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Fast After…60? …70? Part 6

February 27, 2023

Another Amazing Senior Athlete

Ed Whitlock (pictured below) was the first over-70 runner to break 3 hours for the marathon. At age 73 the Canadian, who was born and grew up in the UK, ran a 2:59:10. Later he broke that 70-74 age group record with a time of 2:54:48. At age 85, he set yet another new age group record of 3:56:34 and became the first, and only, runner over age 80 to break four hours. He would eventually lower that record to 3:15:54.

Having been a runner in high school and college, Whitlock quit the sport soon after graduating and didn’t take it up again until age 40 when he began to race middle distance events (800m to mile) on the track. In 1979, at age 48 he ran his first marathon, with little training, in 2:31:23. His marathon training was and continued to be quite unimpressive throughout his life. He simply ran laps daily at a cemetery near his home.

Having led a remarkable life, especially in sport, he died in 2017 at age 86 due to prostate cancer. During his life he held 36 world age group records on the track and road including 11 at the marathon distance.

Part 6. My Training as a Senior Athlete

I received an email a few days ago from a serious-training 82-year-old cyclist. He shared that he also occasionally uses an e-bike and, like me, rides in the lowest pedal-assist modes based on how tired he is and the terrain. He also asked me what my training routine is like. I told him my planned late winter training week looks like this…

Monday

Walk 1 hour briskly

Ride 1.5h on road bike with about 15-20 minutes total of “hill fartlek” in zone 4

 

Tuesday

Walk 1h briskly

Ride 1.5-2h very easy on e-bike

Strength, flexibility, and mobility training for about 30 minutes

 

Wednesday

Walk 1h briskly

Ride 1.5-2h easy on e-bike or road bike

 

Thursday

Walk 1h briskly

Ride 1.5h on road bike with about 15-20min total of hill repeats in zone 4

 

Friday

Walk 1h briskly

Ride 1.5-2h very easy on e-bike

Strength, flexibility, and mobility training for about 30 minutes

 

Saturday

Walk 1h briskly

Ride 1.5-2h easy on e-bike or road bike

 

Sunday

Walk 1h briskly

Ride 1.5-2h easy on road bike

Note the 5-2 training routine in use here – 5 easy days and 2 hard days weekly. You can find more about this routine here.

This winter routine is likely to change on any given day due to weather. It’s a hoped-for suggestion rather than a set-in-stone agenda. In fact, many of the daily workouts recently have been missed due to foul weather. We’ve had a rather nasty winter here in the mountains of northern Arizona so there have been changes and omissions weekly since last November. Also, to make sure I stay ahead of the fatigue curve, every third week I reduce the training volume for a few days if I feel like I need it. On top of that, there are lifestyle matters that also occasionally interfere with the plan. While this schedule suggests a minimum of about 17 hours weekly of aerobic training, I’m currently averaging just under 14 for this late winter plan. That’s mostly due to bike workouts being shortened or skipped altogether. I occasionally do a second one-hour walk on days when I can’t ride. The strength, flexibility, and mobility sessions are rarely missed but occasionally have to be repositioned in the week.

Starting in the spring the walks will get shorter and the rides longer. By summer there will be only a couple of short walks weekly with much longer rides – and fewer missed workouts. The greater inclusion of walking in the winter provides a welcome relief from the bike-centric training the rest of the year; is effective for maintaining aerobic fitness; and helps to build bone density in the feet, legs, hips, and lower spine.

I continue to do high intensity training rides twice a week throughout most of the year, but the types of workouts and intensities change seasonally. Group rides, which become one of the hard rides weekly, start in the spring and last until winter weather gets in the way again. Depending on the day of the group ride, the other workouts must be rescheduled. But I continue to use the 5-2 training pattern described above. The additional weekly hard ride depends on what the group ride that week was like.

I don’t know what other athletes in their 70s do, but I’m curious. If you fall into this age group, I’d be interested in seeing your training routine. And I’d like to post some of them here on my blog as examples. I won’t mention your name unless you give me permission to do so. You can post your weekly routine for me here. Thanks!

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