Running Archives * Senior Triathletes

Review – Train to Tri: Your First Triathlon

Terry VanderWert on September 5, 2025

Looking to complete your first triathlon? Want to inspire and motivate your children, grandchildren, parents, friends, or co-workers?

If so, Train To Tri: Your First Triathlon by Linda Cleveland and Kris Swarthout is for you. This 246-page guide provides the essential information needed to prepare for your first triathlon.

Authors: Linda Cleveland and Kris Swarthout, both USA Triathlon Level 2 coaches with lots of experience competing in triathlon and coaching triathletes.

Publisher: Human Kinetics

Who is this book for?

Train To Tri is written primarily for those considering or already committed to completing their first sprint or standard (formerly called Olympic) distance triathlon.

Even though it is aimed at first-timers, it is not just for those doing their first triathlon. While I have completed over 40 sprint triathlons, I found several useful training tips. I have already put some of them to use.

What does the book cover?

The book opens with a 24-question Triathlon Readiness Assessment. Results of the self-assessment help the future triathlete identify with one of three categories – bronze, silver, or gold – and select the training plan included later in the book. This initial section also provides guidelines for choosing the specific race for your first triathlon.

I like the basic strategy of the first triathlon training plan laid out by the authors – to focus most of the training effort on your weakest leg.

You should focus the most time and effort on [your third strongest sport] to develop strength and endurance as well as improve technique. (page 9)

Gear

Once you decide to do a triathlon, you will quickly learn about the incredible amount of clothing and equipment (called ‘gear’ in the triathlon world) surrounding the sport. Since not all the gear is necessary for your first triathlon, the authors distinguish between the ‘necessary’ and the ‘nice to have’ or ‘you can wait and decide after your first race’ gear.

Your Triathlon Support Group

Training with a group can provide the extra motivation needed to push through a training program and reap the rewards of completing your first triathlon. A group can also help you to improve your technique more quickly.

In this chapter, the authors suggest ways to create a support network for your training in swimming, biking, and running that includes various clubs and your family, friends, and co-workers.

You may have various support group options. For example, if you live in a retirement community, such as The Villages, Florida, you have a built-in support group in The Villages Triathlon Club. Members train and race together with encouragement galore.

If you are working in an area without a triathlon training club in the area, you can create your own support group through a local fitness center, community pool, bike shop, and running store. This provides flexibility to follow your specific training plan while enlisting the support of instructors and others with experience from which you can benefit.

Swim

The chapter on swimming covers the basic elements of an efficient stroke with illustrations for a proper freestyle technique. I appreciated the suggestion for traveling and swimming, especially the advice for making use of the typical small hotel pool.

Interestingly, many triathletes find swimming to be their weakest sport. If you are in that group, get comfortable being in the water and with swimming with other people as you will experience on race day. Whether swimming in a pool or in open water, you will inevitably come close to, if not in contact with, other swimmers. Staying calm is the key to finishing the swim.

If the race you choose includes an open water swim, you will want to practice swimming in open water to become familiar with ‘sighting’. For safety reasons, I recommend adding the ISHOF Safe Swimmer (see also below) to your list of gear.

Bike

Most of us know how to ride a bicycle. However, many have never ridden in a large group at speeds associated with a triathlon.

Therefore, the focus of this chapter is safety. According to the authors, safety in biking begins with a review of the various components of the bicycle to make sure that they are each in good working order. They also describe the most important cycling skills and suggestions on how to hone these, both individually and in group rides.

When riding on the road in traffic, you need to follow the rules of the road as if you were driving a car. (page 78)

Run

We all know how to run. Right? Well, not necessarily in a way that is the most efficient or that minimizes the possibility for injuries. About half of this chapter is dedicated to proper cadence (steps per minute) and body form. The rest of the chapter introduces training with a heart rate monitor and training involving the three-run types included in the weekly training plans.

If you take one thing from this chapter, remember to progress slowly (the ‘10% per week’ rule) to minimize the likelihood of injury. Unfortunately, we need to be reminded of this every so often.

