Goal of sub 20 5k (Read 13664 times)

    Flyer,

     

    Good to see you back on board.  I say start a 2010 thread.  I Will be focusing on Sub 1:40 through May but hope to transistion that training to make a run a 20:00 in june/July.

     

    Would not worry about low miles as thats what January is for...right.

     

    I also had a good treadmill workout tonight.  I have decided I can not run boring slow miles on the TM so TM equals speedwork.   start off at easy pace and increase .1 MPH every minute until get to 5k range and hold.

     

    Would not worry about low miles as thats what January is for...right.

     

    Question:

     

    Do you guys ever feel really off balance on the TM.  When I get under 7:30 min pace my foot strike seems to almost slow the traedmill when I push off as have been trying to focus on a more powerful stride versus just letting the feet turn over based on belt speed.  Its like my footstrike pushes the belt down against the machine and it sticks for a split second and throws off balance.  The speed /exertion is not as big of issue but just dont feel comfortable running?? 

     

    "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it Great!

    GST


      23:15 in this mornings 5K.  Hillier course than my PR course (lead woman finished in 22:45), but definitely a lot of lost fitness.  I'm hoping I get back to where I was 3 months ago by next month's 5K... and then start chopping time off.  I'll have to get my mileage back up if I'm to have any hope of that, though.

        Ran about 19:45 on track today.  A little slower than I wanted.  But I am still recovering from a bad flu.  Still coughed a bit last night and with only 4 hours of sleep, it wasn't too bad.  Interestingly, it is a PR, though based on my 1 mile, 3.06 mile, 10k, 1/2 and Full Marathon results, I should have been able to run much faster.  The water on lane 1 for half of a turn didn't help either.  Both my shoes and socks were totally wet.

         

        Next up for me is a 1/2, shooting for sub 1:27.  Probably won't be running another 5k any time soon.

        L2Run


        RoadRunner

          Late post.  Last weekend I jumped into a race at the last minute.  Finish with a time of 20:10.  I am very happy with the results, but I should of had a little more fight in me.  Felt like I could have pushed a little harder.  Next time I will put myself in a position to break 20 with less than a mile left, and if I have any thing in the tank I will do it.   My next race is April 24th.

           

           

          Geo... congrats on your 19:45.

            Nice run BillP.

             

            Don't sweat it...I ran a 20:03 in May 2008 and after the finish I kept saying "No You got to be kidding me!"

            I eventually broke through a couple races and maybe 5 weeks later with a 19:36. It will come once you find a flat and fast course. Yes get to 2 miles in sub 13 and you should have a shot (at least thats the only way I broke 20).

               

               

              Question:

               

              Do you guys ever feel really off balance on the TM.  When I get under 7:30 min pace my foot strike seems to almost slow the traedmill when I push off as have been trying to focus on a more powerful stride versus just letting the feet turn over based on belt speed.  Its like my footstrike pushes the belt down against the machine and it sticks for a split second and throws off balance.  The speed /exertion is not as big of issue but just dont feel comfortable running?? 

               

               Might need to tighten the belt.  When you run faster you run with more force and any looseness will be more noticeable.

               

              I'm going to do any TM tempo runs on the gym's treadmill.  That way if the belt goes at least it doesn't cost me!

              squirrelrunner31


                You can get there without a doubt if you are willing to do a little more. First thing would be to run on at least one of those days you take off each week. Compared to several I see posting here your mileage is ok, but it's still not a lot. The next thing would be to a add a weekly track workout. It doesn't have to be a ****buster either...I'd say that 5 x 1K at about 8-10 seconds per mile slower than your current 5k race would do just fine. Take a half lap recovery jog between each rep. If you are real consistent, religiously doing them every week, you will see measurable results. You can rotate between those, 800's, and 1200's if you want. Just do about 3 miles worth of each. A lot of people will tell you to run them harder, do 400's and a lot of other stuff, but I can tell by your PR's that endurance/threshold work is what you need most at this stage. Running your intervals a little slower and taking a short recovery will boost your lactate threshold if you keep doing them. You should also be able to recover from them quite easily. So that's it...run an extra day or 2 each week, and throw in those intervals. There are other things you can do but this is enough to get you to your goal. I see that you have been doing some nice long runs, so that's good. I picked on you because you're easy...if you've run 20:40 off of what you've been doing it's not going to take drastic measures to get your sub-20. I would say to everyone else who has posted here that the best thing you can do is increase your mileage. Don't think that because 5k is a short race that you don't need lots of endurance to run it well. That's a very common misconception.

                 Track workout will produce the turn over you need.  I am not a short distance runner. I race long but after starting track workouts once weekly I took 1:40 off my previous 5k.  In July I raced 21:44.  In September I started track workouts once weekly with a local running group.  Last month (November) I PR'd at 20:04.  My base is 70 miles a week and I run hills and have the lungs, just lacked the turn over.  New goal: sub 19 Smile

                Gary5K


                  Hello runners, before I post here..can someone confirm if this is this the latest sub 20 thread? Last post seems a bit old...is there a new one somewhere? Thanks Gary