31 - 2:59:52
32 - 2:56:45 / 2:57:5?
39 - 2:57:4?
40 - 2:52:42
41 - ?, but hoping 2:49:xx on highest mileage ever.
The first three were off about 40-45 weekly with no real structure. Now I've found Pfitz and follow it almost exactly.
31 - 2:59:52
32 - 2:56:45 / 2:57:5?
39 - 2:57:4?
40 - 2:52:42
41 - ?, but hoping 2:49:xx on highest mileage ever.
The first three were off about 40-45 weekly with no real structure. Now I've found Pfitz and follow it almost exactly.
In my early forties, my marathon training would consist of four or five 20 mile runs, maybe some tempo runs now and then and topping off at about 50 miles per week. My marathon times would be at about 3:20 plus or minus a few minutes. I joined a running club about when I turned 45, dropped my weight from 170 to 155, increased my marathon training mileage to about 65 to 75 per week and included much more tempo. I am now 49 years old and have consistently run under 3 hours for marathons. (I do one in spring, then one again in the fall) Set my pr of 2:53 a few months ago. Somehow I have managed to stay injury free but recently I have noticed it takes way longer to recover after a long run or a workout.
You indicate "much more tempo".
What does this include - Pace and distance? MP runs? If so how far and frequent
Shorter faster ones?
Thanks
Ran several marathons around age 30 (after a decade of running) and couldn't quite break 4 hours (yeah, I know). Picked it up again at 40 and ran 3:19. The difference: 35mpw versus 70mpw.
I have enjoyed reading this thread. Curious, how many of you are females? Seems like most of you improved by increasing miles. I ran my first marathon at 39 and improved only by 40 minutes but had to work extremely hard to get it.
iruntoo wrote:
In my early forties, my marathon training would consist of four or five 20 mile runs, maybe some tempo runs now and then and topping off at about 50 miles per week. My marathon times would be at about 3:20 plus or minus a few minutes. I joined a running club about when I turned 45, dropped my weight from 170 to 155, increased my marathon training mileage to about 65 to 75 per week and included much more tempo. I am now 49 years old and have consistently run under 3 hours for marathons. (I do one in spring, then one again in the fall) Set my pr of 2:53 a few months ago.
Thanks. That is both encouraging and informative.
Your initial program resembles mine today, though you raced faster. I see what I need to change. It's good to hear that improvement is possible, even in the middle third of our lives. (Finding the time to run 75 miles, at my pace ... that's another question.)
Take 18 months and run consistent mileage. Try to run 70mpw or 80mpw. If you're body is not used to that, you have to do it at slow paces to start and gradually build up to that kind of mileage, but your body will adapt.
Be careful adding too much speedwork while increasing mileage. That's a recipe for injury when you're in your 40s.
My key workout for marathon training is 10 miles with 6 at lactate threshold. 30-45 minutes of LT work once a week is important. LT pace should be the pace you could hold for an hour, whether thats 9 miles, 10 miles, 11 or whatever.
But consistency is the key. Keep a log and keep logging week after week at 70mpw and 80mpw and you'll be amazed how fast you can get.
I'm 49, ran a 2:55 at Green Mountain Marathon Oct '10. I was struggling to break 20min/5k in '09. Thru-out 2010 my focus was to get out the door every day, no days off(almost)! I run time, not concerned with miles. Definitely want 7+ hours a week. Once a week I'd do mile repeats on rolling turf. I ran these at 5:45ish pace. First 2x, then 3x and finally 5x. Most all other running @ 8min/mile pace. Saturdays I'd do a 2.5-3 hour run. Feel I can chop another 8 mins off for Boston '12. And don't get hurt!
post from an old female ...
I am very interested in the responses here.
I ran a bunch of 3:25 - 3:35 marathons for a few years, while I did the tri / Ironman thing too. Last year I quit training for tri's, and took my husband's advice and bumped my mileage up to 60 - 70 MPW. I thought it sucked. I did lots of 2-a-days, and lots of 9-minute miles. A couple of Yasso 800 workouts, and one disastrous 20-miler, in which I crashed and burned and averaged ~10-minute miles. Then I went and ran a 3:13 marathon, which will get me into the first wave at Boston this year, as a 50-year old. :-) It was a 7-minute PR, and that PR was 12 years old. I think going from altitude (almost 5000 feet where I train) to sea level (where I raced) helped too. So yeah, bumping up the mileage worked for me, even if a lot of it was "junk miles". I have a terrible time with tempo runs -- I can't tempo five miles at the pace I ran that marathon! You may have to trial-and-error your training, because I was sure that as I got older I should do less miles and more quality, where in actuality the opposite worked for me.
