With a training age of 46 (70 years old) I can attest to the fact that I have to work a lot harder to even just maintain speed, let alone progress, than I did in the past. At this point, active recovery is key as well. Someday I won't be able to do this anymore, but today is not that day.
I have a training age of just over 1. It was initially weight loss for me but I caught the running bug after doing my first parkrun. Since then, I’ve done a 1:25 HM and I’m hoping to do a sub 2:55 marathon next year, to qualify for the 2026 Boston Marathon
I ran 1.23.57 for a half this year and 3.06.20 for the London marathon. Boston is more hilly. Personally I think that you will struggle to break 3 at that fitness level. You need to be close to 1.20 for a half. I have run two now. Good luck to you though.
@@maipai4282 it’s an ambitious target but I don’t do things by halves. I didn’t get into London next year so doing another one instead as my qualifier attempt
My training isn't static, it is a very dynamic series of regression progression blocks that leaves me going nowhere! 🙈 I started running in 2018 and have yet to be able to keep much fitness over winter. Sickness and life challenges always mess me up every winter. I also tend to gain a lot of weight over this period because my mental health also plummets, and I comfort eat/drink crap. I signed up for a Backyard ultra early next May, a time of year that my velocity at vo2max usually is a brisk walk at best. 😂 I MUST make this the winter when I make things work at least a little better. I want progression, but even a lesser degree of regression would be a gamechanger!
My training used to fluctuate in the off-season as well. High intensity in the couple of months before the season, maintenance over the season, another small push before finals then nothing for most of summer unless there was a summer tournament. So I would effectively start from scratch next pre season. Incredibly frustrating especially as I got into my 30's as it took longer to get "matchfit". My advice is to pick a distance and do that 3 times a week, regardless of if you are training for something. Make one an easy pace, have one as an interval or hill session (if you have them) and the last one push for speed/time. If your easy run takes half an hour, then aim to chip away a minute or so off it in your fast run. That way you're in a fairly constant maintenance state, with little increments of progress to see improvement and keep you motivated. But you don't get the huge spike in effort that leads to life getting too complicated to maintain later down the line. If you want to train for a big event every so often you already have a base level to build on rather than starting from scratch, and also, you might also find yourself trimmed up a little. Stay consistent, be persistent even when you don't feel motivated to get out. It's only 30minutes, then you can go about the rest of the day.
@RatelHBadger Thank you for your thorough answer! My main issues are not really about the training at all, training is only the victim of circumstance.
@@thedolenorway I'm a fan of keeping it simple and repeatable. 3 runs every week is easy to maintain without getting in the way of life. It's also easy enough to scale up or back depending on circumstances as well. If you have a busy week and can only manage 2 runs, you haven't thrown out a whole week of your program. Just do one extra the next week, or stick to the 3 again.
My difficulty is trying, and actually doing the same training as people with 10-15 year training ages while mine is 2-3 years. My paces aren't the same, of course. This was great until it wasn't. Can you do another video with high level guidance on beginner - intermediate runner progression? Particularly, can you focus on traps and pitfalls to avoid?
Hey Jason! First period of consistency and progression at 37 here. I trained and raced for about 8 months back in 2014. I started back up again at 2021 and it has stuck this time. Would you add that time in 2014?
I have a question about training age and progression. I spend 20-25 years training for field hockey and soccer. A mix of 5k "long" runs twice a week or so, with strength and interval training throughout, to improve matchday performance. Shuttle sprints, hurdle sprints etc to simulate the stop-start nature of the game. I have recently switched to consistent longer running programs for half marathon distances, so 10k+ long run with 5k more regularly and only the occasional interval session to help boost speed. Ive only been doing this for a year, but running regularly for nearly 30. Would you say I'm still a novice or heading towards advanced? I feel I can use all the "tricks" gained from years of pre-season training to boost speed, strength etc, I've just switched focus to longer distance (because its kinder on the older joints).
You probably have more advanced levels of athleticism and speed, but your aerobic development is limited. I'm wary of committing your identity to a label like "intermediate" so let's just say you have great speed but need to work on endurance.
@@JasonFitzgerald Sounds about right. I can run pretty comfortably for about 2 hours at a steady pace, and find the interval/hill training aspects of a program difficult but manageable because I'm used to doing that sort of thing. I've got friends the same age who have been distance running for 5 years or so, running 15-20mins quicker over the half marathon distance. I'm just putting that down to experience in the distance. I can smash out a 25min 5k or a 50min 10k no problem. It's the chipping away at the 21k time that I'm enjoying. Got a race in November, pretty confident I'll get another step closer to 2hours even though it's a mixture of sandhills and trails.
