<< << If anyone out there has thoughts on how someone my age should allocate money in a 401(k) plan, I'm interested in hearing your ideas. >>
Go for as close to an index fund as you can. Agitate for them to add one to your investment choices. >>

I agree. Although I am self-employed now, I am
amazed looking back at some of the pathetic choices
available to the 401K plans I had available. One
of my most recent jobs had 6 mutual funds to pick
from (a growth fund, a balanced fund, a couple of
specialized ones, etc). As I recall, they all had
some type of load and in the aggregate the plan
performance really stank.