This guy ran a 2:43 marathon at age 30, declined after that, and with the help of coaches and gear ran 2:39 at age 42.
He has a companion piece with gear: https://www.wired.com/gallery/helpful-gear-for-marathon-runners/
As a late starter, I have no doubt that my best performance came well after age 30, but I do wonder if I have passed my peak. I don't run enough regular events to see any trends, and don't do enough regular training to see any improvement. I am not convinced that stretching is that helpful, though I wouldn't argue with professional trainers. One exhaustive resource describes a balance between risk of injury from lack of flexibility and reduced performance from excessive flexibility.We go slower as we age, but we also age when we start to go slower.
Meanwhile, a couple of times a week, I would fire up an app on my phone and actually do some non-running exercise and stretching.
My opinion on stretching is it helps reduce injuries as muscles become tight from repeated heavy use. That's probably the same as your comment about balance, that stretching a tight muscle simply moves back to the middle. I think I'm still moving toward my peak, with improvements coming faster than my body is slowing down. Would I have been better if I'd started ten years earlier? Probably, but I was never going to be elite. I question if I have the physiology to qualify for Boston (I don't question if I have the determination or commitment to try to find out).
Happy to hear I'm on a very similar schedule to the author of this article. Following a program is essential if you're serious about running a "good" (whatever that means to you, or Boston in some cases...) time. People like Jack Daniels, the physiologists in this article, and elsewhere praise VO2 max estimates or actual studies, and looping in interval and other types of training into your schedule. Running fast is a delicate balance.When I don’t have a marathon on the horizon, I’ll end up covering 30 to 40 miles a week. In the three months leading up to a marathon, I’ll do 20-mile runs on the weekend and speed up some of my commutes. Those weeks, I run closer to 50 or 60 miles.
I'm definitely not hitting the same miles, though I may try to get closer next year. Last year I peaked at 40 miles, and it damn near killed me. This year my injury was after sustained 30 mile weeks, but that wasn't specific to weekly miles but rather muscle/form issues. I'm hopeful I can push past that plateau. A lot of marathon training plans max at 40 miles. These are the plans for people googling "marathon training plan" and not elite or serious experienced runner plans. For me I think if I'm doing a lot of cross training, 40 miles is an acceptable peak. I might buy a Garmin 935.
Do you have a heart rate monitor? Thinking it's about time I bought one.
I do have a heart rate monitor. I currently use a Garmin 230 which uses the chest strap monitor. I found it really useful when I was first starting to run further because it would alarm when my heart rate was too high. Now that I know what too high feels like, I don't really need it. It didn't alarm once in my recent half. The other fancy gizmos intrigue me, especially stuff that reports imbalance between sides. I'd need the fancy watch for that.
For me, the takeaways of cross training and stretching help validate what I've been doing. I need to get back to doing speed workouts, but my Tuesday run club is a good threshold run. The pressure of sticking with fast runners keeps me moving.