Runners! I need your advice/opinions please!

I'm not an expert runner, but I run on occasion and do it for enjoyment. So the first question you should ask yourself is "Why?" You need to know what you hope to gain by "placing" in a 5K first in order to come up with a solid plan.

In a 5K, it is too long for a sprint - I understand your 8 min. mile sprint... I have difficulty pacing myself, so end up going way too fast, so I can maybe go the first mile in 6:30-7:00 and then end up having to slow down because I wore myself out too much early on... so my average will still end up much higher. If you are training for a 5K, upping your mileage progressively is the first step. But to be honest, 5K's are short enough that anybody could complete it, it is just a question of speed. Some really fast people will be there that you can't beat no matter what and others will be slower. The attendance for a 5K is enormous and there is always huge variety of speed and ability at a 5K.

I didn't start running until I was about your age, and I understand it would take years even at a much more active training plan before I can achieve the goals I want to achieve (again, not sure what you are trying to achieve, but I'm looking for endurance - eventually want to be able to do ultras... hope to do a 100-miler before I'm 40). If winning a 5K is your end goal and you don't really want to do anything after that, then you will need to train for a few years because the competition has been training for years too. If you have another goal beyond the 5K, then you may be less interested in winning, depending on what that goal is. My first 5K was at 30:00 (yes, exactly.. what a coincidence, eh?), when I was heavier and more out of shape. I was ok with that and moved on towards the real goal (which I'm still working on). If I had focused on trying to win a 5K, I would spend years working on sprinting 3.1 miles instead of the shorter distances I'm able to do today; and that would be counter-productive to my end goal that requires endurance.

I'm hoping my examples / experience will help, but the first thing you should figure out is what your end goal is... the point where you will you say "I'm done, I achieved all that I wanted!" and then will not seek to achieve more (in my case, I might do more ultras when I get there, but not interested in an achievement beyond that... just maintaining that level of fitness is all).

I didn't start really running until I was 35/36. You definitely are not too old. Two weeks might be a little short for training, but honestly it's only 3 miles if you have to do a run/walk you should be able to finish it. I wouldn't set any time goals for a race with that short of training though. I'd start trying to run 3-4 times a week and increase your distance gradually. So if you are running a mile and a half now then push it to 2 miles for 2 of the runs and 1 1/2 for the other 2. Then bump to 2 1/2 in a couple weeks and then 3 in a couple more. You can also search for couch to 5K plans, but honestly I'm bad about following them. I just kind of listen to my body and do my own thing with that. I wouldn't work on speed until you can comfortably run 3 miles or better, but once you can do that you can start doing speed workouts. There's tons of options out there for speed workouts. Just google speed workouts - you can do fartleks, yassos, 1/4 mile repeats, etc. I would not work on speed though until you can run 3 miles comfortably or you risk injuring yourself trying to both at the same time. Good luck with your running adventures!

blueeyez939 wrote: »

Am I to old to actually have a chance at placing in future races (maybe like next year) if I keep training all winter? I mean, I know there are plenty of people much older than me running 5ks in under 20min.... But I assume they have likely been running since high-school? Right? I mean, is it irrational for me to think that I might have a chance next spring if I work hard all winter at my age and current fitness level? Or is that actually doable? Lol and if it is doable, how do I get there from my current state of running a mile a day in around 8min?

I started running when I was about 26 or 27 (2.5 miles of jogging about 3 times a week) though I was only doing it for fitness and didn't race till I was 29 (a half marathon; by that stage I had built up to about 30 miles per week, all at a conversational pace). Now I am 34 and have run 3 sub-3-hour marathons. My PR for 5k is sub 18 minutes. I think raw speed is something you develop in high school, and I kind of wish I had, as my sprint finish is rubbish, but starting late has its advantages too as you will peak later and can perform well throughout your 30s.

As to whether you can win races by next year, it really depends on the races and the quality of the field.

The big races here have age group placements. Chances are the older you are the less competition you will have.

Nice to hear how you have discovered the joys of running. I find the local running people to be very supportive.

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

now I'm routinely racing half marathons and marathons because I find 5K a bit unsatisfying.

I like to race half marathons and marathons because I find 5k way too difficult!

There are a lot of races out there with a lot of different level runners. The important thing is to just get out and do some. I didn't start running until I was in my fifties. At 56 I've placed in a few runs for my age group. I just shoot for sub 30 minute runs and if I achieve that I am happy whether I win anything or not. My best effort this summer was a 26 minute 5K. I did win first place in that one.

I recently ran a world class 5K. The winners in their 70's were under 25 minutes. Needless to say I didn't win anything at that race. It was fun to run with 1200 other runners so it was still a win for me.

You should focus on competing against yourself, not others.

If you can do a mile in 8 minutes, competitive runners in your age group will be about twice as fast as you--just tune into the Olympics to see how amazing they are. Don't let this discourage you though, you already know all the reasons that you run the pace you do and they run the pace they do. Instead of worrying about how fast others are going or whether or not you will win a race, try to be a better runner today than you were yesterday. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

The first time I got into running I think I was about your age. I started from never running at all, but spending lots and lots of time on the elliptical, to doing my PR 5k time of 22:50 in less than a year (I even placed in my age group in a couple of local 5ks). I got out of it for a few years, due to some injuries and then losing my motivation/mojo, but I'm back at it now, (I'm 33) and so far I'm back to around a 28:30 5k, but I'm working to get that old time back. So yes, it is totally doable. Just make sure you train smart. Don't try to push too hard, too fast, and don't increase your mileage too quickly.

Also, I will tell you that you will gain faster 5k times by running longer distances/longer periods of time, not by just running 5k distances all the time as fast as you can. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. You don't need to worry about running everything fast, just start increasing the distance or length of time you're running for, at an easy-ish pace, to slowly increase your overall monthly mileage, and you'll see improvements in your 5k time.

I would maybe recommend doing some research on training plans as well, this would give you some guidelines on how to structure your workouts so that you can move from where you are now, to hitting competitive 5k times. Hal Higdon and Jeff Galloway are a couple that come to mind, off the top of my head.

I agree with what everyone else has been saying-you can definitely do this! Running a 5k odds pretty straight forward. You just take that first step and keep going until you get to the finish line. Running a 5k fast is something else, but definitely doable if you have a good plan. I think it's a function of two things: endurance and speed. I would start just piling on the miles. Start small and work your way up to where 3 miles doesn't seem like anything. Once every week or two I would do a speed day either at a closed track or a measured one mile course. Run all out fast intervals (shorter repetitions) to find out just what you're capable of and then set your 5k target to be 110-125% of your maximum pace. Most importantly, have fun!