Forums >Running 101>Ran my first 5K would appreciate thoughts on future goals
Hello,
I am a 55 year old man and just did my first 5K. Finished in 32 minutes which I was pleased with given I had only trained for a couple of weeks. I was hoping for some thoughts on what are reasonable goals for the future. Is it reasonable to hope I could drop the 5K time to 25 minutes in the next year?
Thanks,
Michael
an amazing likeness
What are your goals? Do you want to have running (and running in races) be your main objective, or is running part of your overall health and lifestyle? Do you want to train a lot, or are you more likely to enjoy running as an 'every now and then' thing? Etc, etc. So...I'm suggesting you invest some thought into what your goals are -- realizing they are not set in stone and you can change them at any time as you go along.
Taking your question completely at face value -- could you go from 32min to 25min in 12 months -- sure. And very likely in less than time than that.
In the most broad and general terms, improving time in the 5K comes from a (personalized) combination of:
Grab a few of the many available 5K training plans (here's one) and see how it fits with your current training. Even better, join up with a training group and get some company and coaching to help your journey.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Old Geezer
I was about 55 when I ran my first 5K and I ran it in about the same time as you. But even before that first 5K I did have a goal to be able to do a 10K a year or so later, then a half marathon two or three later. I wasn't convinced at the time I would ever do a marathon, but since doing my first ever 26.2 in 2013, I've now done seven of them.
My main reason for sort of planning out things for the next couple of years is that while not only did I want to move up to a half marathon, I also knew the clock was ticking. To be blunt about it, we only have so much time on this planet and when one is in such a position it is important to set realistic and achievable goals. As we age we all slow down. I never broke 26-minutes in a 5K as the best I have ever done at that distance was 26:10 two years after my first-ever 5K.
To be a fast runner in a 5K--no matter what your age--you should dedicate yourself to doing that. If you wish to move up to longer distances, you have to dedicate yourself to doing that. In my first year of running, I ran just that one 5K. In the second year I did three 5Ks. Then I did a 10K plus a couple of 5Ks. It was in the fourth year that I did my first half. But it took me three more years to finally decide I wanted to tackle a full marathon.
In the end you should sort of plan out how many races you want to run each year and what the distances of those races are going to be. Then you put in the hard work. As noted, you will need to run more, do speedwork, do strength training, lose some weight, etc.
not bad for mile 25
I'm not a fan of bucket list goals ("run a marathon before I die"), but if your goal is to stay healthy and fit as long as possible, the 5K/10K/marathon goals can be a means to that end, and gauges of your fitness and progress.
Two cents, please.
Thanks for all the replies.
To give a bit more detail.
My primary goal is health and lifestyle. I am 5' 10 and 155 lbs and have never been heavier than 175. Unfortunately I have type 2 diabetes.
I am also trying to encourage my children to join me in the running.
The 5K I was in had 9 men 55-59 and the best time of the group was 25 minutes with my time putting me at 7th in the group.
I could see myself doing 3-4 training sessions a week but I don't think I would obsess over it.
Thanks again,
Recommend you just (for the most part) ignore miles, pace, and all the "noise" we create around running. Set a goal of running / walking (depending on how you feel that day) for 45-60min 3-4 times a week. Run some, slow and easy, walk if you need to. Let time on your feet be the goal. Every now and then run a mile harder.
180mins / week seems to be (from what I've heard recently) the point at which your body gets the health benefits of aerobic workouts.
...What we know in a nutshell is that people who are physically active, especially if they get somewhere between 150 and 300 minutes per week of moderately vigorous physical activity, have a large reduction in their all-cause mortality — typically about a 50 percent or maybe 40 percent reduction in their all-cause mortality...
Race a 5K every now and then to measure your progress.
Old , Ugly and slow
Once a week run some fast repeats a few 200 or 400 within a regular run.
once a week run long
the other 1-2 days run easy
for health reasons lift weights twice a week.
first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007
2019 goals 1000 miles , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes
Thanks for all the replies. To give a bit more detail. My primary goal is health and lifestyle. I am 5' 10 and 155 lbs and have never been heavier than 175. Unfortunately I have type 2 diabetes. I am also trying to encourage my children to join me in the running. The 5K I was in had 9 men 55-59 and the best time of the group was 25 minutes with my time putting me at 7th in the group. I could see myself doing 3-4 training sessions a week but I don't think I would obsess over it. Thanks again, Michael
i am type 2, running has been the best thing that I have done since finding out 6 years ago, it has been better than losing weight for me. I started off taking two pills a day for diabetes and after losing close to 50 pounds i was still taking two pills a day. i put some weight back on and started running and my doctor took me down to one pill a day, i'm hoping that if i drop some more weight and continue running that i will be able to come off of the medicine. i love training and i love racing but the benefits i am seeing health wise are what keep me going. whatever you do don't rush it, slowly build your way up.
ckelly22 -
I have had type 2 for about 10 years now. I am on 2000 mg of metformin a day and my blood sugar control is decent. I hope with consistent running and good diet I can reduce the metformin. I don't believe t2 diabetes is necessarily a progressive disease that has to get worse over time. My goal is to improve my blood sugar control over time.
I did a second 5k yesterday with one days rest from the first. It was not a race but just me running and my time was 33 minutes. I was feeling that I was really pushing pretty hard to finish and had thoughts of 'will I be able to motivate myself moving forward to put in this much effort'. I balanced that with my feeling of really wanting to run on my rest days. Overall I am optimistic that I will be able to keep it up.
Options,Account, Forums
You'll get faster over time, but it's often not really linear -- sometimes you see progress, and sometimes you don't -- so iI think t's nice to have some goals that aren't tied to times. For example, to achieve getting out at least three times a week, even if some of them are more tired & hot outings that are naturally slower.
And of course, it's nice not to get too enslaved to your goals. Oh well, maybe a week was busy; never mind, just try to get back out regularly the following week.
Not sure that was worth 2 cents, so not billing
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.