My Goal is to run 17:00 min 5K, last time I did this was 20 yrs ago

Start by not calling 7min/mile high tempo, when you have run 4:45 and 17 previously.

Then increase or decrease your mileage, with more quality runs and/or easy days. Stop running 4hr marathons (for the love of God) and loose (or lose) weight.

What mileage are you doing now?

Can you tell us more about your current training?

What do you think you honestly could run a 5k in right now?

You aren't even close -- probably 2 or 3 years away if you want to make a run at it while staying healthy. Now that you're a master, get used to the idea that you have to ramp it up slowly, and that you have lost most of your footspeed.

Wow! I could have written almost this exact same post. I also have the goal of running a sub 17 5K and I haven't done it in about 20 years. I recently ran a sub 22:00 5K so I'm not sure how realistic that goal is for me. I run 25 miles per week (with the high weeks in the low 40's and the low's in the single digits; the single digit weeks are very rare though). I weigh about 185 lbs (5'10"). I'm hoping that increased mileage and consistency along with weight loss gets me under 20:00 and then I'll take it from there and increase the intensity if I can get that far.

Good luck, it would be great to get reports on your progress.

I did it in a year and half @ age 47. I hadn't run in 13 years. Just started walking/jogging and gradually worked up to 50 mpw. A couple of months after starting up, I read Jack Daniels book, and followed his 5k program. I ran 4:23 for 1500 meters and 16:46 for the 5k this past summer. Just be patient with increasing your mileage. I added 5 mpw every third week. It took a long time, but I didn't want to get injured.

Unless you ran that 5k PR as a seriously under-trained 20-year-old, it is unrealistic to think you're going to run faster as a 40-year-old.

Start by setting goals for yourself that you have some chance of achieving.

LMAO....well 7 min miles are currently High Tempo. I knew that we draw some laughs from this crowd....My mileage is next to nothing right now 15MPW but this plan/goal is in the beginning phases obviously...No more marathons for me, I don't have the patience for 20 mile workouts...I'm currently 6'1 190lbs so I need to lose at least 20 pounds this winter...Thanks for the advice and laughs...

Given your PR and size, a more realistic goal would be 19 at best

Considering your weight and mileage, first step is to start running more so you lose the extra weight. I wouldn't worry too much about any "hard" workouts until you're up to at least 30 miles per week, minimum. And even then I'd still focus on aerobic work, meaning long intervals and tempos, with maybe some hills thrown in once in a while.

You need to lose 30 pounds, and reset your goal at sub 19. Two decades ago is too long.

Even to get there you will have to bust your ass. You need speed intervals and mileage.

Good luck.

15 miles a week? You have no chance.

You need to drop your marathon to 3 15 then do sprints.

Then you will be sub 20 on a good day.

I just started back up again, I have no intention of running this time on 15 mpw, that's just what I'm running this week....Right now I can run a 21 minute 5K, so you don't think I can drop less than a minute with serious training? 17 here I come....

You really need to start by setting achievable goals so you won't get frustrated and quit.

Do what you probably did before.

Run a race. Guide your training to improve on that time.

Worrying about your weight is nonsense. Worry about the clock. The weight will follow.

X Runner wrote:

You really need to start by setting achievable goals so you won't get frustrated and quit.

Do what you probably did before.

Run a race. Guide your training to improve on that time.

Worrying about your weight is nonsense. Worry about the clock. The weight will follow.

Yes.

I'll say this...Go get it!

Enough already wrote:

I just started back up again, I have no intention of running this time on 15 mpw, that's just what I'm running this week....Right now I can run a 21 minute 5K, so you don't think I can drop less than a minute with serious training? 17 here I come....

I've been in your shoes recently. Was a low-17s 5K guy in HS, and then got back at it 20 years later, when I was probably in 21:00 shape to start. Here's how this is going to work:

-- going from 21 to 20: super easy. This will happen in a matter of weeks.

-- going from 20 to 19: not too tough. If you keep it up for a few months, you'll get there no problem

-- going from 19 to 18: this will be a long process. Get your mileage up into the 50s, and hold it there for a long time while adding a significant amount of fast tempo work.

-- going from 18 to 17: this is just a nasty, nasty process. You'll need to go at it one of two ways: either really pile on the track/tempo work, at the risk of injury, or give yourself time to get up to 60+ MPW and just get crazy aerobic. I'd recommend the latter, and be really patient.

Note that this assumes that your prior 17:00 PR was done with significant training (i.e., that you weren't one of those kids who ran one season of XC and did a 17 off of almost no effort). There are some really gifted masters runners who can get down below 17:00 far easier than I. But if you're one of us sorta-okay runners, you're going to find getting from 18:30 down to 17:00 a real bear.

My experience is pretty similar to this guy. I started out aiming to break 20, which was easy. pretty much skipped the 19s altogether. Took me another training cycle to break 18. Now I'm stuck at low 17s. I use the "just run more" approach, but I never ran before 5 years ago though. A friend who ran in college and took off 25 years, got down to 16:45ish after about a year.

