Forums >General Running>Mileage question for 5k training
flashlight and sidewalk
Hello all,
I am currently training to do a trail 50k this weekend. After that I'm planning on changing things up and trying to PR a local 5k which has a dear place in my heart. I've been having a tough time pushing my weekly mileage above 45 mpw...a couple weeks above that and I'm injured. My question is: to get ready for a 5k that is 7 weeks after my 50k race, should I drop my weekly mileage and focus on more quality miles (intervals, tempos, hills), or keep my mileage up...the drawback being less quality workouts?
Right now, my mileage has been largely trails at mostly an easy effort. I've done quality work before, but it is usually part of a formula that ends with me doing TMTS and ending up injured. This is what I am considering now...4 day mini cycles, which works out to about 9 mini cycles (my reasoning is that I am somewhere between needing 1 and 2 rest days/week and my schedule is fairly flexible):
Day 1 - Interval or tempo or hills or long
Day 2 - Easy run/bike
Day 3 - Faster easy run/ body weight routine
Day 4 - Rest
Should I just follow a canned plan instead? Any input would be very much appreciated.
**Ask me about streaking**
Future running partner.
If you've been consistently running 40 to 45/week I would drop it down to 30 - 35/week. How many days a week do you run? if you only run 4 days a week, I would do one long run per week (1:30 to 2 hrs in duration), to maintain your aerobic fitness you have built up from the 50k training, and do one workout that's more 5k specific, like hills or short tempo, or higher intensity intervals. It looks like you haven't done hardly any speed work in the last 2 months, so you will want to ease into the speed work or you risk getting injured. A good way to start is by doing short 8 to 10s striders or short 8 to 10s hill sprints a couple days a week after your easy runs at about 90-95% of full speed but focusing on using good smooth form. Just do 3 to 5 of these after your shorter easy runs. Once running fast feels comfortable again then start adding in that hard speed workout of dedicated hills, track repetitions or faster intensity tempo running.
I would keep your mileage as high as you can handle without breaking down. Speed is not your limiting factor at the 5k right now, endurance is.
Runners run
Why is it sideways?
Hello all, I am currently training to do a trail 50k this weekend. After that I'm planning on changing things up and trying to PR a local 5k which has a dear place in my heart. I've been having a tough time pushing my weekly mileage above 45 mpw...a couple weeks above that and I'm injured. My question is: to get ready for a 5k that is 7 weeks after my 50k race, should I drop my weekly mileage and focus on more quality miles (intervals, tempos, hills), or keep my mileage up...the drawback being less quality workouts? Right now, my mileage has been largely trails at mostly an easy effort. I've done quality work before, but it is usually part of a formula that ends with me doing TMTS and ending up injured. This is what I am considering now...4 day mini cycles, which works out to about 9 mini cycles (my reasoning is that I am somewhere between needing 1 and 2 rest days/week and my schedule is fairly flexible): Day 1 - Interval or tempo or hills or long Day 2 - Easy run/bike Day 3 - Faster easy run/ body weight routine Day 4 - Rest Should I just follow a canned plan instead? Any input would be very much appreciated.
I just looked at your log, and you are running about 25 miles per week... I would recommend moving your mileage UP to 40ish miles per week, spreading it out much more evenly through the week, and work on becoming a 6 or 7 day a week runner. Forget the long runs and the workouts for now. Get the miles to 40ish average over 6 weeks and then come back and ask your question again.
Feeling the growl again
You will need at least a week to recover from the 50K, leaving you only 6 weeks to really train.
Not a ton of time to work with. You likely don't want to do an all-out workout within 4-5 days of your goal 5K, so it's really less than that.
I would say work on getting your mileage back up to your 40-45 the first 3 weeks or so. But you need to get at least 4-5 good faster workouts in before that goal race...say half of them tempo, half interval...or 5K pace is going to feel awfully fast for you and you'll leave a lot of potential speed untapped.
I would also recommend some accelerations/strides (say, 6X100m) at the end of some of your easy runs. Tap those speed muscles and get the neuromuscular coordination benefits without taking on any real fatigue.
You probably know this but in the longer term you need to get a good base of miles in, then you can drop back somewhat if you need to in order to get the workouts in without over-doing it. Elite 5K runners may run 80-100+ mpw during part of their cycle but they sure aren't doing that close in to their goal racing season. You can maintain your base fitness on lower miles with the stimuli given by faster workouts...but you can't maintain it if you haven't built it in the first place.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Good stuff everyone...thank you!
EnjoyTheRide: I like what you are saying. I'll definitely be careful working in the speed work. 1 long run, 1 quality, and Striders...got it
MikeyMike: I'm familiar with the "speed isn't speed" concept...I've been doing a lot of slow plodding while recovering from foot tendonitis and prepping for the 50k...I think I need to "wake up" my legs and get them used to running fast again.
Jeff: If I do that then the race is over! I understand that increasing my mileage is the long-term way to go. I also understand that short term fixes are not ideal, but thats what I'm working with. Also, I feel like I am a 6 day a week runner and have been for the past 6 months. I've had two TMTS issues...both foot tendonitis which have required ~3 weeks off each. I also feel like I'm a 35-45 mpw runner at this point. If I am being delusional please let me know...I blame being dilusional about where my training has been for the last 2 injuries, so it is good to hear a bit of a wake up call about this.
Spaniel: A 1 week recovery might be generous! It's my first 50k, so this will be a wait and see kind of thing. Get the mileage back up, hit 4-5 quality workouts, add striders. This is in line with EnjoyTheRide's suggestions. I think this is probably my best bet for tapping into as much potential as I can on short notice. After this race I plan on spending the summer working on consistently building my mpw...not sure how high I want to go, but above 50 is the immediate goal.
Thanks again everyone who responded, y'all are a good bunch.