sub 35 minute 10km??

cantona56

Hey, so i want to run a 10km this year in under 35 minutes! Im 19years old and im reasonably fit....ran 42mins in december on a mainly off road route! My Pb is 41 minutes. I've rum these races with little or no 10km specific training and rather with fitness gained from GAA!

Now though i have started college and would love to be semi-competitive within the next year or too so the first goal i've set myself is breaking 35. My question is what would be a reasonable time frame?? Is the Bupa 10km in April too ambitious??.....Heres a sample of the sessions i do per week.

Mon: Tempo: 10mins easy, 20mins race pace, 10mins easy
Tue: Easy run 30mins
Wed: rest
Thur: Speed: 4x400m at 1.13 pace
Fri: Easy run 30mins
Sat: Long slow distance 50mins
Sun: rest

* also i think losing some weight could gain me a minute or two, im currently eleven stone but my diet has lots of room for improvement. If i could get down to 10stone for my race weight i think i could improve alot?
Would love to hear the advice of some of you experienced runners.:D

ir666

You are young! This is positive.

From 41 to sub 35 is quite a jump.

My mantra is: run with a club.

Aim for sub 40 first.

If you train in a serious manner you will improve alot. This is for sure. But dont be too greedy. Gradual progression is better to avoid injury etc

village runner

cantona56 wrote: »

Hey, so i want to run a 10km this year in under 35 minutes! Im 19years old and im reasonably fit....ran 42mins in december on a mainly off road route! My Pb is 41 minutes. I've rum these races with little or no 10km specific training and rather with fitness gained from GAA!

Now though i have started college and would love to be semi-competitive within the next year or too so the first goal i've set myself is breaking 35. My question is what would be a reasonable time frame?? Is the Bupa 10km in April too ambitious??.....Heres a sample of the sessions i do per week.

Mon: Tempo: 10mins easy, 20mins race pace, 10mins easy
Tue: Easy run 30mins
Wed: rest
Thur: Speed: 4x400m at 1.13 pace
Fri: Easy run 30mins
Sat: Long slow distance 50mins
Sun: rest

* also i think losing some weight could gain me a minute or two, im currently eleven stone but my diet has lots of room for improvement. If i could get down to 10stone for my race weight i think i could improve alot?
Would love to hear the advice of some of you experienced runners.:D

Are you able to run 5.5km in 20 min already ??? Going by your monday session you are ??? Going by 41 min for 10km you aint. You would need to be 37 min for 10km for that running. I aint an experienced runner but your numbers dont add up. Get below 40 min and kick on. In 2008 i never broke 40 min. I 2009 i broke 38 at first attempt. I know serious runners that barely get under 35 min. Goal of mine too to break 35 but along off it(possible sub 37)
Go to a local track run 4 laps as hard as you can and stick it into mcmillan runnning. You have youth on your side.
73 seconds for 400 is ambitious but manageable as you are only doing 4.

token56

My honest opinion is that you are being too ambitious. 41 mins for 10k is a respectful enough time but 35 mins is certainly not trivial and would be considered a pretty good standard. If you have ability and train hard you probably can achieve that sort of a time but I think it might be asking too much too soon of yourself. Going from a pb of 41 mins to 35 mins would be a pretty big jump and would be very hard to achieve in time for April imo.

You have aimed to run the bupa 10k in April and that gives some good time to get some decent training in. My advice would be aim for a more modest target for this race, maybe 39mins or 38 mins. If you beat this by some margin fair enough, but either way you will have a good idea of where you are and what you are capable of. Then for your next 10k set yourself an updated goal, if you now think 35 mins is possible then train hard and go for it.

In terms of your training you are really only beginning and what you are doing is not bad at all. First of all I suppose I prefer to general train in terms of distance rather than time as I find its easier to assess my training afterwards. So instead of a 30 min run, a 4 mile run or whatever. This will also help when deciding what you think you are capable of come closer to race time but do what works best for you. As your training goes on maybe increase the distance on the easier runs and the long slow run too. On the speed session I'd also be inclinded to maybe do a few more 400's maybe say 6 or 8 in total but at a slightly slower pace to adjust for this. In time you could also try do sessions like 4 x 1 mile or 800's. This gets good speed endurance into the legs. Anyway there are a few train programmes out there if you want to take a look at them too. I think you will find them in stickies somewhere under Useful Links.

Best of luck with your training OP.

wizwill

I would suggest you set yourself a more reasonable goal. To put it into context what you are attempting, 56 of 7900 people achieved sub 35 in Bupa 09 , around the same number in the national 10k. You are looking to run faster than the fastest female in the national 10k in 2009. Perhaps focus on breaking 38 this year.

limericklion

cantona56 wrote: »

Hey, so i want to run a 10km this year in under 35 minutes! Im 19years old and im reasonably fit....ran 42mins in december on a mainly off road route! My Pb is 41 minutes. I've rum these races with little or no 10km specific training and rather with fitness gained from GAA!

Now though i have started college and would love to be semi-competitive within the next year or too so the first goal i've set myself is breaking 35. My question is what would be a reasonable time frame?? Is the Bupa 10km in April too ambitious??.....Heres a sample of the sessions i do per week.

