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Just musing over coffee this morning.. I think want my super-serious goal 5k for this year to be my club's race on Oct. 6. The weather should be more or less reasonable, I know the course really well and it's very flat. I'm also fairly set on wanting to run my first half marathon this fall. I will probably set a loose time goal but not worry about it too much in favor of more 5k-specific training, take a couple weeks of down time/easy running and get serious about training for an actual goal for the New Bedford half in mid-March.
There are half marathons pretty much every single weekend all fall in New England (very open to suggestions from folks who have run any of the races around here!), it's more a matter of how much driving I'm willing to do and how many hills I'm willing to put up with. I was thinking it would make more sense to run a half after the 5k for both temperature and performance considerations (September can still be pretty humid and warm), but how close together would you all schedule them?
All things being equal (health, fitness, nutrition) I really don't think you can go wrong either way. Running the 5k two to three weeks before the half will make HMP seem like a jog, while running the half marathon a similar period before the 5k will do the same.
Speaking from recent experience however, I completely smoked my 5k two weeks after my spring half marathon so I would tend to lean that way.
That entire first mile felt like a jog and I actually remember thinking "Wow, this is easy!", then a few hundred meters later reality kicked in. lol
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Go with whatever LRB and Jay say. They are the speed kings.
I'm a starving artist man. lol
All things being equal (health, fitness, nutrition) I really don't think you can go wrong either way. Running the 5k two to three weeks before the half will make HMP seem like a jog, while running the half marathon a similar period before the 5k will do the same. Speaking from recent experience however, I completely smoked my 5k two weeks after my spring half marathon so I would tend to lean that way. That entire first mile felt like a jog and I actually remember thinking "Wow, this is easy!", then a few hundred meters later reality kicked in. lol
Eenteresting. Yeah I think my 5k would really benefit just from more mileage (I set my current PR of 26:00 1.5 years ago off of ~10mpw and haven't really *raced* one since then), so that may be the way to go. And then I'll still have the rest of October and November to throw in another race or two if I want.
Problem now is that there are so many nearby options that fall exactly 2 weeks out from my 5k! Do I go for a scenic option, or the cheapest one.. Not that I'm going to register just yet, I'll give it a few weeks and make sure my legs are holding up with the reintroduction of track workouts to my schedule.
What LRB said. I would, though, use the training for the HM to race the 5K. You might only need a few adjustments to the speedwork (to incorporate some 200s and 400s) but apart from that, the training can be used to have the 5K halfway through or 3-4 weeks prior to the goal HM.
Damaris
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If the 5k is the goal, I would concentrate on a specific training plan for it, while trying to keep good enough weekly mileage and LRs for a HM after. I'd say running a HM two weeks after the 5k seems reasonable enough.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
After probably way too much thought I think this is what I'll end up doing. The half I'm leaning toward right now is early November, a full month after my goal 5K, and fairly hilly so I'll definitely be OK just finishing and not going for a set time. If I can get in a few good 10-12 milers over the summer and a couple more after the 5K I'll definitely feel prepared enough to finish and then I can focus on kicking butt with HM-specific training for the race in March.
Thanks for the input all!
Are we there, yet?
Contrary to popular opinion, training for a fast 5K involves a lot of mileage, not just added speed work. Run HM type mileage with 5K type speed work, then race the 5K first about 2-3 weeks before the HM. The recovery for the 5K will mesh well with the HM taper.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Obviously, depends on what shape you come out of the 5k and how hard you push the half. I've never come up lame following a 5k and able to bounce back in time for a serious workout the next weekend, so 6-7 days.
My MAX half marathon workout [3x5k@HM pace] is tougher than a 5k race and when I tried to come back and do another specific endurance workout [3x3000] three days later was forced to abort after one repeat. One week after the MAX workout I did 3x3000m @ slightly faster [7:17] than HM pace and felt great.
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