I just ran my only race of the year. I had been training reasonably well I guess considering this is year 2 of running after getting horribly out of shape for the past 20 years. I ran 22:50 and felt good. It was very windy and it was a hilly course. So that was a good time for me. I battled shin splints and you can see my training was not consistent as a couple times I had to cut miles. Unfortunatly I had to cut back for the 3 weeks before the race. Next year I'll be 40 and finally at an age group and skill level where I can be somewhat competitive (not in big races mind you but at least in the mix in small ones). I weigh in at 210-212 or so on a proper scale. I could bring that down to about 190-195 which I think would gain me almost 1 minute. Maybe a bit less. I ran 15-30 miles per week this past season. I think I can safely get to about 40 miles per week next year... which I think will gain me almost 1 minute. Maybe a bit less. So I'm guessing a goal for next season of under 21:00 is reasonable. Any comments on that guess? I don't know if sub-20 is really possible. I'm guessing I'd have to get to 50+ miles per week for that and then only after a month of speedwork. And I'm not sure I can build to that skill level yet. But the thought of a pace in the "6's" sounds cool to this old fat guy. So I think I'm going to consider that under 21:00 is my goal for next season. That will be year 3 of the plan. Maybe sub 20 is year 4? Year 1: under 28:00 ... done Year 2: under 23:00 ... done Year 3: ??? under 21:00 Year 4: ??? under 20:00 I'm just reflecting on the end of this running season and daydreaming about goals and thinking about training plan/program for 2009. So any comments on getting from Point B (year 2) to Point C (Year 3) are welcome.

Thanks. Yeah, I know 15 pound loss should be possible. Now that I am backing off on miles for a few weeks I'm hitting the elipticals and working on burning some fat. I'll probably never get under 185 no matter what I do... that's what I weighed at age 16 when I ran in the 17's (5k). And I'm not totally set on running exclussive of other things. I'm also going to be hitting the weight room a bit and that's not going to help the weight loss much. I like to set a goal I know I can get if I work hard. So I'm going with 21:00. I know it is just a number but since you use 5k time for a reference during training it is of some use. I find myself looking forward to the next season. But now I've got to do the hard part... dropping a few pounds. I'll say this much though. You are running the times I want to be running and you are a little older than me. So basically you are what I aspire to be as a runner! So hopefully that makes you feel good even though you are not seeing major improvements anymore. And I'll be pulling for you to break 20:00.