Goal of sub 20 5k (Read 13664 times)

I heart Jeff!!

Holy crap, I actually PR'd in a race this evening, running a 5 miler in 33:15. I haven't PR'd in a race in 3 years. 200+ mile months seem to be paying off!

Great job, Jim!

Holy crap, I actually PR'd in a race this evening, running a 5 miler in 33:15. I haven't PR'd in a race in 3 years. 200+ mile months seem to be paying off!

Nice run, Jim Yes, those 200+ mile months do make a difference! There's a cumulative affect too. This could be just the beginning of bigger and better things to come.

You can't really use calories to accurately judge effort. You burn roughly the same number of calories running one mile in 5:00 as you do running it in 10:00, or walking for that matter. Cal/mile is constant (other than being a function of your weight). Cal/minute, on the other hand, varies with how fast you are going. The reason is that although you burn calories at a higher rate when you are running fast, you spend more time to complete the same distance when running slower. So it equals out. Example (using my current weight of 190lb). Case 1: equal distance 3.1 miles run at 6:00/mi --> 446 Cal (total time 18:38, burn rate of 23.9 Cal/min) 3.1 miles run at 9:00.mi --> 446 Cal (total time 27:58 burn rate of 16.0 Cal/min) Case 2: Equal time running 20 minutes run at 6:00/mi --> 3.33 miles run --> 479 Cal (burn rate of 23.9 Cal/min) 20 minutes run at 9:00/mi --> 2.22 miles run --> 319 Cal (burn rate of 16.0 Cal/min)

Yea I know what you are saying. However, I think my Garmin factors in elevation change. If I run between a 6:00 and a 7:00 per mile pace on flat ground it will always register 122-124 calories. If I run very hard(Below a 6:00 mile) on flat ground or uphill then it will register 125 or even 126 calories. However, if I run downhill it will always register below 120. When I ran that 4:55 mile is registered only 109 calories. I don’t think the Garmin is accurate in telling me how many calories I have actually burned. However, the calorie numbers have consistently corresponded to the amount of effort I am putting in. That is just my experience. Your mileage may vary.

Nice run, Jim Yes, those 200+ mile months do make a difference! There's a cumulative affect too. This could be just the beginning of bigger and better things to come.

Hey Jim, do you remember when I suggested(on cool runnings) that you would be in the 38:XX 10K club before you knew it? Your response was pretty skeptical about even getting into the low 39s. Now look what you have done! Great job with that run! I am hoping for a break through race like that this weekend. You gotta love beating a Pr by minutes instead of seconds!

Hey Jim, do you remember when I suggested(on cool runnings) that you would be in the 38:XX 10K club before you knew it? Your response was pretty skeptical about even getting into the low 39s. Now look what you have done! Great job with that run! I am hoping for a break through race like that this weekend. You gotta love beating a Pr by minutes instead of seconds!

You talking to me or Jim23415? Cuz my race last night was 5 miles, not 10k.

That would be nice, I'm a year and a half from turning 50 so keeping the trend would be very welcome. Mainly I was glad to have some validation for the training. It would seem a bit of a waste to run that much and still be falling back in times. A PR in this race, my 7th time running it, was waaaay over expectations.

I think that when you can really expect to see improvment at a late age is during a period of improved training following a few years when training hasn't been so hot. For example, someone who has been tranining at a near optimal level since age 35 is highly unlikely to see much improvent at 50. However, if for example you have been averaging 1200-1500 annual miles through most of your 40's, then gradually build up to 2500 as you approach 50, there is a great chance to see substantial improvement--possibly even racing faster when you were 7-10 years younger. Of course you have to stay healthy and do more than just put in miles. The rest of your training has to be sensible (and I'm sure you realize that). In my case the most signifant improvements have come after more than 2 years of increased training load. By age 60 I was already running over 2000 miles a year but have been running signifantly faster now at 62 as I've continued to build (2700+ last year).