Is this type of goal possible?...

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Is this type of goal possible?...

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PreciousKittyKat...

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:02 pm

Guest

I'm a new runner. I am a 40 year old female who started running in
December with the Couch to 5K program. I progressed and graduated the
One Hour Runner program...have run a 5K, 10K and two half marathons.
My last half marathon was Oct 10th.

As winter approaches, and the racing season will slow down, I am
wondering what type of training I should do over the winter. I'm in
Minnesota, and the winters are miserable. I do plan to run outside as
much as possible, and do the treadmill on the days when it is not.

I'm trying to decide if a full marathon is in my future next year, or,
if I should focus on improving my half marathon times, and times in
general. I don't feel "ready" for a full marathon. I DO like the
half marathon distance. My time on October 10th was a pedestrian
2:16. Not awful for a beginner, but, something I'd like to vastly
improve upon. My avg pace was ~10:24min/mile (something like
that)...if I keep with the half marathons...I'd like to finish in
under 2hours. Is that realistic? Is it possible to improve THAT
much? Can it be done by May?

If I could improve my speed, how do you suggest I approach it? Keep
trying to run each run a little faster? Certain types of speed
work?

It is interesting to me to see how FAST some runners are. I'm sure
SOME of that has to be genetic. I'd love to know what a realistic
goal is for a 40 year old woman in terms of speed.

Any ideas are welcomed.
Thanks in advance Smile

Cindy

John Hurley...

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:59 pm

Guest

On Oct 13, 6:02 pm, PreciousKittyKat <preciouskitty... at (no spam) gmail.com>
wrote:

snip

Quote:

Cindy

Everybody has different ideas. It takes years and years of working
hard to get anywhere near your running potential.

At age 40 you are probably 5 to 7 years away from getting close to
what you can achieve ... if you work hard and enjoy working hard.

My advice is to concentrate on speed working mostly on short races
5k's 10k's with an occassional half marathon perhaps every once in a
while.

If you train to run long and run slow ... you will get good at running
slow. If you train to run fast and also go long sometimes you get
better faster in my opinion.

Hard to predict how much speed you can take off by when in a half
marathon since you are relatively so new at this.

It will probably take a 5k effort in the range of 25 minutes maybe to
get somewhere in the range of 2 hour half speed ( my guess ... I don't
use all the formulas that some people like ).

Michelle...

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:23 pm

Guest

In article
<348514bd-f139-49a0-ba3d-8de6d4ae984a at (no spam) c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>,
PreciousKittyKat <preciouskittykat at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

Any ideas are welcomed.

I'm a fairly new runner; I started three years ago at age 63. I've run
four half marathons, and have cut about 12 1/2 minutes (high 3:02s to
20:50:13) off my time from the first to the fourth. (I hope to shave off
another ten minutes or so when I run my next one on Dec 6 in Vegas.)

Just keep training; there's some excellent training advice on the web and
right here as well.

Welcome to the newsgroup; we can always use more women here. ;)

-- Michelle

--
26.2 Because I can

Mark Cleary...

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:06 pm

Guest

PreciousKittyKat wrote:

Quote:

Cindy

It is not necessary to run a marathon to be a runner despite what anyone

says. If you really have that as a goal then run one but frankly if you
don't really want to that is ok too.

I have not run one in a number of years and the issue is I have no
trouble with the distance but it does take longer as we get older. I
could finish one tomorrow if I had to but what would it prove. I am can
do it but little else. If I were you I would simply run 5ks and 10k and
have fun and enjoy. Marathons are not the same joy unless you have time
and the body make-up to avoid injury for the training.

Those runners who have great times that started training later in life
are usually the ones that would have been fast in younger years. Speed
is a given talent to some degree. I don't want to discourage you from
running a marathon but don't feel bad that you have not run one. Many
great runners have never run a marathon.

I use to run about every 4-6 weeks a long run of at least 12-18 miles
but about 5 years ago I gave that up. I now run sometimes 10-12 miles at
most and could easily run more but I like to run 6 days a week. Going
out and running a 20 mile run requires this 48 year old body too much
recovery. I would rather do 6 days a week running 40 miles than 4 days
of running 40 that included a 20 mile run. Once in a while I would like
go long but the demands of work and ordination require I have to
conserve energy and 20 miles is draining for most mortals.

--
Deacon Mark Cleary
Epiphany Roman Catholic Church

pithydoug...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:52 am

Guest

On Oct 13, 9:06 pm, Mark Cleary <mclear... at (no spam) comcast.net> wrote:

Quote:

PreciousKittyKat wrote:

Quote:

It is not necessary to run a marathon to be a runner despite what anyone
says. If you really have that as a goal then run one but frankly if you
don't really want to that is ok too.

I'm in the same church as Mark on this one. Wink

This is a life style
change so why hurry? As john suggested concentrate on shorter races
and toss in an occasional 1/2 and you will see you times go down,
confidence level go up and your body adapt. You body is still
adjusting so give it time, Jumping to the marathon too early is not a
good risk.

