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Coach's Corner
 

I was asked to start this thread by VitoVino.
This all started when i volunteered to be a general fitness coach in the Team FitDay:Running/walking club thread.

My background.

I started running in high school in 1976. I competed in cross-country and track(distance) in both high school and two years at a community college.
I continued to run , completing approximately 600 races (including high school/college) ranging from a half mile to 25K though the large majority were in the 8-20K range.

I regularly lifted weights and started cycling when, in my mid 30s, I noticed I was not recovering from my runs as well as I used to.

In June of 2004, I was hit while cycling to work bringing to an end my running and cycling.

The following April, I bought a handcycle and completed a metric century the following August. In May of 2007 I completed a full century.

Currently, I coach cross country and track at a local high school.

What I have to offer is over 35 years of personal experience and an insatiable need to know about my sport that led me to keep up on the latest developments in training.

Please note: I am not a personal trainer, registered dietitian or any other credentialed professional.

Just somebody with a keen interest in fitness and learning.

So, fire away!

I am so happy to see this tread HC.

So.. being an older athelete it seems to me that recovery between workouts is even more important these days than it was in my 30s. Each week I try to run, at least one 6 miler, but where I am in a training schedule, CrossFit 2 times, and work in 1 or 2 yoga sessions (believe me we do a lot more than sit in lotus contemplating our navels :D). Are you aware of any information that suggests when a body crosses that threshold between... "sure I can run, and workout every day", to: "nope gotta take a break" ?

Recovery is important at any age but older athletes may need more time to recover.
It depends on the activity. Running, being high impact requires more than cycling. (Depending on distance/time)

A reliable indicator is resting heat rate. If it's elevated more than 10 bpm, take a day off or at least an easy day.
Attitude towards an upcoming workout is another indicator.

Keeping a training log can also help spot long term trends as I did when I started mixing in cycling.

This may be off topic but I've wondered about your story and it's nice to finally know. Thanks for sharing and all you do to help out all the members here!

I'd like to ask a question about heart rate, the suggested training rate they indicate is a max of 178 but with a training rage of 118-136. I find that 136 is definitely doable and feel like I'm really working when I'm at the 150 mark. Just wondering if it feels okay is there any probs with being in that range