5K workouts

LloydChristmas

I'm looking to work on my 5k speed for the 6-8 weeks... Any advice on some good workouts and weekly structure... Am looking to knock about 1min off my current PB. I have never really done speed work in training so hope it will help


Cheers...

pconn062

If you've never done any speedwork before I would start with something gentle like some fartlek. You could start with alternating 1 minute hard/1 minute easy for twenty minutes. Do this over a hilly route for added strength. You can then build this up: 2 mins on/1 min off, 3 mins on/1 min off. One session a week is loads for now.

LloydChristmas

Sorry, I have and do run fast often just have never done a proper session if that makes sense...I am looking for what is considered some of the best 5k specific workouts in your opinion? i.e 5x1k at goal pace etc

pconn062

I you have eight weeks I would do something like the following:

Weeks 1 and 2: Something like the fartlek sessions I suggested earlier, 1 min off/1 min off for 20 mins, 2 mins on/1 min off for 30 mins.

Weeks 3 and 4: Fast than race pace sessions, 10-12x400m @ 3k pace off 60 secs recovery, 20-24x200m off 45 secs recovery

Weeks 5 and 6: Target pace running, 5x1k off 90 secs recovery the first week, 75 seconds recovery the second week

Week 7: Ten days out try 3-4x1 mile @ goal pace off two minutes recovery. If you struggle to finish this you need to readjust your pace

Race week: Something light to keep the legs turning over, maybe 12-16x200m @ race pace

Hope this is something like what you were looking for. Any comments welcome.

Gavlor

pconn062 wrote: »

I you have eight weeks I would do something like the following:

Weeks 1 and 2: Something like the fartlek sessions I suggested earlier, 1 min off/1 min off for 20 mins, 2 mins on/1 min off for 30 mins.

Weeks 3 and 4: Fast than race pace sessions, 10-12x400m @ 3k pace off 60 secs recovery, 20-24x200m off 45 secs recovery

Weeks 5 and 6: Target pace running, 5x1k off 90 secs recovery the first week, 75 seconds recovery the second week

Week 7: Ten days out try 3-4x1 mile @ goal pace off two minutes recovery. If you struggle to finish this you need to readjust your pace

Race week: Something light to keep the legs turning over, maybe 12-16x200m @ race pace

Hope this is something like what you were looking for. Any comments welcome.

Sorry to hijack thread (I'm not really sorry but it's the polite thing to say!) but would you add much to that plan for a 5 miler?

My next target race is in mid jan and I wouldn't mind focusing on the faster stuff for it. All the training I've done to date has been based on longer distances

LloydChristmas

How would you fill the rest of the week? I am thinking 2 easy runs, a speed session as above, and a long run of 10-12 miles.

Total weekly mileage would be in the 30's...Is this enough?

pconn062

Gavlor wrote: »

Sorry to hijack thread (I'm not really sorry but it's the polite thing to say!) but would you add much to that plan for a 5 miler?

My next target race is in mid jan and I wouldn't mind focusing on the faster stuff for it. All the training I've done to date has been based on longer distances

I wouldn't change much to be honest, for the race pace weeks I would replace the kilometer repeats with miles, my coach is a big believers in miles for strength. So 5x1 mile off 90 seconds recovery, do these at race effort rather than pace if the goal pace is too hard at the start. If you are familiar with doing session you could include a second session for the first four weeks, a tempo run starting at 3 miles and building up to 5 miles (this should be a comfortably hard effort, about 10 mile race pace for you).

pconn062

LloydChristmas wrote: »

How would you fill the rest of the week? I am thinking 2 easy runs, a speed session as above, and a long run of 10-12 miles.

Total weekly mileage would be in the 30's...Is this enough?

It really depends on the runner, I am training for a few 5k's at the minute and am running between 50-60 miles a week, but I've built that up slowly over a number of months. It's not wise to try and increase mileage and introduce speedwork at the same time as it can lead to injury so for now I would go with your plan if that's what you're familiar with. If you decide to target a 5k race again in the future you could spend a few weeks building up your mileage slowly, maybe adding another days running every week, before introducing speedwork, the greatest gains you will get in your training come by increasing your mileage slowly and steadily. Speedwork is just the icing on the cake.

ecoli

LloydChristmas wrote: »

I'm looking to work on my 5k speed for the 6-8 weeks... Any advice on some good workouts and weekly structure... Am looking to knock about 1min off my current PB. I have never really done speed work in training so hope it will help


Cheers...

What is your running background like? Its all well and good for people to devise training schedules but different people react differently to different training stimuli so by asking a few questions can help get a clearer picture in order to be able to help answer your question. The one thing I will say is 5k is a strength event not speed so you will find the stronger you are the better you will perform and this is a reason why many people hit their 5k PB coming off the back of marathon training.

