Sub 5 after 50?

One I forgot to add (ironically one that I actually did) was/is Sub 1 hour for 40k TT! But you are right in that the sub 2 hour olympic is probably the hardest. Closest I ever came was 10:30, I give up the most in the swim.

Nice work! I haven't been running with anyone else lately, but like Proftrain said, teammates help and I've recently been messaging with some other local runners that I'm hoping to run some with. They have a USATF certified mile loop they train and race on.

Decided to enter a 5k this Saturday and it was a good wakeup call to realize how much work I have ahead of me! 6:20 and 6:24 for the first two mile and with the two leaders through halfway and then the wheels came off and I finished with a 7:33 3rd mile... Watched from a distance as the two leaders turned early and shorted the course, so didn't have anyone to chase over the final mile, but also had a heart rate in the mid 190's so probably couldn't have run any faster.

Just a quick update. Raced a 5k evening of my 49th birthday in 90 degree weather, so not ideal conditions and ran a 20:11. Several weeks later raced a 5k and thought for sure I would be faster, but turns out I had influenza so I was slower and also ended up with a case of rhabdomyolysis which set me back a bit! I was only able to start running again after 6 days off, 8 days out from the Macklind Mile in STL I was signed up for, a USATF certified mile race that is downhill. Ended up with a 5:26 mile. I'm definitely realizing I have my work cut out for me!

The funny thing is, out for a 5k run, increasing speed each km, on the last km I feel like I’m sprinting but a look at my watch tells me I’m not even close to my average training pace 10years prior 🤣 (62 now).

keep training but don’t feel bad if you can’t cut off that last 15 secs or so to get to 5:00.

Downhill mile and carbon shoes? Sure it's possible

At the moment. your 5K times, even factoring in the high temperature, are kind of slow for hoping to run sub-5. However, don't worry about training and racing in suboptimal conditions: when the temperature will drop in the fall your times will dramatically improve and maybe, by then you'll be close to sub-5 shape.

I've love the idea of going for sub 5 at 50 and have had it on my radar for about 20 years now. I still have 2 more years to go before I join in this quest.

Right now I'm base training for a good 5K in the fall. I figure if I can maintain 5K ability to a reasonable level (e.g. 16:45-17:15) for the next couple of years I'll be in good shape for the sub 5 at 50 attempt.

You do have your work cut out for you, but keep working on that 5K. I think it will help a lot towards the mile goal.

Go time trial a 400. If you can run low 60's, then it's possible.

Great effort. But you may find the only way you achieve your goal and knock those 26 secs off is TRT. A lot of seniors are using it now as prescriptions have gone through the roof.

Since turning 50+ have attempted something like the above, although now getting a bit too old.

2:54, 2:58 marathon (50 and 59)

Sub 1:20 half a bunch of times (maybe 8-10), half is probably my best distance

split 59:50 10 mile in a half a few years ago (so unofficial)

Only 35:43 in 10K

17:01 5K road 17:08 on the track

5:00.8 for the mile (more or less solo, in fact one race the 20 somethings were drafting of me and refused to set the pace!).

2:29:20, 2:29:40 for 50K XC ski (and did it at 50 and 55)

60s now and trying to break 3 for marathon (gotta dream)

Per the OP it's a matter of putting it all together, volume, getting in the right workouts at the right time, and paying special attention to the little stuff (drills-stretching, etc.), diet, and recovery/sleep. We have seen guys 50+ and 60+ runners just kill it (Dan King, Pete Magill, Brian Pilcher, Gene Dykes, Jacob Nur).

What's the equivalent of sub5 at 50 for a 60-year-old? I don't think I could do it, but if I can handle some work towards 6:00 I might try my try to the last sub 6 in my life. I ran 5:37 on a treadmill a few years ago and kind of frolicked a 30 sec 200 at an all-comers meet. Maybe I can still hit 30 with some training. I am a Clydesdale and got to 21.1x for a road 5k about then, 56 years old I think, probably about 20.30 track equivalent, 5k is definitely the end of any range. I'll probably never seriously try to make 5k fitness again.
My current opinion is that I don't want to lose that much weight ever again. My opinions change a lot.

According to WMA calculator 5:26 at 60 is about equal to 5:00 at 50.

Thanks. CM.

Hmmmm....Splitting hairs, I know, but I would have thought more like a 5:30-5:35. Got down to a 5:08 in my early 50s but couldn't break 5:45 now at 63.

I ran 4:49 full mile at age 49 and 4:59 at age 51, but was running sub 18 for 5k at the time. I don’t think a 20 minute 5k suggests that you have a shot at 5:00. It also depends on your previous times when younger.. If you were a sub 4:30 miler in high school, you’d have a better chance to get to 5:00 shape. You would know what it takes and how it feels…

I think a 5:00 at age 37 is worth 5:31 at 50, and a 5:00 at 50 is worth a 4:32 at 37.

Can you run close to 17 min 5K? That is what 5 min mile is equivalent to. You will be surprised how high correlated those 2 times are.

I ran 4 flat in my prime and 4:30 at age 34 but couldn’t dip under 5 in my forties.
I did run 17:30 for 5 k at age 40 and probably could have run sub 5 in a race but heading to a track in practice.

Could run 6 flat maybe at 50, but I only run occasionally. No regular running anymore.

I think the heavy running in my twenties ruined my legs for any steady training after that.

A year has passed, turning 50 in 9 days! Not sure how close I am if I were to run a timed mile, but at the start of this year we had a "fitness competition" at work which included weight loss and I lost close to 30 lbs getting down to the low 150's. Did a track workout yesterday, didn't think a whole lot about it, but then discovered yesterday afternoon that according to Strava I ran a 19:46 5k in the middle of my track workout, so that included multiple 200m recovery jogs! I'll be running a timed mile 1 week after my 50th birthday, so I have a firm date for my first attempt and then 6 and a half months following to lower my time. 5:14 gets me a Missouri State record, but going to fight to get under 5... Am signed up for the Macklind Mile in June and then will likely do a timed/certified mile in July, so monthly tests coming up!

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