If someone gave you a year to train, how fast would you be?

did it wrote:

I started from scratch at age 29 and had two years of complete freedom to do so, without work or school. Got down to sub-17, sub-35.

So I wasn't in my early 20s, but I think my answers are meaningless though, as it could have easily been sub-20/sub-40 or sub-14/sub-29. It's genetics.

+1

For some runners their maximum genetic potential is going to be 19 for 5k for others 16, for a very few 13.

It's going to take more than a year to get to the consistent mileage needed to reach your potential. This mileage could be 80 a week, could be 130, but you must run it.

You don't need "complete freedom" - run training doesn't take a lot of time. You do need to be not working long hours at a physically hard job.

RejectRunner wrote:

And you wonder why they are so dominant.

No, I look at them and understand very easily why they are so dominant.

RejectRunner wrote:

You get the best coach,diet,recovery,etc.. and you are 22-26 years old(so in your prime.) How fast do you think you could run? I think someone who has general good fitness(Sub 6min mile or so) and average innate ability would run either, 800 - 2:00 Mile - 4:35 5k - 15:30,10k - 31:00,HM - 1:10. This obviously depends on which distance you are made to run, so if you are a 5k guy, you would run 15:30.

How fast would you run for these distances.

800

mile

2mile

5k

10k

HM

M

I'll bite. I'm adding into this theoretical idea that I have a base of running consistently under me, even though I really stopped running full-time after around age 18 or 19, so this is faster than I would have actually run at that age even with the year of training, but you said "prime," so I'm taking that to mean how5I was junior or senior year of HS, but with a few more years' worth of base miles.

800: 2:10 (or 2:05? Never much ran the 800)

mile: 4:34

2mile: 9: 55

5k: 16:20

10k: 34:

HM: 1:15 (never ran one in my life, no idea what a good time is, or what's equivalent to above)

M: 2:45

Woo-wee, that was winging that!

I agree, but there is always room for improvement. Even people like Rupp could improve on a couple things that would help them drop a second or two. Nobody ever runs to their full potential. Look at Usain Bolt, he messes around at the finish line and does things to entertain. Sure it's funny, but could he run faster? Maybe, most likely yes.

So you are running 10 miles every 2nd week, and talking shite on a running board.

Are you playing basketball the rest of the time?

Basketball is good for toughening everything before you go into hard training.

As others have said, 1 year isn't nearly enough. I started at age 28 and it wasn't until about 5 years of continuous year round running/training did I get close to my potential. Still never put together the perfect race but it became clear my genetic potential was going to be low 2:30's for the marathon. But in fairness, it probably takes the longest, as far as getting to one's potential, with the marathon.

You can run faster bro, you were 18 or 19 when you stopped, how old where you when you started running 30mpw? Look at Wejo as a good example, he ran 4:30 mile in HS and ran 30-31 10k in college. Yet after years of consistent training got down to 28:06. I bet he thought he reached his potential when he was running a 30min 10k, but truth is, he didn't.

No, I did do calisthenics and weight lifting before running though. Even eating all the food in the world back then, never got above a 95lb bench press. Still only 105lbs for a bench two years later.

RejectRunner wrote:

Ya, and you're a bored troll.

I am never bored, kid.

800m: 2:12

mile: 4:43

5K: 16:45

This top is interesting to me because I'm curios to how fast I could run if I took a year and just did this. For reference I am currently in about that age range and have run 2:17 for the marathon while working full time continuously since college. I am self coached and have to train solo due to work.

I am curios to see how much faster Letsrun think I could be if I quit work and focused on running. Got with a top coach and good training group. Was able to get more than 7-8 hrs of sleep a night. Had a nutritionist and was able to the things world class runners are able to do like altitude training, take naps, not have to fit running in around work, get massages, etc.

My guess is between 2:13-2:15 if I stayed healthy. But I think there is the chance maybe I could pop something really impressive like a 2:11 or bomb and not run any faster.

RejectRunner wrote:

If I quit right now, waited till I was 22 and trained with the best coaches,nutritionists etc...for a whole year. I would run at least 15:30.

That's funny

RejectRunner wrote:

Ya, "ran." Running 10mpw every other week isn't training optimally. If I quit right now, waited till I was 22 and trained with the best coaches,nutritionists etc...for a whole year. I would run at least 15:30.

I love it when people make claims like this. Its always the people you know would never have the discipline to do what they say they could do.

;')

RejectRunner wrote:

Never said they had no advantages, now did I? Just saying that most guys don't think they can run as fast they actually can. And also, East Africans, I don't think are any more gifted than Americans. They are good because they start at a younger age, they run because most times it is the only way for them to live a good life and they have a bigger pool of talent to work with since it is their most popular sport. Unlike in Merica where kids grow up eating burgers and playing football. And you wonder why they are so dominant.

They are way more gifted on average.

You've been fed all of that other nonsense. It makes little difference.

How do all the factors I've listed make no difference? They have no genetic advantage. I mean U.S. gets some of the most talented runners but they don't take care of them or train them right. Jim Ryun,Alan Webb,etc...

RejectRunner wrote:

No, I did do calisthenics and weight lifting before running though. Even eating all the food in the world back then, never got above a 95lb bench press. Still only 105lbs for a bench two years later.

This should tell you something about your trainability and your ability to learn about training.

RejectRunner wrote:

How do all the factors I've listed make no difference? They have no genetic advantage. I mean U.S. gets some of the most talented runners but they don't take care of them or train them right. Jim Ryun,Alan Webb,etc...

Because even the talented runners in the USA don't run to school or avoid McDonald's.

The USA has outliers that sometimes approach the talent Africans have but Africans are WAY more talented on average.

Don't kid yourself, kid.

RejectRunner wrote:

No, I did do calisthenics and weight lifting before running though. Even eating all the food in the world back then, never got above a 95lb bench press. Still only 105lbs for a bench two years later.

Could you be an Olympic weightlifter? After all genetics don't matter.