Lower mileage runners racing just as well.

Personally I always found that doubles gave me diminishing returns. I got a lot more out of my mileage when I slowly transitioned away from doubling and just put that mileage into singles, running the same total miles. This is going to help you develop an aerobic engine that those 4-5 mile doubles just never will. Extend that long run a little too. Listen to your body, this doesn’t work for everyone and if it leaves you feeling gassed for a prolonged period, back off on both easy run intensity and volume for a few days. Good luck!

Lot's of good advice above. I agree with most of it. I'll just throw in the book "Run Less, Run Faster". It's basic premise is to choose intensity over volume, especially as you get older. I'm in my 50's and have been racing well from 5K-to the marathon, haven't been hurt in quite a while and usually get in there for an age group award.

Your paces seem a bit off to me. If you are only running 1:27 for the half marathon, then 6:00 pace probably isn't really tempo. But you are running 15-18 miles at ~7 min pace...is that pretty much every weekend? It also depends what distance you want to focus on...if you are training for the half, then running 15-18 miles at 7 min pace is almost like racing every weekend. If you are only training to run 10k, then you are running too far and not doing enough anaerobic work to get faster. Also, there isn't really any need to double at 70 mpw. My suggestion would be to ditch the doubles and run 7-8 miles in one shot for your easy days. You'll get more stimulus from one 50-60 minute run at a better pace than two runs. Reduce your long run unless you really want to focus on the half. Work on hitting different paces for your track workouts -- longer, slower intervals early in the training cycle and shorter, faster closer to end of cycle. Or if you don't want to switch up your training routine, at least take a day off every week.

At the end of the day, runners get way too tied up in hitting a certain mileage. Getting up to 70 mpw is really a lot for someone who isn't preternaturally gifted (even more so considering you're not even training for a marathon). There are NCAA All Americans who barely average 70 a week in season. You'll run faster, have more fun and feel better hovering around 50-60 a week and mixing in different paces.

Over-training. If you love to run as you put and are happy training at that length than more power to you. But it looks like you only do tempo training and distance runs which is not going to make you fast. Cut mileage and add some speed and strength work at least 8-10 weeks out from your next race.

Temperature. If you race at 40 F with no humidity your times will drop significantly

You seem to be enjoying what you do, and you're now in your 40s. These are two excellent reasons to make any changes very gradually.

What jumps out at me is your Sunday 15 to 18 mile run at 7 min/mile. That's just 40 seconds per mile slower than your half-marathon race pace, and it's longer. To me, it's crazy for someone like you (or me) to do something like that. Maybe it's defensible for an elite runner who has already maximized everything else and needs to find a way to squeeze out that last .01% of potential, but that's not your situation. I think that run is keeping you from getting what you need out of your other runs. The "tempo" (really "cruise interval" or "critical velocity" or "optimistic 10K paced") workout is also too hard, to my mind, but it's fun to train with other people and that may be worth a slight overreach.

So my advice, from the other side of the 40's, is to do just one long run on the weekends: either 15-18 easy the whole way, or 13 with only the second half gradually progressing to 7 min-pace, if you're feeling good. Maybe alternate those two.

And for two of your four easy days, add 3 x 100m somewhere in the run, and some lunge walking at the end. Your primary objective here is not to get injured. Your secondary objective is gradually to develop a little coordination from the 100s and a little strength from the lunge walks. The 100m repetitions might never get faster than 10K pace, or they might get down to mile race pace or eventually even a bit faster. Don't worry about that. Instead, focus on the feeling of how your body is moving. Pick out some favorite runners to imitate (ideally with opposite styles, like Snell and Ryun; deCastella and Ikangaa; Rudisha and [Clayton] Murphy; etc.). Ease back as soon as you feel any tension. After a few months these might have transformed into 6 x 100 or 4 x 200, but they should never feel like work. If they do, you're doing them wrong. As others have said, let the speed come to you. The lunge walks should start extremely modestly, say right-left-right-left-right-left and you're done--see how sore you feel tomorrow before deciding it was too easy.

So your week might look like this:

M 60min. easy; 40min. easy

T 60 easy; 40 easy plus 3 x 100 relaxed plus a few lunge walks

W Workout with friends (around 90 sec/lap)

Th 60 easy; 40 easy

F 60 easy; 40 easy

Sa 60 easy plus 3 x 100 relaxed plus a few lunge walks

Su Long run: either 15-18 easy the whole way, or 13 gradually progressing to 7 minute pace if you're feeling good.

I ran 39 flat off of no more than 30mpw. Not saying that's a good time, just that it isn't 70mpw.

The OP seems to have checked out, but for the benefit of others who might be overtraining in this way, I experimented with consistent high mileage (93 miles/week for 13 weeks at on point) and found I only went backwards above 50-55 miles.

In my mid-40s I ran 16:30s, 34:30s and 1:18 off of average mileage of 45-50 in base. My best events were 800-mile, where I was around 25-30 mpw during competition phase running consistently in the mid-4:40s for the mile and 2:10 or better for 800. If you are more of a fast-twitch runner, all those hard long miles will only beat you down, especially in a heat-stressed environment.

It sounds like you've build a really good routine for yourself, additionally, being able to fit 70 miles a week of training into a week is an accomplishment in it of itself. (I coach college athletes, who insist they don't have time to train that much :/) While your routine is great, it does sound like you lack prioritization in your training.

