The Best 10k workouts - by Greg Mcmillan

averagejoe123 · 22-02-2016 2:48pm

Ye the 6.05 was a stupid mistake especially since it was into a slight ascent too. I'm usually pretty cautious not to do silly things like this but the wind threw me off my game.

I thought a tough but achievable goal would of been 38.30 but based on the last session this may be slightly out of reach at the moment. My main 2016 goals are to get my 5k, 10k and half times sub 18,38 and 1.25 but as long as I continue to improve I'll be happy enough.

As I have 2 buffer weeks between now and my target race I will probably use these weeks to do a 5k/parkrun and I will either repeat the last session or add in a 4*1.5 mile workout some stage in the next few weeks.

Do you have your goal race for a PB planned?

Itziger · 22-02-2016 5:25pm

My goal race is one local to me here in Luxembourg. Called the Postlaf cos it's sponsored by the P&T lads. It's a fine run, lots of joggers but a decent top 50 or so too. The course is fair, only one or two sharp turns and only one real hill at km 7. The downhill is long and with a low gradient, perfect for striding out.

Then a week later there's a flat one. It is a bit twisty though and I'm crap at going around bends. I'm not kidding, I lose yards everytime. Last time I did both I was 20 secs faster in the second. Both middle of March. Need to shake this chest thing now and start jogging for a couple of days. I had a buffer too so I won't actually lose any of the sessions.

You're close enough to the 38.30 all the same with that last workout.

aoboa · 22-02-2016 8:06pm

Starting this this week.
Is the one session enough in the week or should I be adding in anything else?

aoboa · 24-02-2016 10:02pm

Well that was tough but kinda fun at the same time.
6 x 1m
Set the watch for 3:30 recovery time.
Gave it a pace range of 7:20 - 7:40 from my Raheny 5m time (37:46)
7:22
7:31
7:16
7:30
7:14
7:35

The odd splits were slightly downhill, the evens slightly uphill.
Hit max HR at the end of each from the 3rd one on.
Funnily enough the first one felt the hardest.
Jogged and walked on the recoveries.
2m warm up, 2m cool down.

Itziger · 25-02-2016 7:30am

aoboa wrote: »

Starting this this week.
Is the one session enough in the week or should I be adding in anything else?

Check back a couple of pages; that is addressed.

aoboa · 25-02-2016 9:46am

Itziger wrote: »

Check back a couple of pages; that is addressed.

Cool. Got it.

Itziger · 28-02-2016 11:08am

Any updates folks? I'm still on easy street, as well as antibiotics. Chest infection taking a while to clear. First target race is a bit touch and go now. Will see how the next few days go and if I'm ok by Thursday or Friday will try the 3x2miler. Any runs at the moment are slow, just to keep the legs turning over and not lose fitness. Don't know if this is right strategy or not tbh.

Myles Splitz · 28-02-2016 11:28am

Itziger wrote: »

Any updates folks? I'm still on easy street, as well as antibiotics. Chest infection taking a while to clear. First target race is a bit touch and go now. Will see how the next few days go and if I'm ok by Thursday or Friday will try the 3x2miler. Any runs at the moment are slow, just to keep the legs turning over and not lose fitness. Don't know if this is right strategy or not tbh.

Be smart regarding the come back, antibiotics tend to hammer the immune system as well as the illness so you want to keep up a few days of low intensity running when you get back before considering sessions.

Mind if I pop in here?

Not following the plan per say however targetting a 10k in May
provided my time gets me into the race (staggered entries open tonight based on your PB every few weeks opening to next 2 min bracket (sub 30, sub 32, sub 34 etc)

The sessions slowly starting to look similar to the ones in the plan. Great to see some of these larger training threads kept going

Last three weeks have had a 10k specific session added in

8x1000m off 2 min rec
7x1200m off 2 min rec
8x1000m off 2 min rec

This week the aim is 6x1500m off 2.30 rec

Paces have been pretty much where I want them in around my current PB which is alot better than this time last year, a good winter has helped with that.

Itziger · 28-02-2016 12:41pm

Myles Splitz wrote: »

Be smart regarding the come back, antibiotics tend to hammer the immune system as well as the illness so you want to keep up a few days of low intensity running when you get back before considering sessions.

Mind if I pop in here?

