Anyone here start running in late twenties??

Yes, but I stopped after we lost everything in '29. Then I lost my legs in WWII, and I've been watching television ever since. Viet Nam was fun. So is Iraq.

had to be at least one...

how many other posts have you graced with your wit, must be time consuming?

I started to run at 30, after quitting smoking since I was about 15 years old. I'm now 39.

10k isn't my favorite distance, but I can presently run one at around the 34:00 - 34:15 range. My first 10k was a 40:09, about 6 months into it, and about halfway between then and now I was about a 35:15 - 35:30 man.

[quote]herche wrote:

Anyone here start running in late twenties...? quote]

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That would make them around 80 years old.

thanks someone in canada,

you sound very similar to my situation

what was you mileage like year on year from 30, and how did your 10km time progress year on year? It would be very useful to me to know as I'm into about my 2nd year almost and am curious to see if there's much more endurance gains to be had

I started in my late 20s. In my first year of running my 10km pb was 37.07. In my second year I got it down to 34.54. I'm two months into my third year of running now. I think I could get below 34 in 2008 if I stay injury free, but I'm taking things slowly. I have just turned 30, but think I have a few years of improvement ahead of me in all distances from 1500 up.

had to be at least two now...

herche wrote:

thanks someone in canada,

you sound very similar to my situation

what was you mileage like year on year from 30, and how did your 10km time progress year on year? It would be very useful to me to know as I'm into about my 2nd year almost and am curious to see if there's much more endurance gains to be had

I was running about 40 miles a week for the first year, and got up to about 50 the second. For the next few years I stayed at about 50 (occasionally 60) miles, but the quality got much higher. I raced a lot and did plenty of speedwork. After some time I realized I wasn't getting any faster and became disillusioned. Running became sporadic for close to a year, then I got serious about mileage levels. I jacked it up to about 80 miles a week, and all my times improved although I wasn't doing near as much speedwork - the mileage was hard enough to handle for a while. This proved to be the key for me - volume. Now I am just finishing 12 months of no racing and an average of just under 92 miles a week for the entire year.

I don't remember every 10k from my 9 years as a runner, but here's what I do recall:

age 30: (first year as runner) - 35 - 40 miles/week - 40:09 for 10k.

age 31: 45-50 miles/week - high 37's for 10k.

age 32: 45-50 miles/week - 36:40 - 36:50 for 10k.

age 33: 50 miles/week (more quality) - 36:16 for 10k.

age 34: 50 miles/week - 35:28 for 10k.

age 35: 50-60 miles/week - 35:18 for 10k.

age 36: 50-60 miles a week - could not beat last year's best.

age 37: off-and-on - not a good year. No memorable races.

age 38: 75-80 miles/week - 34:11 and 34:06 at end of year for 10k with next to no speedwork.

age 39: 90-95 miles/week for a year. No racing. Looking forward to upcoming summer and turning 40 in great shape. :)

If you want to use myself as any sort of example, I would employ patience and take up to a year off racing while learning to tolerate at least 75-80 miles a week (all easy at first), then the same amount of mileage with quality. I wish I had done this in my early 30's, but I was hungry to race all the time, and didn't understand that aerobic potential is the foundation for all gains to be made with running for road racing distances. The bigger the foundation, the bigger the gains. You can do all the speedwork you want, but it will only get you as far as your aerobic potential will allow.

thanks, that was a great reply

I've had one year of low mileage and sporadic running which took me from 41 to 36. Then I picked it up to a year of regular running but mostly 45 to 70km a week with some quality, that took me from 36 to 33:18. But like you, I raced way too much and that 33:18 should have been a 32:55, I just did too many races in '07 (22 races above 8km and about 13 races of 5km or less). I'm not sure I can go a whole year without racing though, but I will cut down. And I do want to start averaging about 60 miles a week or more. I'm dreading that time when I stop improving but I guess it's coming soon

I started around 27 and ran my 10kpr at 29 -- it's been all downhill since (36 now).

what really perks me up though is that you actually improved quite a bit from age 33 to 38. I hate that I threw 8 years of running in my 20s away, and I expected to start slowing down from say 35 onwards. But to see that you improve in later years actually inspires me

If you have not run more that 70km a week before, I can almost guarantee a substantial improvement if you get up to 120 - 130km per week. Make sure you are easy on yourself for the fist few months of this, and after about 10-12 weeks you should be able to get some quality in without reducing the mileage. Best of luck!

herche wrote:

what really perks me up though is that you actually improved quite a bit from age 33 to 38. I hate that I threw 8 years of running in my 20s away, and I expected to start slowing down from say 35 onwards. But to see that you improve in later years actually inspires me

I came to the simple conclusion that my raw speed wasn't going to get any better, but my aerobic potential could continue for a while. I think I will continue to get better until my mid-40's.

herche wrote: I'm dreading that time when I stop improving but I guess it's coming soon

Dude, if you've only been at it a couple years, and not run much above 40 miles in your highest week, you're not even close. You're still closer to the starting line than the finish.

One oft-quoted rule of thumb has it that new runners typically have about seven years of improvement in front of them. This is regardless what age they start - yes, that rule of thumb has it that your improvement as a runner tends to stay ahead of your decline from age for around three quarters of a decade.

Your mileage may vary - and for some who train diligently, it varies in the good direction. There are more than a few here who continue to improve for longer than the span of one's post-mirror-breaking bad luck.

And be aware that very few people believe you need to (or should) abstain from racing for extended periods of time to train well and improve. In general, sure there are balances to be struck between workouts and races, volume, and recovery - and those balances are targets that move with age, experience, mileage in your legs, other life stresses, where you are in your season, etc. - but that needn't mean racing is verboten.

I started at 27. I was in generally good shape from other sports but my running training melted off about ten more pounds. My first 10k was around 38:00. My age 33, I was doing close to 31:00. Then I began to wear out. I was never a high mileage person, but did a lot of tempo and threshold runs before I'd ever even heard those words in the context of the sport. I did do a modicum of interval training but I could have benefitted from even quicker and faster stuff. I did all the 800s I needed, but some 300s might have helped.

please dont squeeze the garmin wrote:

And be aware that very few people believe you need to (or should) abstain from racing for extended periods of time to train well and improve. In general, sure there are balances to be struck between workouts and races, volume, and recovery - and those balances are targets that move with age, experience, mileage in your legs, other life stresses, where you are in your season, etc. - but that needn't mean racing is verboten.

I agree with you, and should have clarified that I didn't race for a long period because I tend to get caught up in tapering for each event and letting them mess with my training and ability to get to a good mileage level and stay there for a while. I find it difficult to "train through" races and not be at whatever my best is at that time for them. Everyone is different, but I have done well with forgoing the races and simply concentrating on finally reaching mileage levels I couldn't achieve before.

Dude, if you've only been at it a couple years, and not run much above 40 miles in your highest week, you're not even close. You're still closer to the starting line than the finish.

One oft-quoted rule of thumb has it that new runners typically have about seven years of improvement in front of them.

thanks, this is one of the responses I was hoping for, more specifically I was curious what kind of 'curve' of improvement to expect.Obviously early on there are big gains to be had from scratch to just being able to run for an hour without feeling tired, but I though that after about 2 or 3 year the improvement become a lot more gradual. This next year could still be big if I try to up the mileage and back off the unneccessary racing. I'd be curious to hear where else you read about the '7 year rule'

- but that needn't mean racing is verboten.

what do you reckon is safe, a race a month (say 8 or 10km)?

Also, if you do a race at say 10% slower than your PB, could you maybe squeeze a few more in?

you definetly should have phrased this question differently.