Sub-20 Goal for 5k (2012) (Read 5412 times)

lagwagon


    nice job PR, especially with a race last weeked and the mileage you've put in over the last 2 weeks!

      nice job PR, especially with a race last weeked and the mileage you've put in over the last 2 weeks!

       

      Thanks. Maybe it's the mileage that's actually helping - not sure. There are a number of things that have changed recently so it's hard to know what actually makes the difference. 

       

      I've switched back to lighter neutral shoes - for a while I was using heavier shoes with a bit of support because of PF. But I found I was having problem with my glutes, so as long as the PF seems manageable I'm going to stick with neutral shoes.

       

      I've also ramped up the mileage a bit as I'm doing a 50k race next month - most of it is pretty slow "time on feet" type stuff.

       

      I also did some hill repeats this week, as a bit of a change. 

       

      Finally - I did the first km in 4:07 which is rather slower than I usually go out in a 5k - normally it's about 10 seconds faster than that.

       

      I'm hopeful that I can get the time down a bit if I can lose a bit of weight - last year I was ~5lbs lighter when I ran 19:34 - I can't help thinking that losing 5-10lbs would be worth some time....


      SMART Approach

        Surprised myself with a 20:09 today. I haven't broke 20 since late 2007. Then hammy issues since. In late 2010 I did manage a 20:04.  I ran a 5K last week in 20:45 but a cool flat course today made a big difference. I now have some hope I may get sub 20 this Fall. My training has not been ideal this summer because of ongoing upper hammy tendonosis but will run a few more and see what happens.

        Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

        Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

        Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

        www.smartapproachtraining.com

          20:21 for me yesterday, which is my best so far this year. Was pretty much on pace for the first two miles (6:22, 6:28), then fell off a little in the third, but had a pretty good kick. Next race (maybe my last for the year) is in 6 weeks.

          jersu


            Phew, I did it! 19:57 officially. 11 months ago I ran a 20:20 and thought that a sub-20 would be an achievable goal. It took me a lot longer to get it than I imagined it would. This summer I did a bunch of speed work, including two track workouts and a tempo workout per week. At the end of that cycle, I ran a 5K in 20:10. I was really disappointed. I felt like I had strong legs, but lost a lot of cardio endurance. I've spent the last month running long and slow everyday - no speed workouts. Yesterday my mile splits were 6:09, 6:19, and 6:27. My watch had me at 6:18 average for the race - most participants felt the race was measured especially long, closer to 3.2 miles. Anyway, I'm on cloud 9 today. I'm glad to get the sub-20 before 2013 rolls around. Good luck to those still going for it this year.

              19:30 for me yesterday. 
              First official sub 20 5k for me!

               

              BONUS: I won the race! I couldn't believe it.

               

              Quick funny story for ya...

              Lined up right on the line was a 50 year old fella who looked pretty fit. Others of us were eyeing him up and down, wondering if he might be the contender. One guy asked, "What's your goal? 18 minutes?"

              The man laughed and said, "18? I'd be happy with 23 or 24 minutes! I've only been running for the past year, and this is only my 3rd race.

              BUT - I've been reading Runner's World for 10 years!"

               

              I got a chuckle outta that.


              The gun goes off - he flies off the line. A few of us are trailing him and within the first 1/4 mile he slowed down and the rest of us passed.
              Within the first half mile, I found myself in the lead. I've never experienced this before. I'm usually looking at the back of some runner pumping myself up and telling myself to catch the guy. Now I'm telling myself - keep your pace. Don't let them catch you!

               

              Splits:
              6:18

              6:17

              6:24 (hills...excuses, excuses!)

              5:30 for the .1

               

              I won a $75 gift card to the local running store. Pretty sweet winnings!

               

              The other bonus is that I'm training for Philly Marathon in November and want to run a 3:10 to get a BQ. According to certain "race predictors", my 5k time needs to be at 19:30 in order to see 3:10 as a realistic goal. So, needless to say, I'm encouraged!

               

              Keep runnin', my friends! 

              lagwagon


                Molsen...good race! Checked out your log and it seems you've been smokin your long runs too. I think if you stay healthy you got a great shot at the 3:10. Sorry to hear you've lost your amateur status though (Jk, nice win!)
                mapfe


                  Sub 20ers, how does this tempo run compare to yours?

                   

                  20 minute tempo run

                  • Mile 1 - 6:57
                  • Mile 2 - 6:54
                  • Mile 3 - 7:41 pace (not full mile)

                  I think my big slowdown was a bit mental. I was going uphill that last mile, and this was my hardest workout to date. I think I would've been 7:0X - 7:1X pace if I didn't kinda mentally quit.

                   

                  I used to have a PR of 17:53, but I've had about 4 years off with minimal physical activity, so I have no idea what is really achievable in my upcoming race. I've been running again since May. My last 5k was about two months ago, and I ran a 21:46. This was when my mileage was in the teens and my long run was 5 miles. Since then, I am above 25 going on 30 miles per week, with a long run of 7. I definitely think sub 21 is likely, but I am not sure if Sub 20 is.

                   

                  Edit: After writing this and realizing sub 20 is 6:25 pace, I think I realized I am not quite sub20 shape yet.

