Hello Runners :)

I am somewhat new to running and have signed up for the Manchester marathon as its something i've always wanted to do and it will help me get fit again. I am using Runna to build my plan.

For reference, I have always been sporty but since getting an office job, wanting to do anything when I get home after a commute has been a challenge and due to this I have gain some weight and lost lots of motivation.

So my question is - How do you stay motivated? What drives you to get out on a run after work?

Thanks so much !

I started running about 15 months ago and just turned 40. Before that I was generally active, but I wasn't a runner.
I'm now training for my first marathon (NYC this November), running 4x/week and currently around 41–42 MPW during build weeks. I ran a ~1:45 half within my first year, and recently did a 17-mile long run with the final 7.5 miles around 8:19/mi. I'm targeting sub-4 for NYC.

One thing I've noticed through this training cycle is that my aerobic fitness seems to be developing faster than my body's durability. Cardiovascularly I can feel fantastic while my hips/back/feet/etc. occasionally remind me that I've only been doing this for 15 months.

It has me really curious about people who started running in their late 30s or 40s rather than people who've been running since high school or college:

What changed for you between year 1 and years 2–4?

Did you keep getting substantially faster? Did durability improve more than speed? Did there come a point where your body seemed to "catch up" with your aerobic fitness? And how much did increasing mileage versus simply spending more time consistently running contribute?

I'd especially love to hear what your weekly mileage and half/marathon times looked like in year 1 versus a few years later.

I'm obviously focused on getting through my first marathon healthy right now, but I'm fascinated by what another 2–3 years of consistent training might actually do.

I turned 40 last year, and part of my mid life crisis is breaking a 20min 5k (much cheaper than a convertible and hair plugs). I’m currently running a 5k in the 23:00 range without really focusing on speed work. Just like…running. I’m going to incorporate some new training methods w/ speed work and try to break into the sub20 range. Anyone out there have a midlife PR crisis? What was it? Did you make it? Should I just buy the convertible?

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