Strength and Flexibility

Building strength and increasing flexibility are two keys to increasing your performance in triathlon. For many of us who spend a lot of time sitting during their workday, lack of flexibility can be the major root cause of injury. The authors show that a relatively small amount of time spent in strength training and stretching can lead to better performance and fewer injuries. Plus, these are another way to ‘mix it up’ and keep the training interesting and fresh.

Nutrition and Rest

If we all know how to run, most of us are even better at fueling (aka eating). The challenge is to eat properly. It becomes even more complicated when we are exercising, burning more calories, trying to build muscle, and recovering from the stress of training.

Triathlon training can be a great way to shed pounds and improve your health. Eating the right foods in the right amount and at the right time is the focus of this chapter. The authors are clear: “Although your daily caloric burn will certainly increase based on your training volume, you don’t have a license to hit the buffet for every meal”.

The chapter begins by showing us how to calculate two important numbers related to exercise – resting metabolic rate (RMR) and caloric burn rate. The authors discuss how to eat (or ‘fuel’ as they define it) throughout the day. This includes eating before, during, and after workouts. Sample menus for triathlon training days help to illustrate the principles of proper fueling.

The chapter concludes with a discussion about the importance of rest within a process known as periodization. The authors even provide a simple test to help us determine when our body is telling us to take a day of rest.

If you do not get adequate rest, the muscles will fatigue and eventually fail, resulting in injury. (page 139)

Training plans

It’s now time to put the information from the previous chapters together and begin to train for your first triathlon. Sample 8-week training plans are provided for bronze-, silver-, and gold-level athletes for both sprint and standard distance triathlons. I appreciate that the authors show readers how to tailor the plans to meet their particular strengths and weaknesses and their individual schedules.

Preparing to race

I love this section. Here, the authors take the new triathlete down the ‘home stretch’ to completing their first race.

Filled with practical advice, the authors walk us through the two weeks leading up to the race. With greater detail for race day, you can feel the thrill that begins upon waking and includes crossing the finish line and heading to the refreshment area for a cold drink and banana.

Related post: How to Choose Your Next Triathlon

Why get this book?

Train To Tri is pragmatic and focused. It includes essential information for each of the sports of triathlon. The authors season the information with the nuances of practicing them within a triathlon.

You can trust the USAT-certified coaches with this ‘no-nonsense’ guide.

Let us know what you think of Train To Tri

Share your experience with this book in the Comments below.

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This post was originally published on January 21, 2018. It was updated on September 5, 2025.

Best Pre-Run Warmup Approach For Senior Triathletes

Terry L. VanderWert on December 4, 2024

Image of older runner warming up for a run using dynamic stretching

A pre-run warmup becomes more important with each birthday. A combination of dynamic stretching and foam rolling provides what you need for safer and better quality run training.

Background

During a recent conversation with Dr. George Eversaul, developer of AquaStretch™ therapy, I mentioned my tight hips. I told him that I was looking for a way to loosen them. In response, he told me that the first thing I should try is stretching and foam rolling before running.

It surprised me to hear him say this. I needed no convincing to stretch after running. I am also a proponent of foam rolling, having solved an IT band problem by foam rolling many years ago.

However, I had convinced myself that stretching before running needed to be gentle, especially when the running muscles were “cold”. For most runs, I have migrated to skipping the warmup. Still, George’s comment caused me to do some research on the best way to warmup before a run, especially if it would improve my running performance, prevent injury, or both.

This post is what I learned through this research.

What Is The Purpose Of Pre-Run Warmup?

As with many so-called “givens”, conventional wisdom about pre-run warmup has changed dramatically over time. According to a post on the Marathon Handbook website titled How To Warm Up For Runners + A Complete Warm-Up Routine, pre-run advice has gone from static stretching to no stretching, then no warmup to, more recently, pre-run warmup as a must-do. Sports medicine research, such as that summarized in “Warm-up or stretch as preparation for sprint performance?” published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (JSMS), supports this advice.

