Anyone here start running in late twenties??

thanks for the good replies, all

I shall keep at it, and get some mileage going

Started seriously at age 33, and only have started to dial in the training this year (4th year into it). Hopefully I have more improvement left before the big 40. If it weren't for those running fast in their 30's and 40's, I don't think I would have gotten started due to not believing it possible.

Age 33 39/low

Age 34 37/mid

Age 35 35/low

Age 36 33/high

Age 37 - Hopefully sub 33

My progression wrote:

If it weren't for those running fast in their 30's and 40's, I don't think I would have gotten started due to not believing it possible.

I know what you mean, that's really kept me running, still getting faster in my 30's. Although to be honest I sometimes overestimate the effects of age, I think it's bceause I stopped when I was 22 so I just assumed for some reason everything would be harder when I hit 30. But if Lagat and especially Linford Christie can medal in their 30's then we should be fine, but let's not get into substance abuse re those two....:)

New Year.....bomp!

I started running at age 25 and ran my first race, a 10K, at age 26. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I ran 3 days a week with a guy I worked with. We'd run 30-40 minutes at an even pace - probably about an 8 minute mile. No interval work at all. I ran the 10K in about 42:30, if I remember correctly, and I thought my head was going to explode.

By my mid 30s I had learned how to train and got my 10K time down to 35:50. The last few years (I'm almost 43) have been up and down, however. Last year was good, as I worked my way up to 70 miles a week and ran low 17s for 5K. But then I got hurt again and missed 3 months last winter.

I'm just now back up to close to 50 mpw. Someone in Canada: How do maintain that mileage and stay healthy? I know I can get my times down again if I get my mileage back up, but I'm also scared of getting hurt again.

RunDaddy wrote:

I'm just now back up to close to 50 mpw. Someone in Canada: How do maintain that mileage and stay healthy? I know I can get my times down again if I get my mileage back up, but I'm also scared of getting hurt again.

I think a few things contribute: I don't follow a rigid schedule; never forcing a run if I don't feel up to it. The opposite is true as well. I may cut a 10 miler short one day because I feel dead-legged, then run a 15 mile run at a decent pace the next morning because I feel good, even though the original plan was to run 5 miles easy. It all seems to work out at the end of the week.

Also, as I built up to 90-100 miles a week for the first time I spent many months not racing at all - not even running faster than about half marathon pace at any time - and even then, sparingly. Everyone is different, but I feel this was a key factor for me: a long period of uninterrupted, steady mileage without the burden of racing and/or speedwork.

starting running 2 years ago at 27. first race was a half marathon which i ran off 2 months training and finished in 1:42 I believe.

was running about 40 miles a week with no clue what i was doing. got injured. took a few months break. read some running books and learned to train properly.

so 1:42 in '05

'06 i ran 1:26:38 half

and 2:59:11 marathon peaking at 63 mpw.

in '07 at 28 i ran

1:21:27 in jan.

1:18:54 in aug.

1:16:40 in oct.

and 2:42 marathon in nov. peaking at 71 mpw.

gonna get up to 100 mpw this spring and see where that takes me this year.

like you, i really wish i had gotten into running a little earlier in life. but hopefully i can continue to improve for a few more years. def hope to get under 2:30 in the marathon.

I started running at age 30 to lose weight; I was 200+ lbs. at 6 feet tall. Youch!

I ran 20-25 miles/week and after about 10 months of this, a friend convinced me to try a 15k. I ran 1:11:xx and was cooked. I continued to run, cycle, lose weight and added only a tiny bit of mileage over the next few years. Three years later, I raced the same 15k in 1:07:xx, then 2 days later raced my first 10k in 43:xx.

After this, I decided to really start training for a 1/2 marathon, which I ran later that year in 1:33:xx; this was a faster pace than my 15k and I was pleased with my improvements. I aimed for a marathon the next year.

I got my weekly mileage up to around 50 that next year, and ran my first marathon in 3:14:xx - a BQ.

I have continued to train for marathons and the following year ran a 36:xx 10k, a 1:23:xx 1/2 marathon and a 2:53:xx marathon. I am now 38 and thus have been training seriously for a little over 3 years - I usually run between 65 and 90 miles/week, but have reached 100 a few times. My PRs are 35:xx for 10k, 1:19:xx for 1/2 and 2:48:xx for the marathon.

I started running at age 27 after 10+ years of smoking and abusing my body. Weight peaked at around 240 was around 195 when I started running in August 2005.

First 10k was 47:38 off about 20-30 mpw on 04/01/06

Last 10k was on 10/27/2007 and ran it in 41:29 off about 50-55mpw during training for my first marathon.

herche wrote:

Anyone here start running in late twenties and kept it up regularly? I'm curious to see the kind of progression in 10km times from year 1 onwards

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but here goes: Ran in elementary school years just to get from place to place around town, and some in Jr. high - h.s. had no track or xc program - all fb. Never thought about running until mid/late 20's while a waiter. Ran to/from work out of desperation and lack of funds. 6+ miles each way was very hard at first a,d eventually became easier (everything is easier in your 20's) I stumbled upon a local race - was humiliated, and set a goal. I can not remember every year, but I remember the following break-throughs. After 2 years or so, broke 17:00 for 5k. After that, actually "trained" - had a "break through" when I ran 15:55 and came in 5th at a local race, and actually got some hardware - became focused.

Ran and biked everywhere. Actually did hill repeats, and even tempo runs, after I found out what they were by reading my new bible - The Runners World Magazine, that I got a susbscription for that Christmas.

Ran 15:29 - came in 1st overall at a local 5k, and was so psyched!! Tried a marathon thinking "how hard could it be?" ran it in my same shoes I had run in almost everyday for 8 or 9 months - hit the wall after trying to run similr pac to 5k's for 10 miles. Began to learn, read, and understand about pacing - after two or three more years ran another marathon - ran a 2:45!! Went home, excited, trained, and hoped to run faster - ran 2:33 at Disney's first marathon, and the rest is history. I've plateaued around 2:30 in my 30's and now I'm into my 40's and happy, but sometimes wonder "what if I ran in h.s. and college?"

What would happen if you ran in structured school programs, including college? That's an easy one: you would have been better trained for ldr at an earlier age, and would/might have been a much faster marathoner.