@@JasonFitzgerald I've just found your podcast and have added some episodes to my running playlist. For fun, I decided to change my 3 base runs from a 6ish km "lap" to a 10km "out & back" route. I've still only run 40k each the last 2 weeks but in 4 runs rather than 6. The aerobic fitness (and muscle soreness) is definitely managing the change of x3 10's and a 15ish, I just have sore feet for the rest of the day. That I didn't notice only running x5 6k's and a 15ish each week. Any tips, or should I just persist and my feet will eventually get used to the workload enough to add a 4th or 5th 10k day into my week?
Hi Jason, long time follower, I use your training plans a lot. My question is: I am moving into "grand master" status (I'm 44), my training age is awkward, I was a 17 min 5k in Highschool, 28min 8k in college, I hit 16:02 for 5k in the military, then I took about 10 years off and started back when I was 35. So am I older than 9 yrs of training age, and how do I progress when I've moved away from PB days to master PBs? Thanks!
One piece of advice I've heard (from world class running coach Jack Daniels) is that workout intensities should match current capabilities. For example, if you're doing 400m repeats on the track at 5k pace, run them at your most recent 5k best. Want those intervals to be faster, or think they should be faster? Get a better race result and adjust accordingly. I think in your case this could be useful to assess your current arsenal of intensities and make steps in the right direction, without injuring yourself or overtraining. Eventually you'll give those HS/military times a run for their money ;)
You have to train according to your current ability, but you'll likely progress faster because of your background. Don't try to run workouts based on the times you used to be able to run!
35-50 miles a week is a LOT for intermediate runners. I don't think more than 2% of all competitors in races do this kind of mileage. Why? Because with 15 miles/week I can run about 50min for 10k and with that I am in the middle third of the rankings. And I am not a very talented runner. So if you speak about marathon, 35 miles can be necessary for peak training weeks, but surely not the normal milelage all year round for finishers. And marathon finishers with 5h are already intermediate runners
Certainly digital history of anything is not a bad thing but long term how easy can you access it if at all. One thing I’ve learned over the years is tech changes and old tech is almost impossible to access. Quick documenting on paper is easy to refer to and always accessible even decades later. People should write more real letters to family and friends- decendants can read and understand their lives - where are those texts, emails and FB post be 20, 30 or even 100 years from now?
@@marlinweekley51 I started running seriously in 2006 and kept an online log of all my workouts online and can still access them. For the reason you mentioned I also copied the info on other websites and those are available too. What I like with online entries is that they are easy to search when I'm looking to find old workouts and I can also find all the runs over 20km in a few clicks. Now if I had to look at paper entries, it would take me hours to find this kind of info.
As someone who’s used Evernote for over 15 years now, it’s incredibly easy to review my entries from the past. So no, I don’t think written entries hold any particular advantage. If it works better for you, then I get that.
People are contradictory. When I was young, we didn't have computers, smartphones and internet; we spent a lot of time outside. This meant that watching TV was a bit of a novelty. Today it's the opposite. We are infront of a screen almost all day, so to get off it is a novelty. Being disconnected, even from your biometric watch when running and just sensing your body is becoming a concept many don't understand. Doing sport is not just about heart rates, time, stride and so on and so forth, it's also about simple enjoyment.
My training age is 1 week. I am preparing to run my first race, a marathon in January. Discipline is key to making your goals as a runner and of course in life. That’s a challenge for me in itself. But so far, so good.
I used to get niggles when trying to progress from 3k to 5k and found out my body its quite delicate tu increases in mileage or intensity so I have to use longer more drawn out training plans than most people. This has helped me avoid injury and managed to now get a lot of 5ks under my belt and now training for a 10k with my longest run being 6.6k if you genetics are not the best you might not reach elite levels of performance but theres is 99% of the cases a work around to be able to keep progressing and you might pull off the unthinkable
@@adaptablerubengaming4151 do you also do some strength training? I had a bunch of minor issues that got resolved within about 6-8 weeks of lifting, just really focusing on doing squats, calf raises & hip abductors. it only takes like 1 day a week too to help make a big difference in the reduction of injury prone-ness
With a training age of 46 (70 years old) I can attest to the fact that I have to work a lot harder to even just maintain speed, let alone progress, than I did in the past. At this point, active recovery is key as well. Someday I won't be able to do this anymore, but today is not that day.
Today is not that day.
Go get it!!
TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY!!!! 🙌
@@holzkiewuf ☺
@@JasonFitzgerald ☺
I have a training age of just over 1. It was initially weight loss for me but I caught the running bug after doing my first parkrun. Since then, I’ve done a 1:25 HM and I’m hoping to do a sub 2:55 marathon next year, to qualify for the 2026 Boston Marathon
You are clearly talented. Congratulations!
I ran 1.23.57 for a half this year and 3.06.20 for the London marathon. Boston is more hilly. Personally I think that you will struggle to break 3 at that fitness level. You need to be close to 1.20 for a half. I have run two now. Good luck to you though.
@@maipai4282 it’s an ambitious target but I don’t do things by halves. I didn’t get into London next year so doing another one instead as my qualifier attempt
Best of luck
@@maipai4282 thank you!
My training isn't static, it is a very dynamic series of regression progression blocks that leaves me going nowhere! 🙈
I started running in 2018 and have yet to be able to keep much fitness over winter. Sickness and life challenges always mess me up every winter. I also tend to gain a lot of weight over this period because my mental health also plummets, and I comfort eat/drink crap.
I signed up for a Backyard ultra early next May, a time of year that my velocity at vo2max usually is a brisk walk at best. 😂 I MUST make this the winter when I make things work at least a little better. I want progression, but even a lesser degree of regression would be a gamechanger!
My training used to fluctuate in the off-season as well. High intensity in the couple of months before the season, maintenance over the season, another small push before finals then nothing for most of summer unless there was a summer tournament. So I would effectively start from scratch next pre season. Incredibly frustrating especially as I got into my 30's as it took longer to get "matchfit".
My advice is to pick a distance and do that 3 times a week, regardless of if you are training for something.
Make one an easy pace, have one as an interval or hill session (if you have them) and the last one push for speed/time. If your easy run takes half an hour, then aim to chip away a minute or so off it in your fast run.
That way you're in a fairly constant maintenance state, with little increments of progress to see improvement and keep you motivated. But you don't get the huge spike in effort that leads to life getting too complicated to maintain later down the line.
If you want to train for a big event every so often you already have a base level to build on rather than starting from scratch, and also, you might also find yourself trimmed up a little.
Stay consistent, be persistent even when you don't feel motivated to get out. It's only 30minutes, then you can go about the rest of the day.
@RatelHBadger Thank you for your thorough answer! My main issues are not really about the training at all, training is only the victim of circumstance.
@@thedolenorway I'm a fan of keeping it simple and repeatable. 3 runs every week is easy to maintain without getting in the way of life. It's also easy enough to scale up or back depending on circumstances as well.
If you have a busy week and can only manage 2 runs, you haven't thrown out a whole week of your program. Just do one extra the next week, or stick to the 3 again.
I hear that
I'm with you. Try supplementing with vitamin d and a happy lamp will go a long way
Great video - just what I needed to hear
My difficulty is trying, and actually doing the same training as people with 10-15 year training ages while mine is 2-3 years. My paces aren't the same, of course. This was great until it wasn't.
Can you do another video with high level guidance on beginner - intermediate runner progression? Particularly, can you focus on traps and pitfalls to avoid?
Hey Jason! First period of consistency and progression at 37 here. I trained and raced for about 8 months back in 2014. I started back up again at 2021 and it has stuck this time. Would you add that time in 2014?
Probably not...
I have a question about training age and progression.
I spend 20-25 years training for field hockey and soccer. A mix of 5k "long" runs twice a week or so, with strength and interval training throughout, to improve matchday performance. Shuttle sprints, hurdle sprints etc to simulate the stop-start nature of the game.
I have recently switched to consistent longer running programs for half marathon distances, so 10k+ long run with 5k more regularly and only the occasional interval session to help boost speed.
Ive only been doing this for a year, but running regularly for nearly 30.
Would you say I'm still a novice or heading towards advanced?
I feel I can use all the "tricks" gained from years of pre-season training to boost speed, strength etc, I've just switched focus to longer distance (because its kinder on the older joints).
You probably have more advanced levels of athleticism and speed, but your aerobic development is limited. I'm wary of committing your identity to a label like "intermediate" so let's just say you have great speed but need to work on endurance.
@@JasonFitzgerald Sounds about right. I can run pretty comfortably for about 2 hours at a steady pace, and find the interval/hill training aspects of a program difficult but manageable because I'm used to doing that sort of thing.
I've got friends the same age who have been distance running for 5 years or so, running 15-20mins quicker over the half marathon distance. I'm just putting that down to experience in the distance. I can smash out a 25min 5k or a 50min 10k no problem. It's the chipping away at the 21k time that I'm enjoying. Got a race in November, pretty confident I'll get another step closer to 2hours even though it's a mixture of sandhills and trails.
