Just wondering when most people reference their PR times are they referencing the best time they ever did or the best time while in that age group? I see a lot of people referencing their PR times and was just wondering what point in their lives they are they taking that from. If I have been racing since i was 18 and am now into my 50s, does it make any sense for me to list a time that was over three decades ago? I once did a tri with a rip tide like current to our rear and was able to put down a smoking 1.5k swim time. If you were to look at that time alone without any idea about the conditions you might think I was a swim stud when in reality i suck in the swim. I am not a big fan of PR times as I rather evaluate my progress or lack thereof against the field.
For bragging rights, all time bests.
For current motivation, best times in my latest 5 year bracket…no point chasing one’s former self and if I do manage to post an all time best, then it is gravy. I can post all time bests in races that don’t involve running and my overall tri times can sometimes be alltime bests if I swim and bike like stink and don’t slow down on the run. Just did an all time best in an XC ski race for 53K yesterday, but have no hope of hitting any all time bests running!
For me, every course is very different and most people don’t understand the difference in a “good” or “bad” PR, so it only matters to me. I could not tell you my PR for any distance, but I could for certain races and to the non-tri world, just finishing is impressive.
Use what-ever PR motivates you the most, and if you hear some-one bragging and it seems like a load of sh_t. Call them out.
If you are in your 50’s, talking about when you were a teen-ager, that does seem a little sad to me (unless you won Kona).
…should Usein Bolt stop braggin when he hits his 50’s? I say if you are happy with what you once did, feel free to brag all your life 
I think the (unless you win Kona) thing can be extended to any major accomplishment…but personally I dont give a shit if you did a PB yesterday or 40 years ago (congrats on the XC ski PB, btw :). Whatever gets you to sleep at night…
I like to use my all-time PR’s (of course I’m only 20, so all-time isn’t that long!)
I don’t keep PR’s to brag about, though. My only purpose for my PR’s is to motivate me to beat them and get new PR’s. It is all with the sole intent of going faster really. I couldn’t care less what someone else thinks about my personal records. I am already aware that there are plenty of other people faster than me.
I started over with PRs 4 years ago after I turned 50 but I damn sure ain’t gonna post em as my signature on ST.
I am far from living off my past glory and think I am faster today then I was way back then (in relative terms). My point was that I think if I told you that my PR was 16+ in a 5k that would tell you absolutely nothing…now if I said i just PR my 5k time with a 16+ time…then that might mean something…but then again if I told you I once beat Dave Scott or Lance Armstong in a race…wouldnt that tell you more then a PR time or make you think that i was full of crap and call me out (just an example…not fact)? In truth I did not start running (races) until a few years after college and never really kept track of my times as it was all for fun. Most people assume that PR times are on equal footing when in reality there is often an * that should be applied that it was wind aided or a short measure course etc… I was just posting this as a lot of people like to define their races and progress by PR times.
PR = Personal Record. It stands until you’re dead.
TT racing here involves putting down your best time at the distance in the last three seasons. This keeps everything reasonably current for seeding start orders etc. So on some races you could be entering with a lifetime PR, and some just your “best” time.
In '08 I broke the hour for 25miles. I’ll be entering 25 mile races with that time for the next couple of years I think. I enter 50 mile events with 2.10.xx at the moment. My PR is 2.04.55 from 2003.
Sounds reasonable. I hear a lot more runners throwing out there PRs then time trialist or triathletes. I guess it is a part of the culture. Most Triathletes list their achievments by the races they have competed in (Hawaii etc…) where runners like to show off their best times. Me, I like to throw down my children’s and grandchildren’s achievements.
Heck no!
The fact that I’m old and slow and run 10k’s in the low 50’s now doesn’t negate the fact that I used to run them in the high 30’s.
When you’re old (and slow), it helps to live in the past… 
Sounds reasonable. I hear a lot more runners throwing out there PRs then time trialist or triathletes. I guess it is a part of the culture. Most Triathletes list their achievments by the races they have competed in (Hawaii etc…) where runners like to show off their best times.
