As I head towards the magic fifty, I'm noticing I'm stuggling to recover like I did.

There must be some out there who've experienced the onset of middle age. How have you maintained form? More volume or lower intensity? A combination.?

Shifting weight seems harder too.

More days off, gym work. Realistic goals. Training that reflects the kind of racing that you are doing. I.E.- don't try to train like you are getting ready for a grand tour. Must maximize fitness based on where you are right now, not where you were at 40 or even 45.
I am 48- going through same thing.

Approaching 50? Youngster!
Just enjoy it. I'm not one of these "I'm never going to get old types, and therefore I still need to beat everyone everytime". Never have been. It's not about that for me. I've had the opporunities to ride quite a few different places in the world, some self contained loaded touring, others supported with a nice road bike. It's all enjoyable. I don't train to ride. I just ride. I might do a couple of tt's this year... maybe, not because I need to prove myself, but because it's fun. And even as we age, cycling is just something you can do regardless of whether you're as fast as you used to be. Plus, I like working on bikes almost as much as riding them, so it's a great hobby to have, in all kinds of ways.

Of course, if you are one those "types", then I guess you'll just have to learn to deal with aging and work harder and harder, rest more to recover. Probably not the response you're looking for, but it seems to be the most obvious one. However, there's a lot of 50 somethings that can still kick ass at many levels of racing, so if you're one of those, then more power to ya.

Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum! (if you've ever seen the Seinfeld episode where Lloyd Bridges plays the geriatric fitness freak, you'll get that reference).

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My Colnago C59
My Special Colnago EPQ

Try a girlfriend who is 20 years younger than you...

I'm 62
Just resign yourself to a life of unrelenting, excruciating pain and chronic fatigue.


Seriously.


Oh yeah....and don't eat anything.

This one may backfire, though.

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

Oh yeah....my response was to the girlfriend post!

Get a new bike and a sports car- it's cheaper (just turned 58).

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My Colnago C59
My Special Colnago EPQ

It's all fun and games, until someone loses a house...

Lol... so, in what order did all this occur... I'm presuming marriage, 20 year younger mistress, divorce, lose house, mistress becomes girlfriend... repeat? When will we ever learn. Kinda like bikes I guess. We don't.

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My Colnago C59
My Special Colnago EPQ

I just turned 45, so I'm really a youngster!!

I find the recovery is the hardest part, anymore. If I do a group ride, with some 30 somethings, I pay for it! I can still keep up, but I'm not gonna lie, it hurts!

I think you would gain the biggest benefit by experimenting with diet and when you eat. Keep notes to reflect on what your body is telling you. Some people think it is a fad but I have seen people of your age benefit from strict gluten-free diet. See what happens when if you cut out dairy or meat consumption. Eat as early as possible, be done with all your eating by 6pm. Alcohol has a detrimental effect on recovery too.

^
This! (water)

As we age, soon to be 56, you must train smarter to compensate for the loss of recovery. I find during the week an intense hour per day and longer rides on the weekend work. During the winter I take a day off per week and I let my body dictate recovery days when the riding weather gets nicer. I do try to fit in other actives for active recovery such as yoga. While you cannot beat the clock you can cheat it. Last year I was able to break my 40K PB twice and plan to do it again this year. Still the clock is ticking and soon my personal bests will be over.

A 20 year younger girlfriend might be a personal best but I don't think the wife will think so.

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-For my next trick I will set myself on fire!
-This board and the world in general would be a much nicer place if everyone could just take themselves a little less seriously.
-Sticky Fingers John Rockefeller
-First one over the cliff wins!