what?? wrote:
I'm just being realistic. It's a hobby. If I had really been world class or elite at 45, I would have been elite when I was in my 20s and 30s, as good as my friends who really were world class professional athletes. And I'm lucky to have known a few from my youth up to the present.
The fun part is getting fitter week after week, month after month, year after year and racing.
I have mostly happy memories.
We are lucky to have the gift of health and vitality regardless of our race or training pace.
Agree with the person going back & forth with you. 17-flat at age 45 is really good. Low-end of the world class spectrum but we're talking about every 5k runner that age. We don't need to tear anyone down.
& your comparison is not a 1:1. Some people who are elite runners in their 20s/30s don't run competitively after that are age a lot faster. Some people run pretty linear times from their 20s to their 40s. Give the slowtwitch guys some credit who stick with it.
Yes, no world records for a < 17:00 45 year old. If you're just gonna compare that runner to Bernard Lagat, fine, but it's still really solid.
FWIW I get that you want to hit the mark OP but those Stumptown races are a good time. Would be fun to run a competitive cross race & see where you can finish. Lents has one hill you hit twice but is reasonably fast compared to the other races on that circuit. I would at least think about the other races they do. All of the masters runners in Eugene & Portland race there.