Fuck it! Do I just have to accept that I am too old and slow?

[IrianofWay]

I ran my 5th 10K today and 2.5 minutes slower than the same race last year. But the worst of it was that I ran my hardest - I gave it everything I had and I was nearly sick at the end. It was marginally faster than the 10k I did last month but even so.... I am 51 so maybe I just have to accept that I that is the best I can do?

All the other women who joined the running club at the same time as me are resolutely getting faster but I seem to going the other way.

I am trying to give myself little pep talks but it doesn't work. I am so disappointed.

Walk breaks in training and in competition. Sounds crazy and does take a little getting used to, but really does make you faster. Try downloading his book "marathon, you can do it". Tells you very precisely how it works and how to calculate the walk:run ratio that suits you. Could be worth a try, really changed the game for me.

Did the Glastonbury 10k on Sunday. Lovely route. A few hills but nothing major and the downhills were worth it! Time was 59.30 so I am pleased. Best of all I am finding that I reach a point where I feel as if I could go on forever and I speed up quite a bit. Sadly that point isn't until 3/4 of the way round the route! Needs to work on that.

Have ordered some of the book recommendations on here. Many thanks

IrianofWay I'm not sure age has much to do with it. I started running 3 years ago age 48, and am faster than quite a few younger women in the club. I ran my second marathon in March in 3H35 which isn't bad, and faster than the one I did the previous year, so your speed doesn't necessarily decrease with age. However, I have a low resting heart rate and that helps a lot. If you do speed work (intervals etc.) that should help, but maybe you should aim more for longer races as it is endurance that increases with age rather than speed.
Regarding body type, most of the fast sprinters are tall and muscly, but most marathon runners are small and wiry. I'm tall and slim so not necessarily built for endurance but I prefer longer races to short ones.
Have you ever tried running a HM for example?

I've entered one in November Anglaise. I tend to run longer distances by choice but time is a limiting factor.

Ahem! Attention please !*

I have just looked at my training record and found that my average pace has increased from 5.35 mph in Jan to 5.95 mph in June.

OK, not breaking and landspeed records but I am going in the right direction

Brilliant, well done! Looks like there's plenty of life left in those legs.