10K Training Group, 8K's are welcome too

10K Goals! (Read 1510 times)

obsessor


    Welcome to the group! Smile 33:48 is a pretty amazing time, I can't even imagine running that fast for that long yet, but I hope to get there again. ... For what is it that you're training? What's your 'primary' event?
    Haha - it's amazing how fast I can lose perspective. I think my marathon time is OK - that's my main focus. But as far as the 10k goes... I think that's lacking. It's all relative. My marathon PR is about 15 sec/mi. slower than my 10k PR, but my 5k PR is 15:56 - all these set within a 7 week period last summer. Clearly, there is something lacking, as I happened to race the 10k a LOT last year. I guess, it's all a means to an end. I certainly can't run well into the 2:20's... say 2:25, unless I get faster. I've pretty well tapped out my speed for the marathon, so I need to get faster. If I get the speed, I can carry it on up. I need to run a 32-flat. That will take some time. Miles, hills, long runs, some intervals tempo or short racing in due season - I don't think there are any secrets to improving your long game. But it takes time. It took me about 18 months of running to get one mile under 7:00. But things really took off after I logged 60mpw consistently, and had more easy runs, and fewer (but longer and more intense) speed sessions. That, and I have a magical ability to know when to cut back before I get injured... most of the time. I'm 35 and started 'really' running when I was 29. So, I would like to get faster, faster, because I'm not getting any younger. I see no reason to have a carreer peak before I am 40, though. I plan on continuing to improve.


    Just Be

      Well, best of luck to you. Keep us updated on your achievements! Smile
        Hi, I'd like to introduce myself. I wallowed in mediocrity for a while now. After a very tough year in terms of home (newborn twins) + work responsibilities (moved into a Sr position), I started to actually train a little more properly over the 06-07 Winter with the goal of seeing how well I could actually run before age catches up with me (I'm 32). With just a light, but consistent, base of ~ 35 mpw, I reduced my 10K time from where it had languished for a couple years around 46:30-46:50s down to an even-paced 43:30. Still hanging out in the mid-pack, but dropping that time just on basework alone forced me to admit how my my excuse of "I'm just running for health and fun" kept the brakes on me. My goal? I've told everybody I'm trying to break 40. Is it realistic? I dunno, but it motivates me far more than saying sub-41 or sub-42. I've devoted the next few years to seeing how well I can do at this distance. Last Fall, I was great about staying at 40-49 mpw with the goal of consistent 50 mpws, but an injury a few weeks back left me logging 4, 3, 18, then 23 mile weeks with biking filling in the holes. I project 39 for this week. Long-term goal? My dad threw down the gauntlet of sub-38, which he cracked at age 40 a long time ago... we'll see.


        Marquess of Utopia

          Those don't sound like unrealistic goals. Do you mind sharing your running log, so we can recommend improvements?
            I wouldn't mind at all and would appreciate some advice, but I will have to port it over. I currently maintain my log at another site, but RA's very active group structure is making me consider the switch. Right now, I'm just doing base work and building my mileage back up. Initially, my plan was to complete my base work the week of 2/3/08, but with the injury I think I'd rather push my schedule back a couple weeks and get in a little more aerobic development work, refocus on later road races, and just pray for a cool May-June. I try to follow Ron Daws' structure as I had good experience with it last year. Has anybody here followed his structure? My base work is nothing too radical, and again straight out of Daws, with mileage constrained by the fact that I have to do M, W, F workouts during my lunch hour. The rest is done at night after the kids are asleep. The ideal I try to maintain each week during this period, give or take a mile or two: M - 5 mi, recovery T - 8 mi, w/ fartleks W - 5 mi, recovery R - 8 mi, fast aero F - 5 mi, recovery S - 6 mi, aero* S - 11-13 mi, long run * Saturdays usually get dropped due to the fact that I prefer playing with the kids during the day and my wife gripes about me running on Saturday nights... which I can understand. Big grin As I mentioned, the last 4.5 weeks has been a recovery with pretty low mileage, 23 last week, and now sort of back into the swing of things this week. I wonder if I take things too conservatively when it comes to recovery and to my thoughts of pushing everything back a few weeks to get back into my basework pattern... though I'm aching to actually get moving and assess where I am. Any thoughts on this? Time trials during base - good, bad, a crutch? I dunno.
              Hi Ainokea, It looks like you know what you are doing. I read Daws’ “Self Made Olympian” a few months ago and enjoyed it. This is not to say that I remember most of it but I know that he was a Lydiard follower and a quite an overachiever. He didn’t shy away from hard work, that’s for sure. As far as running time trials during base, I think Lydiard included 5k-10k trials in his schedules during that phase. I haven’t done much in the way of time trails these past few years myself, but don’t see anything wrong with it. Another idea would be to go run a 5k race to establish a benchmark of current fitness to base your training paces on. One thing I do believe in is incudling some quality year around, even during base. It doesn’t have to be very intense, but I think some tempos, strides, etc. are good. After not running much for several years I got back into racing about 3 years ago and my primary goal was the same as yours…a sub-40 10k. It took me 2 ½ years to get there before finally breaking through this past summer. The first year I tried to rush things and was getting hurt, but I finally got the hang of it. I’ve leaned heavily on threshold type workouts rather than the harder aneorbic stuff. I just don’t respond to v02 work as well as the other, but we are all an experiment of one. What works for one, might not work for another, and vice versa. Welcome to the club, and good luck with your training in the months to come. Jim
              Age 60 plus best times: 5k 19:00, 10k 38:35, 10m 1:05:30, HM 1:24:09, 30k 2:04:33
              Lozza


