Background:
I began running seriously at age 25, and whittled my 5k down from 20 minutes to 1550. At about that time, I took three "serious" attempts at half marathons, running 114, 113high, 113low.
My mileage never got out of the 50s, and I rarely ran longer than 13 miles at a time. I mainly added long tempos at 530 pace to my training.
It's been 3 years since my last HM. Over that time I've run 33 flat for 10k and run numerous 5ks in the 1540s, as well as a track 2 mile in 935, arguably my best race, although I've been very consistent.
I'm going to run another half in early June, and I'm starting to contemplate goals. I've begun ramping up mileage and over 3 weeks I've gone 15, 15.5 and 16.5 miles, with weekly mileage in the mid 60s.
My basic plan is to do 1-2 workouts per week along with a long run, probably maxing out at 18 miles.
My weekly mileage will probably stay in the mid60s, with a few weeks in the low 70s.
Am I nuts to try to run 70 flat? McMillan and other calculators indicate 72 minutes is more realistic, however given my ability to run 73 minutes with almost no long runs makes me think 70 might be realistic.
If/when you made this improvement, what did your workouts look like? I'm getting close to 40 and feel like this might be one of the last chances to run lifetime PRs.