Havent broke 16 mins in 5k whats the point?

i forgot to tell you....i wish I could run a sub 5k right now, i would be a happy man!!!! ENJOY!!

I MEANT TO SAY A SUB 30 IN THE 5K

I use to run...and then I got high. Now all I do is smoke the pots...because I got high. Don't run so much anymore...because I got high...because I got high...because I got high...because I got high.

former runner wrote:

I used to run in the low's 16's....and my pr is 15'19, I ran for 15 years and I was always unhappy and wants to quit..I never had fun. BIG MISTAKE. Now, years went by...I weight 270 pounds,( i was 145 ) and totally regret in not having fun, and not enjoyed more my running days. THEY WERE THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE!!!!! KEEP RUNNING, ENJOY, HAVE FUN! LIFE GOES BY FAST!!

Man dude...time for some weight loss. Doesn't need to be done with running or FOR running either...just find a way to do it...circuit training, WII Fit (or one of the WII fitness "games"), Orbitrek, healthier eating, etc.

I've had to lose 50 pounds before, so I know it's a challenge, but man, you've got 100 pounds to lose. Others have done it. Now YOU do it!

up your mileage a little

Omg that is bullshit , I run 16-10 with 40-50milles a week mostly tempos... did gym 6times a month, but if you are running 70milles and still can't break 16 that i suggest just start running with joy and don't compete for a while worked for Ryan Hall.. :)) also i don't have any natural speed 57 for 400m

I think the problem with mileage is that we think too much about it and not the quality. I always felt that I needed a certain amount and during my most active days as a runner ran about 60 a week (always took Sunday off) so 10 a day.

My best 400 then was about 58 and I almost never did speed. I was puzzled a bit because I was always pretty fast as a kid relative to others. So what was the problem?. It was the approach, ie. The Arthur Lydiard approach, LSD (Long Slow Distance)which my coach followed. I found it came to mean means long slow runners.

5 years after quitting running while in college just trying to get in sprinting shape for softball I went to the track. I had not run more than 100 yards at one time in years.

I spent a couple of days one week doing repeat 100's, about 10 and jogged or walked the curves.

The third workout I decided to try a 100 to see if I could get close to 60. I was flying and felt fabulous in the first 200 so I got a split time at the 200 and went on to finish the 400. The last 70 was torture. I ended up at 56 but what surprised me most was the 200 split was 23.5.

Ten minutes later I tried it again and had a 24.5 / 57.

Literally almost no running for 5 years and I was faster than when I was running 60 miles a week. Had I had any endurance my 400 i likely low 50s.

What is the difference? Obviously too much running at 90 seconds pace per quarter and not enough at faster paces and sprinting.

If you want to run fast, then run fast, and often! Mix a lot more speed work into your routine and I bet you break 16 easily.

thanks man...it is hard when you sell cars..and have to raise 3 kids..with 1 income, which is 100% comission...BUT I GOT THE POINT.

odelltrclan,

You have a reasonable point. To run fast you need to run fast, a lot. Why do you hide it under garbage?

You did not think too much about mileage, you only ran 60 mpw. You did not do anything related to Lydiard training if you only ran slow distance.

with that time and running D3 i hope you are a freshman right? i run d1 by the way , maybe that should be your goal

I too was a frustrated 5K runner in college:

soph (50-70 mpw) - 16:15

senior (50 to 75 mpw during track, 70-110 off season) - 16:14

What the heck? I felt like giving up and a lot of people were saying just that: give it up, you suck.

25 (70-80 mpw) - 15:28

27 (50 mpw [but 70+ during winter], after years of good base, shifted to quality focused training) - 15:13

I'm 32. I upped to 70 miles a week for 10 straight weeks this summer. 6 days a week / many doubles. Mostly easy running with one hard session and many run-to-the-barns at the end of my longer runs. I sort of followed the Malmo plan. After racing two weeks ago - this type of increase in mileage and training did nothing for me. I was hoping for a PR and came 5 seconds behind my old PR of 18:09. However, I've been running for only a year and half - so maybe my best running is still ahead of me.

In comparison.....

I know a guy in his late 30's who rarely hits 60 miles per week. Looking at his running log, he tops out at 45-50 most of the time. He just does a lot of high intensity interval work on the track: 16x200's (he never breaks 30 seconds!), ladders, mile repeats. NO TEMPOS. He's close to sub-16, which is VERY respectable for someone post-30.

I think everybody has there sweet spot...mine certainly has not been the high mileage route...

Roll-O-Plane wrote:

I'm 32. I upped to 70 miles a week for 10 straight weeks this summer. 6 days a week / many doubles. Mostly easy running with one hard session and many run-to-the-barns at the end of my longer runs. I sort of followed the Malmo plan. After racing two weeks ago - this type of increase in mileage and training did nothing for me. I was hoping for a PR and came 5 seconds behind my old PR of 18:09. However, I've been running for only a year and half - so maybe my best running is still ahead of me.

I think everybody has there sweet spot...mine certainly has not been the high mileage route...

Let me get this straight... You've been running for around 80 weeks and after 10 weeks at 70 mpw, one race that's 5s off your PR was enough to conclude that "high mileage" wasn't for you.

Give it some time. Your 32 year old body is still adjusting to it's second year of running. Faster times will come.

Just have fun with it. I was never top 7 in high school and all of the varsity guys on my team who ran low to sub 16s are all fat and don't run anymore. I'm one of the few who went on to run in college (because I enjoyed running so much) and continue to be one of two who run significant mileage. Looks like I won in the long run. Plus you're D3--it's not that big of a deal.

To break 16

There are so many things I could write here that may help you. Any one could be key or hold you back. So I'll pick just one. Recalibrate your brain's speedometer. 16:00 is not your speedometer red line. Your best 400 speed is. Seriously. Tell yourself "Okay, this 400 is 100% speed." Run an all-out 400. "Got it? That was 100%. Now I'm going to show you my 5K run speed I want to do. It's not 100%, so you can't make my heart explode. It's only x %, so it's okay. It will just be tough after the 2 mile mark. But that'll just be fatigue. So help me do it. don't hold me back."

And if you can find some soft pine trails to run on, I think it would help you calibrate your ears to the sound of wind whistling in them, and your eyes to the trees flashing by.

FogRunner

High School,2nd year of running: 57 400

Freshman College: 4:36 Mile, 10:00 2-mile

Age 20-30: Ran many 1 hour runs for fun, biked, swam. Rarely raced.

Age 35: 16:04 5Km road, 15:20 3 Mile road

Age 48: Saturday 5K 17:10, next day Sunday 5K 16:41

Age 48-50: Numerous 1.5 mile runs in the 7:40 range

Straight up, don't quit. Get your big boy pants on, do a little thinking, and get on your horse.

From the the sound of it everyone is encouraging you to do the same. You don't want to be 50yrs old, watch a young kid run and be like "What if?".

You are still faster than 99% of the population. Just enjoy these times. When you become a masters runner 16 minutes will look pretty damn good. Beside you are running D3 and its not like you are the center of attention. Stick it out and remember the few good times you had. Try running a 4:00 1500.

RUN MORE! bump your mileage up to 100 mpw. I did that and went from 17 to 1517.