                Hi, I've just filled in my entry form for a 10K in May and started training on Saturday. I did it last year (with almost zero training) in a time of 68 minutes which I know is embarrassingly slow, but given the little training I did and an achilles injury I was glad to just get round! This year I'd like to take it more seriously and would like to do it in 50 minutes. Does it sound an achievable goal given that I've got 4 months to train? I've always been reasonably fit but haven't really run properly since I was 16 (and I'm 29 now) but for the last 4 years I've done a lot of horse-riding which keeps me pretty fit. I'd appreciate being directed to some sort of training plan if there is one? I can only run round roads and it's quite flat round here, but the course itself is pretty flat too so I don't see that being an issue. thanks in advance for your help. Lauren


                Marquess of Utopia

                  Hi, I've just filled in my entry form for a 10K in May and started training on Saturday. I did it last year (with almost zero training) in a time of 68 minutes which I know is embarrassingly slow, but given the little training I did and an achilles injury I was glad to just get round! This year I'd like to take it more seriously and would like to do it in 50 minutes. Does it sound an achievable goal given that I've got 4 months to train? I've always been reasonably fit but haven't really run properly since I was 16 (and I'm 29 now) but for the last 4 years I've done a lot of horse-riding which keeps me pretty fit. I'd appreciate being directed to some sort of training plan if there is one? I can only run round roads and it's quite flat round here, but the course itself is pretty flat too so I don't see that being an issue. thanks in advance for your help. Lauren
                  Welcome to our group! You should look at Hal Higdon's Novice or Intermediate training program. http://www.halhigdon.com/10ktraining/10kintro.htm
                    I am also new to this group. I just finished my marathon season. I ran San Antonio in November and Houston last week. My plan is to take it easy for two weeks and start 10k training next week. I'm actually signed up for my first in several years next Saturday. I hope to get as close to 7 m/m pace as I can then go sub-7 over the next months ending with a race in May. I'm looking forward to training advice here.

                    crb81 2008 goals sub-20 5k, sub-43 10k, 1:35 half, 3:20 marathon

                      Clay; What kind of mileage did you do leading up to your marathon? How about weekly average for 2007? It looks like it was on the low side. I suspect that your potential for improvement is great, even though you started late. Those are some decent times considering you've only been at it for 2 years and the late start. Without knowing any more, I would say that gradually building up your mileage is an important step if you want to run your best. The PR's you have listed are skewed in the direction of speed, even though you've run a couple marathons. However, it's possible that it could be due to lower training mileage.
                      Age 60 plus best times: 5k 19:00, 10k 38:35, 10m 1:05:30, HM 1:24:09, 30k 2:04:33
                        What kind of mileage did you do leading up to your marathon? How about weekly average for 2007? It looks like it was on the low side. I suspect that your potential for improvement is great, even though you started late. Those are some decent times considering you've only been at it for 2 years and the late start. Without knowing any more, I would say that gradually building up your mileage is an important step if you want to run your best. The PR's you have listed are skewed in the direction of speed, even though you've run a couple marathons. However, it's possible that it could be due to lower training mileage. Jim, I averaged hi 30's to low 40's before San Antonio. I had nine weeks between SA and Houston and built up to three 50 mile weeks before my taper. I also did only two 20's before Houston and one half. If you look at my marathon under workouts you see how much I agree. I got a stress fracture after Houston last year which was my first full. I wasn't able to do much running until April. I worked on base over summer. My total miles were too low. I hope to keep miles around 40 in the spring and work towards 50-60 next fall as long as increase doesn't cause injury. Thanks.

                        crb81 2008 goals sub-20 5k, sub-43 10k, 1:35 half, 3:20 marathon

                        jEfFgObLuE


                        I've got a fever...

                          Hey all. Just joined the group. My main focus for the first half of this year is gearing up for a Memorial Day 10k, so this seems like the place to be. My PR is 35:38, set way back in 1987, when I was a 16 year-old lad. It's my softest PR compared to other distances 800m thru 15k, but it's currently in no danger of being broken anytime soon -- I just restarted consistently running a year ago after a long hiatus. My goal is sub-40. I will probably do lots of hill training, as the course has a mutha of a climb in it: Looking forward to sharing and learing in this group! Big grin

                          On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                            Welcome Jeff, We have a couple things in common running wise. My best actual times were run in late 80’s, early 90’s too, and when I started training again 3 years ago my goal was a sub-40 10k. That goal proved to be a lot tougher than I thought it would be, taking me more than 2 ½ years to get there. It took my averaging 56 mpw for 5 months leading up to the race that I finally did it in. The first 2 years averaging around 40 wouldn’t do the trick. However, you have a big advantage in that you are coming back at a much earlier age so it shouldn’t take you so long. My next key 10k is on Memorial Day too, btw. What’s the “goblue”? I see you are in Alabama but that’s the University of Michigan chant. Although I live in California now I grew up in the Michigan.
                            Age 60 plus best times: 5k 19:00, 10k 38:35, 10m 1:05:30, HM 1:24:09, 30k 2:04:33
                            jEfFgObLuE


                            I've got a fever...

                              What’s the “goblue”? I see you are in Alabama but that’s the University of Michigan chant. Although I live in California now I grew up in the Michigan.
                              I grew in Michigan and went to U-M. Then I lived in NoCal (Sacramento area) for 13 years before moving to Alabama.

                              On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


                              Just Be

                                I grew in Michigan and went to U-M. Then I lived in NoCal (Sacramento area) for 13 years before moving to Alabama.
                                Hey Jeff, welcome to the group! Smile When you get a chance, check out my reply to you in the following thread... I'm interested in your opinion: http://runningahead.com/forums/topic/acd228fc77de48298ab932a3e053babf