On my way to India today. On a whim, I did a 1/2Monty in the AM before departure. I’ve been training more than most years, but am now 63yo and haven’t retested in about a year (trauma of the Full Frontal just made me avoid testing altogether for a while).
And so… my numbers are officially down - from max heart rate, cTHR to ftp (though oddly, a 3% bump up in MAP). Garmin has been steadily dropping my VO2 number over the past 7 months just to salt the wound. I’ve commented on this before - about how these numbers shouldn’t matter so much. My consolation prize is that I’m still tip-top “given my age.”
Nonetheless, it’s not fun when you’re finally on the receiving end of the inevitable decline 
.
12 Likes
You are still quite young from my point of view. Just accept the decline for what it is. You are probably still capable of stuff that many younger people can not do.
10 Likes
Decline is inevitable at some level and managing the mental aspect and how you think about it is big. Keep going and staying healthy!
9 Likes
I am 8 years older so, been there done that. I have changed my priorities around how I look at my results. I don’t really care what my FTP is, or VO2 Max is. I care about keeping my weight down, being able to get up and down easily, being able to walk the dog (more accurately she drag me) and not being winded all the time.
I walk every day, I still ride 6 days a week, will start swimming again when the pool opens up here in a few weeks. I just kook for different positives as a reward for what I do, OH, one more thing, I still love doing it.
11 Likes
Hear, hear. Or as my 77 yo hubster would say, “Stuck the landing again this morning.”
7 Likes