Not following the plan per say however targetting a 10k in May
provided my time gets me into the race (staggered entries open tonight based on your PB every few weeks opening to next 2 min bracket (sub 30, sub 32, sub 34 etc)

The sessions slowly starting to look similar to the ones in the plan. Great to see some of these larger training threads kept going

Last three weeks have had a 10k specific session added in

8x1000m off 2 min rec
7x1200m off 2 min rec
8x1000m off 2 min rec

This week the aim is 6x1500m off 2.30 rec

Paces have been pretty much where I want them in around my current PB which is alot better than this time last year, a good winter has helped with that.

Good stuff, Myles. Nice to see an alternative, keep posting those sessions.

I'm taking the runs nice and easy. Hoping to do 12k now at 5 min/km, which is about rec. run pace. Bloody chilly out though with a stiff breeze. I'll go on a protected route.

averagejoe123 · 29-02-2016 10:36am

As I have 2 buffer weeks as part of this plan I decided to try a slight variation with 4*1.5 miles off 3 minutes.

I did this on Sunday morning in ideal conditions. First one was actually the hardest just trying to wake up the legs but after that it was manageably tough finishing strong with the 4th being the fastest.

1st- 6.10 average
2nd- 6.08 average
3rd- 6.12 average
4th- 6.04 average

Total average pace- 6.09

52 miles for the week off 6 days running. Only other faster stuff this week was 4 miles progression on Wednesday towards the end of a 10 mile run- 7.10, 6.51, 6.28, 6.11.

I will probably do a parkrun this Saturday with a few strides on Wednesday.

wrstan · 29-02-2016 11:36pm

I have used an abridged version of this plan which works well as a relatively short tune up. It's clearly not as comprehensive as the full McMillan programme, but I have found it good for example during a base building phase, when you want to sharpen up for a 10k race while working towards an A goal at a later stage.

Week 1 key session: 6X800m
Week 2 key session: 6X1m
Week 3 key session: 3X2m @ 10k pace
Week 4: 10k Race

All other runs are easy or recovery, apart from 1 long run with some steady miles each week.

It came from this article

aoboa · 03-03-2016 10:42pm

Did the 12x400m @ 5k off 200m jog tonight.
Wasnt in the mood so had to kick myself out the door.
Found that harder than the 6x1mile last week.
400s all in around 7;10
2.5 mile warm up and 2.5 mile cool down.

muloc · 04-03-2016 10:34am

BUILDUP WORKOUT NO. 1: 6 X 1 MILE

did the first week of this. took a day off the day before to rest which probably helped. Conditions were ideal.
found it ok...was aiming for 6.10 so a few seconds to spare. 3 minutes walk between each:
6.08, 6.08, 6.04, 6.09, 6.08, 6.07

Have increased mileage (as suggested by a few of ye) to about 35/week the last few weeks so I think this has helped a lot. Will increase steadily over the next couple of months.

aoboa · 04-03-2016 11:31am

I need to drop one of the workouts from this plan cos the k-club 10k has moved back a week.
Thinking Week #4: 3M Tempo Run or 5K Race
New to this so unsure if that's the best one.

averagejoe123 · 04-03-2016 1:25pm

aoboa wrote: »

I need to drop one of the workouts from this plan cos the k-club 10k has moved back a week.
Thinking Week #4: 3M Tempo Run or 5K Race
New to this so unsure if that's the best one.

That's good going on the 6*1, very consistent splits.

I would be in favour of the 5k race as you can always throw a few tempo miles into a mid week run as long as sessions are not too close together. I did an 8 miler on Wednesday evening with 4 progression in the middle @ 7.15, 6.54, 6.35 and 6.18. If you are doing 2 sessions a week though I would be very careful not to overdo it on your other runs and keep it very relaxed.

A 5k race will also help you set your goal for the 10k.

Itziger · 05-03-2016 10:01am

About to try the 3x2miler. Haven't done a hard session in two weeks. I have been doing some easy running mind and a small bit of slightly faster stuff. Have been on antibiotics for a week but stopped yesterday. Not sure what to expect. I'll give it a go and if the body can't handle it, I'll step back.

Itziger · 05-03-2016 12:19pm

Done! More or less on target. First and third were spot on, second was a bit of a struggle.

1st 11.44, 2nd 12.00

and 3rd 11.51

Took the full 5 min rec.

averagejoe123 · 07-03-2016 11:20am

That's a great session done Itz especially after coming back after a bad dose. When is your target race? Reading back over the thread you haven't had the best of luck with injuries/illness in the lead up to races so hopefully that's the worst of it over.

Had a strange old week myself, only ran 4 days and 28 miles. Had planned on doing a 5k race on Saturday but after seeing the snow on Friday I thought the weather would be too bad so I decided to do a session on the Friday evening on a treadmill.

