedule."
Don't neglect strength training even if you're busy juggling a career, family and workouts.
"Good strength-building moves include lunges, squats, crunches, leg lifts and biceps curls," says Hinton. "If time is tight, be creative: Add 30 minutes of strength training two to three times a week while you're watching TV."
In Your 40s
By the time you're a masters runner (40 and older), your aerobic capacity, muscle mass and ability to recover decline, but all of these variables can be mitigated. The bottom line: Keep running and you'll get solid race results.
Your resting heart rate doesn't change as you age, but your heart doesn't pump as fast as it once did. "Get out of your comfort zone to improve your aerobic capacity," says Dr. Stephen Pribut, clinical assistant professor of surgery at George Washington University Medical Center.
"If you've been walking, try adding some running. If you've been running at an easy pace, try doing some gentle fartleks." Fartleks combine aerobic and anaerobic training. To perform them, jog for 10 minutes as a warm-up, then run hard for four minutes with a one-minute recovery. Repeat two to three times and finish with a 10-minute cool down.
Muscles become accustomed to a training program very quickly, says Hinton, "so by changing your routine every six to eight weeks, you keep your muscles guessing and continue to build strength."
It's not too late to start running and see benefits. Begin with walking, Hinton says. Once you can walk four times a week for at least 30 minutes, incorporate some short run segments. Each week, slowly increase the run segments and decrease the walk segments. Build to a 30-minute run over an eight- to 10-week period.
In Your 50s and Beyond
You may not sprint as fast as you once did, but you can still run well at longer distances as long as you get adequate rest and recovery time. A University of Florida study showed that VO2 max dips by 10 percent between the ages of 50 and 60 and then drops 12 to 15 percent during the 70s. For a runner, this is equivalent to losing 30 seconds per year from a 10k PR.
Most women experience menopause during these years--the average age is 51--and "running can alleviate mood swings, sleep problems and other side effects of menopause," says Hinton. Post menopause, women lose 2 to 5 percent of bone mass. The good news: Running helps strengthen bones and slows down the rate of bone loss. '
"Running makes bone compress on impact and then relax between strides, stimulating the bone to grow," says Pribut. "To help bone retain its strength, slowly increase the amount of running you're doing."
Cross-training and
strength training are essential, says Hinton. "Strength training, at least three times a week, will help you avoid losing as much muscle mass as those who are sedentary," she says. "And flexibility decreases as we age. Stretch after every single run. Doing so will help keep you from developing the old lady shuffle."
As you get older, nutrient needs are higher even though caloric needs are lower. Women age 50 and older require 1,600 calories to 2,200 calories a day depending on their activity levels, according to the National Institute on Aging. "Choose nutrient-dense foods like whole grains, cereals, beans and fresh fruit," Dorfman advises. "If you've been taking care of yourself for the last 20 or 30 years, you're ready to keep running in these years and beyond."
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