Can I run faster at 34 than 17?

Are you 34 like your title says or 27 like your post body says?

Anyway, really depends on how close you were to your potential when you were 17. I'd say it's probably pretty achievable if you train smart and have an inkling of talent. Sub 60 and 2:14 aren't crazy difficult, sub 60 is probably harder because it requires a bit of speed.

Probably the biggest and best thing you can do is dedicate one day a week or every 10 days to speed development. Warm up 1 or 2 miles. Do 10–15 minutes of plyometrics. Quality over quantity. Like, do skips for 5 seconds, rest 55 seconds. You want to be doing these at max effort. Then run 4x40m with 3–5 min rest between reps. This should feel like nothing compared to 800 workouts—that's the goal. It's hard in that it's a neuromuscular coordination challenge, it's not hard because you're exhausting yourself.

Sorry, stupid title. I just turned 27, but I'm not expecting to hit my peak anytime soon considering I've not trained properly in years. I said 34 because I assumed I'd peak around then or slightly earlier.

Thanks for the speed tips. Could these be combined with a regular run, or best to do them on what would otherwise be a day off?

Yes.

Ehhh, I'd do neither. My schedule for 800 training during the base building phase was like this for a while:

Mon: AM: Speed PM: Short jog + lift
Tue: Tempo/threshold reps
Wed: Easy + strides
Thur: More threshold or hills or Vo2Max reps
Fri: Easy + strides
Sat: Something more specific, harder hills or track reps + lifts
Sun: Off, I usually ran 6 days/week

I like the lift on the same day as the speed day. I don't know if it's scientifically sound, but that's pretty much a dedicated speed day and if I did a regular easy run I wouldn't get the same benefits. Definitely don't replace your off day with a speed day. The speed day is indeed very taxing, it's just not taxing in a way that you're used to.

Assuming you are under 200 lbs., the average 27-year-old should be able to get around 14:40-16:10 with some targeted training. You've got a background in running, so you might be able to dip down to the lower end of that range.

Made me laugh, 8/10

If you enjoy specific training over just putting in mileage for general fitness, that’s what you should do.

Thanks man. Going to run 6 miles easy today and lift. Will do the speed tomorrow morning.

Alternatively could swap the 6 miler and the speed, but probably won't make a lot of differnece.

I've started building towards this, based on input:

Mon: 6mi easy, gym (upper body), 1mi easy

Tue: 400m session (8*100m, 4*200m, or similar - long rest), 3mi warm up/cool down

Wed: 6mi easy, gym (lower body), 1mi easy

Thu: 800m session (8*200m, 4*400m, or similar - shorter rest), 3mi warm up/cool down

Fri: 6mi easy, gym (upper body), 1mi easy

Sat: Off

Sun: 3mi tempo, 3mi warm up/cool down

With the alactic sprints built in after an easy run or speed session once a week (not sure when else to fit them in), and strides incorporated into most runs

Comes to about 35mpw. Thoughts? Could add in 5 easy miles on Sat to make it 40, but not sure if it's needed really.

Generally looks good.

I would rotate some hills and VO2 max work in there. I don't think you need a 400 specific and an 800 specific session every single week.

For the speed stuff, it's not just something you tack on after an easy run. It's your workout for the day, treat it like it is. Lots of runners don't feel comfortable having a day of training where you only run 4x40m, but trust me, it'll make a difference. You can progress it after a bit. Do like, 4x30, then maybe 4x40, 4x50, 3x60, 3x40 + 2x120, 3x40 + 1x200, etc. Take LOTS of rest between these reps. The rule of thumb for max velocity work is 1 minute for every 10m of running.

Also, you say "strides incorporated into most runs". Do you mean you do strides in the middle of your easy run? I know some longer distance runners will do that, makes sense if you're a marathoner and you just need to touch on speed a tiiiiny bit. If you're trying to run 400/800, you can't really do strides like that. Your strides should be after your run, ideally with some drills before. Run ~100m. Casually walk back, stand around for a minute or two if you want, repeat anywhere from 2–6 times, depending on how you're feeling and what you've got going on.

Thank you. I meant the latter re. strides (I absolutely hate doing them in the middle of a run). I'll do the speed as it's own workout. I actually experimented with doing this when I was about 22, so I can pick it back up again.

Have been training well this last week. Wanted to ask how close to my 400/800 potential I could get with 5y of good training between age 27 and 32? Considering my previous background (solid training 11-18, very haphazard training 18-27), would this get me to (say) 95% of where I would have been without the haphazard training?

I guess it doesn't really matter, because I'd like to do the training anyway, but it'd be nice to know that the 8y of haphazard training hasn't drained my potential too much.

Hi, i plan on doing a similiar thing. Want to move down from 5K/10K to 400/800 because i like it more. Problem is i never trained any pure speed in my life and to be somewhat competitive i would need to get to ~52 for 400, which means an 8s improvement for me.
For base plan on doing
Sprint (4X50 maxspeed 5min) or 6x10s hills 2x/week, plyos and lift after
1 Tempo (10-12K @ Half in reps)
1 Longer (20K easy or Marathon paced reps)
Pre season a vo2 block and true threhshold block (session will replace the tempo @ half)
In season replace tempo and longrun with event specific workouts

I did a 400/800 block as a 38 year old last year. I was surprised by how much speed came back. 400 is harder than 800. I was doing 2 days of max speed work. One day of hill sprints, one day of 100m efforts in addition to two workouts.

Absolutely.

You’ll have no problem running a faster 5k. That said, the shorter the race, the more being young helps.

If you're new to this type of max speed work, I would do it only once every 7-10 days to start. It's sneaky work. It might make you very sore the first few times, after that it won't. BUT, it is still very taxing—it fries your central nervous system. Even after you're used to it, I rarely see professionals do more than 1 pure speed development day a week. Instead they sprinkle in little sessions. Instead of doing "regular" strides after an easy run, say 4x100m @ mile down to ~400 pace, you might do half of your regular plyo session and then 3x60m acceleration, making sure you're getting just about to max speed the last 10 meters. The idea is that you just constantly touch on top speed, almost every day, and it slowly gets faster and more relaxed.

I had similar track times as a 16 year old and beat those times as a 26-28 year old. Basic strength and plyo training and general running helped me get there. I was very weak as a HS student (40 lb lat pull down, 60 lb bench) but probably more aerobically developed than you were.

I don't recall doing specific track workouts. Hills, fartlek, and again general fitness helped me improve.