Static stretching is no longer advised. Why? As the JSMS article referenced in the previous paragraph showed, there appears to be no benefit. In fact, holding stretches for 30 or more seconds before the muscles are warmed up may reduce performance by decreasing muscle strength and stability. Static stretches of “cold” muscles may also increase the risk of injury, including strains, during the run.

Before heading out on a training run, sports medicine professionals and physical therapists, recommend a 10-15 minute warmup routine. The challenge is to find a routine that does not compromise muscle strength or performance.

Warmups that are now recommended have the following main goals:

activate, elongate, and reduce tightness of the muscles involved in running,
prepare joints for moving,
increase blood flow to increase core temperature and the temperature of the muscles required for running,
stimulate the nervous system.

Because of the natural decline in flexibility and muscle elasticity that occurs with age, warming up before a run is even more important for older athletes.

Best Practices for Older Athletes

Searching Google for best pre-run warmup for “older athletes” will get you a generous number of sites to peruse. However, these generally miss an important practice for older athletes, especially those with limited mobility or flexibility in parts of the body engaged in running.

The following approach is especially important for older runners.

Get Your Heart Rate Up, Gradually

Whether through a brisk walk, doing a few jumping jacks, jogging in place, or pedaling a stationary bike, start with 5 to 10 minutes of light aerobic activity. This will raise your heart rate and core temperature gradually and, in doing so, increase blood flow to your muscles. This makes the muscles more pliable and ready for the next steps. I have also found that this is a good way to produce a little moisture on my skin so my heart rate monitor is more accurate and consistent.

Foam Roll Tight Areas

For many older athletes, foam rolling tight muscles can further improve pre-run mobility.

A major cause of tight muscles is myofascial adhesions, connections that form between the fascia, or outer wrapping, of adjacent muscles and other tissue. As explained to me by a physical therapist, tightness is like trying to slide two similar materials across each other while the two materials stick together at points along their surfaces.

By releasing myofascial adhesions, foam rolling after light aerobic activity offers the following benefits:

Improves range of motion: According to the author of “A PT’s Guide to Foam Rolling for Runners“, studies have documented improved hip extension and knee flexion when foam rolling is combined with dynamic stretching.
Increases blood flow: Along with the aerobic warmup, foam rolling further prepares muscles for physical activity. Increased blood flow aids in muscle relaxation, which can reduce the risk of injury.
Reduces tightness: Tight muscles caused by myofascial adhesions may force our body to compensate during the run. These unnatural patterns can overuse other muscles. By providing myofascial release, foam rolling can help reduce the risk of injury caused by compensation.
Activates the nervous system: The pressure from foam rolling activates neural receptors, which can relax muscles and optimize their response to dynamic movements

Foam rolling is simple. Place the foam roller against a hard surface, such as floor or wall, and place the tight area of your body against the foam roller. Lean into it and slowly roll across the tight area in both directions. If you are able, hold the position directly over the tight area for a few seconds, then repeat the process until the tightness has reduced.

For more information on foam rolling, checkout Become a More Flexible Senior Triathlete By Foam Rolling.

Dynamic Stretches Round Out a Warmup

The warmup concludes with one or more dynamic stretches. These are controlled, movement-based stretches that mimic the motions of running.

Examples include:

Leg swings: Swing your legs front-to-back and side-to-side to open up the hip flexors and hamstrings.
Forward lunges with a twist to engage the core.
Side lunges to activate inner and outer thighs.
Inchworms: A full-body stretch that also targets hamstrings and core.
Butt kicks and high knees: These help activate your quads and glutes, promoting good form and balance during running.
Leg kicks: Stand with feet apart with knees straight and stretch the right hand to the left foot, holding the position for two seconds, then repeat this with the opposite hand and foot.

Resources for Dynamic Stretching:

After completing dynamic stretches, consider easing into your run, running at an easy pace for the first five minutes. Gradually increase the intensity throughout this period. This primes your body for sustained effort while minimizing injury risk.

