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I’m losing my edge
The kids are coming up from behind
I’m losing my edge
LCD Soundsystem
I knew it was coming. I have the conversation all the time with patients in the physical therapy clinic: “The older we get, the less our bodies care about fitness—the priority is to simply survive another day, never mind getting faster or even maintaining muscle mass.” I knew it was coming and I tried to fight it. I made my training more structured. I became more consistent with weight training. I tried to get more sleep. I tried to drink less wine. But I couldn’t control the reality that I turned 50 this year and every hard trail run I did was slower.

I’m sure there are plenty of readers in their 60s and 70s who are currently shaking their heads and thinking, “You think you’re slowing down now, just wait until you’re my age.” But it’s still challenging to accept. When I transitioned from bike racing to running in my early 40s, Strava was full of praise and PRs. Now, Strava just laughs at me, “Kudos, you just set another Slowest Time Ever!”
I found cross country skiing later in life. It’s been a blessing both in the tremendous joy I get from the self-propelled glide on snow and from the rewards of learning a new skill. I came to Nordic skiing with a good engine, and plenty of experience Alpine skiing, but I had zero technique. Initially, I didn’t much care because I only saw skiing as a way to stay fit for cycling season. But as I came to enjoy the skiing more and more, I started to focus on gaining better technique, which thankfully brought increased speed. Now, I think the gains in technique are about equal to the losses in fitness. Treading water, but at least not drowning.
I’ve read sciencey articles like this and this. And books, which I really would recommend, like The Midlife Cyclist and Fast After 50 (not trying to push Amazon; please get them from the bookseller of your choice). But they did little to console me and only reinforced the obvious. In search of some tips on reconciling my condition (and hopefully easing my depression), I got in touch with a couple of heavily decorated masters athletes, who are both older and faster than my whiny ass, to ask a few questions about their experiences with aging and training.
My former PT colleague Lo Knapp is 70 years young and still swimming at the highest level (for her age). She just set two more age group world records, adding to her already impressive collection. Barry Makarewicz, at 63, is a local legend on the triathlon, bike racing, and skiing scenes. He’s won a half dozen races at World Masters and took the overall at the Yellowstone Rendezvous 50k at age 47.

When did you start slowing down or notice age related changes in performance?
Lo: I pretty much held my speed until age 60. My 200 yard breaststroke time at age 38 was ~2:42. At age 44 it was down to 2:39 (pretty much my lifetime best but also affected by some rule changes). Age 60 was 2:44 (national record in yards)–not much slower than age 38. Then, at age 62: 2:47. I was wondering what is wrong with me? After covid and polymyalgia rheumatica, age 67 was 3:02. Crazy slow. Anyway, in a 50m pool, between age 60 and 65 I slowed down 10 seconds in a 200m breaststroke. And another 11 seconds between 65 and 70. And this is after not slowing down much 38-60. That just seems like significant slowing.
Barry: In my early 40’s I think I noticed that I was not at the physical level of the younger athletes in terms of physical capacity, but in skiing I was able to sort of hold my performance steady due to improving technique. I actually feel like I held my skiing performance kind of steady from my mid 40’s until later 50’s (57-58). Then I noticed a significant decline in power, strength and top end mojo.
How have you changed your training, or approach to training, in hopes of minimizing these age related changes?
Lo: We know older folks need more rest/recovery time, but I am not sure what that means. I still work hard, just nap more afterwards (or maybe because I’m not working and I am able to nap!). I think weight lifting is key, especially for women. We lose so much strength as we age—hormone drops? I do a TRX class 1x/wk and another session of kettlebell or a core strength session 1x/wk. When I rest for a meet, I REALLY rest more than I used to. I decrease my yardage much more. But I still push hard on the bike and in the pool. It’s a slippery slope that you have to fight against. “No, we’re not doing that interval. We can do faster than that!”
Barry: The common complaint of needing several days to recover after a hard workout or race did not really hit me until 60ish. Now it’s a real thing to need more easy days of active rest to feel recovered.
I have always felt that general strength training is very important for performance, overall health, and injury prevention and made weight training part of my year round routine. Now, as an older person, I am even more dedicated to consistent general strength training year round with more ski focused strengthening work in late summer and fall. I am absolutely convinced that focused and consistent strengthening exercise is essential for any middle to older aged person for good quality of life and longevity. This is where the best gains are made and kept.
Becoming a student of skiing technique has helped me stay competitive, and it has been fun to focus on body position and execution, especially in classic technique. We are very lucky to have so many opportunities to watch elite skiers on video and in person. There are always technique tips to observe and try to copy.
In summary my method for adjusting my approach to training to minimize the inevitable age related changes are:
- Consistent and vigorous strength training. Both general year round and ski specific seasonal work.
- Consistent interval or other high end workouts. Use it or lose it.
- Always focus on improving ski technique.

I’m sure it wasn’t easy to see yourself getting slower. How did you come to terms with this mentally and emotionally?
Lo: Since I had a close friend, age 58, die of cancer this year, my motto at Nationals was, “I’m just happy to be here!” I am happy to be alive, healthy and able to work out and challenge myself. I do get discouraged when I see how slow I am going in practice. Is this the best I can do because I’m old? Or can I do better? Then I compete and I am with my peeps and I win events and I realize we are all getting old and slow. So it tells me that I’m still right in there, even though I’ve slowed down. It gives me a boost for another year. If I didn’t compete, I would be really discouraged.
Barry: I am trying to accept the inevitable decline with some grace and not fret too much about tumbling down the results list. At this point there is nowhere to go but down so try to enjoy the notion that I’m still doing it and having fun with what I have always loved to do.
Responses were mildly edited for clarity. Huge thanks to Lo and Barry for sharing.
Here are my primary takeaways:
- The older you are the slower you’ll be, but at least you’re still out there–and being out there is the whole point to begin with.
- With age comes wisdom, so train smarter because you can’t handle harder, at least not without a lot more recovery. Make your “easy” days legitimately easy so your “hard” days can be truly hard (and absorbed by the body).
- Strength training is key. Your body doesn’t care about building muscle anymore so you’ve got to pick up heavy things, at least twice a week, to remind it that being strong is still a good idea.
- Sleep is the best recovery aid on the market, and your body needs all the recovery it can get. Seven hours minimum.
- Your metabolism might be slowing down, but you still need gas in the tank so don’t skimp just because your six pack feels more like a keg.
- Technique is the great equalizer, especially in skiing, and there’s always room for improvement. Age related losses in aerobic capacity and strength can be countered, at least to some extent, with increases in efficiency.
I’m trying to stay optimistic and apply the words of wisdom from my elders. I’m very grateful that I can lace up my running shoes and knock out an easy hour without taking ibuprofen. Maybe I don’t feel fast on trails anymore, but I’m still amazed that my eyes and feet can talk to each other seemingly without any delay from my brain. I know this agility will help when I’m statistically at risk for falling while going out to the mailbox. Now that winter has arrived and I’m happily on snow, I’m spending even more time focusing on technique, finding tremendous joy from nailing the kick or being lock-in stable on the glide ski. I’m getting slower and the kids are getting faster, but we’re all having the same amount of fun.

Ned Dowling
Ned lives in Salt Lake City, UT where his motto has become, “Came for the powder skiing, stayed for the Nordic.” He is a Physical Therapist at the University of Utah and a member of the US Ski Team medical pool. He can be contacted at ned.dowling@hsc.utah.edu.