Found my PRs from almost 20 years ago -- and I've beat one! (Read 841 times)

I'm on my second career as a runner -- I ran in my early 20s, like an untrained early-20 year old runs. Which is to say, not too smartly. But I enjoyed it, until I could ignore the chronic injuries no more. I started up again at 38, older and wiser, and am still mostly injury-free. Almost all the races I ran in my 20s were with the NY Road Runners Club, as I lived in NYC at the time. After my HM this weekend, I got curious about whether I'd beat my 22 year old self, so I went to their website, and damn if you can't search by name going back to 1987 -- there were all my race results! 5K: May, 1990, the L'Eggs Mini-Marthon Tune-Up Race (LOL, remember when it was L'Eggs? Remember when we wore pantyhose?), 26:58. My current 5k PR? 26:18. (okay, well, the 1990 time would be gun time, since we didn't have no stinking chips in 1990. Still, it's damn close) 10k: May, 1992, Advil Mini-Marathon (two years later, and L'Eggs was already out as the sponsor), 53:39. Current 10K PR is 54:56 (although again, that's chip timed), so I'm close. HM: September, 1990, 1:57:00. I knew I had a sub-2:00 finish, although not by much (although I had remembered a different race as my HM PR, but I was 2:02 in that one!). Yesterday's HM was 1:58:56 chip time, 2:00:16 gun time. Close again! What's odd is how little my pace varied between these different distances -- my 5k pace was 8:41/mile, and my HM pace was 8:55/mile. I guess I just had one speed, and I ran it. I'm happy to see how close I am to these times, and they have given me a new goal for the year: beat my 21-23 year old self. This can be done.

I ran a 5K on Superbowl Sunday, and the top three finishers were from the men's 40-49 AG. The winner is 44, and came in with a 5:15 pace. I have to laugh because I was seventh in the AG, but would have been third in the 20-29. Great stuff Anne. Best of luck beating your twenty year old self, and any of the current twenty somethings too! Go Masters!

I'll be 40 soon. And just when I was trying to get somewhat competitive in 30-39... I have to move up in class to the tougher 40-49. Seriously though I have noticed more often than not the 40's beat the 30's. Like me I think a lot of people wake up at age 38 and say "gee I have 2 years to right the ship and get in shape for 40". When you were as out of shape as I was and raising little kids, it seems like 3-4 years are needed. In the big races that bring out competitive runners though of course the 20's and 30's guys are blazing fast. Way to go AnneCA. I dream of beating my PRs from when I was 16. I don't think it'll ever happen but it would be nice to get close.

Anne........that is really cool.... And this is absolute proof that your not getting older, your getting better.........

Anne: That is awesome! You'd really smash those times if you ran them through one of those age grading calculators.