[Now, for 5k warmups I run 3 miles, do all my stretches and drills, then run 5 minutes tempo pace + strides, then I’m ready to roll.[/quote]
Interesting - this is almost exactly my routine! I jog the course, stretch, then jog the final 800m or so in reverse, turn around, and do strides on and off back to the start. I try to time it so that the race is starting with 2 minutes of me finishing the routine.
Never ran until I walked on in college. Ran some very good times for a D3 guy and set my last track distance PR (3000m) in my first year of grad school. Injuries and laziness and reprioritzing meant that was really the last time I was a truly competitive runner. I knew by 25 or so that I'd never match any of my college times.
I really never ran consistently again until about age 40. I used Masters titles and age grading to keep myself motivated. I'll never break 14:20 again, but running low 15:40s at age 45 grades out about the same, so that along with competing for masters titles at most races in the country have been the ways I've stayed interested and kept my focus.
Going from 34 to 35 was were I noticed big drop offs in sprint speed but economy and endurance for longer events does continue to improve in your later 30s provided that you are mentally fresh. Older guys need to do leg weights and plyometrics once every three weeks.
I run competitively the 800-1500 in middle school and the first couple of years of high-school.
I resumed running at 39 but could not beat my high-school times, although I got close. Now I am approaching 50 and I am still close enough to my 40 years-old PRs that I think I still have an odd chance to beat some of them in a good day. Loss of motivation and injuries are a big drag, though.
XY wrote:
33
For those, like me, who started competing at 13, this is the correct answer. Nothing changed - just stopped improving.
.....and folks who claim to peak after say 35 have a reason. Usually they took up the sport late or previously did not try. Or PEDS. Also, contrary to the poster above, endurance fails sooner and faster than raw speed. Lots of data to back this up.
Probably if you work 80+ hour weeks, have a wife and kids, and drink too much.
Otherwise, no, just get it done. Doesn't matter if you have a team to run with or not.
http://maximumperformancerunning.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-motivates-you.html
lollerama wrote:
Runner A: started competitively running in HS - Mid-late 20s
Runner B: started competitively shortly after the time Runner A is realizing PRs just aren't going to happen anymore -
Mid-late 40s
Lol exactly.
Two completely different runners. Most posters here fall into the Runner B category.