As I'm starting to put together my training plan for February's 10k I was thinking about the key weekly sessions and wondering what you guys thought about them? I imagine I'll base my plan around: a long run - probably around 10-13 miles. i've got a fair amount of endurance now so probably only every 2 weeks, with the other week a shorter one of about 6-8 miles. a tempo run - about 5-6 miles with 20-30 mins at "tempo" pace (somewhere between 10k and 10mile pace) an interval session - now this one i'm not too sure about. for 5k training i do 5 x 1km as my main interval set. for 10k i know i want to do longer intervals (probably 1 mile) but i really don't want to be trying to do 6 of them! so maybe building from 3 x 1 mile to 5 x 1 mile? although i'll be carrying on racing 5ks once a month so i may just carry on with 5k based intervals. all other sessions will just be nice and easy. total mileage maybe 25-40 a week?

Mandy, I know you posted this a while back, but I agree with Joe in that it looks very sound. It's very similar to what I was doing during the first half of this year (of course I'm going to approve, heh?) . 5 x 1k, 3-4 x 1600, tempos, and long runs were my staples. Joe, 6 x 1600 is a great workout, and was a big key for me during the 2nd half of this year when I ran some of my best times. I did mine at HM pace though...I assume that yours were more in 5k-10k range? Recovery jog was 200 meters.

The 6X1600 was at 5K pace, with 1-2 minutes recovery.

Joe, At the risk of sounding like a “know it all” I’ll give you my 2 cents on this… That workout you are describing should be a once in while thing, imo. A time to use it might be when it’s been a while since you’ve had a race, and you want to be as ready as possible the next time you put on a number. Then you hammer a couple. This will get you race ready in the shortest possible time. However, you are likely peak quickly and and reach a plateau sooner then you might want. If you work up to it slower, saving your best for the race, improvement in race times won’t come as quicly, but it is likely to continue longer and result in a higher peak. In short, those who race infrequently are more likely to benefit from these types of workouts than those who race regularly. They are amost like running a race. Comments?

That could explain why I peaked early that year. What would you consider "racing frequently" Once a month? Twice a month? Once a week?

I've worked with a very knowledgeable coach who usese 12k a month max as a rule of thumb. He also has a rule of never running races of 10k or longer on consecutive weekends. However, you can race a 5k almost every weekend, but it's probably not a good idea to keep that up for too long. I am no authority on this, but I'd say that if you are racing once or twice a month then you almost never need to hammer a workout. The coach I speak of says "avoid super hero workouts", but he does adovocate doing quality on a regular basis. Consistency rules. "Save your best for the races" he says. That being said, running too many races has been one of my biggest weaknesses. There is a great temptation to race everything in sight when you are going well. When I hit my peak during my 40's I was racing almost every weekend until I eventually burned out. This year I've had 33 races, with milage averaging out to about 15k a month, which is beyond the recommended 12k. This is up from 21 and 22 races the previous 2 years. It works good for a while, as it did this year, but it can eventually catch up to you. I need to work being more disciplined in this regard. I will post a workout on a separate post that worked pretty well for me. It's a way of getting the fast twitch fibers moving without overdoing it. P.S. I looked through your log. It looks like you are building up sensibly. I think it's a great idea to work your mileage up to the 50's as I see you mentioned in another post. Those are some nice times you had a few years back. That mile, the 5k on the track, and XC 8k are especially impressive. There's no reason why you can't reach that level again and possibly surpass it if you choose to really focus on your running for a few years. I can see that endurance is what you need to work on most. Whenever you feel that temptation to go faster than what was planned in a workout, add a little extra distance instead. The speed will follow without having to force it.

Mandy- That's a pretty solid plan. You could try 4 x 1 mile for your 10k. Tha's a pretty decent workout. Another good workout both for your 5k and 10k would be 6-8 x 800m. For me 6 x 1 mile was more suited to running marathon. Other workouts that are great for the 10k is 16 x 400 meters. you can run this on the track or on grass/trails. The long run is great 12-15 miles is perfect for the 10k. Good luck

good luck. Cheers