mature male (76) running 5k

DonLanger
DonLanger Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I have been running off and on for about 4 years, but am interested in getting better times in the 5k runs. I ran three this year, one was a 5k cross country, and the other a standard street run.
My times improved eith each race

43.24 on the cross country in july
42.14 oN THE AUGUST RIVERFEST 5K
41.14 On th turkey trot in november.

i have a 5k training route that i have dropped my time from 43 to 37.10 during the last month. I also started the 12 week training program on the treadmill and also some outside running here in Wisconsin.

My goal is to run the march 2016 5k in under 36 min


Replies

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Wow, fantastic!!!

    Well done already, and good luck with your goal!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    You are doing well. Keep feeling great B)
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    That... is awesome
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    That's inspiring. Makes me want to work harder to improve my 52 minute 5k :/
  • whatatime2befit
    whatatime2befit Posts: 625 Member
    Awesome!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Outstanding! I'm a few years behind you (59) but hope I'm still running into my '70s and beyond!
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Great job! It is never too late to start a new hobby. :)

    I would image the same advice applies to the mature runner as a younger one. Slow and steady runs while increasing your distance will help your performance in shorter races. My 5k times have been improving all year without any speed work (just training for longer distance races).

    Good luck.

    BTW - You have a few years to go to catch the lady in this picture. She finished the San Diego Marathon in May at the young age of 92. Harriette Thompson set the record for the oldest woman to ever finish a marathon. Below is a picture of her and I a day after the race. She looks much better than me (and I only did the HM). :)

    ouqq8scuq5j6.jpeg
  • DonLanger
    DonLanger Posts: 2 Member
    Congrats, keep up the exercise,
    That may be a future goal of mine
  • Cathscottage
    Cathscottage Posts: 75 Member
    Amazing story of the 92 year old. Np but if you want to speed up your 5 k time I would include some intervals on the track. Like run throughs but 80% of effort. See how that goes.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    Keep up the good work DonLanger! The most important thing is to avoid injury. I'm only 60 but I sure don't recover as fast as I used to.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    keep it up. and enjoy this beautiful weather we are having while it lasts
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    I started doing some speed work with a club last June, at the age of 59. Barely into the program, the coach had us do 15 second cutbacks the Thursday before a 5K on Saturday, starting at 1:30. That means, run hard for 1:30, run easy for 1:30, run hard for 1:15, run easy for 1:15, and so on down to 15 seconds. He had people doing the race 2 days later only do one set of these.

    I turned in a new PR 5K time the following Saturday. 6 months earlier, I'd run 20:03 and thought that was as good as I could do for a 5K. After the speed work, I ran 19:16. That remains my PR, but I did run 19:30 in a later 5K where I didn't need a PR but did need to break 20 minutes to beat my age group competition.

    I have become a big fan of a) light speed work a few days before a short race, and b) warming up for a 5K by doing an easy run of the entire course. If 5K is a stretch distance for you, b) might be too much; but I think of myself as a distance runner, and an extra 3 easy miles before a race isn't a big deal physically. What is a big deal, is getting very familiar with the end of the course so when I'm racing I know exactly how far it is to the finish line.

    My other thought is, if good 5K times are the goal make sure you're comfortable running 10K on easy runs. That will give you a base so that the 5K distance isn't a challenge and you can concentrate on running that distance hard for the race. (N.B. - if 5K is your distance, those easy 10K runs should be substantially slower than your 5K race pace. This is really important for avoiding injury.)
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    Let's see, according to runner's world's age grading calculator, you'd be running a 24:30 as an open runner (ie. an under 35 man). Long, slow miles are the way to go. 80% should be slow enough that you can hold a conversation. 20% a little faster. But you don't need any speedwork, you can pull it off with out ever stepping foot on a track :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    So great! My dad (age 72) just ran a Turkey Trot 5K and I am looking forward to running with him over Christmas.
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