Sub-20 5k or bust!

At this rate you are only a week away, Congrats. Also if you can run 12mph thats like 15:40 pace so maybe in 2 or 3 weeks for that goal.

LMAO I wish!

I think it will be great if I can get to 23 mins in a few weeks. Hope to run 3x per week.

Today: 24:45, felt much better, after only 3 workouts.

Only 4:45 to go!! Lol

Early gains are fun. So much for 3x per week, have been too busy.

Today 23:58, in 4th workout.

Early gains continue, could have gone faster today, and felt better.

Camping trip coming up for a week, will try to get in 1 more workout before I go.

The pace of improvement is fun, I’m pretty sure most of it is just remembering how to run. Today was much easier, it was actually even enjoyable.

I just realized that I have been doing only 1 workout per week, if that. I will tey to bump that up to 2x per week, I am sure the week camping won’t do me any favors.

Also, I think that the course I am running might be long. I will check with the local course measuring guy, I think there is an almost straight point-to-point 5k right close to where I am, with start and finish actually marked.

Or just sign up for an actual race. Running with a bunch of other people will probably knock a good chunk of time off as well.

Of all the unbelievable threads on LRC this is the one that I least believe.

How much does the Geezer weigh? Will Geezer be dropping any weight to break 20 minutes? How old is the Geezer? Does the Geezer still sprint? Will the Geezer resort to PEDs? Does the Geezer have a history of this, let us say a 17 minute best, for instance?

Only a sprinter would try to meet a time goal by running that race distance over and over again as workouts. My prediction is he’s already run his best times and will only go downhill as the toll of 5k races pile up on him, and when ineveitably his sprint times slow because he abandoned all the work that got him fast in the first place and ran slowly and inconsistently for a few months, he’ll blame the mileage or “distance” training for it.

Take some testosterone pills. You seem to really believe in its effects.

At your stage, getting faster is not about aerobic development so much as developing efficient form. A sprinter should already be well-tuned to their range of motion, balance, proprioception, equilibrium, and so forth. It's a simple thing to teach an already-developed nervous system some new movements, though it might not be easy; kind of like an adult learning a foreign language. But if you're trying to get from 26 to sub 20, it might be your only shot other than losing weight including muscle mass.

I'm in the same boat as sprint geezer basically

Did 6x800m with 2:00 rest in 3:12 average today. Felt damn tough but it wasn't all out. Remember reading somewhere sprintgeezer has run some pretty damn good times for 100m-400m or something, all he should need is some aerobic work and 6:20's will indeed feel like a jog for him

Bad Wigins wrote:

At your stage, getting faster is not about aerobic development so much as developing efficient form. A sprinter should already be well-tuned to their range of motion, balance, proprioception, equilibrium, and so forth. It's a simple thing to teach an already-developed nervous system some new movements, though it might not be easy; kind of like an adult learning a foreign language. But if you're trying to get from 26 to sub 20, it might be your only shot other than losing weight including muscle mass.

Hmmm, makes me wonder how much aerobic capacity is needed to go 20 mins at my weight with reasonable running efficiency. My guess is not much, because if I did a warmup I would probably be 22- or maybe 21-something, on no real dedicated aerobic running work. I have been cycling and rowing, but no running.

Losing weight is not going to happen, I am 177 and lean, don’t want to lose muscle mass. I am counting on efficiency and aerobic gains, and learning how to go harder for longer.

Also,it’s not from 26 minutes, it’s from 28:30!

That 28:30 was an honest effort, a true baseline after zero distance running forever.

My 400’s were never great, I didn’t like the pain. To me, 400 is the shortest middle distance.

There should be no pain while sprinting!!

Distancegeezer wrote:

Only a sprinter would try to meet a time goal by running that race distance over and over again as workouts. My prediction is he’s already run his best times and will only go downhill as the toll of 5k races pile up on him, and when ineveitably his sprint times slow because he abandoned all the work that got him fast in the first place and ran slowly and inconsistently for a few months, he’ll blame the mileage or “distance” training for it.

Take some testosterone pills. You seem to really believe in its effects.

T is the one thing I don’t need, thankfully. I have too much for my own good.

Running that workout is convenient for me, which is why I do it—but of course you are correct, I will probably only be getting the most out of what I have rather than significantly developing more capacity.

But I think that if I increase to 2x per week, there will be some capacity gain.

So far I feel no “toll” from a weekly 5k.

Kyoto wrote:

How much does the Geezer weigh? Will Geezer be dropping any weight to break 20 minutes? How old is the Geezer? Does the Geezer still sprint? Will the Geezer resort to PEDs? Does the Geezer have a history of this, let us say a 17 minute best, for instance?

5’10” / 177lbs.

Not going to lose weight.

53-1/2 yrs old.

No competitive sprinting, 2 “real” sprint workouts over the last 2 years.

No PED’s, I like my organs the way they are: healthy.

Did 18:30 treadmill maybe 10 years ago, did 10:00 2-mile in HS with room to spare so maybe 16:00 3-mile shape 35 years ago, if that means anything.

UA Runner wrote:

Or just sign up for an actual race. Running with a bunch of other people will probably knock a good chunk of time off as well.

Maybe, but I don’t think that I need to—but that might change if I stall out above 20

Dkdonkeykong wrote:

Of all the unbelievable threads on LRC this is the one that I least believe.

Clearly, you haven’t read many LRC threads!

When I just saw the thread on what times are respectable at 50, I was wondering what kinds of times guys in my age group run at the big local 5k’s.

So I looked, and I’m a bit shocked. At a recent Valentine’s day 5k here, 10th overall was 20:26, winner went 18:06. Please tell me that’s an exceptionally slow race.

M50-54 was won in 23:02. In my current crap form, I could have medaled in my age group...and maybe won, if I ever did a warmup.

So I looked at what I think is the marquee local 5k: overall winner 15:12; M50-54 won in 18:53, bronze in 21:32, 10th in 24:35.

Seriously? In my current shape I could have come maybe 5th, certainly top-10.

WTF. I was wondering why the poster upthread thought this thread was unbelievable.

Is everybody really that slow, except for the tiny handful of people who actually care, apparently all of whom post here at LRC? I read here about guys my age going 15, and I think yeah, 15-16 is what the fast geezers everywhere should be doing, some time faster than I could ever achieve.

No wonder thousands of people do these races, it makes them feel better about themselves—speaking of which, I am mow seriously entertaining the idea of doing a race once I get in any kind of shape—and if I can actually break 20, I will be near the very top of age group...and it won’t be long until I bump up to the next one.

I am shocked. Distance people seem so dedicated, they put in so many miles, so much time—apparently only to end up slow, like me. By comparison, sprinters are total slackers. Surely ex-elites can still smoke anybody in their age group, or is this some ability that you just lose with age no matter what?

I am shocked.

To the disbelieving poster: I get it now.

Next goal: sub-23. Have a cold now, will try an easy jog tomorrow, next 5k in a week-and-a-half.