Two methods of prioritization are:

Starting with higher mileage and less quality and moving towards shorter mileage with more quantity as you get closer to race day.

The other method would be to build your base, then slightly reduce your mileage (from 70-60 or 65ish). From their work the extremes. So if your training for 10k your training would contain a lot of steady pace aerobic development and quick pace mile pace work. As you get closer to race day make the workouts more specific to the event.

Method 1:

Week 1- 70 miles 100% easy

Week 6 55 miles 85% easy 15 % quality (5k-10K paced efforts)

Week 12 45 miles 75% easy 25% quality (mile-3k paced efforts)

Method 2:

Week 1 - 70 miles 95% easy 5% quality (easy jogging+ strides)

Week 6- 65 miles 85% easy 15%quality (half marathon effort + Mile pace)

Week 12- 55 miles 80% easy 20% quality (10k paced effort)

Fast twitch athletes tend to see better benefits from method one while slow twitch are better off with method 2.

First. you're "old" so that means less talented / less well trained runners will run comparable times to you.

Your training looks quite good -- for base training. Good mileage, solid foundation.

To take it up a level you could use some shorter intervals, especially closer to races. The interval work you're running is all sub VO2 max. Closer to peaking, you want 400m reps, and some workouts that have shorter total length (but more intense).

You are in the good position of having something to taper from -- coming down to say 50mpw or so temporarily will give you a bit of a boost

Your race times aren't very good compared to your workout times. For example tempo runs should be slower than 10k race pace. If you're able to do the tempos at 90s a lap you should be much faster for 10k. I almost wonder if part of it is that you get rests (and therefore cooldown time) in your interval work but not the race. Maybe try running some shorter races (less effected by the heat)

Your long runs are very quick compared to both your speed work and your race times. If you can do them easily that's fine (though again makes me wonder why your half marathon time isn't much better), if it's leaving you very tired you should slow it down some. I feel like your 10k time should be about 37 flat and your half marathon 1:21-1:23 for how fast your other training is.

abspandey wrote:

The other runners that match my ability with race times seem to log far lesser miles than me ( from their strava feed) . I love to run but it bothers me at times to not get the results comparable to the effort i put in.

You can't assume ability levels based on race times. I have not looked at the rest of this thread so maybe you are getting good advice. Just don't circle back to this because it is a false argument.

There is something missing in your training. Volume is not the only ingredient.

YMMV wrote:

The OP seems to have checked out, but for the benefit of others who might be overtraining in this way, I experimented with consistent high mileage (93 miles/week for 13 weeks at on point) and found I only went backwards above 50-55 miles.

In my mid-40s I ran 16:30s, 34:30s and 1:18 off of average mileage of 45-50 in base. My best events were 800-mile, where I was around 25-30 mpw during competition phase running consistently in the mid-4:40s for the mile and 2:10 or better for 800. If you are more of a fast-twitch runner, all those hard long miles will only beat you down, especially in a heat-stressed environment.

Some of us respond really well to heat stressed environments, from what I experienced, I am not one of those people. Humidity especially is awful, I didn't get hurt, but just felt run down a lot. I flirted with overtraining, and learned a lot. I only peaked at 45 mpw, but I am not a big mileage guy, still working up to that 50-60 realm. It was just the conditions that beat me down, you learn a lot about yourself training for a marathon in the summer. I enjoy the long runs and the training for it, but my next marathon cycle will come in late winter, early spring. I am beyond impressed by those who respond well to heat, props to ya.

Based on your racing results (esp your 15k), you are likely a slow twitch (ST) runner, assuming you're well trained. While I do think a slightly larger focus on speed is healthy, I think that speed will be the "icing on the cake" for you. The easy long run could go, it looks like you may overdoing it on the weekend, but I'm not convinced that it's the core problem.

I think that your training is great for a base phase, but it lacks specificity. The only time you do race pace work is once bi-weekly (and often on a treadmill); this will not get you race-ready. Periodization is key, and since you've been doing the above schedule for some time, it might make sense to pick a goal race to peak for, and then switch to a schedule for around 8-10 weeks where you focus on race pace. Your tempos will be shorter, you'll cut down on the amount of steady running, and in your workouts you'll focus on extending the duration of repeats at race pace, or decreasing the rest (though not both at the same time.)

Obviously you're not 25 anymore, so hitting race pace 2x/week has some mild injury risk associated with it. That said, I'm pretty confident that this is the problem you're facing, and if you periodized like this then you'd see big improvements. Finally, I'd like to congratulate you on consistently putting in the hard work, it takes dedication to hit doubles and to do those long, grinding runs. Don't blow up your training, you're closer than you think.

My biggest suggestion would be to get a coach. A coach will know how and when to vary the training for your specific needs. He/she will be able to set up the training so you can maximize your potential on race day vs leaving your performance in training. Following a plan vs just doing work is what will more than likely help you get to the level you want.

Your training don`t seem to have the ingredients that is necessary for fast improvement. I would advice you to get yourself an online top class running coach who knows exactly what to do. A coach that so far never have failed to improve all his runners.

Bump

I don’t think cutting miles will yield faster times.

However why do a 13 mile run on Saturday followed by a 15 mile plus run on Sunday?

I’d add a second day of speed work each week if I was you. As well as strides after most easy runs.

Just for academics, have you ever just once tried semi tapering before a race? Might be interesting if as some have said you may be tired running that schedule in that heat at your "age".