Decided to try the 2*2 miles + 2*1 @ 16 kmph (6.02 minute miles). Used 4 minutes rest in between the 2 mile sections and 3 for the 1 mile ones. Found the 2nd 2 mile section very tough but got through it, the rest was manageable and I upped the pace to a 16.5 for the final mile.

Don't know what to take away from this....if anything. I know that I would not be able to replicate this session on the road at my current ability so I am just going to chalk it up as a decent workout and not read too much into the splits. Luckily I have a buffer week so I will repeat this session on the roads in 2 weeks and see how I get on. Saturday ended up being ideal for running which makes it even more annoying.

Going to do a parkrun all out this weekend and a few strides at the end of Wednesday's run.

Myles Splitz · 09-03-2016 1:34pm

muloc wrote: »

BUILDUP WORKOUT NO. 1: 6 X 1 MILE

did the first week of this. took a day off the day before to rest which probably helped. Conditions were ideal.
found it ok...was aiming for 6.10 so a few seconds to spare. 3 minutes walk between each:
6.08, 6.08, 6.04, 6.09, 6.08, 6.07

Have increased mileage (as suggested by a few of ye) to about 35/week the last few weeks so I think this has helped a lot. Will increase steadily over the next couple of months.

Very good session there did a similar one myself (not yet progressed to 1 mile reps but built up to 1500m reps instead

Be careful with increasing intensity and volume at the same time this can put alot of stress on the body and increase injury risk. If you are going to do this make sure that sleep, nutrition and recovery around this are fine (don't hammer your easy days)

Myles Splitz wrote: »

6x1500m @ 10k w/ 2.30 rec

Splits: 5.08, 5.09, 5.08, 5.08, 5.09, 5.10 - (5.30 mile average)

Followed this up with 800 reps later in the week which was closer to 3k-5k work (average 2.30/5.02) pace approx. The next while has these complementing the 10k work after a couple of months of solid tempo work.

muloc · 10-03-2016 3:32pm

muloc wrote: »

BUILDUP WORKOUT NO. 1: 6 X 1 MILE

did the first week of this. took a day off the day before to rest which probably helped. Conditions were ideal.
found it ok...was aiming for 6.10 so a few seconds to spare. 3 minutes walk between each:
6.08, 6.08, 6.04, 6.09, 6.08, 6.07

Have increased mileage (as suggested by a few of ye) to about 35/week the last few weeks so I think this has helped a lot. Will increase steadily over the next couple of months.

Went for another one of the 6 X 1 MILE
5:59,6:01,6:00,6.11,6.13,6.09 (3 minutes walk between each)

mile 4 was tough...felt like I was running in mud!!
felt good starting into mile 5 but lost gps and had to stop and restart. Then was getting crazy times on watch so reckon mile 5 was possibly quicker. Was hoping for a better mile 6 to finish. ok overall.

Itziger · 13-03-2016 11:39am

So, first actual race to report back on. Not exactly a success but I do have a few juicy excuses for that! Bear with me.

First things first. Not a PB. 37.19 on my watch. Second things second. It is a course PB (37.28 in 2014) and I've done it 5 or 6 times.....

It was cold and windy. I'd had a nasty chest infection that lasted almost two weeks. And a root canal on Wednesday afternoon that the swelling hasn't gone completely from. See, told ya!

Seriously though. A little disappointed that I couldn't hit 37 flat. I faded on the hill at km 7 and couldn't make up the time on the last two kms. The stiff breeze here didn't help but I was disgusted to see I was passed by 4 or 5 blokes. That pissed me off, I can tell ya. Don't know how the M50 category went but it would be slim pickings if I did well in it.

Will give the 10k another lash next week. 36.58 here I come.

averagejoe123 · 14-03-2016 10:58am

Good going Itz. Very impressive getting your course pb under those conditions...Fingers crossed you stay injury free for the week and the sub 37 should be no bother to you.

I did my 5k parkrun on Saturday and got a 30 second pb coming in at 17.53. One of those rare days when it all comes together well. Ideal weather conditions, a strong group of 4 working together for most of the run and being able to find that extra gear for the last km to empty the tank.

Unfortunately the date I had for the k club 10k was wrong and I actually can't make it so I am going to have to find another target race. I will hopefully get something in early April.

I am going to do the Limerick half in early May so I am going to have to add in some extra miles over the coming weeks and look at building up my long runs.