Conclusion

Older runners and triathletes will benefit from a pre-run warmup that includes light aerobic activity, foam rolling, and dynamic stretching. After increasing our heart rate and beginning to warm our running muscles, foam rolling relieves excess tension to improve flexibility. Dynamic stretches round out the warmup by activating the running muscles.

Skipping a pre-run warmup is a “no-no” if you want to avoid injury.

How Do You Warmup Before A Run?

Please let us know how you warmup for your run? What have you learned along the way?

How To Slow Age-Related Drop in Running Performance

Terry L. VanderWert on June 20, 2024

We often expect some drop in running speed as we age. Still, how can we minimize it? This post is based on TriDot coach Kurt Madden’s response to a request from a senior triathlete in his late 60s who hopes to reverse a dramatic drop in his running performance.

How Can I Reverse a Drop in Running Performance?

David, one of our community of senior triathletes, sent me the following request.

“I’m looking for some articles and guidance on nutrition for senior triathletes. I’m going to be 69 in July and my endurance has dropped dramatically in the past 4 years. The run has been the most affected. I expect age related drops but have gone from an 8:45 [minute per mile] pace to an 11:45 [minute per mile] pace on the run after bike.”

I sent David’s request to Our Coaches, and asked them to share the most common causes for drops in performance they see among older athletes. Kurt Madden, a TriDot Certified Coach and Head of Coach Development for TriDot, offered to speak with me about what he sees. Kurt’s comments are the basis for the rest of this post.

Protein-Based Diet

According to Coach Madden, David is correct in asking about nutrition when wanting to recover his earlier running performance.

To begin with, any person in training should be “building their nutritional regimen around protein”. This can include lean protein and any combination of protein-containing foods that provide all essential amino acids. Such a diet can slow aging somewhat. How?

Kurt said, “Fifty percent of the cellular membrane is protein. Generally speaking, for males and for females, as we look at current data, any person who is active, including seniors, should strive for close to one gram of protein per pound of body weight.” This is equivalent to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, higher than general recommendations for older active adults.

A common mistake of athletes in training is, according to Kurt, “protein fasting”. Protein fasting occurs when the athlete does not consume the recommended amount of protein. It also occurs when protein is not consumed throughout the day. We can’t starve ourselves of protein for sixteen hours, then cram it in at the end of the day. This is because it takes time for our bodies to absorb the protein we consume.

According to an article titled The Science Behind Intermittent Fasting For Athletes, “Your protein absorption rate may be as low as 8-10 grams per hour. Intermittent fasting limits one’s ability to spread protein intake throughout the day. This may not be a problem if your protein needs fit effectively within an 8-hour eating window. But if you have extremely high protein needs (say, you’re training for a triathlon and spend 3+ hours/day training) you may need to supplement with protein even during a fasting period.”

What About Intermittent Fasting?

I asked Kurt about intermittent fasting, considering this advice. From his response, I learned that while intermittent fasting may help with weight loss, the athlete in training who employs this approach may give up the quality of cellular development and quality of their metabolism. “If we can build in protein throughout the day, our waking hours, we are going to help build the cell membranes and help with recovery. To me, that is a huge win right there.”

Not absorbing enough protein while in training is, according to Coach Madden, “like a battery pack on a flashlight. You’ve got four batteries in there, but only two are working.”

Kurt continued, “The power house of the cell, that is the mitochondria. When everything within the cell is fed, it is going to produce at a much higher level. They can get larger, they can increase in size and number at any age. That’s the importance when you look at protein.”

Athletes who do not absorb enough protein will “struggle with recovery and doing powerful things, like trying to maintain your running speed at any age, versus people that are not [protein fasting] who recover quicker, generally speaking, and not going to see that rapid decline [in running speed]. So, just that tweak there is going to be incredible.”

Twenty Different Vegetables and Fruits Each Week

In addition, Kurt said, “It’s really important to try to get twenty different fruits and vegetables every single week with a shift toward more vegetables than fruits.” While fruits provide antioxidants, they also contain more sugar than vegetables.