Here is what I posted on another forum last December. Over this past winter and spring I did the same process, but I increased my mileage to 50 mpw, and the training cycle was longer (4 6 week cycles, instead of 4 4 week cycles). As I mentioned earlier, I got down to 16:46 5K and 4:23 1500 (4:43 mile). Also I got my weight down to 160.

I decided to start running this past year after a 13 year layoff. I'm 46 years old and am 5'9". Our company participated in the Corporate Challenge, so I wanted to get in shape for the 5k in early May, and the track meet the first week in June.

Back in my late 20's early 30's, I always had trouble staying injury free, so I wanted to be really careful not to get injured. Actually, one of the reason I stopped running was because if the constant injuries.

Weight 205 lbs.

February/March (12-15 miles per week)

Walking/running 2-3 miles each day. 3 days on, then one day off. Run about 3-4 minutes, then walk the same amount of time.

I have no idea how fast I was running, just went by feel (all easy running).

Weight 205 lbs.

April (13-16 miles per week, 3 days on 1 day off)

Walking/running 3-5 miles. 3 days on, then one day off. Run probably 80%-90%/ walk 20%/10%.

I began running one hard mile on the track once a week, just to get used to running faster. My fastest was 6:38 and my slowest was 6:55.

Weight 199 lbs.

May (15-18 miles per week, 3 days on 1 day off)

May 10th, I ran the 5k in 21:50 (7:02 per mile)on a fairly hilly course.

I then added two track workouts per week. 4-400's @1:30 one day and 4-200's @ 43 the other day.

Weight 193 lbs.

June (15-20 miles per week, 3 days on 1 day off)

In the track meet the first week in June, I ran the 800 in 2:35, and the mile in 5:44.

At this point, I was surprised I hadn't been injured yet. I ran across Jack Daniel's book at the end of June and began reading and implementing some of his training starting in the first week in July.

Weight 188 lbs.

July (25 miles per week, 3 days on 1 day off)

I ran a 5k in July 5th in 19:30.

July 19th Kansas State games

800 - 2:28

1500 - 5:08

Having read Daniels book and expermented with it some (very little) to this point, I was ready to try it from the beginning, all the way through the four phases. So I then took off 2 weeks, and started up in Phase I in August. At this point I also decided to join a gym and try cross training (Swimming laps, riding stationary bike, and weights).

Weight 183 lbs.

August was my Phase I. (Ran 6 days per week) All easy running.

Week 1 15 miles

Week 2 18 miles

Week 3 25 miles

Week 4 25 miles

Weight 177 lbs.

September was Phase II. (Ran 6 days per week) Reps were the focus.

Week 1 25 miles Ran 5k race in 18:50

Week 2 30 miles

Week 3 30 miles

Week 4 30 miles

Week 5 35 miles

Weight 173 lbs.

October was Phase III. (Ran 6 days per week) Intervals were the focus.

Week 1 35 miles

Week 2 35 miles Ran 5k race in 18:16

Week 3 31 miles

Week 4 35 miles

Weight 168 lbs.

November was Phase IV. (Ran 6 days per week) Racing phase.

Week 1 35 miles

Week 2 35 miles Ran 5k race in 18:02

Week 3 35 miles

Week 4 35 miles Ran 5k race in 17:48

I took 10 days off after the last race and am now doing Phase I again from Daniels book. I'm going to try to get to 45 mpw over the winter following Daniels formula. The guidelines he lays out for how much/ how long/ how often for both easy runs and track workouts is excellent. I figured my racing days were over years ago, but so far following this guidelines, I've had tremendous success. Hope this helps anyone else trying to make a comeback!!

I started back after 18 years off. After about 3 months of running every other day, I ran mid 18s in December. The following summer I did 55-60 a week and ran one mid 17s (not certified) and a couple in the 18s. The following winter, I became a hobbyjogger marathoner/ultra guy. Got up to 80 miles a week in the 7:30/mile range. Ran a few 3:08-3:15 marathons and ended up with ITband stiffness and a stress fracture. Had to take 8 weeks off. What happened next was surprising. As soon as I started back running, I began speedwork and raced a 5k 3 weeks later. I ran 18:28. I then ran 18:35 (hilly), 18:03, and 17:34. I ran a 5 mile and 10k the next two weekends and then ran a 17:21. By the end of the summer, I had run 17 flat, 28:10 5 mile, 35:09 10k and 1:19 half marathon on about 28 miles a week.

My suggestion would be to take 4 or 5 months and pile up the miles. Then cut the miles back and increase the intensity. Most of my weeks just consisted of a hard 8-10 miler, a race, and either an interval session or a 4-5 mile tempo. I crosstrained the other days.

Once you build a good base, your legs can handle the intense workouts and your times will drop.

As you can see, it took me 2 years to get there. Just have patience, stay healthy, and the results will be there.