Comeback journey to sub 20 min 5 k at age 66....

Are you just running a few workouts here and there -- hills reps and shorter vo2max stuff -- or are you actually running foundational + recovery runs as well? How many miles/kms are you actually running per week? Are you doing any cross training? And why not run a time trial and see where you're actually at?

We asked for the methodology and plan several pages ago, nothing was forthcoming.

I assume there is no plan or that it would be pulled apart like he has done to so many people training plan on here

Jog 30 miles a week and you're there.

That's a lot of 25sec hillsprints ;-)

I've let myself get into terrible shape recently after several bouts of injury. I'm hoping to break 20 also. Willing to do almost anything, including fixing my own grammar if necessary.

Hello snowy! 😃 Just like the weather here in my Sweden now. Lot's of snow and cold ..... the hillreps I have done alot of has been there to help me faster reach some kind of quite good ' ground shape' to now move on to serious Dancan System training. Because my method needs quality workouts year around I have now went indoors and hitting the treadmill daily. Feels great! I'm very well used to treadmill running and don't feel it's boring. The winter back in 1988 I did only treadmill running and got in my running careers best shape ever and won the Gothenburg Sylvestre race 10,55 k ( with a long tough hill included) in time 31:27 min ( about 2:58 / k ) . So now then I'm doing easy steady runs and faster LT2 thresholds and maxVO2 intervals. Last Sunday I ran 8 x 1000m threshold @ 6 min with essy walkrest 2 min and yesterday I ran 60 min easy ( 7:30 min / k) . I' m very happy with that 60 min easy run sustained because it's the longest I have done in many years. Everything feels great so far and today I plan a maxVo2 interval at 5 k pace 20 x 400m @ 2 min ( 5 min per km pace) . Now it's easy to keep consistency in my training when a pensioner and can run whenever I want in the days. Great feeling of 'freedom' ......continued...

and than he woke up ;-)

I can't tell if you are a troll or serious? 20x400 when you can only run easy 7:30/km?

You do know, that isn't a vo2 max workout, right? It can't be. You are going to end of with 40 minutes of work and your 5k pace is so slow. It isn't vo2 work.

I do wonder if you actually understand training? This isn't trying to put your down Jan. But you have said some very bizarre things lately, including how you thought running at faster than vdot threshold pace for 3 mins, automatically meant it was a "hard" workout and couldn't possible be sub threshold.

.....I don't count mpw runned . And a daily training diary I quit writing back in 1984.No need for ' microcycles ' as someone asked about. I coach in the same style as the great Canova with daily and weekly sessions at a time. So, the next coming day planned training depends on what was done the day before and outcome of that session. Always individual plan day by day and week by week and so on year around.So, no " copy and paste program" when the Dancan train moves on... 😉😃 As told no counting of mpw and easy steady runs usually 30 - 60 min and sometimes 70-80 min to produce more mitochondria and enzymes to the energy process relatively up to 60 min runs.When the runner go for the marathon goal the longest run will be 2 hours 40 min . When I was a national elite runner almost no cross training and just did situps and pushups in addition . In the winter added some squats sometimes. Same now as e.g yesterday I added some squats after my run and 20 x 15 kg ....maybe I will try for a TT 5 k in the end of March but not necessary with the Dancan system when I always know quite exactly where my shape is in the process out from my training results/ feelings .Have a nice day. 🖐🧙‍♂️

Everything is relatively! 😃

20 x 400m @ 5 min per km pace is my maxVO2 pace right now. When I was a national elite, 2:50 min per km was my maxVO2 pace. It's okey with me that you do wonder if I actually understand training.What do I know about it after 14:20 / 29:51 @ 5000m/ 10000m. 3000m 8:20 , 10 miles 49:58 , half 66 min , marathon 2:22 and coached several winners of international bigger races and hundreds of personal bests to runners at all levels from hobbyjoggers to world top elite? 😉🤔🧙‍♂️

What do you know? Not much. You said it yourself, that if yoj had trained differently you would have much faster PBs.

Also, you never coached any winner of any international big race and you never coached any world top elite.

Glad to clarify that.

Same as last year and the year before. 😴

As I have told sometimes here , if I had known what I know today about most effective running training I had been much faster than my 14:20/ 29:51 times I did back in the -80s. The big difference in training then I did my ' threshold tempos' too slow to be most effective. The runner needs more ' potent' lactate theshold intervals to fully improve individual highest possible capacity.

Goal: So you are in 25 minutes shape and you want to drop 5 mins to run sub 20 min 5km at somepoint in 2026.

Current micro cycle: your method is we will see how I feel and make as many changes as I need but follows 1 x vo2max pace + 1 x threshold pace both with mediums length (or 120bpm) recovery. Maybe a longer run as a faster easy pace + whatever easy runs or 30-60mins of what you want to do based on feeling.

See it wasn’t that difficult to communicate the dancan approach. I assume you will take the approach of faster longer at 5km race pace as you get closer to the event tomorrow move from classic Daniels to canova.

that sums it up folks, standard Daniels with race specific sessions and 120bpm recovery with paces at either goal or current ability. Magic is in the air 🧙‍♂️🪄

I should have added, base until you are around 4:05-10 per km, then 4 weeks of sharpening, followed by 1 week taper to complete your approach?

dancan complete?

In my view, this is one of the more important things I’ve seen you write.

There are no phases in the Dancan system of mine . The ' sharpening' goes on with the 3 main factors to the result in a well ' brewed' mix all year round . The volume stays quite the same all year round like I use to call " The never ending story" . The runner just keeps on improving, and in many cases amazingly fast.

Jan. There is no vo2 max pace. There's an intensity. You cannot run 20x2 mins at vo2 max. That's just 2x20 at your 5k pace, which is nowhere near a vo2 max effort for a fat slob like you now.