Forums >Racing>Goal of sub 20 5k
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. .
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Dev, You sound like another Tinman advocate like Jim and myself.
Had a 5K this morning. According to my training plan, this was a "test race", as the race I should be in the best shape for will be in 4 weeks. Anyway, I finished in 20:23, a new PR (by 7 seconds) and only 23 seconds away from the goal. Now, I feel like I HAVE to get under 20 in the upcoming race. I'm feeling really good about getting there now!
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Last Race: Portland Maine Half Marathon October 5 2014
E.J.Greater Lowell Road RunnersCry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.
In the first race of the Good Times Spring series last night, I blew away my 20:40 PR and made my goal of breaking 20:00 with a time of 19:54.7. I had run a 6:33 pace for a recent 3 mile race, so I thought I could get close. I went out too fast, but my Garmin saved me. I think I was about a half mile in when I first glanced at it, and it showed a Kenyanesque (for me) pace of 5:45. I just bought the Garmin a couple of months ago, last year I would have carried that pace longer and flamed out. I backed way off until it displayed 6:30 average, then worked to bring it down a couple of seconds and held on to the finish. Training for Manchester last Fall, running through the Winter for the first time and adding a fourth run to each week seem to have paid off.
Great job - congratulations. Your experience with a garmin is what I am hoping for with mine.
I agree with you MichiganFlyer, about the difficulty of running a 19:something 5K. I have run several 20:something 5K's since 2003. For the number of miles I am willing to run, it is just beyond my reach. It takes a lot of effort for me to get into top shape: long runs, tempo runs, intervals, and the most difficult thing for me: diet. I am a junk food addict. I have run 158, 136, and 142 miles over the last three months, but not much quality: a 10 mile run at a slightly quicker pace than my normal four to six mile every-day runs. Many of the normal runs are on a treadmill. My next 5K is April 19, and my goal is sub 22 minutes. Good luck at your next race.