Sub 17 at age 55

I'm mid-40's and started at 6-4 255 just over a year ago.

Everyone's experience is different, but you will drop weight up front and then plateau. Then drop a couple more, then plateau. Then plateau. And plateau again. You will get up to however many miles your body can handle and then plateau. Then you will push to add 5-10 more miles per week and get the nastiest cold ever. Then you'll plateau. Then you'll plateau, again.

the keys are to make the journey the goal and not get injured - make your goal to do two quality workouts per week and run 50 mpw - or whatever goal you think is reasonable. Then see what it gets you on the racecourse.

and nothing good will happen if you get injured - I'd advise doing some serious lifting for your legs and hips.

2-3 days a week I do some body weight stuff (push ups, pull ups, step ups, squats, lunges...) and/or 40 mins or so of easy stretching.

I've used Greg McMillan's on-line coaching and it worked well for me. Also there are good books out there. I like Brad Hudson's "Run Faster" it has some good info. and training plans.

Eliminate grains and processed foods from your diet. Eat more paleo, emphasizing green veggies, fruit, grass-fed beef, nuts, even bacon for flavor. Fat and protein are your friend, starches are not.

58 years old, 6-8% bodyfat (belly vein very prominent) and it's darn near effortless after a few years.

Agree with G-spotter on the diet. I did exactly that and dropped from 175 to about 147 pounds. I was able to get down to 17:54 and 37:27 at 52 and after putting in probably 5 or 6 years of 2300 miles per year injury-free. But now I seem to have hit the inevitable slowdown. I've had a few injuries that have prevented me from running as much as I did then and it is very apparent in my race times. I struggle to get under 19 now at 54. Ahh, it was fun while it lasted.

You need to lose weight and try hard. You can do it brother.

There are only three men in the 55-59 age group who have broken 18 this year -- and two of those are over 17:40. I'm all for running at any age, but it's not possible for you to do it -- even if you spent the last 20 years racing.

Only 3 people? Wow. That's an eye opener. I'm not the OP.

So, Dave is one of them. Any others on LR?

Hopeful,

You ran similar times as a young man, I was 13:51 three mile, but 2:19 marathon. Probably slower in the mile only 4:13. I gained more weight than you, hitting about 215 pounds at the high point (age 50). I started running again to lose weight, and getting more into it as I moved forward. After about five years at age 55 I ran 18:02 on the track. That time was the fastest in the nation for age 55-59 that year. I found Jack Daniels, Running Formula as the best book for me. If you plan to incorporate more cross training you might invest in the FIRST book Run Less, Run Faster.

Good luck and have fun.

Igy

Run on much softer surface than younger runners can handle. Best advice I received was to look for and measure a loop on dirt/grass. Give yourself plenty of time. I did it as at 40, but you can do it.

The enemy isn't lack of speed or hard work, it's going to be those little nagging injuries and sore joints.

noway wrote:

There are only three men in the 55-59 age group who have broken 18 this year -- and two of those are over 17:40. I'm all for running at any age, but it's not possible for you to do it -- even if you spent the last 20 years racing.

Curious where you got this. I think there are many more than 3 in the US alone that have done this within the past year.

Only 35-40 men, worldwide, all-time have run sub-17 age 55-60.

http://www.arrs.net/Veterans/VR4_R5K.htm

noway wrote:

There are only three men in the 55-59 age group who have broken 18 this year -- and two of those are over 17:40. I'm all for running at any age, but it's not possible for you to do it -- even if you spent the last 20 years racing.

dane-0-rama wrote:

Curious where you got this. I think there are many more than 3 in the US alone that have done this within the past year.

As far as know, three of us in the 55-59 have broken 17:00 this year: I went 16:46 in June, Joe Sheeran also went 16:46 in August and Doug Martyn went 16:59 in July. Brian Pilcher has gone 17:06 and Ken Youngers 17:10.

Anyone else?

Dave

Looking at that list it looks like they took away 4 seconds from you Dave. 16:50. That drops you from 15th all-time to around 20th. I would not be happy with the records keepers. Can you get that fixed?

I was inspired by this thread today and averaged under 8:00 per mile for 6 miles for the first time this century. I'm happy to call that running.

Cheers.

Sounds like there are a few... but to try and do it at 55 after taking 20 years off seems impossible. A ten-minute mile at that point is probably going to seem hard. But what's life without goals?

racerdb wrote:

noway wrote:

There are only three men in the 55-59 age group who have broken 18 this year -- and two of those are over 17:40. I'm all for running at any age, but it's not possible for you to do it -- even if you spent the last 20 years racing.

dane-0-rama wrote:

Curious where you got this. I think there are many more than 3 in the US alone that have done this within the past year.

As far as know, three of us in the 55-59 have broken 17:00 this year: I went 16:46 in June, Joe Sheeran also went 16:46 in August and Doug Martyn went 16:59 in July. Brian Pilcher has gone 17:06 and Ken Youngers 17:10.

Anyone else?

Dave

there's this guy - he can go sub 17 at age 62. In the UK.

Martin Rees ran yet another world single age best at the Teifi 10 miles at Lampeter on Easter Sunday.

His second place finish in 55:54 eclipsed Mike Hager’s previous age 62 best of 56:49 set at the Cabbage Patch 10 in 2012.

Martin, 62, now holds 13 world single age bests at this distance. The Teifi race was won by Carwyn Jones in 55:37.

Rees, a retired steelworker and Port Talbot grandad has set more than whopping 30 world records after only began training seriously at the tender age of 38.

I agree it seems audacious. And a 10 minute mile will be hard at first. But then 10 minutes will be easy. I was on these boards in April lamenting my 11:30 slogs and asking if I'd ever feel like a runner more than once per week.

And then it got just a little bit easier. And a little bit easier. In May I'm averaging 10:15 for 6 miles and in June 9:30 with a July 5k of 22:41. Now for context I had gotten myself down below 25 min last year before I ruptured a calf muscle.

Well then I hurt calves again and Achilles (12x200 on track) and I went back to a SLOW 10:30-11:00 and slower jog for 3+ weeks.

And today I averaged under 8 in a 2 x 5k tempo bringing it in under 7:20.

I'm hoping to break 22 min 5k in the next month. And then hoping I don't lose too much fitness through the Minnesota winter.

That said, I'm half a decade younger 51 than racerdb and I might still hold fantasies about breaking 20 and beating my 14 year old daughter but that's about it.

But it's been truly a pleasure to run again. The other day I had a lazy 7 mile run (9:20 avg) through the local trails with my daughter and could hang with her as she subtly picked up the pace in the last two.

I also Really appreciate the support and inspiration the over 50 community here provides.

Cheers

Same type of 20's PRs as you . I found late 40's , 800 type of speed work and long runs. For what ever reason tempos had less effect on me as I aged.

The above poster referred to it as "audacious" & I hate to seem negative (good on you for getting healthy!) but audacious is an understatement - realistically you have a less than 1% chance of breaking 17. Maybe a 5% chance of breaking 18. 10% under 19? and 25% of breaking 20. Not to dismiss what some of the young posters on here have to say, but when dealing with a circumstance such as yours, at your age, best to glean advice from those of us with this kind of experience. I know some runners, esp. the younger ones, poo poo the age grading tables, but you could use them to get some perspective. A 17 min 5K at 55 would make you world class. Even just a 20 flat would get you 'on the podium' for your age group for most local 5k's. Love your enthusiasm, but don't set yourself up for disappointment with such unrealistic goals. Dream big, but keep it real…..