70mins realistic time for 10mile???

DonegalBay

First time posting in running section and just wondering what I should be aiming for timewise. I signed up to do the Bundoran Cara 10miler in March. It is a local race so I want to do it at some point and 70mins would be a good target time but not sure if I have the training/fitness/time to do such a time.

The background
Run when I was young some 20 years ago but was pretty average, no County/Provincial titles or medals or anything like that. Then more or less cold turkey when I went to college, have done a bit of cycling the last few years and tried to get back into running a few times but always seemed to get injured. Had been in ok shape at the start of 2015 due to cycling but that vanished as the year went on as I was heavily involved in the organisational side and had little time to train. Started to run sporadically from October but no more than 20 times over the last 3 months. At the moment I would say I am 10kg over my optimal fitness weight.

On a recent run over 3 miles I pushed myself a little(but not race pace) and did it in approx 21 or 22minutes so that is my starting reference, so I now have 2 months to try and extend this to 10 miles.

I do seem to have a decent starting level of fitness. In 2011 I ran a 5k in 22min with zero training and badly out of shape. I wanted to continue training but injury stopped me not long after. Into 2012 I was again not doing any fitness and completely out of shape but started cycling in February three times a week. In March I added running and at the start of April I ran a 5km in 20.30, a small niggle set me back for 2 weeks but then I ran a 5mile in 34.30 and then a 10k at the start of May in 42.40. All on a month of running. Since then just cycling.

That is my background and why I am aiming for 70mins. Am I being unrealistic in aiming for that time with only 2 months to prep and very little base training done. I know I need to increase the distance in training, today I ran 4 miles at a comfortable pace with no real strain from the extra distance so might step the longer run up to 5miles next week.

All thoughts appreciated.

Some Kind of Wizard

70 minute 10 mile is equivalent to about a 20 minute 5k, with the big assumption that you have the miles in the legs and training behind you for the 10 miles (which you don't currently have). You may be capable of it within 2 months, but to get the mileage up that quickly, enough to run a 70 min 10 mile, is quite a risky thing to do injury wise.

ultrapercy

DonegalBay wrote: »

First time posting in running section and just wondering what I should be aiming for timewise. I signed up to do the Bundoran Cara 10miler in March. It is a local race so I want to do it at some point and 70mins would be a good target time but not sure if I have the training/fitness/time to do such a time.

The background
Run when I was young some 20 years ago but was pretty average, no County/Provincial titles or medals or anything like that. Then more or less cold turkey when I went to college, have done a bit of cycling the last few years and tried to get back into running a few times but always seemed to get injured. Had been in ok shape at the start of 2015 due to cycling but that vanished as the year went on as I was heavily involved in the organisational side and had little time to train. Started to run sporadically from October but no more than 20 times over the last 3 months. At the moment I would say I am 10kg over my optimal fitness weight.

On a recent run over 3 miles I pushed myself a little(but not race pace) and did it in approx 21 or 22minutes so that is my starting reference, so I now have 2 months to try and extend this to 10 miles.

I do seem to have a decent starting level of fitness. In 2011 I ran a 5k in 22min with zero training and badly out of shape. I wanted to continue training but injury stopped me not long after. Into 2012 I was again not doing any fitness and completely out of shape but started cycling in February three times a week. In March I added running and at the start of April I ran a 5km in 20.30, a small niggle set me back for 2 weeks but then I ran a 5mile in 34.30 and then a 10k at the start of May in 42.40. All on a month of running. Since then just cycling.

That is my background and why I am aiming for 70mins. Am I being unrealistic in aiming for that time with only 2 months to prep and very little base training done. I know I need to increase the distance in training, today I ran 4 miles at a comfortable pace with no real strain from the extra distance so might step the longer run up to 5miles next week.

All thoughts appreciated.

If you can absorb and adapt to the training required you can do the time but I suspect you will be putting yourself at a high injury risk. If you aim for a 10 mile race later in the year and build up the training more gradually that risk will not be as high. You must decide if the risk/reward ratio is worth it to run your local race in the time. The other alternative is to relax the time goal for the local race therefore reducing the training load and therefore the injury risk.

DonegalBay

Thanks for the responses, the primary aim is to finish and stay injury free so maybe I will adjust my aim down a bit. What type of training would I need to be doing between then and now?

Personally I was thinking of just continuing with regular 3/4 mile steady runs a few times a week with one longer run which I would be aiming to increase each week. Maybe add in a harder run from February.