@@JasonFitzgerald I've just found your podcast and have added some episodes to my running playlist.
For fun, I decided to change my 3 base runs from a 6ish km "lap" to a 10km "out & back" route. I've still only run 40k each the last 2 weeks but in 4 runs rather than 6. The aerobic fitness (and muscle soreness) is definitely managing the change of x3 10's and a 15ish, I just have sore feet for the rest of the day. That I didn't notice only running x5 6k's and a 15ish each week.
Any tips, or should I just persist and my feet will eventually get used to the workload enough to add a 4th or 5th 10k day into my week?
Hi Jason, long time follower, I use your training plans a lot. My question is: I am moving into "grand master" status (I'm 44), my training age is awkward, I was a 17 min 5k in Highschool, 28min 8k in college, I hit 16:02 for 5k in the military, then I took about 10 years off and started back when I was 35. So am I older than 9 yrs of training age, and how do I progress when I've moved away from PB days to master PBs? Thanks!
One piece of advice I've heard (from world class running coach Jack Daniels) is that workout intensities should match current capabilities. For example, if you're doing 400m repeats on the track at 5k pace, run them at your most recent 5k best. Want those intervals to be faster, or think they should be faster? Get a better race result and adjust accordingly. I think in your case this could be useful to assess your current arsenal of intensities and make steps in the right direction, without injuring yourself or overtraining. Eventually you'll give those HS/military times a run for their money ;)
You have to train according to your current ability, but you'll likely progress faster because of your background. Don't try to run workouts based on the times you used to be able to run!
Oh my, I am 2 years old now 😮
So, I say NO to stopping running
35-50 miles a week is a LOT for intermediate runners. I don't think more than 2% of all competitors in races do this kind of mileage. Why? Because with 15 miles/week I can run about 50min for 10k and with that I am in the middle third of the rankings. And I am not a very talented runner. So if you speak about marathon, 35 miles can be necessary for peak training weeks, but surely not the normal milelage all year round for finishers. And marathon finishers with 5h are already intermediate runners
Why not use an online journal now that everything is digital?
Certainly digital history of anything is not a bad thing but long term how easy can you access it if at all. One thing I’ve learned over the years is tech changes and old tech is almost impossible to access. Quick documenting on paper is easy to refer to and always accessible even decades later. People should write more real letters to family and friends- decendants can read and understand their lives - where are those texts, emails and FB post be 20, 30 or even 100 years from now?
@@marlinweekley51 I started running seriously in 2006 and kept an online log of all my workouts online and can still access them. For the reason you mentioned I also copied the info on other websites and those are available too. What I like with online entries is that they are easy to search when I'm looking to find old workouts and I can also find all the runs over 20km in a few clicks. Now if I had to look at paper entries, it would take me hours to find this kind of info.
@@marlinweekley51 By the way, when you are dead no one will care about your running logs. You are not Jakob Ingebritsen or Eliud Kipchoge.
As someone who’s used Evernote for over 15 years now, it’s incredibly easy to review my entries from the past. So no, I don’t think written entries hold any particular advantage. If it works better for you, then I get that.
People are contradictory. When I was young, we didn't have computers, smartphones and internet; we spent a lot of time outside. This meant that watching TV was a bit of a novelty. Today it's the opposite. We are infront of a screen almost all day, so to get off it is a novelty. Being disconnected, even from your biometric watch when running and just sensing your body is becoming a concept many don't understand. Doing sport is not just about heart rates, time, stride and so on and so forth, it's also about simple enjoyment.
Beautiful 😍
My training age is 1 week. I am preparing to run my first race, a marathon in January. Discipline is key to making your goals as a runner and of course in life. That’s a challenge for me in itself. But so far, so good.
First😂
Too bad he left out genetics. You have to have good genetics if you want to pull off this BS.
lol thank you for this valuable insight
I used to get niggles when trying to progress from 3k to 5k and found out my body its quite delicate tu increases in mileage or intensity so I have to use longer more drawn out training plans than most people. This has helped me avoid injury and managed to now get a lot of 5ks under my belt and now training for a 10k with my longest run being 6.6k if you genetics are not the best you might not reach elite levels of performance but theres is 99% of the cases a work around to be able to keep progressing and you might pull off the unthinkable
@@adaptablerubengaming4151 do you also do some strength training? I had a bunch of minor issues that got resolved within about 6-8 weeks of lifting, just really focusing on doing squats, calf raises & hip abductors. it only takes like 1 day a week too to help make a big difference in the reduction of injury prone-ness