all that stuff about older runners understanding recovery is b.s., because almost everyone runs faster in college than at any time after. maybe the recovery is good because it lengthens the time you're able and willing to be a distance runner, but where is the large group of post-collegians running sub-25 8k comparable stuff? there are plenty of collegians doing that. maybe it's partly because the collegians are putting it all out there. that's what I did until I got injured (and the point is that you have to risk something to get anywhere) and I did improve a lot. now i am old and have to take some easy days because i'm always on the verge of an injury, but I have improved consistently, and beaten all of my higher distance college pr's this year because I take risks in my training, pushing the pace in all the hard workouts.