How long are you running?
What kinda mileage have you averaged the last 6 months?
What are your current PBs? (not just at 5k)
How many days a week do you normally run?
Any recent injuries?

pconn062

Yes, I agree with ecoli, the plan I posted is a generic plan with ideas that have worked for me but may not work for every runner. But not everyone has access to a coach and I think the ideas are generic enough to suit most runners looking to improve over the 5k distance, given they can handle the sessions and are smart enough to know when to pull back if the sessions are too much.

LloydChristmas

How long are you running?
about 2 years but have never put in much effort to training..I kinda just show up to races with a couple of runs done beforehand and push as hard as I can. Always swear to myself that I will train properly for the next race...

What kinda mileage have you averaged the last 6 months?
No point in giving an average figure here as I training is on/off constantly..lets just say good weeks would be mid 30s, bad weeks are zero

What are your current PBs? (not just at 5k)
5k: 21.15
5m: 36.50
10m: 75
half: 1:44
mar: 4:20

I definitely prefer shorter faster races. My times gradually decline as the distance gets longer. Obviously this is an endurance issue

How many days a week do you normally run? 4

Any recent injuries? Nope...relatively young, active and slim

ecoli

LloydChristmas wrote: »

How long are you running?
about 2 years but have never put in much effort to training..I kinda just show up to races with a couple of runs done beforehand and push as hard as I can. Always swear to myself that I will train properly for the next race...

What kinda mileage have you averaged the last 6 months?
No point in giving an average figure here as I training is on/off constantly..lets just say good weeks would be mid 30s, bad weeks are zero

What are your current PBs? (not just at 5k)
5k: 21.15
5m: 36.50
10m: 75
half: 1:44
mar: 4:20

I definitely prefer shorter faster races. My times gradually decline as the distance gets longer. Obviously this is an endurance issue

How many days a week do you normally run? 4

Any recent injuries? Nope...relatively young, active and slim

My advice would be to forget sessions and focus on strength and consistency. As pconn said speedwork is just icing on the cake but will only work if the base layer is there.

Over the next 6-8 weeks I would advise 2 easy runs, 1 steady run and a long run and progress incrementally

If you are worried about your turnover finish up your easy runs with 6/8 strides of 60-120m at roughly 5k effort (no hard or fast rule here i.e rough distances and paces are fine).

If you are able to string together nearly 2 months of this you will see your times come down

LloydChristmas

Cheers...I guess I am a a bit worried about running garbage miles and want to get at least one faster session in a week..Will def try and focus on just running consistently

ecoli

LloydChristmas wrote: »

Cheers...I guess I am a a bit worried about running garbage miles and want to get at least one faster session in a week..Will def try and focus on just running consistently

This is a misconception. Train smarter not harder and you will see results. As I said before 5k is a strength based even predominantly and people tend to forget that.

Google guys like Lydiard (coach) or even Dathan Ritzenheim (athlete), these are good examples of this being implemented in practical settings. The fact of the matter is off 30 mpw you are not aerobically conditioned enough to get the optimum results from "speedwork"

clickerquicklic

Hijacking thread sorry ,
I run twice a week a 5km on a Wednesday , I do this about 23-24mins , then on Saturday I do the parkrun flat out , I have my time on that down to 21:30 , I do this most weeks often I will miss my Wednesday run and just run the Saturday , when I do run Wednesday I certainly find the park run easier to do a PB.

I've been reading a few threads about running 30 miles a week for 5km training would that make a real difference in my times?
Would a sub 20 be possible for me doing 21:30 PB at the moment .

Thanks in advance

Cona

Hi Clicker
I was in your position only last year. I was stuck at 21.xx for a 5k and knew I wasn't going to get faster unless i trained properly. I focussed on my weak areas, which for me was lack of endurance and aerobic capacity. So I made a decision to get stronger in these areas which from reading books and threads on here you will see that lots of easy and long runs is the best way to this. I ran my first 5k a few weeks back and clocked 19.50 so as you can see something is working.

If you re-read the thread above ecoli gives you all the info you need, you just need to dissect it a bit better and put it to use. Running really is one to the simplest sports in the world. If you want to run faster, you need to run more. Simple.

Now to answer your question above...You are running a 5k in 21.30 off 10k (6 miles) of running a week is actually pretty decent so you clearly have some fitness in you. If you want to beat 21.30 I would say, knock the parkrun on the head for 4 weeks and run more mileage for that month. You wont improve by racing all out every week. I would say 30-35 miles will do for now. Fill your week with 2 easy runs, 1 tempo run and a long run and you will see huge benefits. Something like:

Mon: 5m EASY + (6 * 100m sprints at current 5k pace)
Wed: 2M warm up, 3m tempo, 1m cool down (tempo pace may be around 7.30min/mile for you)
Thur: 6m Easy
Sat: 8-10miles EASY (long and slow) - around 9.30 min/mile

clickerquicklic

Cona wrote: »

Hi Clicker
I was in your position only last year. I was stuck at 21.xx for a 5k and knew I wasn't going to get faster unless i trained properly. I focussed on my weak areas, which for me was lack of endurance and aerobic capacity. So I made a decision to get stronger in these areas which from reading books and threads on here you will see that lots of easy and long runs is the best way to this. I ran my first 5k a few weeks back and clocked 19.50 so as you can see something is working.

