Goal of sub 17 minute 5k (Read 8082 times)

I'm not sure what else to do with this thread until some of us start making real runs at sub 17 in the spring so I'll post my trianing for the week: Week of 2/16: 78 miles in 9 runs. Key workouts: 1. Wednesday: 12.8 miles with 8 x 2 min on / 1 min off and 4 x 20 seconds on / 1 min off. 2. Sunday: 18.3 miles with a 1 minute surge at 10k pace every 8 minutes and then the last half mile "all out." And that's what's up.

6-8 ish I guess.

I have about as much chance of breaking 17:00 for the 5k as I do breaking 4 hours for the marathon right now. The 5k would hurt me way less though. I can guarantee that. Going into the doctor next week to find out what is going on with me. I could barely finish 4 miles on the treadmill yesterday at a 7:13 pace after running an 18:39 5k just two weeks ago. Something is wrong and the idea of finding out is a little scary right now.

JDF, I had the same thing happen to me last year! I hit a 5K in 17:15 (Short course, probably about 17:30) then the next week I was struggling to do 18:45. I never got below 18:15 again for the next 3 months. I know I really should have gone to the doctor and gotten some tests run, but I guess I'm a typical guy, and I hate going to doctors. No matter how much rest I got, I would get 1.5 to 2 miles into a race, and that was it. I was done. Ready to walk back. It was like my body just shut down after a certain effort level. I finally got back into the high 17's for one race in the late fall, but I haven't raced anything since then. I'm really hoping it doesn't happen again. If it does, I'll probably go see the doc about it. It was aggravating enough last year. I really don't want a repeat this year. Go see the doc. Good luck, JDF, and let us know how it goes!

Racing a 5k on Sunday. Realistically it's never going to be sub 17. Possibly a sub 18... we shall see. I know it's off road so conditions will play a major part. Likely to be a bit muddy. Probably quite flat though. Will have to race in trail shoes. Have never gone below 18:30. Even 20 years ago when I was last running quite seriously. I hate 5k - it hurts. In many ways it hurts the same as a 50 miler - but that hurt is squeezed into just a few minutes rather than spread over several hours.

So what you're saying, Purdey, is that you're in. Right?

Yes. I guess so. I am a boob. I will never achieve this. Not until I have much, much more training under my belt. 5k is hard.

JDF, I had the same thing happen to me last year! I hit a 5K in 17:15 (Short course, probably about 17:30) then the next week I was struggling to do 18:45. I never got below 18:15 again for the next 3 months. I know I really should have gone to the doctor and gotten some tests run, but I guess I'm a typical guy, and I hate going to doctors. No matter how much rest I got, I would get 1.5 to 2 miles into a race, and that was it. I was done. Ready to walk back. It was like my body just shut down after a certain effort level. I finally got back into the high 17's for one race in the late fall, but I haven't raced anything since then. I'm really hoping it doesn't happen again. If it does, I'll probably go see the doc about it. It was aggravating enough last year. I really don't want a repeat this year. Go see the doc. Good luck, JDF, and let us know how it goes!

Yea that sounds like what I am experiencing except I have gone from 18:39 shape to being lucky to break 21:00 in two weeks. After 1-2 miles now my heart rate just sky rockets. It never levels off. It just keeps increasing even at paces slower than 7:30. I ran a 5:36 mile for the first mile of that 5k. I think my heart would explode at that pace now. I am trying to schedule a physical and stress testing now. It wouldn’t have been good to do the tests last week. My body was destroyed from the first 9 miles of the marathon. I am just starting to heal now.