Will I continue to improve off 25-30 mpw?

Run more miles like 90 or 100. Then u can try a new work out that came from texas labs, what u need is hill repeats on bridges, do about 4 the first time then increase. But at the end of ur workout you finish by jumping off the bridge.

Wow i feel bad. I read what you wrote again and maybe ur not trolling. Im sorry man. Keep up the good work.

If you ran a 5:36 mile, you should be able to run a 5k in under 19 right now.

If that was the training that got you to sub 17 in the first place, and you are at a similar weight...then maybe. However, you are also a bit older and starting to be on the tail end of your prime years. Speed might be there 100% yet either if you didn't do anything for 17 years.

If it took like 40-50+ mpw in highschool + workouts to get to sub 17 then it is significantly less likely what you are currently doing will take you back there.

Oooohhhyyyeeeeaaa wrote:

Wow i feel bad. I read what you wrote again and maybe ur not trolling. Im sorry man. Keep up the good work.

Haha! Sadly, I am 100% serious.

Rrolack2 wrote:

If you ran a 5:36 mile, you should be able to run a 5k in under 19 right now.

About that. It was downhill. And the last mile (which took me 7:30 to complete) was uphill.

I still paced horribly and went out way too fast. I think on a track my best solo mile right now would probably be a few seconds under 6:00... like 5:55. Maybe a little faster in a race with appropriate competition.

LM wrote:

If that was the training that got you to sub 17 in the first place, and you are at a similar weight...then maybe. However, you are also a bit older and starting to be on the tail end of your prime years. Speed might be there 100% yet either if you didn't do anything for 17 years.

If it took like 40-50+ mpw in highschool + workouts to get to sub 17 then it is significantly less likely what you are currently doing will take you back there.

I honestly don't remember much about the workouts we did in high school. I remember doing some hills... and some fartleks... but I have no idea what our mileage was. I'm guessing it wasn't actually that high, since I don't remember doing hardly any long runs. I do seem to remember lots of quality workouts -- more than I could reasonably expect to do now without getting injured.

Right now I'm probably 20 pounds heavier than I was (at the same height) when I ran the sub-17. I suppose that means I could run around 18:30 or 19-flat at that weight right now. The only problem is that there's a 0% chance I will be that skinny again. I was WEAK at that weight... most of the 20 pounds I have now is muscle, and I'd like to keep most of it.

I could probably drop 8-ish pounds of fat and get down to 160 right now (at 6'1"). But I won't go any skinnier than that.

My speed has definitely fallen off a lot, but I can still run around 30 or maybe a little faster for 200m, so I don't think that's the limiting factor.

Yea, of course the real answer to the question of your OP is that nobody knows, and there is no way to tell for sure how much you will improve. Maybe at that mileage and training sub 20, maybe sub 18, maybe 17. There will never be a way to find out.

You will improve though, as you are coming off nothing and working back into some mileage and workouts, which will cause training adaptation.

No reason you can't continue doing the mileage you are doing until you are totally comfortable with it/stop improving, then just increase it some at that point.