Mon: Tempo: 10mins easy, 20mins race pace, 10mins easy
Tue: Easy run 30mins
Wed: rest
Thur: Speed: 4x400m at 1.13 pace
Fri: Easy run 30mins
Sat: Long slow distance 50mins
Sun: rest

* also i think losing some weight could gain me a minute or two, im currently eleven stone but my diet has lots of room for improvement. If i could get down to 10stone for my race weight i think i could improve alot?
Would love to hear the advice of some of you experienced runners.:D

A 35 minute 10k is about 5.35 mile pace. This is not something that can be plucked out of the air on a January evening. I would say firstly that you are young and have time on your side so this is not a lost cause just yet however if your mentality does not change it soon could. It is not possible to go from 41 minutes in a 10k well over six minute mile pace to a sub 35 in the matter of a few months. If you believe in fairytales then it may happen but athletics and in particular distance running there is no such thing. It is irrational for a runner with extremely limited aerobic fitness as GAA training only covers short speed work to think that a sub 35 minute 10k can be so easily achieved. Now for the constructive part

Increase your 50 minute run to 1 hour+ increase by five minutes each week until you can reach eg 80-90minutes. 12 -14 weeks Consoliate at 70 minutes for two weeks and the same at 80. Do not rush things as this is how injury occurs.

Increase 30mins runs by five minutes each week until 1 hour is reached approx 8 weeks consoliate at 45 for two weeks.

Take only one day off during the week add a 30 minute run on wednesday and add 5 minutes per week until one hour is reached.

Invest in a heart rate monitor if you want to take this seriously and run at roughly 85 per cent of max on tempo. You are nineteen so your max heart rate is between 196-203. This is a rough estimate based on common athletes your age . Get it tested in a lab if you want. Tempo is comfortably hard not at race pace. Although as you get fitter your pace on these runs will increase but the heart rate monitor will monitor your effort. Do not race the tempo.

Increase the 400s to five to six etc then move up to 600-800 at your target pace and jog the recovery.

Go to a doctor and get a health check prior to an increase like this we the reader do not know your health status.

Balanced diet is all you need with good sleep patterns. Keep of the dreaded drink and only consume in moderation.

Join a club in your locality and join a running club in your college.

Run on soft terain ie grass, forest dirtpaths. Keep of concrete and footpaths and wear good running shoes if you are starting, then research correct shoe type. Motion control are always good for beginners such as the Nike Darts and are relatively cheap in comparison to asics. Motion control are durable heavy and strong designed for beginners to distance training and for athletes who suffer from flat feet as they have a tendenacy to over pronate and strain the joints.

Gradual progression will occur with consistant training and try to add a few hilly runs as they will strenghten the core region of your body. If the weather is wet and windy and you feel like taking the day off think of your long term targets and motivate yourself to go out and do your job. No excuses unless you feel sick or are injured. If so identify injured area foam roll and try to cross train ie cycling on bike although intervals are more aerobically beneficial on bikes ie 5 by 1 minute 3 by 3 minutes then your standard 30mins cycle. Include the intervals as part of a 1 hour cycle.

These are just some suggestions ignore them if you want.

cantona56

thanks very much for your replies. OK, i accept that 35 is probably being greedy and over ambitious and should be a year or two away at the moment. Im going set 38 as my new goal. Thanks for the training advice aswell btw, really need as much of that as i can get!

theFinishLine

limericklion is dead right - GAA players - of all levels - have this false preception that running any distances such as 1500m, 3KM, 5KM, 5mile etc is "easy". I would re-iterate what the other posters have said - that a jump to sub 35 minutes is far to ambitious too quickly. There are some very good training tips and schedules, sessions etc posted as replies.

I have ran under 35 minutes many times - and I feel that the biggest component of this is the old recepie "miles in the legs" - unless you are an experienced runner with serious milage built up you cannot take two rest days per week.

My feeling is that to run sub 35 mins for a 10KM you should be able to "comfortably" run 10KM in training in about 43 minutes. That is only MY opinion.

Your focus on speed work shows you have the right frame of mind.

Finally BUPA aside - when you get into the sub 35 minutes for 10KM you will find yourself at the business end of many of the smaller road races in Ireland. Take the Dunshaughlin 10KM http://www.dunshaughlinac.com/10k.asp

Sub 35 minutes here - 27 people managed it. Reading the names - it is a who's who of amateur running (non scholarship - non semi-pro) in Ireland.

Go out there and get sub 40 minutes and you will build from there.

cfitz

cantona56 wrote: »

Hey, so i want to run a 10km this year in under 35 minutes! Im 19years old and im reasonably fit....ran 42mins in december on a mainly off road route! My Pb is 41 minutes. I've rum these races with little or no 10km specific training and rather with fitness gained from GAA!

Now though i have started college and would love to be semi-competitive within the next year or too so the first goal i've set myself is breaking 35. My question is what would be a reasonable time frame?? Is the Bupa 10km in April too ambitious??.....Heres a sample of the sessions i do per week.

