I recommend 15:xx on 25-40 mpw actually, or 14:xx on 40-60. But why not try 60-75? It’s not too taxing or time consuming and is really just solid high school boy mileage. Why does it have to be 40 max or 75 minimum? Right in between the two numbers is probably what you’re looking for.
You people are such freaks. The average adult man is not running under 17 minutes in the 5k on 40mpw. The average highschool xc program that runs 40mpw has 1-3 genetically gifted kids who have been athletes their entire lives who run in the low 17s.
I ran 16:38 at 16 yo running 35 mpw. Is it that I'm gifted or is it that most others just don't take care of their bodies? I wouldn't compare myself to unfit people.
Now that I’m 3 yrs out of school, married and have a son, 16:xx on 30-40mpw is far superior. I get the best of both worlds.
I stay in decent shape, but only have to run over 1hr once a week. I can win all the local 5ks I want and be competitive enough in actual races so I don’t look like a hobby jogger.
I have time to spend with my family, help the wife at home, be invested in my career and work overtime when I need to. I can plan running around my life instead of the other way around.
I appear to friends as a hardworking dad who also gets after it and stays in shape. Meanwhile some of my school buddies remain single, work their entry-level job, run 90mpw, and still run 15:xx. Not that I am busting on their grind, but at some point you realize you can apply that same discipline to other areas in life and also be a runner.
I have felt this for the last few years. Here is my backstory.
ran 1.50 for 800m during college and 3.43 for 1500m a few years after graduating in my mid 20s. Realised I wouldn't make it in the sport, so had some time when I just ticked over and focused on my career, as I didn't have one when I was running. Running was all encompassing during my 20s and meant I really had to work hard for 4 years to get my career where it should be. At 31 start training again and run 14.30 for 5k at 32 (a big improvement, but I was running 80 mpw all year and being very conscious about my diet which was not sustainable. The following year run a bit slower (15.01/31.10) and then the following year start doing a bit of upper body gym and a bit less running. Have a panic moment and enter the marathon and run 2.33 at 4kg above racing weight. Train semi-hard for another year and run 2.30 this year in the heat but struggle during the marathon build due to the intense mental and physical pressure it puts you under. Now I am contemplating just running 40-50 mpw, doing a few 5ks trying to stay under 16 mins and putting on some upper body muscle, so I don't have noodle arms and push on with my career and focus on family. Or the alternative is to smash the 80-90 mpw, coast at work, piss off my wife and maybe run 2.28 next year. Hmmmm
Why would you run 75-100mpw to train for a 15:xx 5k? That’s the mileage, as a post college adult, that most OTQ marathon hopefuls and qualifiers run. You’re training for the wrong event my guy. Run 50-60, hit the hills, mix in threshold and speedwork, beat your local hs runners in the neighborhood 5k, and enjoy life.
Why would you run 75-100mpw to train for a 15:xx 5k? That’s the mileage, as a post college adult, that most OTQ marathon hopefuls and qualifiers run. You’re training for the wrong event my guy. Run 50-60, hit the hills, mix in threshold and speedwork, beat your local hs runners in the neighborhood 5k, and enjoy life.
What if you enjoy life more when you run 75 to 100 mpw than you do when you only run 50-60?
Bogus argument. Nobody runs 75-100mpw to run 15.xx unless they have hopes of 14.xx or 13.xx. That's serious mileage. Plenty of people run 25-40mpw just to hobbyjog with no competitive aspirations at all. As usual, it all depends on your own personal prorities. Most (especially young)runners who can go sub-17 on say 30mpw will up their miles to 'be all they can be'.