I’ve never done a 5K race before, but I want to go as low as possible.
What is my best strategy with only 51 days to go
A. Focus on speed (shorter runs with high intensity, intervals, hills)
B. Focus on long runs (at slow pace)
C. Mix of A and B
I am coming of a huge swim focus and have never been much of a runner.
I’m up to about 20 miles a week. Here is my past week for reference
Sunday - 5K (23:36) Pushed pretty hard - I think 23:00 would be my best effort today
Monday - 2.5 miles (8:00 pace)
Tuesday - 3 miles wu, fast, cd (8:30, 6:05, 8:15)
Wednesday - 4 miles (8-8:30 pace)
Thursday - 2 miles (7:30-8 pace)
Friday - 2 miles (8:30 pace)
Saturday - 5 miles (8:30 pace in 100 degree weather)
Clearly, I wont be able to jump into something like 6 x 6 miles/week without getting hurt. Nor should I be going to the track and laying down 400/800s repeatedly - I’d get hurt.
So what do I do to maximize my gains in just under 2 months? I’d really like to hit 21:00 - but that may be too ambitious.
Since you’re probably located in the northern hemisphere the temperature on race day will likely be much cooler than it is today. That should be a plus. If you’re carrying any extra poundage, get rid of it. The less of you there is to get point A to point B the better. Conditioning will come in time (if you’re not too old like me). Good luck at the race and don’t hurt yourself!
Sunday - 5K (23:36) Pushed pretty hard - I think 23:00 would be my best effort today
*Monday - 2.5 miles (8:00 pace)
Tuesday - 3 miles wu, fast, cd (8:30, 6:05, 8:15)
Wednesday - 4 miles (8-8:30 pace)
*Thursday - 2 miles (7:30-8 pace)
*Friday - 2 miles (8:30 pace)
Saturday - 5 miles (8:30 pace in 100 degree weather)
The three I have marked with an asterisk seem like padding to me; just adding miles without any benefit.
When you go out for a run you should ask yourself “what is the SPECIFIC purpose of THIS run?”. If the answer is Padding, there is little or no point.
I believe it’s better to get good quality in all your runs and then fully to recover from them. You gain fitness on your rest days - not while training!
Sunday: Hard 5k - I’d do this as a fartlek; run fast sections and others not so fast.
Monday: swim - or something other than running
Tuesday: 3 miles: 1/2 mile building to race speed, 2 miles race speed, 1/2 mile easy.
Wednesday: 45 minutes steady (not easy)
Thursday: swim - or something other than running
Friday: swim - or something other than running
Saturday: 60 minutes steady (not easy) - this will make Sunday’s run more difficult and Monday’s rest day crucial.
Above is merely my suggestion from my experience - question/challenge/tweak or ignore as you see fit. But don’t forget to enjoy yourself!
/Trev
When you go out for a run you should ask yourself “what is the SPECIFIC purpose of THIS run?”. If the answer is Padding, there is little or no point.
There is no such thing as padding for someone running 18 miles a week with an ~23:00 5k. Working weekly mileage up over time is going to be the absolute most important thing to improve a 5k from where the OP stands.
I think tempo runs, and doing long intervals (such as 1200s - 1mile) will be the most bang for your buck. Try 4 or 5 x 1 mile @ desired race pace with a 2 minute jog in between. Optimally, you’d need more time than 51 days to properly train, and the more (easy!) miles the better. Be sure to keep easy runs easy, and hard runs hard. Good luck!
When you go out for a run you should ask yourself “what is the SPECIFIC purpose of THIS run?”. If the answer is Padding, there is little or no point.
There is no such thing as padding for someone running 18 miles a week with an ~23:00 5k. Working weekly mileage up over time is going to be the absolute most important thing to improve a 5k from where the OP stands.
I don’t agree; and I did state that I was only giving my opinion based on my experience. My experience shows that it’s better to do more challenging runs and absorb them before doing the next run. Either way (mileage or quality) you are training your body to overcome stress - why not make the stress more specific?
(1) Your current fitness is likely better than a 23min 5k. Heck you did a 22:50 3-miler where you didn’t even “race” miles 1 and 3. Also you ran a 6:05mi and your typical regular miles are in the low to mid 8s. My guess is you just need to learn now to run/race a 5k and/or you just need to actually be in a race situation.