(Sorry that was kind of rambling, but good luck to you.)
Masters runners, especially over 50, give us some advice. I really feel like it's all downhill -- performance-wise -- from here.
Summer, age 34 - started running (5'11", 230#)
Fall, age 34 - 5:17 marathon (still 210#)
Spring, age 35 - 4:16 marathon (187.5#)
Fall, age 35 - 4:04 marathon (182.5#)
Spring, age 36 - 1:36 half (173.5#)
Fall, age 36 - 3:15:54 marathon (165.5#)
Spring, age 37 - 3:12:37 Boston (160#)
Spring, age 38 - 3:03:34 Boston (156#)
Spring, age 39 - 2:57:07 Flying Pig (151#)
Spring, age 41 - 2:51:03 Athens (150#)
I lost last summer and most of the fall because of a calf injury, but I was able to build back up to a few 80-mile weeks this winter, run one workout per week with a team, race a couple times at 10M and 5M, and run a relaxed training marathon in 3:13. I actually had higher mileage two years ago before running 2:57, but I'm still really at only 5 years of serious training. I haven't plateaued at my current training load, and I haven't maxed out my training load. I'm confident 2:45 is doable if I put in the work. I'd like to hit 2:40, but I'm not sure if that is doable.
John
i guess that is your weight?if so, wow, and good job! there's hope for me yet.
I was getting back into it and after a few plodding marathons decided to try and get a BQ. The thing that helped me the most was adding a "semi-long run" during the week.
I know the mileage hogs on LR will laugh, but my long run was the usual 16-22, so I started to add a mid week run of 12-15. That made a big difference, and I got my BQ.
Olderer wrote:
i guess that is your weight?
if so, wow, and good job! there's hope for me yet.
Yes. My weight loss was relevant to my improvement, so I included it. Going forward, it's only going to be a marginal factor. I might drift as low as 145#, but that's probably my limit. It's not going to buy me more than a few more seconds per mile.
Going forward I want to get peak mileage comfortably into the 90's and, more importantly, keep my down weeks higher, so that my year-round average is higher. And I want to do it with one speed/tempo run per week and one (often hardish) long run.
"I actually had higher mileage two years ago before running 2:57, but I'm still really at only 5 years of serious training."
That reminds me of a saying I recently heard, that the marathon reflects training you did 2 years ago. Just a phrase of course, but consistency is one of the components of a good marathon training plan.
I did my first marathon at age 41 in 4:02 and at age 43 I ran a marathon in 2:48.
So 1:14 improvement is possible.
Granted I didn't really train for the first one and I was in to form for the second one.
The secret is there is not secret
“And too there were questions: What did he eat? Did he believe in isometrics? Isotonics? Ice and heat? How about aerobics, est, ESP, STP? What did he have to say about yoga, yogurt, Yogi Berra? What was his pulse rate, his blood pressure, his time for 100-yard dash? What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials. How could they be expected to understand that?”
Started at age 41. Below are my times by age.
41: 3:08, 3:03
42: 3:02
43: 3:00:22, 2:59:34
44: 2:55, 2:54, 3:18 (anemia)
45: 2:45, 2:41
46: 2:52 (unjured most of the year)
47: we'll see. Racing Houston in Jan, Boston in April
Changes throughout the progression. Started w/ 3 days per week (speed, tempo, long). started running more (40-50 mpw) at 43. Really stepped it up at 45 (80-100 mpw and more intense speed).
The year I was age 42 first marathon 3.14
43 2.49
44 2.44
45 2.42
46 2.44
47 2.41
48 2.39
49 2.38
50 2.45
51 2.40
52 2.35
53 2.37
54 2.37
55 2.38
56 2.43
57 2.47
58 2.45
59 2.47 100K 7.56
60 100K 8.07
62 2.54
63 2.51
64 2.47
65 2.52
66 3.02
68 3.10
69 3.05
70 3.06
It was all fun but I'm done.
Nice career Hobby Jogger!
Great post, Hobby Jogger! Inspirational.