Kurt emphasizes the need to “be strategic in your carbohydrate intake. Ideally you are getting complex carbohydrates versus simple sugars. And you are doing it strategically so every day in your training you know that if you are training less than an hour, you don’t need a surplus of carbohydrates. Conversely, if you are in a longer session any day of the week, if it’s a two hour bike ride and a thirty-minute run, you definitely need to shift those carbohydrates over.”

How Clean Are You Eating?

“And then the thing that I find with people who struggle a little with their weight, when I see a ratio of protein to carbohydrates, it’s not one to one or it’s not one to two. It’s like one for protein and four for carbohydrates. And many times what goes into that mix, when you really peel the onion back, is that their percentage of processed foods is much larger. Processed food will slow down your recovery.”

Following these guidelines will slow age-related performance decline for everyone, including seniors.

Building Strength and Endurance Reverses a Drop in Running Performance

Another area in which we can affect age-related performance is training. Kurt began this part of our discussion by referring to a May 14, 2024 article in Triathlete magazine titled How Much Slower Will You Get As You “Age Up” in Triathlon?. This article documents slower Ironman 70.3 run times that begin in our late 20s or early 30s and progress with age.

While the article mentions five main reasons for age-related performance declines, Kurt identified two of these for seniors to target in their training: (1) strength and (2) oxygen uptake.

“When you look at your oxygen uptake, the amount of oxygen that you can deliver to the working muscles . . . you are going to see that decline [with age]. That’s unavoidable because you are losing your strength.”

For this reason, seniors must include strength training, being careful to avoid injury. “Accept that by doing strength training, you are putting some stress on your ligaments, your tendons, your long bones, your connective tissue.” Still, he reminds seniors to remember that they are no longer in your 20s. Start slow.

Getting Uncomfortable to Get Faster

Still, beyond reduced strength, another cause for reduced oxygen uptake is our approach to training. “Typically, what we see, when you look at research, is that when people get older, they are more comfortable staying in a Zone 2, aerobic type training program. They are exercising. Hallelujah. I think that is beyond awesome. However, most people who are seniors, they are not willing to get uncomfortable. They are not doing the high intensity training.”

“It’s kind of like investing. How can I get bigger gains in my investments, and still be ethical and honest? Zone 2 is like investing in bonds. You’re not going to lose a thing. That’s awesome. If you want to be a little more ambitious, you’ve got to raise that bar again and, as we say, get into anerobic or you get things at your anerobic threshold. That is a true separation. And we see that.

“I can look at article after article about people in their sixties and seventies. It’s scary. People are running under three hour marathons. I was looking at results just last weekend for an Ironman 70.3 over on the east coast. A person that did a 70.3, they did a 1.2 mile swim, they did a 56 mile bike ride, and they ran a half marathon. They ran eight minute miles at age 65 to 69.

Add Some Good Stress

“I have to believe it could be two things. Number one, genetically, they are just flat out superior. But, secondly, I have to believe that person is doing some high intensity training because you have to stimulate your cardiovascular system. You have to put a little bit of stress on it and know you also need to back off.

“And that’s the beauty of TriDot. I work with 80 year olds, 70 year olds, 60 year olds, 50 year olds. I’m 68. I know later today, I have a session on a bike for an hour and I have got to get twenty-one minutes at Zone 4. And I know that I am going to get bigger gains or be able to maintain my oxygen uptake when I do that.

“Same thing on the run and the swim. But when we go to David’s question about the run, that’s very typical. We ask, well why does that happen? Well, I think to be very candid, running is the most stressful of all three disciplines. Because, you’ve got gravity. You’ve got force. You’ve got this person pounding on their ligaments, tendons, musculature, and connective tissue. And we see most injuries happening through running. And many times, it’s the volume of running, it’s overuse of running.

