I'm about to hit 30. What sort of things can I expect in life and running?

30 is not a big deal. You shouldn't really be getting slower if you are training properly. I doubt your running struggles have anything to do with age.

Listening to Journey will make you soft, just like your times show.

30 year old here. Last year, after many years of focusing on 5k-half marathon training, I decided to switch my focus to 800-mile training.

I'm not near my college times, but I can still run 2:02/4:30, which I value much more than the occasional 34 minute 10k or 1:17 half.

In general, I've owned my home for 3 years, married with two kids, no debt and a decent income. So 30 feels like a nice stable age and, after taking stock of it, I am glad that I am where I am now.

Fantasy track wrote:

30 year old here. Last year, after many years of focusing on 5k-half marathon training, I decided to switch my focus to 800-mile training.

I'm not near my college times, but I can still run 2:02/4:30, which I value much more than the occasional 34 minute 10k or 1:17 half.

In general, I've owned my home for 3 years, married with two kids, no debt and a decent income. So 30 feels like a nice stable age and, after taking stock of it, I am glad that I am where I am now.

Not as well off as this guy financially (a renter in the city with not that much savings) but doing okay and have a decent/comfortable job -- that said, no kids or wife to support long term (I consider that a plus esp from a financial perspective).

30 is a good age. You are still young and can hang with mid-20s crowd and easily blend in assuming you aren't a lardass (no "old guy" stigma yet). Running-wise, I'm slower than I used to be, but that's more due to laziness and busyness than physical capability. I bet I could break my 5k/10k PRs from HS/early college if I tried. Just watch out for slight creakiness, injuries, as they seem to come on more easily at this age.

In short, I feel same as 20s except hangovers are slightly worse and one needs to pay more attention to one's health at this age. No more donut binges, beer bingers, etc. You can go wild every once in a while but make it a rarity. This is a the make or break point for being fit for life or fat for life.

If you don't have a retirement fund setup by the time your'e 30, you're in for a real whirlwind. 30's will go by fast, and then 40's and before you know it, you're 50, not as quick as the younger guys/girls who will ultimately replace you at work due to their faster but not necessarily more intelligent, minds.

IT's just lethargy that comes with the aging brain.

Best thing to do is setup a Roth IRA and put at least $200/month in it if you haven't already.

It's all downhill, and not in a good way.

jbxdj wrote:

It's all downhill, and not in a good way.

Only if you elt yourself go in your 30's and succumb to the typical middle life American habits of popping a beer after work and plopping yourself in front of the tube and turning into the typical Wal-Mart shopper. But you have to set a foundation in your 20s so you're capable in your 30s.

Avoid high impact stuff like football though since the risk of degenerative arthritis spikes a lot around your 30s and 40s.

How you handle yourself in your 30s will determine how you manage in your 40s and beyond.

Don't be like your classmates who use their age as an excuse to not be as active as they were when they were younger. That's a trap.

I'm 32

In terms of running, most of my PRs are from my 30s. However, this past season was the first season I felt some potential signs of aging. I have slightly adjusted my training to have more recovery to compensate, I still ran prs in a few events last season.

Not sure how I'll feel over the next few years. I don't expect significant aging to effect me until my late 30s to 40 or so, though. I suspect most people complaining of aging in their early 30s are actually complaining about the fact that they can no longer get away with sitting around and doing nothing, or they don't realize just how much their career has gotten in the way of training and fitness.

In life, expect a lot of your friends to be way less present on your life as most of them will become obsessed with career or small children. Meanwhile, if you're like me, you may become much closer to those few friends who manage to balance those new facets of their life while still finding time to spend with you.

I almost never see my brother and wife now (maybe once a month now rather than twice a week) even though he lives 4 minutes from me, because he is obsessed with his career. Meanwhile, we have a couples friend who lives ten minutes away that we see twice a week or so, despite them having a small child and both of them in careers as well. The result is their kid now has two more adults in his life who care for him.

My wife and I plan to have kids soon, and I hope I learn from these people and follow their example.

Optimally you would have been better off having kids in your mid or early 20s. That's when you have the most energy to keep up with them when they're younger.

Can't imagine anyone being a parent for the first time in their late 30s and early 40s.

Managing your kids is a younger person's game. You'll be so busy unless you end up as one of those parents who is standoffish and doesn't develop a relationship with your kid and then wonder why the kid doesn't want to be around you and prefers their friends to spending time with you.

Kids will remember that you were too busy or didn't want to play with them when they were younger.

This short drove that point home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VquvhbHuE4Y

I agree with pretty much all of this. I'm 31 and have friends that are in their mid 20s as well as ones in their late 30's. I notice a very slight increase in recovery times from hard workouts, but I feel way stronger than I did when I was in my early 20s, so that's nice.

You are definitely correct though about not binging at this age, whether it be alcohol or garbage food. It doesn't take much for me anymore to be stricken with a 2 day hangover, or to accidentally gain 2 pounds of fat after binging on crap for a day. I can now easily identify my friends who will make healthy choices in life for the foreseeable future, and the ones who are in the process of blowing up like a blimp, never to return to looking fit.

Stick with eharmony wrote:

I'm getting slower as evidence by my times and bad Achilles

I used to break 18 on a consistent basis and now I struggle to run 20

I have a nice lady which is good because I've not had good luck with the ladies

Will I adjust to eating healthier?

The worse thing will happen to your running. You will mature and realize there are more important things than running.

Or you will decide that since you're going to die one day, and as it get's closer, you want to die from running and not regular old age disabilities...

I'd rather die from passing out during a run than from regular old age disease. Plus you'll look better in your casket if you're fit when you die.

Ask Kim Collins - just hit a 100m PR at 40 and shows no signs of slowing

markschultz25 wrote:

Or you will decide that since you're going to die one day, and as it get's closer, you want to die from running and not regular old age disabilities...

I'd rather die from passing out during a run than from regular old age disease. Plus you'll look better in your casket if you're fit when you die.

Aren't you a single guy that cyber pervs on teenage girls? What qualifies you to give life advice?

Stick with eharmony wrote:

Good to know thank you

Would paying off my mortgage 200 a month extra be the same thing

Your mortgage probably has an interest rate of 3-5%. The return from your 401k yearly will (if you're somewhat lucky) average around 7%. So there is a theoretical gain there. You also may not be living in your current home in 15-20 years so paying it off quicker might not save you as much as you think.

Viagra and injuries

What a load of typical drone crap. Yes you will get old fast if you do what everyone else does. I've knocked a minute off my 5K every year since I was 28 I'm now 36 running 14s. I run 120mpw and work 40 hours a week cleaning rooms in a hotel. I have a very healthy diet and lifestyle, single, no kids because the world doesn't need any more. I don't waste time watching TV or interacting with others. I'd rather be out running in the sun across the mountains than talking to people about their boring problems. I'll do that when I'm old and ready to join the old idiots down the local pub.

RedPill you f##S!

Sprint and lift weights. Increase your protein intake. Stay away from gluten and simple sugars.