It is somewhat shocking to me, that at the age of 58, I got faster at many different events this year. It all started with my half marathon in March.

My journey into triathlon began at age 51, when I started to run with the simple goal of wanting to complete a half marathon.  I accomplished that goal in May 2014, when I finished the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in 2:10:42.  I was really happy with that time and back then, if you had told me that seven years later, I would complete the same distance more than thirty minutes quicker, I would have laughed.

That is exactly what I did earlier this year.  The key question now is… can I still continue to run quicker as I continue to age? 

If I am honest, I have to acknowledge that it is going to get harder.  Equally however, I do think that it might be possible for another year or two.  Why not? 

Now that I am retired, I have more time to train, and more time to recover.  I think I can get stronger by doing more weight work.  I can certainly get better when it comes to nutrition. I believe the biggest key will be avoiding injuries.  I definitely don’t bounce back from injuries, as quickly as I did when I was younger.

So, I got faster at running in 2021.  What about my triathlon times?  That is going to be the topic of another post, later this week…. stay tuned.