Balancing and Optimizing Stress

“And, again, when you see that decline, mostly speaking, I have to look at this person’s training program. They need to run at Zone 4 and Zone 3, not excessively, but have something that is optimizing them. Why? Because again, your body is going to get used to performing at that level. That prevents the decline they are going to see.

Kurt continued, “In swimming . . as long as your range of motion is good, you have the buoyancy factor. On the bike, you’re not pounding. If you’re disciplined, have good strength, good balance, mental toughness, you can hang on.”

“I just know, I did a max VO2 on the bike two weeks ago. It was close to what I did thirty years ago.”

Rest & Recovery For Better Running Performance

“Every person is a little different in the rest and recovery they need.

“Many times when we see [an athlete’s] performance declining, we get right to sleep factor. Shut things off so they are no longer getting blue light coming off screens fifteen hours a day. They shut things off and get the quality of sleep and recovery.”

Running Performance: A Three-Legged Stool

Just as a three-legged stool or tripod is the most stable platform, so is a training approach that considers the three principal contributors to running performance. Whether training for running or the triathlon run, a comprehensive plan will address these three legs:

Nutrition
Training
Rest

Of the three sports of triathlon, running is the one most sensitive to proper balance of these.

Need Your Own Plan?

Do you want a review of your current training plan or a plan tailored to you? Contact Kurt or one of Our Coaches.

Other Contributions By Coach Madden

Since our affiliation with TriDot began nearly a year and a half ago, Kurt Madden has helped on several Senior Triathletes posts. He is the exclusive contributor to these two:

Leveraging TriDot to Optimize Your Training at Any Age

How To Make Triathlon Training Senior-Specific

Kurt has also regularly responded to questions raised by readers in the Ask Our Coaches series.

How To Train For A Faster Triathlon Run

Terry VanderWert on January 17, 2022

“How can I, a 70-year-old triathlete, run 10-minute (or better!) miles?”

I received this question in an email from a visitor to SeniorTriathletes.com. His question was the inspiration for this post. It has also become the nudge I needed to train for faster triathlon runs this season.

Click here to jump directly to the Update at the end of this post. There you will find my experience and results with the training plan described in this post, originally published on January 17, 2022.

Getting Back to a Faster Triathlon Run

While I have never been a fast runner, I ran 10-min and even faster miles in sprint triathlons while in my early 60s. For various reasons, mostly related to inconsistent training, I now run 11-12 minute miles in a sprint triathlon. However, as I approach age 70, I want to get back to running 10-minute (or better) miles in a sprint triathlon.

So, after reading the question in the opening sentence, I dusted off several books on training for running and triathlon. I also listened to videos and podcasts from Phil Maffetone and trainers at Coach Parry (“Faster After 50”).

In the end, I decided to not only share what I learned, but to make myself accountable to you while training for a faster triathlon run.

I hope you will share your questions and experience by posting in the Comments section at the end of this post.

Let’s get started.

Three Pillars of Becoming a Faster Triathlete

Years of reading about triathlon training for the older athlete have convinced me of three pillars to becoming a faster triathlete – purpose, consistency, and preparation.

Purposeful Training Is Key

In their book Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise, researchers Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool share what they have learned about what makes people achieve more than previously imaginable. The book documents stories of many everyday people who strove to become experts in a particular activity. These covered a wide range, from memorization, chess and music to mathematics, golf and karate. They even cite accomplishments of 100-year old athletes in running.

With the realization that age is not the limitation it was once thought to be, more and more older adults are training harder and harder. Indeed, during the last few decades, the performance of master athletes has improved at a much higher rate than that of younger athletes.
Anders Ericcson, Robert Pool, “Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, p. 195

Did you read that? During the last few decades, performance of master athletes – that includes us – has improved at a much higher rate than that of younger athletes.

Their research has shown that practicing the same skills over and over leads to a stagnation of improvement. In my experience, this means running the same distance at the same pace day-in, day-out without a plan leads to becoming slower with age.

On the other hand, the researchers document how consistent, structured training designed to improve the key factors affecting performance will, with time, improve one’s performance.

