Racing targets as you get into old age

Getting older has it's obvious drawbacks when it comes to running. What I find difficult is comparing times that I run now to times I ran in my youth.

Clearly it's depressing (and totally unrealistic) to think about lifetime bests. This is why I always quote OAPBs !!

There are a few good tools and indicies to use out there.

WAVA is a great one for comparing times by age grading. The older you get the less fast you have to run to get a comparable time!

This year is actually my fastest Age Graded year for many years!

My best results this year are - (distance, time, age grading, age)

1500m 4:28.3 = 84.3% 45

5k 17:02 = 83.43% 45

800m 2:13.85 = 83.18% 45

Comparative to my 'best' performances as an OAP -

5M 26:47 = 80.6% 35

5m 27:10 = 80.25% 37

5k 16:37 = 79.81 35

Clearly my 35 - 37 year old self was faster BUT relative to my age my new performances are much better!  I like WAVA as a tool, it also shows that my runs are consistent this year even when (in the 5k) I didn't do nearly as well as I'd have liked.

Another great system is the Runbritain rankings system. It basically ranks everything (from 800m up) like a golf handicap. Combining your best 5 recent performances to give you a handicap and ranking that for each age group.

I am currently at 1.4 and ranked about 330th in my age group (down from 2.2 and 475 a couple of weeks ago). I can compare myself to other people in my age group and if I keep improving watch myself move up the national ladder!

Where it is pretty good is taking a tougher run and giving it higher weighting. Obviously faster races get much lower rating.

At my best in 2010 my handicap was just under 0.0 (scratch). I am pretty sure if I run another couple of good races that I will be back at that level again. It does reward consistent racing which is why my ranking times are much better than people with similar handicap BUT I like the fact it encourages people to race!

My target right now is to get inside the top 100 for my age group (-0.3) which is completely do-able as long as there are races to do !!

Jacob is currently 30th in the U15 boys, which is about right when you look at his rankings for 800m and 1500m this year which have mainly contributed.

Target setting is a constantly moving battle for me as I focus on shorter events. If you are targeting marathons it's a pretty long term aim with a race & time. 5k and below things can change and adapt constantly.

Right now my main aim is to be consistent with training and stay healthy. I have 2 races left this track season that may or may not go ahead for various reasons. The change in weather to becoming much cooler, windier and rainy is really hammering the confidence and enthusiasm to race !!

It's almost laughable to come out of an 8 week track season and feel the need to take a break !! But I probably will reset even if just to let the body know what's coming.

So winter focus will be to move those 83% performances up to 90%. I kinda know what's required to get there, but the main issue for me will always be staying fit and healthy long enough to make those adaptions.