                  2014 Goals

                  Don't die

                    mapfe, I've done a couple of 3 mile tempos recently in just about 21 minutes, or 7:00/mi, and my most recent 5k was 20:21. I think that with a stronger 3rd mile, your workout could indicate something close to sub-20 fitness. As it stands, I think sub-21 is doable for sure, but beyond that it's hard to say.

                    mapfe


                      Yeah, I kinda came to that conclusion too. I think I got a little ways to go before sub20. Definitely next year, but who knows when with winter coming. I will now exit the Sub-20 Goal for 5k (2012) and wait for next 2013 Smile

                      2014 Goals

                      Don't die

                        Mapfe, this response is a bit late, but --- thanks for raising the question about tempo runs.  I am always interested in details of what others are doing and the context --- like what you wrote about how you feel about your run. 

                         

                        Yesterday, I ran a 20 minute tempo @ 6:46 pace.  Paces were 6:44, 6:46 and 6:47 --- which is surprising considering that mile 2 was a lot of uphill.  I did 1.7 warmup and 2.5 cooldown without stopping, so it was really just a 7.5 mile run with a 3 mile pickup in the middle. 

                         

                        I ran 19:2X in February, but my training has not been consistently good since April --- I'm just now getting back into it.  I feel like I could do sub 20 now, but just barely, and I'm not yet close to my next goal, which is sub-19.

                         

                        Anyone else want to share?

                          Anyone else want to share?

                           

                          My 5k time has come down drastically since I've gotten into marathons. I think the "more mileage" mantra is a key factor, absolutely - but I've really noticed my running turning a corner because of certain key workouts I'm doing. 

                           

                          3 days per week are hard, focused workouts. The other 3 days are easy, relaxed effort runs. 

                          The three key workouts are (Captain Obvious here):

                          Long Run - 15-23 miles

                          Tempo Run - 6-11 miles

                          Intervals - totalling 6 miles

                           

                          My tempo runs vary anywhere from 6-11 miles, and they are "fast" - for me. It's a hard workout. But they are longer than 3 miles, which for the 5k, translates into stamina, endurance, muscle, and mental power. 

                          A long tempo would be 1 mile easy, 10 miles @ 7:12/mi.

                          A shorter would be 2 miles easy, 3 @ 6:30, 1 mile easy

                          A medium would be 1 mile easy, 5 @ 6:38

                           

                          The intervals are also hard efforts (duh). And my distance varies. I might go out and do 400m repeats, but the next week I might have 1000m or 2000m repeats. I like the variation.

                           

                          Last December I broke 20 minutes for the first time, but just by a few seconds. The other day I was 19:31. This stuff works! 

                            I was wondering about this topic yesterday. Glad to see somebody brought it up. 

                             

                            I have built up to about 6 miles of tempo about once a week. They are broken out into different lengths. Some are continuous tempos that are actually run slower than HMP. But, its mentally difficult to run hard, continuously, for long periods of time. Other workouts, run at HMP, can be 3 x 2 miles with 2 min. rest or 6 x 1 mile with 1 min rest.. something like that. 

                             

                            These workouts can (should? I like the idea of fartleks and time based running better but thats a personal preference) be based on time. Long continuous tempo is 35-45 min+/-.  Interval tempos at 3 x 10-12 min. or 6 x 5-6 min... ect.

                             

                            My interval workouts are done between 1 mile and 5k pace. At least thats my goal. They range from 200m up to 1200m repeats. And usually have loonnnnnggggg rest periods. 

                             

                            I think the mental aspect is large. Its difficult to run hard (at any pace) for 20 min. But being uncomfortable, one day a week, for aprox. 30-45 min can make the race feel shorter. At least I have noticed a significant change once I lengthened my tempo workout time.  

                             

                            I have found that I run my tempo pace at slightly slower than the suggested pace. Im not sure what this means, but it makes the workouts a little easier to get through. 

                             

                            ps... nice racing jersu and molsen

                            And we run because we like it
                            Through the broad bright land

                            lagwagon


                              Great comments...all of these tempo sessions sound familiar to me.  I'd say my core sessions would be something like:

                               

                              2x20 (or 2x15) @ 6:45 pace (slightly faster than HM goal)

                              3 or 4 miles straight thru in a mid distance run (like Mark stated above)

                              progressive long runs (10-16mi) with the middle few miles @ 7:30 and the last 2-4 miles at 7 min or just under.

                               

                              One other tempo I did which I really liked was 3 tempo intervals, going 3mi-2mi-1mile with 4 min recoveries.  Pace went from 6:45 to 6:30.

                               

                              Over the last few weeks I've been favoring the progressive long runs as I'm training for a half marathon in Nov.  I do generally accept the notion that if you want to run fast, you have to practice running fast.

                               

                              Probably my favorite tempo run in 5k training is a 6-7 mile run with 1.5 mile warm up, 3-4 miles at ~6:45 (between 10k and HM pace), then a cool down.  I find this is my biggest "back-for-the-buck" workout.

                                20:10 for me on Saturday. Pretty disappointed. Splits were 6:20, 6:25, 6:36, :48 (for .15, so a little long). I was leading the women for the first two miles with a woman right on my shoulder, breathing down my neck - stressed me out! I started to die at the 2 mile marker and let her pass me, thinking that maybe she was also tired and would wear herself out getting out ahead - but she was still really strong and got a really solid lead on me. I think she finished at 19:50ish so she had a really good last mile. I had a fairly decent kick but couldn't start it early enough. I need to figure out how to handle the part of the race from 2 - 2.7 because that's where I lost it.