Consistency Is A Must

As much as I have tried to make up for missed workouts by running harder the next time, this has not worked for me. I am not sure it works for anyone.

In fact, I am more likely to be injured, even if mildly, by going too hard. This then leads to shortened or more missed workouts, starting to a death spiral for my training plan.

For the older runner, avoiding injury serious enough to cause missed workouts is one of the top strategies for maintaining consistency. The approach to building aerobic fitness described in the next section is good for avoiding injury.

You are better off training more consistent, and by that I mean a day less, and then also training at the right intensity so you can recover better before your next session. By training consistently, I can guarantee you are still building on your aerobic fitness which is what’s going to help you more than anything else.
Markus van Niekerk on “Running After 50: Tips To Run Faster As You Get Older” podcast

Come Prepared For Training

Running puts significant stress on our body. This includes stress on muscles, joints, connective tissue. It also requires a base level of heart and circulatory system health.

To avoid injury or burnout, we need to make certain that our bodies are ready to begin a consistent, structured training program.

Before training to run faster, we must be able to run the distances required in the training plan.

Minimizing Injury Is Key To A Faster Triathlon Run

A common message throughout the run training plans I have read is to (1) set reasonable, achievable goals and (2) follow the plan, especially when it seems too easy.

It is far too common for runners, especially new runners, to set goals based on what they would like to achieve rather than on what they can achieve. Patient perseverance is a virtue in most endeavors. It certainly is for running.

Training to run faster as a senior goes hand-in-hand with preventing injuries. Injuries, from which we recover more slowly with age, can easily interrupt a training plan aimed at making you faster in the run.

People think because I’m getting slower I need to run fast in training so I can run fast in a race. It’s not the case. By slowing down your body is also able to recover after sessions.
Markus van Niekerk on “Running After 50: Tips To Run Faster As You Get Older” podcast

Start By Building Base-Level Fitness

As mentioned above, it is important to prepare oneself for a structured training program. First, it creates a base level of fitness that will, hopefully, support your body as you train to become faster.

I like the approach to building aerobic base fitness described in Training to Train – Building Aerobic Fitness for Senior Triathletes. Results in the post came from following the MAF-180 method.

This approach is easy enough that I could train using it five or more days per week without injury.

This method is also effective. I have repeated the results included in the post three more times with the same results – steadily faster times per mile while maintaining my heart rate within a relatively low range. On top of this, I lost some weight, even though weight loss was not a goal.

A little over a month ago, I added one 5k run per week, ignoring my heart rate monitor. The ability to run a 5k without walking showed me that my fitness was improving. It was also a prerequisite for the training program described later in this post.

part of plan for a faster triathlon run. Aerobic fitness using MAF-180 method — MAF-180 test results for run/walk on the same 3.5 mile course while maintaining my heart rate in the prescribed range.

Next – Add Structured Training to Increase Speed

Consistent with the evidence from Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise cited above, I feel ready to move to the next phase of my run training.

[T]here are some changes that need to be made to a training regimen as the body ages. The first changes in run training involve focus and frequency. . . . It is no longer quantity that is required for the masters runner, but quality. Every workout should be a quality workout, pre-planned with session goals and targets.
Ian Stokell, “Triathlon For Masters and Beyond”, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2013, p.140

A structured run training program I have used in the past is FIRST (Furman Institute Running Scientific Training). This method is the subject of Runners World Run Less, Run Faster by Furman University’s Bill Pierce, Scott Muir, and Ray Moss.

Email discussions with co-author Bill Pierce over the past ten years have shown me that the authors promote a conservative approach to increasing speed. Success of the plan requires each training session to be done at the prescribed speeds. They also know that success requires avoiding injury.

Fundamentals of FIRST

The FIRST run training program includes three runs per week based on conservative goals. Aerobic cross-training activities, such as swimming, biking, and kayaking, supplement the three runs per week.

