I'm 33, been running for 5 years.
I run between 25 and 40 (max 45) mpw since this September (used to be around 20/30mpw) on 5 days a week.
Will I get a huge benefit if I try to run a lot more, say up to 70 or 80mpw, even at my age?
Records:
10k in 32:57 (improved by 1:30 from last year)
5k in 15:55 (ran only one - shooting for 15:30 to 15:40 on Saturday)
Maybe try running 50mpw consistently before you go to 70-80.
Yes! I increased my mileage at age 32 (from 45 mpw to 85 mpw) and saw great improvements from age 33-35. Went from 20-21 5k down to sub-18 (female)Ran into a few issues at 36, but am trying to get back to the mileage I was at before or higher at age 38.
I had been running for much longer than you have been, so I'm sure you will see even greater improvement than I did. If you increase your training and keep motivation, you will keep improving for AT LEAST 5 years.
Why not? If you double your mileage, make sure you double the amount of high intensity running to, but always listen to your body. Build up gradually and have a few easy days here and there as and when needed.
Yes, you certainly can. But, remember, as you get older you should actually take fewer days off/easy days because you lose your fitness MUCH quicker than you did when you were younger (unfortunately).
More isn't necessarily better unless you want to run a marathon distance. You can improve the quality of your 30-45 mpw by doing specific drills. You actually need more recovery as you age to prevent injury. I'd say quality over quantity especially with such great pr's.
Do a little research on Jack Foster and Priscilla Welch.
If you aren't doing 100 miles per week, you might as well quit running and start eating Twinkies.
letmebefrank wrote:
More isn't necessarily better unless you want to run a marathon distance. You can improve the quality of your 30-45 mpw by doing specific drills. You actually need more recovery as you age to prevent injury. I'd say quality over quantity especially with such great pr's.
33 isn't old, he has plenty of time to improve. And I don't like the idea of you telling him to stick to low mileage. He has to find out what works for him. But to run much faster times on 30-45, he would have to be doing some incredible workouts.
Started training consistently at 31.Doubles and higher mileage really helped. I would say you will see a huge benefit, especially if you want to run longer races. Don't be afraid to run easy either.
cripes wrote:
33 isn't old
Thanks.
And thanks for all answers.
Will probably see how it goes by upping mileage progressively. Time constraints will limit my possibilities to do too much though.
solid times off that kind of mileage
Awesome. Great to hear. I'm hoping to break 20 minutes eventually, maybe in the late fall. I was out for six weeks with a stress fracture, started running again about a month ago, and am now running 23:xx - 24:xx with 10 miles a week (granted some are quality miles, including a 5k race each week)I had run several races in the 21:1x - 21:2x last winter averaging 25 mpw, hope if I can get my mileage up to 40 mpw, and lose 5-10 pounds I can break 20 minutes by the time the fall comes. I was having trouble running high mileage as I was having chronic ankle pain, which I failed to address until I was unable to put any pressure on my foot due to a stress fracture probably related to holding my ankle strangely. Finally my ankle seems to be almost completely healed. I'm still keeping very low mileage for now but am starting to gradually increase my mileage by a couple miles each week so I'll hit 40 mpw by late August.
To the OP, yes, as long as you can avoid injury, I think you can definitely make some improvements, perhaps some large improvements by increasing your mileage. Good luck. Keep us updated! Its always exciting hearing people improve their times in their 30s because it gives me hope I may PR in the 5k sometime later this year.
I ran a 3000m PR at age 35! I ran 10:37 at 17 and then 10:20 at age 35.
running girl 79 wrote:
Awesome. Great to hear. I'm hoping to break 20 minutes eventually, maybe in the late fall. I was out for six weeks with a stress fracture, started running again about a month ago, and am now running 23:xx - 24:xx with 10 miles a week (granted some are quality miles, including a 5k race each week)I had run several races in the 21:1x - 21:2x last winter averaging 25 mpw, hope if I can get my mileage up to 40 mpw, and lose 5-10 pounds I can break 20 minutes by the time the fall comes. I was having trouble running high mileage as I was having chronic ankle pain, which I failed to address until I was unable to put any pressure on my foot due to a stress fracture probably related to holding my ankle strangely. Finally my ankle seems to be almost completely healed. I'm still keeping very low mileage for now but am starting to gradually increase my mileage by a couple miles each week so I'll hit 40 mpw by late August.
To the OP, yes, as long as you can avoid injury, I think you can definitely make some improvements, perhaps some large improvements by increasing your mileage. Good luck. Keep us updated! Its always exciting hearing people improve their times in their 30s because it gives me hope I may PR in the 5k sometime later this year.
Honestly, if you're 33 you should stop worry about how "fast" you run. You're not going to PR and make the olympics. Then you're just left fitting to win an age group, w/e the heck that means.
If you want real advice and not advice from running nazi's....enjoy your life. Stay fit and in shape running 30-45 mpw. Race every now and then if you want. Spend more time with friends and family. Don't stress yourself out worrying about what time you have to wake up sat/sun for a race or "man it's bed time I can't party anymore".
misewell b wrote:
[...]You're not going to PR and make the olympics[...]
[...]Don't stress yourself out worrying about what time you have to wake up sat/sun for a race or "man it's bed time I can't party anymore".
Well...
That was unexpected.
Of course I'm not going to make the olympics.
And I do not care about age group rankings, it does not mean anything since it just depends on who shows up at the race (not mentioning I have to wait till I'm 40 to be in an age group where I live).
I'm just looking at my times and trying to improve.
Not sure why I would not PR again though, since I've ran a PR every time I did a 10k (I do not race often, maybe two 10k a year + 3 cross country race and 3 to 4 on track in Spring).
Then, I have a family, so I'm not partying much anyway.
And if I run "only" 5 days a week, it's because I run on weekdays at midday, so I can take care of them on weekends and evenings.
Adding mileage on my midday runs plus maybe a run on Sunday when I can will get me between 50 or 60mpw. We'll see from there.
misewell b wrote:
You're not going to PR
What?
I started running at 24 and have PRed in most events every year since then, for almost a decade now. If anything, I'm training better now, with a regular job and schedule, since things are just more organized for me to plan my weeks than when I was a grad student, moving around a lot, etc.
young master wrote:
misewell b wrote:You're not going to PR
What?
I started running at 24 and have PRed in most events every year since then, for almost a decade now. If anything, I'm training better now, with a regular job and schedule, since things are just more organized for me to plan my weeks than when I was a grad student, moving around a lot, etc.
Wait until you are 40 to call yourself a master, and to see what going for a PR really means.
@Sagarin: Thanks, interesting. Although I'm not shooting for such results.
running girl 79 wrote:
Keep us updated!
Well, last Saturday I have lowered my 5K to 15:25, without any additional mileage.
Starting in September, we'll then see how much mileage can help.