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I’m 64. I have the Level 1 Marathon plan. I’m in week 5. The plan and 80-20 strategy seem to work well for me but from time-to-time I get excited and run in Zone 3 when I should be going slower.
I see the biggest benefit to 80-20 is reducing the risk of injury yet on the audible books all the explanation is on achieving superior fitness per physiological improvements.
So is strict adherence to the 80-20 split just for physiological improvement or is my risk of injury lower as well?
To further reduce my injury risk should I consider lessening reps in interval workouts by a quarter or so? Do 6 one-minute Z4’s instead of 8?
Shouldn’t there be some adjustment for old age?
Keep in mind that the 80/20 approach was not invented for any purpose. It evolved over time as elite athletes strove to elevate their performance. Strictly speaking, 80/20 is universally practiced at the elite level today because there is no other way to get fitter. But part of the reason it enables these athletes to get fitter is that it is gentler on the body. Anecdotally, large numbers of athletes with an injury history report experiencing less pain and injury with the 80/20 method.
Regarding age, I spoke to Stephen Seiler about this and he said he believe 80/20 remains the best way to go throughout the athletic lifespan. It’s just that the overall workload may need to be reduced as an athlete gets older. But there’s no one-size-fits-all way to do this. One experienced 64-year-old athlete might be able to handle a Level 3 plan, while another might need to drop to Level 0. Listen to your body as you train. If you’re feeling good overall, there’s no need to adjust. If you’re not, dial it back a bit.
Some topical reading: https://www.8020endurance.com/would-longer-weeks-make-your-training-more-manageable/
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