The goal of the three runs is to improve what the authors consider the three key factors affecting running performance. According to the authors, the goals of each of the three runs are:

#1 – Improve VO2max, running speed, and running economy.
#2 – Improve endurance by raising lactate threshold.
#3 – Improve endurance by raising aerobic metabolism.

With only three runs per week, one can train harder for greater effect plus recover longer between sessions to prevent injury.

Also Useful for Beginners

Another reason I like this book is that includes plenty of advice for new runners. It includes a ‘5k novice training plan’ that initially combines running with walking.

My Plan To Train For A Faster Triathlon Run

I have completed the base-building phase of the run training through four months with the MAF-180 plan. The next phase is to follow the FIRST run training method based on details in the 3^rd edition of Runners World Run Less Run Faster.

Run Training

The twelve week plan will use times for the three runs prescribed in the FIRST method. The basis for these will be a 35:40 min 5k time recorded about one month ago.

With a sizeable gap between my current 5k time and the goal of a 10-min 5k in an upcoming triathlon, I realize I may need to repeat the program after the first twelve weeks. Of course, I expect the second time through the plan to be based on a faster 5k time.

By the time I complete the first cycle, I will know how well the plan is working for me. I will also know how well I have been applying it. I am confident that I will have a faster run in my next triathlon.

Cross Training

The FIRST plan also requires a minimum of two cross training sessions per week. For these, I plan to complete one session each of biking and swimming.

For the days when the biking is through a cycling class at my local gym, I will continue to perform a series of core exercises and weight strength training before the cycling class.

We all know that triathlon differs from a running race because it requires running after biking for a significant distance. Therefore, I will add a short run after completing a cycling class or bike ride.

My weekly swim will, at least initially, involve swimming 1,500 to 2,000 yards in a lap pool near my home.

Updates On My Journey To A Faster Triathlon Run

I have reserved this section for updates on my progress with the plan. These will show my experience with the sessions, what is working, what is not working, and new 5k times.

I will keep you informed through Senior Triathletes Highlights, our monthly newsletter, when I have updates.

Update #1 – After eight weeks of the 12-week 5k plan

Here is what I had learned through the first eight weeks of the 12-week 5k plan:

I realized early on that I benefit from accountability to you. Knowing that I would provide this and at least one more update has made me stick to the plan.
In pursuing a faster triathlon run, I have tracked results of three weekly runs from the FIRST training plan and cross-training (swimming, biking, strength training) on a Google sheet. I included a calculator for the paces of the various runs. This will make it simple to use the sheet for future repeats of the plan.
It is important to base the paces for the plan on the time to complete a run of the distance for which you are training. I had started on the FIRST plan a few years ago. However, because I based it on my 5k goal rather than a recent 5k, the paces for the various runs were too high for me to complete. I eventually stopped before completing the plan. This time, I used an actual 5k race time and have been able to complete the runs.
It has been surprising that the interval runs (Run#1) have been the easiest of the three runs, while the slower, longer runs (5 to 8 miles) have been the most difficult. I suspect – and the results seem to support this – that this difficulty comes from one hip being weaker than the other. Therefore, I have added strength training to the plan, something prescribed by most running coaches.
Despite my best efforts to follow the schedule, visits from family and friends took priority. I will finish the plan about two weeks later than the plan.

Update #2 – After completing the first iteration of the 12-week 5k plan

I finished the 12-week plan, which ended with a 5k run to measure the results. The results were positive, with a 5k time that was reduced by 8%, from 35:40 to 32:48.

While I have not reached my goal, the improvement is significant.

I have already started to repeat the 12-week plan. This time, I will use the new, faster 5k time as the basis for each of the runs. By the end of this second iteration, I expect to be at my goal.

Stay tuned for additional updates

Share Your Questions and Comments

There are many triathletes age 50 and over reading this post with more experience in triathlon training than me. Some of you have hired coaches or subscribed to virtual training programs. Many have also completed various distances, from sprint to Ironman.

No matter where you consider yourself – beginner or experienced triathlete – you probably have questions, comments on my plan, or experience to share. Please include these in the Comments below.

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