What's my ceiling?

Next year im going to train for shorter distances to try to gain some more speed

My two A priority races that i want to peak for will be:

March shamrock run 8k

September prefontaine memorial 10k

Im also planning to run

July bowerman 5k

August 30k

I want to see how fast i can run the 8k next year. Im thinking sub 27. I also want to place as well as i can in the prefontaine 10k. I dont know if its possible for me to win, because that depends on who shows up, but id really like to beat this years winning time of 33:53

Those would be very solid 8K and 10K times. I ran Shamrock 15K last year; pretty fun, super hilly course. 4 miles uphill to start then some downhill miles on the back end, not sure how the 8K compares. I'm running Boston in April so if I do Shamrock in March it will likely be the half marathon. I always do the Hood River 4th of July Run - awesome local 12K that no one really knows about. But the Bauman brothers (training partners and workout pacers for Rupp and Hasay) always come out to run it so there is comp if you're that fast.

So no marathon for you until 2019?

"but id really like to beat this years winning time of 33:53"

2:51 marathon to 33 10k in under a year? Not...going...to...happen... Have you broken 35 yet? Do you know how few runners break 34?

More realistic goals wrote:

"but id really like to beat this years winning time of 33:53"

2:51 marathon to 33 10k in under a year? Not...going...to...happen... Have you broken 35 yet? Do you know how few runners break 34?

I agree it won't be easy but with a year of training it's not impossible. He's probably in around 36 minute shape now.....

More realistic goals wrote:

"but id really like to beat this years winning time of 33:53"

2:51 marathon to 33 10k in under a year? Not...going...to...happen... Have you broken 35 yet? Do you know how few runners break 34?

I appreciate the input. Its the name of the thread. My best race according to the charts was my 17:04 in the bowerman 5k. Id been running a hair over a year at that point. Im confident that im at least a little faster than that now.

Hahariiiiiiight wrote:

So no marathon for you until 2019?

I dont know if its right or wrong, but i wanted increase my speed. So no, no marathon in 2018. Ill get back to them in 2019

41 yo male, posting times for fun, since we seem to have similar fitness. Here are some road races I've run this summer:

mile (hot!) 5:18

5K (hot!) 17:58

5K (warm) 17:23 (solo)

5-mile (hilly, warm) 30:13

10K (hilly, warm) 37:20

8K (warm) 28:40

No training insight, just want to say that I enjoyed reading this. It sounds like you have the right attitude, and I'm pleased to see your success.

Okay, and as a 36yo with lifetime (very old by now) PRs of 18/36/1:21, it's obviously making me wonder what I could do now. But I'd have to get my ass in gear soon.

Just curious as to the training you did for PDX? I know you touched on it a bit earlier, but did you stick with the Daniels plan? MPW? Specific long runs?

I had been following jack daniels 3rd edition 41-55 mpw 2q plan but running more like 55-65. I started it in may. Once i did the august 30k, i counted back from the end, 12 weeks or whatever, and repeated it again for the marathon. My highest mileage period was 2 weeks after the 30k, i went 64, 63, 61. The only differences i made to the plan was that i almost never did marathon pace unless it was followed by tempo. I dont believe in training at marathon pace, so id just substitute in easy pace. Id do them if the called for tempo at the end, because i figured the point was to be fatigued for running the tempo. The only other difference was i added a few miles to a few of the long runs. I think i did 2 20 milers and a 21 miler. I dont know if its right or wrong but i had been told that its good training to do a long slow run the day after a race. So thats what i did. 20 miles the day after the bowerman 5k and 21 miles 2 days after the prefontaine 10k. All my runs are on strava, if you want to look at all my training

Had fun reading this as I'm going through something similar!

I used to run/do triathlons when I was a teen, but never actually trained consistently and I don't think I ever went over 30 miles in a week, and if I did it was once or twice.

This year I started to actually train more consistently and have been doing 45-55mpw and the times are going down really fast and I've been wondering when it's gonna stop, and hoping that it doesn't haha.

My timeline this year:

April: Marathon on literally 0mpw (3:39)

May: Started training, around 15-25mpw

Early June: 10k (41:46)

Late June: 10k (39:15)

July: Hit my first 30 mile week hehe

August: Hit my first 50 mile week :)

September: 10k (38:25)

Early October: 20k (1:17 high), hitting a 10k pb in second half (38:10)

Late October: 10k (36:30)

Now I'm registered for a half in November and a 10k the week after. We'll see what happens :)

DietBacon wrote:

My timeline this year:

April: Marathon on literally 0mpw (3:39)

May: Started training, around 15-25mpw

Early June: 10k (41:46)

Late June: 10k (39:15)

July: Hit my first 30 mile week hehe

August: Hit my first 50 mile week :)

September: 10k (38:25)

Early October: 20k (1:17 high), hitting a 10k pb in second half (38:10)

Late October: 10k (36:30)

Now I'm registered for a half in November and a 10k the week after. We'll see what happens :)

That sounds like some really good progress

I just wanted to post a small update:

Week 1 after marathon: 0 miles

Week 2: 9 miles.

3 on Thursday and 6 on Saturday

Week 3 : 36 miles

6 miles on monday-Saturday

Week 4: 48 miles

6 monday-Saturday with doubles on tuesday and friday, off on sunday

Planning for next week to be 60 miles and this will be my schedule until December when i start adding some workouts in. All my runs so far have been easy paced runs.

Monday: am drive to work, pm 6 miles home

Tues: am 6 miles, pm 6 miles

Wed: am 6 miles, pm 6 miles

Thurs: am 6 miles, pm 6 miles

Fri: am 6 miles, pm 6 miles

Sat: am 6 miles, pm drive home

Sun: off

Iv been leaving my car at work with food and clothes for the week, changing in my car and running back and forth to work. 10 hour work days. Its not an ideal running schedule but its hard to work 60 hours a week and also train. Substituting a run for the time that i would be sitting in traffic makes it feel like i can get in my training in without having to make any sacrifices to my schedule.

Going to/Coming back from work running is a good idea. I think I might start leaving my work stuff at work (laptop, headphones, book, etc), and just take some running stuff so I can run back from work every day. I think it'd help a lot.

What race are you training for now?

I think about anyone could have seen this coming, but I've gotten pretty burned out. I don't think it's so much the running, but working so much makes me not want to do nothing but go home and zone out. I've been working 60 hours a week since august. (Outside, construction work) I have been running to and from work since then, and going home and doing workouts on top of it. I've been doing that all fall and winter, running every morning and evening in frozen rain.

I'm still tuning to and from work, but I haven't done a workout in over a month. Every week I tell myself that I'm going to get back on my workout schedule and I every week it doesn't happen. I've also been taking days off for every little niggle (maybe that's a good thing, but I feel like I'm making excuses)

I'm still running a fair number of miles. I've probably still been averaging over 50, lately. Recently, I took a management position. Hopefully crawling around less will make my body feel better

Your 1500 from HS is definitely the best mark. Try some shorter races too, and if you do better in those, I'd focus on that. Of course, your biology could have changed a lot since high school, but you seem like a 1500 kind of guy. Given 5 years of consistent training and healthy habits (that's a big if), I think you could break 4 in the 1500.

I don't think you have a chance at any of these, but here's the 2017 USATF Championship Standards for reference:

800m: 1:47.5

1500m: 3:39 (3:56.5 mile)

3000 Steeple: 8:40

5000m: 13:32

10K: 28:30

OTQ for the marathon is sub-2:19.