Mon: Tempo: 10mins easy, 20mins race pace, 10mins easy
Tue: Easy run 30mins
Wed: rest
Thur: Speed: 4x400m at 1.13 pace
Fri: Easy run 30mins
Sat: Long slow distance 50mins
Sun: rest

* also i think losing some weight could gain me a minute or two, im currently eleven stone but my diet has lots of room for improvement. If i could get down to 10stone for my race weight i think i could improve alot?
Would love to hear the advice of some of you experienced runners.:D

First of all, I think that your training program looks excellent. It's not really geared towards 10km, but it's probably perfect for the level you are at at the moment. 35 minutes for 10km might not come as soon as you would like, but it's definitely not an overly ambitious goal. Joining a good club that has a good attentive coach is something that I would definitely advise - in my opinion it's the factor that's most likely to get you to your goal. Lastly, I don't think there's any need to set such a definitive goal so early in your running career. Race a bit, (especially at shorter distances, 10k is too far for a beginner in my humble opinion) and see how you get on.

tunguska

I'd say from 41 to sub 35 is certainly possible in the space of 3 months of solid training. But you really have to be dedicated, work hard and sort out your diet. I think what you have going in your favor is your ambition. I know you need to be realistic but at the same time dont fall into the classic Irish mentality of selling yourself short.
Like VR was saying, make sure your 5k is up to scratch. I mean if you cant run a 17 minute 5k on its own then your chances of a sub 35 10k are pretty minimal. There are a few races between now and bupa in April so my advice would be to do those races because they'll give you a great indication of whether or not the sub 35 10k is on or not.

limericklion

tunguska wrote: »

I'd say from 41 to sub 35 is certainly in the space of 3 months of solid training. But you really have to be dedicated, work hard and sort out your diet. I think what you have going in your favor is your ambition. I know you need to be realistic but at the same time dont fall into the classic Irish mentality of selling yourself short.
Like VR was saying, make sure your 5k is up to scratch. I mean if you cant run a 17 minute 5k on its own then your chances of a sub 35 10k are pretty minimal. There are a few races between now and bupa in April so my advice would be to do those races because they'll give you a great indication of whether or not the sub 35 10k is on or not.

Solid consistant training is the key. Crash and burn training over a few months will only lead to problems further down the line.

tunguska

limericklion wrote: »

Solid consistant training is the key. Crash and burn training over a few months will only lead to problems further down the line.

Doesnt have to be crash and burn. You can train hard and be realistic and sensible at the same time. If you dont get your sub 35 this time, so what, just try again and keep trying until you achieve your goal.

theFinishLine

tunguska wrote: »

I'd say from 41 to sub 35 is certainly possible in the space of 3 months of solid training. But you really have to be dedicated, work hard and sort out your diet. I think what you have going in your favor is your ambition. I know you need to be realistic but at the same time dont fall into the classic Irish mentality of selling yourself short.
Like VR was saying, make sure your 5k is up to scratch. I mean if you cant run a 17 minute 5k on its own then your chances of a sub 35 10k are pretty minimal. There are a few races between now and bupa in April so my advice would be to do those races because they'll give you a great indication of whether or not the sub 35 10k is on or not.

As limericklion said above - crash and burn just does not work. IF a few months of solid training - from what is in all fairness just a GAA base - worked and we could run sub 35 minute 10KM - then there would be no challenges in this old game of ours.

My opinion of the 10KM race - [a race I dont really love in any way - I should be running it in 32 minutes based on my 5 mile time but always seem to mess it up and end up in the 34 min bracket] -if you want to run sub 35 - your 5KM must be of 16:30 standard. And this is at the high end of amateur running in Ireland.

I believe this chap should set whatever targets he wants to - but a lot of pain and lost opportunity can be avoided by setting targets based on experience. Look to become a frequent sub 40 or 39 10KM finisher first - then build.

Look at the guy a few years back who put a year into running a sub 4 minute mile on the track in UCD. Got to 4-40 (which is incredible) but he came from almost zero running-specific training.

shels4ever

tunguska wrote: »

Doesnt have to be crash and burn. You can train hard and be realistic and sensible at the same time. If you dont get your sub 35 this time, so what, just try again and keep trying until you achieve your goal.

Yep that is true, but if you fairly new to hard training it does take your body time to adapt to increase mileage etc some people will be able to go from low mileage to high mileage very easy, some people it takes longer to adapt , recover and increase again.

3 months is a short time in running terms and would be basically a base phase of training .

So it would be possible for someone to go from 42 to 35 to but be an exception rater then the rule.

traininglog

Limericklion is spot on here-crash and burn woul be the outcome if u plan to train for sub 35mins.I agree that mile sint he legs are a big factor.
To run sub 35 i think mileage per week would have to be around 60+
at the moment you are running 20-25miles per week an to jump up that much in the space of a few months would not be something i would advise.
Cfitz is right when he says your programme looks good.
Set yourself a short term goal with the long term goal being sub 35 ie 1 year-2years.
Are you a member of a running club?
Longer reps needed for 10k,your programme is more 1500m-3k training.
goo luck with your training.