Ladies over 40 running challenges

Bluesquare

I have just signed up for DCM 2019. I so don't want to do it but the other me can't wait !

I'm am turning 43 too shortly . But here is thing - there are certain times in my cycle I just can't race - hell I can barely run . My V02 max (as calculated by garmin ) dips up and down depending on where I am in the month . There are days it's like running through treacle and a normal slow pace seems horrifically hard .

It was always the case that there were 1/2 days were it sucked - but know it's lot more . My resting heart rate increases not 4/5 bmp for about a week.

Every single pb has been at the exact same cycle time. In September I had a 4 min differential in half marathon times with the course that tortuted me bring the much handier one .

My heart rate will back it up - so not entirely in my head. People telling me it's in my head and I just need grit is more annoying. My stats show that it took a lot of effort to finish certsin races- with heart rate at 170 from first k !' If it is in my head and not physical i fail to see how this makes the problem easier .

Anyway enough ranting - this to me seems like an issue that's out there and not discussed enough by women. So we beat ourselves up over bad performances when sometimes it's out of our control.

Has anyone else got similar experiences and how did it effect Marathon training and marathon racing ?

I think I'm be realistic taking it into account and it makes me a bit cross trying to get people to agree it's a thing .

eyrie

Hi Bluesquare, I'm not over 40 but I think plenty of this stuff is common to women of all ages (no doubt there are differences at different stages, but fluctuations throughout the month are certainly normal for pre-menopausal women of all ages). There's plenty of research to back up the fact that body temperature rises in the second half of your cycle, which can increase perceived effort. I think the same goes for increased heart rate during this time. I pay attention to heart rate a lot in training and there are definitely certain points/weeks where I would notice it is up and everything feels harder. One bit of advice I've heard which was interesting is that women need to drink more during this phase due to the increased core temperature.

I think I've been lucky in that I haven't felt it affect me hugely in racing, but then I haven't done that many races to really be able to say for sure. One thing I have come across is that by the time you actually start your period, testosterone levels rise and this can actually be a benefit if you're racing. So while it might not feel ideal as you might feel a bit bleh, physiologically it's not a hindrace (supposedly) whereas the week or two prior are more likely to affect performance if you're racing during that period.

Does that fit with/go against your experiences? I'm no expert but have read up on this a bit out of interest. Definitely agree that it's not talked about enough! And apologies if I'm taking you up wrong and you're referring to something different and specific to the age range!

But yayyyy for signing up for DCM 2019!