Jimson Lee a quick study on masters sprint speed and slowing
Jimson Lee
Jimson Lee, a longtime British Columbia coach and M45 sprinter, apparently is now based in Rome, Italy. But his speedendurance.com blog remains a rich resource on long sprinting (the 200 and 400). He occasionally writes about masters sprinting, including this June 2009 discussion of âThe Law of Attrition.â Last week, he asked: âWhy is there a jump in performance in the âolderâ age groups?â The answer he cites came in a 2003 article by three researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland (site of the 2012 world masters indoor meet, coincidentally). âFrom the study, the general decline in sprint performances with age were evident around the 65-70 year old age groups and they concluded it was primarily related to reduction in stride length and increase in ground contact time,â Jimson wrote, adding: âGee, thanks guys, we know itâs related, but what is the true cause?â
Jimson continued:
Do you really believe itâs your neurons slowing down? Lack of strength in your infrastructure (bones and muscles)? If so, perhaps itâs the loss of muscle mass in men and osteoporosis in women? If thatâs the case, then thereâs a lot to be said about the long term effects of an acidic diet, and why you should strive for a more alkaline diet. Thatâs theory #1.
Theory #2 I didnât see. But heâs really trying hard to understand the physics and physiology of our slowdown.
I also like what Jimson wrote about masters sprinters in general:
You really have to forget your past if you want to run Masters Track. Muscles have a memory -â if you sprinted before, the chances are you still âhave itâ.
With the odd exception, the faster you were in your prime, the faster youâll be as a Masters sprinter compared to other athletes. The law of attrition doesnât lie. Of course, some Masters athletes like Hollandâs Eric Roese or USAâs James Chinn could still run relatively close to their prime.
I get a chuckle when I hear good amateur golfers dreaming to join the Senior PGA tour when they turn 50. Sorry to break the news guys, but I think when Greg Norman or Tiger Woods turns 50, theyâll have the edge on you already.
Same with track. Bill Collins was an alternate in the 4Ă100m Olympic relay in 1972. And he just kept it up.
But Iâm not here to discourage you. I believe in the âabsoluteâ rule. Itâs all about YOU improving relative to YOURSELF. No one else. Just you and the clock. If you win some medals, thatâs bonus. The post-race beer taste just as good.
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I think Jimson Lee fails to take into account a factor emphasised by Earl Fee, that is ageing slower than your opponents. I’m sure this is influenced by both genetic and environmental (nutrition, training, etc) factors.
Perhaps Earl has a more alkaline diet, perhaps he lives in trains where the air is cleaner and less polluted then his rivals or perhaps other factors including flexibility, post workout recovery techniques, 9 hours sleep etc. are helping him slow down his aging process. I to believe that some of us age a bit slower than others, but I also think that there are reasons for this. This doesnât mean to say that there isnât someone out there who had the potential to be a World record holder in the 400 for example and then started training at age 50 and entering competitions soon after working his way up the age group ladder. It may be possible that he/she can close in on the top masters after about a decade. Earl Fee didnât start competing until his 40âs I think, but I am sure he led and active lifestyle prior to that. I think Jimson is providing some thought to the fact that some athletes age slower, he is attempting to delve into those factors and determine their individual effects on aging and performance. The golf example; Tiger will certainly have an edge, but in some sports wear and tear are the major factors.
Line up old boxing champions who are in their 60’s, (if they can even stand up) and take some relatively fit and athletic individuals around the same age and train them for a couple of years, and throw them in the ring, my bet is the old punch- drunk boxers may get a couple rounds in if they are lucky before hitting the canvas. Same can be said for NFL lineman, those guys are often debilitated in later years. We are talking track and field of course, but in some respects the same principles hold true. The body can only take so much punishment and rest and recovery is key.
I love the absolute rule. Yes in the long run it is about improving yourself, better then the day before, the season before, the decade before. I believe we are all world class in something. Could be the pole vault, or the steeplechase, could be bench press or pull ups, or one arm dead lifting, just make sure to always challenge yourself and donât be afraid to try something new.
Good points by Matt Bogdanowicz. Just a minor correction — Earl Fee competed in high school and college (University of Toronto) and then took 33 years off. His first masters race appears to have been at age 56. This is from a biographical sketch on the Internet but is consistent with my memory of talking to “The Great Earl” about his history.
Note that although Earl took 33 years off from track and field, he was definitely not inactive during that period.
I just think it’s really neat to see a guy who I passed the baton to in high school is still competing! I took 22 years off and was suprised to see how fast Jimson had become. Many of our teammates have given up running (at least for now;p) but some are still at it. Th fast guys are still faster-the distance guys still have more endurance. Stay uninjured Jimson-I want to be saying-“hey I ran in HS with THAT guy 30 years from now đ
There have been also some other studies at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) that have examined the specific biomechanical and neuromuscular (and training) mechanisms responsible for the decline in sprint performance with age. Some results of works have been summarized in Marko Korhonen’s academic dissertation that is available (for free) at digital archive under:
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-3613-6
“The results show that the deterioration in sprint performance with age is a complex phenomenon that may be affected by the interaction of changes in biomechanical, neuromuscular and metabolic factors. A major contributor appears to be reduced muscle mass, caused partially by decreased type II fiber size, which affects the ground reaction forces required to achieve fast running speeds…”
@Don – yes, it was probably an indoor medley relay… 800-200-200-400 to be exact. I don’t do 800’s. HSB Coach Christine Laverty is alive and will and living in Calgary.
Came across this article after hitting a broken link to the “Ten by” piece on Chinn.
I urge all masters who want to learn the true reasons for declining speed to experience Pete Magill’s podcasts and videos at http://www.runningtimes.com. His “cures” are based on Harvard studies conducted in recent years that found the true cause of age-related speed loss isn’t decreased stride rate or stride length, but decreasing “power to the ground.”
Pete proves his methods – he’s the oldest person to run a sub-15:00 5K (50+). I’ve had excellent experiences with Pete’s skipping drills and hill sprints, as well as Arthur Lydiard’s high-knees, bounding, and leaping exercises. Another useful power-to-ground improving exercise is heavy deadlifts at the gym (at least 85% of 1-rep max weight, in sets no longer than 10 seconds to prevent long recovery times).
I summed up these findings in the “How to Get Fast” articles at http://fitnessintuition.com/training/.
I’m 71, and on the rare days when I’m not shuffling through recovery runs, I find I can run like a 40-year-old as a result of practicing these things. Of course, a bagel with cream cheese and Smuckers strawberry preserves helps, 3-4 hrs before running.
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