Let me share a secret for our age group followers. Our philosophy is that off a base level of fitness, 16 weeks is the magic number to maximum aerobic fitness. (This is an arbitrary number because some athletes will take a little longer, some talented athletes shorter. However, time and experience have proven it’s accuracy.)
Outside these times we work on techniques and training philosophies to help athletes be faster in the long term view.
If you are looking to October this year as your big race, then you may consider pacing your preparation intelligently. It’s not volume, volume, volume. Hard is hard. Easy is short and very easy. Stick to black or white. It’s the grey in between days that kill you. That’s the real secret sauce.
Coaches and training plans are available to help you prepare for your best race.