Meow!

-D

Anthony...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:19 am

Guest

"PreciousKittyKat" <preciouskittykat at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote in message
news:348514bd-f139-49a0-ba3d-8de6d4ae984a at (no spam) c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...

Quote:

I'm trying to decide if a full marathon is in my future next year, or,
if I should focus on improving my half marathon times, and times in
general. I don't feel "ready" for a full marathon. I DO like the
half marathon distance. My time on October 10th was a pedestrian
2:16. Not awful for a beginner, but, something I'd like to vastly
improve upon. My avg pace was ~10:24min/mile (something like
that)...if I keep with the half marathons...I'd like to finish in
under 2hours. Is that realistic? Is it possible to improve THAT
much? Can it be done by May?

If I could improve my speed, how do you suggest I approach it? Keep
trying to run each run a little faster? Certain types of speed
work?

Hi,

If you do like the 1/2 Marathon - stick with it! It helps to train
for what you like running. Can you go under 2 hours? Most probably.

Unlike John my suggestion is to concentrate on *gradually* building
up your mileage. Nothing drastic. There's nothing that helps
your running times more than increasing the aerobic base. Speed
work is the icing on the cake - put in the miles first and watch
your times go down. Once you've built up your mileage it will
also help you a lot to run say once a week or every 2 weeks
some 1/2 Marathon type pace runs of a few miles.
(lactate threshold runs in runners jargon...)

Good luck.

Anthony.

rick++...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:51 am

Guest

On Oct 13, 7:06 pm, Mark Cleary <mclear... at (no spam) comcast.net> wrote:

Quote:

It is not necessary to run a marathon to be a runner despite what anyone
says.

I think most runners treat such as a major goal.
Perhaps only one percent of the country has acheived it.
I never had a desire to progess to ultras due to "hitting the wall"
discomfort.

If someone has reacha half, they could probably train for a full
within a year.
In her state I'd aim for a fall marathon due to the restrictions of
winter.
Start at least four months before. Increase the every-other-weekend
long run
slowly until you reach at least three hours or 20 miles.

John Hurley...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:09 am

Guest

On Oct 13, 9:06 pm, Mark Cleary <mclear... at (no spam) comcast.net> wrote:

snip

Quote:

It is not necessary to run a marathon to be a runner despite what anyone
says. If you really have that as a goal then run one but frankly if you
don't really want to that is ok too.

Bingo!

gevinshaw...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:17 am

Guest

All of these are reasonable and sensible suggestions. Just so you
know, there is another way (he did this with 5 weeks of preparation):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8256589.stm

"Run, Izzard, run and run again

"Running into London's Trafalgar Square on Tuesday, Eddie Izzard took
the last of 1.6m steps, from the 43 marathons he has completed in 51
days.

"He has run at least 27 miles a day, six days a week, over the past
seven weeks, covering more than 1,110 miles of England, Wales,
Northern Ireland and Scotland.…"

Jos Bergervoet...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:25 am

Guest

On Oct 14, 12:02 am, PreciousKittyKat <preciouskitty... at (no spam) gmail.com>
wrote:

....

Quote:

half marathon distance. My time on October 10th was a pedestrian
2:16. Not awful for a beginner, but, something I'd like to vastly
improve upon. My avg pace was ~10:24min/mile (something like
that)...if I keep with the half marathons...I'd like to finish in
under 2hours. Is that realistic? Is it possible to improve THAT
much? Can it be done by May?

I started at age 44, first race was a half marathon, after only 8
weeks training, in 1:55.

After the third HM, within two months, I had improved to 1:42, but I
had also badly injured my knee and I stopped for 2 months.

After 1 year I had improved the HM to 1:25, and did my first full
marathon in 3:07. After a second year the HM was 1:22 and the full
marathon 3:00:07.

In the five years since then I haven't improved. The first year is
where 90% of the progress occurs, it seems..

-- Jos

John Hurley...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:15 am

Guest

On Oct 14, 1:25 pm, Jos Bergervoet <jos.r.bergerv... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:

snip

Quote:

You do not sound typical at all to me buddy!

I know a bunch of guys who have been running a very long time and are
not close to 1:55 times for a half. To get to a 1:55 half marathon in
8 weeks of training time is exceptional to say the least.

It could be factored in if you were already in very good shape ( from
other activities ) ... did not have weight to lose ... etc.

Going from 1:55 to a 1:25 half marathon within a year is also highly
untypical.

Hard work and motivation can go a long ways but you must have had a
bunch of both. Plus perhaps a fair amount of natural talent!

Most runners keep improving quite a bit the 2nd year, the 3rd year,
the 4th year etc! At least most of the runners that I have ever
known.

D Stumpus...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:13 pm

Guest

"Jos Bergervoet" <jos.r.bergervoet at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote

Quote:

After 1 year I had improved the HM to 1:25, and did my first full
marathon in 3:07. After a second year the HM was 1:22 and the full
marathon 3:00:07.