If you re-read the thread above ecoli gives you all the info you need, you just need to dissect it a bit better and put it to use. Running really is one to the simplest sports in the world. If you want to run faster, you need to run more. Simple.

Now to answer your question above...You are running a 5k in 21.30 off 10k (6 miles) of running a week is actually pretty decent so you clearly have some fitness in you. If you want to beat 21.30 I would say, knock the parkrun on the head for 4 weeks and run more mileage for that month. You wont improve by racing all out every week. I would say 30-35 miles will do for now. Fill your week with 2 easy runs, 1 tempo run and a long run and you will see huge benefits. Something like:

Mon: 5m EASY + (6 * 100m sprints at current 5k pace)
Wed: 2M warm up, 3m tempo, 1m cool down (tempo pace may be around 7.30min/mile for you)
Thur: 6m Easy
Sat: 8-10miles EASY (long and slow) - around 9.30 min/mile

Awesome response really appreciated thanks alot.
Will try this next week and see how it goes.

Congrats on getting your sub 20

clickerquicklic

Started this plan Monday this week (was unwell last week)

Monday 5m EASY - I could barely make 5mile after 3miles my legs just felt so heavy kept going did it in 37mins
Wednesday Did 2miles easy then 3miles at a faster pace around 4.40m/km skipped the 1m cool down because I was dead
Thursday 6m EASY - this was really tough after 7km I just had nothing left legs where very heavy and I struggled along to finish , did it in 49mins all my splits where within a few seconds of each other 4.55 fastest split - 5.05 slowest split

Anyway I really don't know if ill make this 8-10miles run on Saturday my legs are very heavy feeling today, was my 6M Easy too fast for an easy run ?

Thanks

pointer28

clickerquicklic wrote: »

Started this plan Monday this week (was unwell last week)

Monday 5m EASY - I could barely make 5mile after 3miles my legs just felt so heavy kept going did it in 37mins
Wednesday Did 2miles easy then 3miles at a faster pace around 4.40m/km skipped the 1m cool down because I was dead
Thursday 6m EASY - this was really tough after 7km I just had nothing left legs where very heavy and I struggled along to finish , did it in 49mins all my splits where within a few seconds of each other 4.55 fastest split - 5.05 slowest split

Anyway I really don't know if ill make this 8-10miles run on Saturday my legs are very heavy feeling today, was my 6M Easy too fast for an easy run ?

Thanks

If you're faster pace is 4:40 and your easy pace is 5:00 something aint right. It sounds like your easy pace is too fast.

What times have you run in any other races?

dna_leri

The McMillan calculator is your best place for pacing:
http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/

For your current fitness 21:30 5K you should be:
Easy Run: 4:58-5:36
Long Run: 5:00-5:48
Tempo Run: 4:27-4:38

krafty

I've just finished training for my first half marathon (phoenix park last weekend). Now I want to switch my focus to shorter distances, especially 5K, for the foreseeable future. There is no goal race in mind yet.

I'd love to hear some opinions on what sort of training would be appropriate for my ability, or what has worked for people at a similar stage in their running. I've recently ran 18:10 for 5K which is my PB. McMillan suggests a range of distances and training paces, but I don't know which would suit best, or how much I should be doing. Any advice is appreciated.

ecoli

krafty wrote: »

I've just finished training for my first half marathon (phoenix park last weekend). Now I want to switch my focus to shorter distances, especially 5K, for the foreseeable future. There is no goal race in mind yet.

I'd love to hear some opinions on what sort of training would be appropriate for my ability, or what has worked for people at a similar stage in their running. I've recently ran 18:10 for 5K which is my PB. McMillan suggests a range of distances and training paces, but I don't know which would suit best, or how much I should be doing. Any advice is appreciated.

Hopefully this will offer a good reference point, simple, easy to follow and effective approach;

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/solving-5k-puzzle?page=single

krafty

ecoli wrote: »

Hopefully this will offer a good reference point, simple, easy to follow and effective approach;

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/solving-5k-puzzle?page=single

Thank you ecoli, that article and the pages it links to are brilliant. One thing - I don't think it mentions anything on strength training exercises. I usually try to do one 20-30min session per week of bridges, planks, squats - do you think that's too much/too little, or should I just focus on getting the running right for now? Thanks!

ecoli

krafty wrote: »

Thank you ecoli, that article and the pages it links to are brilliant. One thing - I don't think it mentions anything on strength training exercises. I usually try to do one 20-30min session per week of bridges, planks, squats - do you think that's too much/too little, or should I just focus on getting the running right for now? Thanks!

I would say it's fine to keep doing what you are doing if you are feeling benefits.

The likes of the hills will offer good leg and calf strengthening also but the main focus I would say would be on running unless you have a particular biomechanical issue that keeps causing you injury problems/ niggles on a regular basis.