I think one factor is that running times (road/track, anyway… trail is a different story) are more apples-to-apples than comparing Tri times. Open-water swim distances are notoriously flaky; I’ve had 1.5k swims vary by over 5 minutes within a matter of a few weeks when my conditioning was pretty steady. I’ve also done different events where the transition zones varied by at least 2-3 minutes; most are at a boat launch with a short ramp to the parking lot, but one is at a park where the T-zone covers several hundred yards of grass until you reach the pavement to start biking. Also, my experience w/ bike times is more influenced by crappy conditions (wind/rain, lousy pavement, lots of turns, etc) than running.
My top several 10Ks are within less than a minute of each other, so the PR for that is pretty “solid” whereas my fastest Oly Tri is about 8 mins faster than my 2nd-best time (so it’s hard to consider it a ‘real’ PR when the swim was obviously short), and of my 2 HIMs the one where I considered myself to be better prepared ended up about 18 mins slower than the other for a variety of reasons related to the course and conditions.
I swam in a masters meet a few weeks ago. I’m thankfull that I can’t remember most of best times, I just be depressed all the time.
I don’t really think of PR’s in triathlon because they are way too course dependent. I know if I raced well and had a good day and I know if I didn’t.
For bragging rights, all time bests.
For current motivation, best times in my latest 5 year bracket…no point chasing one’s former self and if I do manage to post an all time best, then it is gravy.
+1 on this approach.
I’ll never set another run or swim PR, but think I can do a couple more on the bike and in tris.
PR times if consistent are a good gauge of the place you are as an athlete. I look at my 5k and 10K PR’s from college and compare those to my PR’s as 40+. I know that I can never run that fast again because of training time available and more importantly my body is not as young as it was back then.
I think you can use PR’s on Tri’s if you compete on the same course or
consistent average similar times ( EX. Oly Tri - 2:10 - 2:13 - 2:11 …)
and then use your judgement and course accuracy.
I reference my all-time bests. I’m pretty sure no one mistakes my 40 year old self for capable of a 4:24 mile(at 17 yo), for instance. I’d be easily in the 4:45 range…but the leg speed just isn’t there for anything faster. On the other hand…my marathon PR of 2:54 is fairly soft and I’m pretty sure I could give that a go right now if I tapered a bit…with the 100/100 challenge 2/3 of the way into my legs. In fact, my times of the last 5 years rival or are my PBs at certain distances. My IM PB will likely stand…unless I get a lottery spot for Kona…since I’m not planning other IMs anytime soon. I think my 10k PB may go down this year…and is a particular benchmark goal with my focus on duathlon short course nationals and worlds. I’d love for my cycling 40k TT time to go down…but I’m thinking that is a LOOOOOONG shot.
To your point about swim PRs…I don’t know anyone who really references those from racing…because of the things you note: currents, course accuracy, etc. Triathlon 40k bike legs are also a bit problematic due to where the timing mats may be, course accuracy, etc. Hard to compare individual leg times to PBs in any triathlon. In fact, its hard to compare overall times, except on the same course.
My PR times in running are for all time. However, I didn’t start running until I was almost 45. Last year at age 52 I set new PRs in every distance. It could be that some people just haven’t been doing the sport very long so their PRs are really the best they’ve ever done.
I am still setting new PR’s as I age and am now in the 40-44. Maybe this just shows how much I was doing it wrong before.
I too like to pull up old race results and compare results on the same courses and while weather is always a factor, I am amazed that my bike times and swim times are fairly consistent over the years. Like some poster noted, I hope to continue to set a PR on my bike and continue to improve on my swim. I once thought that as I aged up it would get easier…wrong, I am amazed at how many 40+ age groupers are consistently in the top ten overall in many local races…not much of a drop off at 50 either…so I will need to set some PRs if I am going to continue to be competitive.