In the five years since then I haven't improved. The first year is
where 90% of the progress occurs, it seems..

Jos, didn't you run a 10k at 80.5% AG? That's a better performance than the
1:22 half at age 46. Maybe you mean improve in an absolute (non age
adjusted) sense?

I started at age 28, and peaked out at age 31-32 -- or rather gave up after
a couple of times trying for the low 2:30's...

On the other hand, my father started running at age 59, and got his fastest
10k, 44:15 at age 64, on only 40km/week of training.

The original poster should keep her mileage up, and focus on shorter races.
If she gets down to 24-25 min at 5k, as John said, she'll be ready to tackle
her goal.

D Stumpus...

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:59 pm

Guest

"John Hurley" <johnbhurley at (no spam) sbcglobal.net> wrote

Quote:

You do not sound typical at all to me buddy!

I know a bunch of guys who have been running a very long time and are
not close to 1:55 times for a half. To get to a 1:55 half marathon in

8 weeks of training time is exceptional to say the least.

Quote:

It could be factored in if you were already in very good shape ( from
other activities ) ... did not have weight to lose ... etc.

Quote:

Going from 1:55 to a 1:25 half marathon within a year is also highly
untypical.

Yes, it's unusual, but Jos is one of the lucky ones who can get to 80% AG,
as I have when the stars line up.

I ran a 3:21 after 4 months, 3:06 after 6 months, 2:52 marathon and 35:50
10k at 12 months, and 2:44 at 14 months, training very diligently with
similarly talented and more experienced friends. I was 29 ish, not 45 ish,
as Jos was; his times are roughly equivalent taking his age into account.

PreciousKittyKat...

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:35 am

Guest

On Oct 14, 3:15 pm, John Hurley <johnbhur... at (no spam) sbcglobal.net> wrote:

Quote:

On Oct 14, 1:25 pm, Jos Bergervoet <jos.r.bergerv... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:

snip

I started at age 44, first race was a half marathon, after only 8
weeks training, in 1:55.

After the third HM, within two months, I had improved to 1:42, but I
had also badly injured my knee and I stopped for 2 months.

After 1 year I had improved the HM to 1:25, and did my first full
marathon in 3:07. After a second year the HM was 1:22 and the full
marathon 3:00:07.

In the five years since then I haven't improved. The first year is
where 90% of the progress occurs, it seems..

You do not sound typical at all to me buddy!

I know a bunch of guys who have been running a very long time and are
not close to 1:55 times for a half. To get to a 1:55 half marathon in
8 weeks of training time is exceptional to say the least.

It could be factored in if you were already in very good shape ( from
other activities ) ... did not have weight to lose ... etc.

Going from 1:55 to a 1:25 half marathon within a year is also highly
untypical.

Hard work and motivation can go a long ways but you must have had a
bunch of both. Plus perhaps a fair amount of natural talent!

Most runners keep improving quite a bit the 2nd year, the 3rd year,
the 4th year etc! At least most of the runners that I have ever
known.

I hope there is room for improvement beyond this first year! I'd be
disappointed to discover that I've already maxed out my improvement in
one short year! Good to know that I have a few years of potential
yet! Smile

Cindy

Charlie Pendejo...

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:44 am

Guest

PK Kat:

Quote:

it's just hard to be a beginner...and have that feeling
that...you have to run a marathon in order to be a "runner"!

That's a common perception in the nonrunning and barely-running
public, but it's backwards. The truth is, a sizable portion of big-
city marathon participants aren't really even runners, as experienced
runners understand the term. Will they run another step after
checking "marathon" off the ol' bucket list? Even if they do a 26
miler annually for a while, do they run year-round, or just in the two
months leading up to the event? Do they ever run for the sheer
enjoyment; do they deeply miss running when life gets in the way that
day or week?

Quote:

I wonder if there are many runners out there who have never run a
marathon? and...if so, do they get the same respect that a marathon
runner would get?

In competitive running circles, certainly. Safe bet Usain Bolt will
never run one. Of course sprinting's at the other end of the
spectrum, but even among distance runners, the athlete who races both
the mile and the marathon has been such a glaring exception to the
rule, I can only name Rod Dixon (bronze medal in 1500m, '72 Olympics;
won '83 NYC marathon) off the top of my head. 5 & 10k guys and gals
are somewhat more likely to move up to the marathon as they age and
lose the speed to compete at the shorter events, but it's not like
they gain any more legitimacy in doing so. Unless, like Paula
Radcliffe, they excel more at the marathon distance than their
previous events.

Quote:

Cindy...really just thinks that the Marathon...would be PAINFUL...and
am not sure there would be much ENJOYMENT in it~ at least at this
point in my running!

I'm in my seventh year, have trained pretty seriously (80 to 100 miles
per week) at times, enjoy racing 5, 10, 15k and half marathons - and I
agree, my marathon experiences have been painful and less enjoyable.
Nonetheless, because I'm an idiot, and live right on the NYC marathon
course, and feel irritated by not having run one even halfway decently
yet, I'll give it another go in 2010.

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