It is better to run 16:xx on 25-40 MPW, than 15:xx on 75-100 MPW

I ran well over 100 a week and never got faster than mid 15:00s. I was focused on marathons, the 5,000 was barely even an after thought but if it had been a focus I'd still have run that much because a) I enjoyed running that much and b) the more I ran the faster I got at everything. Some of us just like to run.

You are making a good decision as husbandship, fatherhood, and career should be your highest priorities now that this is your life. At that point, 30-40 mpw and some lifting is ideal.

My approach to a running life was to try to be as good as I could be in college, and then devote a few years to seeing if I could make an Olympic team or sniff a “pro” contract. But that was it. I put the line in the sand that, if by age 25 I wasn’t a star, I’d move on. And I did, assisted in the decision by a rather intractable injury. I decided at that point that grad school and career and eventual family were far more important concerns, and I was tired of being tired all the time, as well as skinny fat, so I decided to start lifting and only keep running to stay in relatively decent shape, basically 20-30 min per day, 5-6 days per week.

And I would recommend this to anyone, shy of training for the Boston marathon or similar. See how good you can be in your early 20s, but have an off ramp or exit plan. Do not be a 32-year old chasing the dream at the cost of everything else in your life. But for those who still love running and aren’t quite there with the family obligations, why not run more? And even with, 50-60 mpw is still very, very doable. Basically 8-10 miles per day in six days.

Then your suffer from Barry Brown syndrome and should rethink your priorities

Absolutely.

For a young man, 15:xx and 16:xx are essentially meaningless achievements extrinsically, but may be important to you intrinsically if you value a sense of improvement, etc. (The same could be true of 19:xx, too.) There is literally no substantive distinction... except for whatever you make of it.

Training 3-5 hours vs 9-12 hours, though, are very different propositions in terms of impact on the rest of your life. Diminishing returns to spend 2-4x the time if 15:xx doesn't mean much more to you than 16:xx.

And you suffer from Know It All and Should Tell Others How To Live Their Lives Syndrome and should get over yourself.

I ran 14:40 in college on about 75 MPW. I ran about the same time for 10 years after college on 35-40 MPW. I dont think it impacts a 5k much. I was doing 5 days per week with a 10 mile long run. I ran 7 days in college and did a 15 mile long run.

I don't get the Barry Brown reference.

Barry Brown, just in case you've never heard of him, was one of the best steeplechasers in the US in the late 60s(?) and early 70s. He kept on running seriously into his masters' years and for a good while had the US masters' marathon record, 2:15 and change.

He was a lawyer by trade and had gotten into real estate but what he really was was a runner. He was one of the people who moved to Gainesville when it was probably the first running mecca, was one of the big guns for the Florida Track Club, and would tell people that the reason he'd gotten into the real estate business was because he didn't need to spend a lot of time working and it freed him up to run as much as he wanted to.

He had always been a big miles guy and didn't change that as he got older. But eventually his body began breaking down and it was harder and harder for him to run as much or as well as he wanted to and people who knew him said that affected him badly. At the same time his real estate business was going badly. I don't remember the details but he was headed for serious losses, people who had invested in his business, many of them friends, looked like they were headed for some serious losses which futher distressed him. I seem to recall that it also looked like his business was going to be investigated, maybe by the Federal Trade Commission, I'm not 100% on this but there was looming legal trouble. So he killed himself.

I imagine the guy mentioning Brown is suggesting that he killed himself because of how much he loved to run but could no longer do it. That surely didn't help his mental state but it's a bit disingenuous to imply that but say nothing about his business and legal difficulties.

Running or lack of work ethic wasn't necessarily the cause of his business troubles. Its likely market factors had more to do with it. 99% of people would be smart to get a work situation where they have to work as little as possible (or optimize money/time spent ratio).

Unless you spend the weekends thinking about how much you wish you were at work or else working a second job when you don't have to - that probably includes you, the reader of this post.

Realtors I know work just as much as anyone else, if not a little more. They get frequent trips out of the office where they can go to a coffee shop or cafe for lunch, which seems really nice, but they can also have to sit in traffic and do showings and such late in the afternoon on someone else's schedule. Not something I'd chose to optimize running, but still not having to start work before 8-9 would be nice.

Most people who run aren't shirking responsibilities to do so. If they cut back, they'd either replace the running with another physical activity or something like tv watching. Might as well run as much as you want unless there is something you'd rather do...

I was an English club-runner, from age 16 to around 36 and then moved to US, and did a lot of road-racing (mostly 5k).

If the premise is a full minute from 16:xx to 15:xx, I would have definitely done the extra mileage as for me, it would have made a huge competitive difference.

What I don't necessarily accept the premise that you would get a minute with the extra mileage. As it was, I ran 15:22 off around 45 miles per week (a lot of quality), and I don't know that an extra 30 miles per week would have taken me down to 14:22.

I remember Ritzenhein's coach saying, "Dathan basically walks around in 14-minute shape" after he had an injury and was getting back into it towards the end of his career. He's a 12:56 guy, so 14:00 wasn't a big deal when he's just starting to get back into shape. For me, 17:15-30 was getting back into shape rust-buster. For some friends (I was jealous of) who ran low 14's in college, it was low 16's.

BUT, it's all completely relative to base-level talent.
I wanted to be faster like the more talented guys. They were the "freaks" as you say. I'm sure for them, the "freaks" were the dudes running under 14;00. Then, there was another level etc.

For me, 25-45 mpw was the best for life balance and a body that didn't feel trashed.

25-35 mpw I was in the 16:25-40 range.

35-45 mpw, I could get down to low 16's w/ 5k-specific work, but I couldn't maintain that intensity for more than 3 weeks

50-55 mpw to break 16:00 and it was hard workouts, faster tempos, weekly massages, 9 hours or sleep a night effort. Very focused.

More mileage than 60 per week and my body couldn't handle it.

What matters is who wins the race, and a 15 minute 5k ia beating a 16 min 5k every time.

Makes sense. IMHO If I was busting my rear putting in 75-100 mpw to run 15:'s and I knew of guys just doing 25-40 and running 16:'s I'll call it quits and go do something else than running. Maybe shooting pool.

And now, for a limited time, with my PROVEN & PATENTED training technique, you can run a 13:xx 5K, with ZERO MILES WASTED RUNNING AT ALL!

;P

I think you already know this, but yes: you are very gifted.

I have seen plenty of boys (and men) who eat right, life weights, sleep plenty, and run 18:30 on 35 mpw with intervals, long runs and easy days.

That's so nuts! It took me 3 years at 60-70mpw to break 17-flat on the track.

Many high school programs do 40 MPW and have 7 runners sub 17.

I would rather run 16:01 on 25 mpw than 15:59 on 100 mpw