Originally Posted by
nosaad
What season?
It's my understanding that peak leg speed diminishes with age, all else equal. I also know that high cadence drills are helpful. Perhaps running a comparatively small gear would be appropriate? Meaning, if you raced on a 90" in the 80's, you were training high cadence 6" lower. If you now race on a 94", slap on an 88" and see how it feels.
I'm not so sure about that. I've also spent time as a track and field sprinter. Research there showed that leg speed of an elite sprinter and a 90-year old woman did not vary significantly. What did happen was stride length decreased and time the feet stayed on the ground increased.
As a 66yo, I can still hit 220 with a light load when I want to, but I consider it more of a parlor trick, since the power behind the high cadence is no longer there.