UPDATE 4/23: Well, I reached my goal of running 5 miles, 3 times a week. Several times. Which is to say, I have struggled to continue to run that distance with that frequency. Not because of tiredness or my lungs hurting but because my legs aren’t strong enough.
After the age of 50, we all start to lose muscle mass. I took the year or so I took off from running at age 52. Since coming back, leg strength has been a vexing issue. But this dilemma helped me see that getting to 5 miles shouldn’t have been the goal per se. I what I should be doing is focusing on fitness such that I can run 5 miles, 3 times a week.
So I’ve settled in at 4.15 miles, 3 times a week. It’s not super easy but it’s also not too difficult. For me the distance is taking a back seat to fitness. To that end, I’ve started doing body weight exercises 3 times a week. And after just a couple of weeks, it feels like it is paying off.
I’ll probably stay here for a bit as I work on pace. Then move on to see how far I can run next. When that happens, I’ll come back and update again. Cheers!
UPDATE: After several start/stops I am finally back to a regular schedule of running. But I’ve modified the approach I outlined below. This time out I assumed zero fitness. So I started with run a block, walk a block on a 5 mile route…