(2) Can you pick up a local 5k race this wknd or next? If not go run 5k all out and see what you can post. Plug your time into McMillan’s running calculator http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm] and get your training zones. Based on a 6:05 mile time, it suggests you can run a low 21 5k if the appropriate training is there. Even given the relatively low mpw, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could post a 22.
(3) Do at least one tempo run and one speedwork/track session per week based on the training zones set my McMillan
(4) Slowly increase mileage/intensity. I don’t necessarily increase mileage each week. I tend to keep mpw steady for a couple weeks but I’ll try to increase the overall intensity each week (ie, increase in tempo miles, 800 repeats, etc.)
When you go out for a run you should ask yourself “what is the SPECIFIC purpose of THIS run?”. If the answer is Padding, there is little or no point.
There is no such thing as padding for someone running 18 miles a week with an ~23:00 5k. Working weekly mileage up over time is going to be the absolute most important thing to improve a 5k from where the OP stands.
I don’t agree; and I did state that I was only giving my opinion based on my experience. My experience shows that it’s better to do more challenging runs and absorb them before doing the next run. Either way (mileage or quality) you are training your body to overcome stress - why not make the stress more specific?
Because the body needs time to recover , but when recovering you can get the body ready for more specific runs the next week and to increase next weeks mileage. It is a slow building process.
(1) Your current fitness is likely better than a 23min 5k. Heck you did a 22:50 3-miler where you didn’t even “race” miles 1 and 3. Also you ran a 6:05mi and your typical regular miles are in the low to mid 8s. My guess is you just need to learn now to run/race a 5k and/or you just need to actually be in a race situation.
(2) Can you pick up a local 5k race this wknd or next? If not go run 5k all out and see what you can post. Plug your time into McMillan’s running calculator http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/...unningcalculator.htm] and get your training zones. Based on a 6:05 mile time, it suggests you can run a low 21 5k if the appropriate training is there. Even given the relatively low mpw, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could post a 22.
(3) Do at least one tempo run and one speedwork/track session per week based on the training zones set my McMillan
(4) Slowly increase mileage/intensity. I don’t necessarily increase mileage each week. I tend to keep mpw steady for a couple weeks but I’ll try to increase the overall intensity each week (ie, increase in tempo miles, 800 repeats, etc.)
+1
Face it you’re not fast enough to really contend with the “real” runners.
Just decide to train, do the event at near puking speed and just see what happens…
Face it you’re not fast enough to really contend with the “real” runners.
Just decide to train, do the event at near puking speed and just see what happens…
Boy, I am really in a pissy mood today.
That was harsh.
Just do the best you can, and enjoy your accomplishments. From reading your current level of training, you will do well, just remember to taper the last week leading up to race day. Good luck!!!
Figure out exactly how fast you can run without puking and run slightly faster than that on race day. If you dont make a mess at the finish line, you didnt run hard enough.
Go do lots of 65 second 400s and 2:10 800s, that should get your body used to the hurt that you need to endure.
You need speed. Get thee to a track once a week for the next 6 weeks. Don’t overthink the workouts. Alternate straight 400s, 800s, 1200s, miles and back down until the race. Get your goal speeds for the intervals by plugging in recent performances in McMillan’s running calculator. You’re a newbie so keep the hard work at 2-2.5 miles total. Warm up and cool down to make 5-7 miles.
Do another workout where you run 15-20 minutes at tempo speed.
Keep up the rest of your running.
You’ll do fine.
You can look up BarryP’s posts on running too, but by the time you read and implement that stuff effectively…the 51 days will be half over! Definitely consult it for the long haul…
Fair assessment.
I just want to do my best and make sure my training from here till the race is the most productive and safe I can make it.
The race is not too competitive - 400 participants last year with a winning time of 17 flat. 21:00 was good enough for top 20, 22:00 was top 30. 23:00 was top 40.
If I can place 20th instead of 40th by optimizing my training, why not?
Good improvement the last couple weeks.
Last night ran 5 miles in 38:05
Mile 1: 7:36
Mile 2: 7:13
Mile 3: 7:37
Mile 4: 7:40
Mile 5: 7:54 (straight uphill)
I went through the 5K mark right around 23:00. I’ve got 5 weeks till the race, 22:00 is looking possible, but still difficult.
Definitely consult it for the long haul…