Slowing down is just going to happen for most people as you age. I didn't start hiking till I was in my early forties, and for years I was focused on times, splits, recording a personal best. That began to change by the time I was 55, in no small part due to advice I received from Bob Pickering. Our first hike together, when I was 53 I believe, he told me several times that I needed to slow down and keep a pace that I could maintain for hours. That was anathema to me at the time, but several other hikes with him over successive years began to finally beat it into my thick head.
Bob's constant advice and the natural effects of aging finally convinced me that I didn't need to train fast for Whitney each year. I was simply not going to be moving as fast as I did in years past when I visited the Sierra, so why train that way? I'm approaching 60 now (dammit), and have a barking hip to boot. I've changed my training regimen to an uphill pace that could best be described as slow and steady, although 5 years ago I would have called it a snail's pace, and added miles. In short, given my acceptance that I'm not getting any younger, and that I'm only going to slow down more in the years ahead, I've altered my training to meet that reality. Instead of speed, I focus on mileage (and gain, of course), but at a very deliberate pace. Muscle memory and training routine won't be subconsciously pushing me to a faster pace than I can reasonably maintain above 11K' in the Sierra.
I'm a big believer that the best training for hiking and climbing is hiking and climbing. I hike every single week (44 consecutive weeks now as part of a 52 week challenge). I keep my winter hikes to maintain a basic fitness level, then begin to increase the demands in the spring to the point that I can put in a 22-mile, 6300 vf day before heading west in July. This past week I hiked 13 miles and 3100 vf on my regular Saturday morning workout, so I'm where I need to be at this point. A few years ago, I would likely be at 6 miles and 2000 vf by this point, but congratulating myself on how fast I was moving, and telling myself I would stretch it out the next week or so. Ultimately the fatigue effect from concentrating on speed would usually prevent me from ever getting that big 22-mile 6300 vf training day I needed in reality to climb Whitney, or another Cali fourteener.
There are still times when I feel a bit underwhelmed at my "new" pacing, and I have to consciously discipline myself to accept the reality of my age and diminishing capabilities. When that happens, I sometimes think of Bob Rockwell's story of how, in his 60s, he beat a group of young marathoners to the summit of Whitney by careful pacing and craftiness. That always brings a smile to my face and a fist-pump for the Old Guys.