If anyone has suggestions for half marathon workouts similar to the Mcmillan 10k ones I am all ears! Last year I did a 3*3 mile off 3-4 minutes 2.5 weeks out from my goal race which proved to be pretty accurate.

48 miles for the week.

onrail · 14-03-2016 1:01pm

Great discussions on here lads.

Anyone have any experience of simply trying the final 3x2mile reps without any build up?

Saw this plan a bit late for my target 10k (This Thursday!) but decided to jump right in and try the 3x3k @10k pace with 5min jogging recoveries yesterday (T minus 4 days).

Aiming for around the 40:00 mark, but haven't raced since last September due to injury (PB 5k is 18:25, 10k is 41:00, but haven't raced one in a year)

Ended up doing 11:53, 12:21, 12:03. Found the middle stretch incredibly difficult for some reason. In truth I'm probably a bit off the 40:00 pace at the minute.

Will be interesting to see if jumping right in at the end will work, If not, will give the full plan a go

averagejoe123 · 14-03-2016 1:37pm

Hi Onrail,

Good to see you are on the mend and back racing.

I think for me jumping in at the 3*3k 4 days out from a goal race could potentially be more of a hindrance than a help. Mcmillan suggests that you do the last 3* 2 mile workout 10 days out from your race. Fingers crossed you are fresh come Thursday and that you can run your best time based on your current fitness. Your 5k time suggests you definitely have the speed to reach your target at some point.

Even if you do go sub 40 why not try the plan to try and bring your PB down even further?

Good Luck!

onrail · 14-03-2016 1:54pm

averagejoe123 wrote: »

Hi Onrail,

Good to see you are on the mend and back racing.

I think for me jumping in at the 3*3k 4 days out from a goal race could potentially be more of a hindrance than a help. Mcmillan suggests that you do the last 3* 2 mile workout 10 days out from your race. Fingers crossed you are fresh come Thursday and that you can run your best time based on your current fitness. Your 5k time suggests you definitely have the speed to reach your target at some point.

Even if you do go sub 40 why not try the plan to try and bring your PB down even further?

Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I realise it was a bit too close to race day, but really felt I needed to inject some race pace into the legs after such a time out!

We'll see come Thursday anyway - will keep you filled in!

Itziger · 14-03-2016 3:11pm

onrail wrote: »

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I realise it was a bit too close to race day, but really felt I needed to inject some race pace into the legs after such a time out!

We'll see come Thursday anyway - will keep you filled in!

As you say yourself, that is cutting it fine time-wise. I thought I was cutting it fine with the 8 day gap and having done the previous sessions.

Good luck with it.

Any suggestions for this week? I'm thinking just 2 or 3 easy spins with maybe a bit of speed or a couple of reps in one of them. Then 'no-excuses' 10k on Sunday.

onrail · 14-03-2016 3:21pm

Out of curiosity, what would you (all) recommend in the week leading up to a race? Tempted to just lie up now until Thursday morning.

Fairly naive and new to the racing thing, as you can probably tell!

averagejoe123 · 14-03-2016 3:59pm

Itziger wrote: »

Any suggestions for this week? I'm thinking just 2 or 3 easy spins with maybe a bit of speed or a couple of reps in one of them. Then 'no-excuses' 10k on Sunday.

With a small amount of time between races I tend do the same number of runs as I usually would in a regular week but cut back on mileage (roughly 50%) and intensity. Doing a few 100m strides a few days out does the trick for me to keep the legs fresh.

averagejoe123 · 14-03-2016 4:03pm

onrail wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what would you (all) recommend in the week leading up to a race? Tempted to just lie up now until Thursday morning.

Fairly naive and new to the racing thing, as you can probably tell!

It would completely depend on what training I had done in the lead up to the race to be honest. What has your training been like for the last few weeks?

onrail · 14-03-2016 4:26pm

averagejoe123 wrote: »

It would completely depend on what training I had done in the lead up to the race to be honest. What has your training been like for the last few weeks?

Typically a speed session on Tuesdays (intervals, Fartleks etc) followed by a relatively long steady run (7-9 miles) on a Thursday and a 7-10 mile steady run on a Sunday. Speed sessions tend to be short (0.4-1k) intervals to 5k in total.

Went a bit heavier at it last week. Did the above, but included a 5 mile treadmill (@ 7:50/Mile) on Monday and Wednesday and the 3x3k+ on Sunday.

Feeling it now tbh.

The Best 10k workouts - by Greg Mcmillan

Comments