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From 5K to faster 5K/10K (Read 166 times)

hale1114


    After a lot of prep and training I did an OCR this morning. A 5k with about 20 obstacles. I did the whole thing in 47:33, including waiting in line at obstacles, obstacles, etc. However, when training, it seems like I plateau at a 10:30 pace and/or no more than 4 miles. I've got another 5k OCR in 10 weeks.  So what's a safe progression to get my milage and speed up in 10 weeks.

     

    (A little history: I used to jog fairly often in my mid-late 20s. After a major surgery, back injury and 15 years, I'm basically relearning.) Thx


    an amazing likeness

      I don't know what an "OCR" is, I'll guess something about obstacle run.  Anyway, the way to run faster for most of us is to...run more. Run more, and run easy so that you can run more. Increased speed will come from increased miles.

      Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

        What is an OCR?  Plus what milktruck said.  How much are you running now?  How long have you been running?  Are you overweight?

         

        If you want a running plan, try this: Run Every.Single.Day.  If you are able to run a 10:30 pace up to four miles, then a good daily run would be about two miles at an 11:00 pace.  After doing that for a few weeks, lengthen out one run per week to four miles.  Let us know how it's working, and we'll help you from there.

        hale1114


          Yes OCR = obstacle course race. Sorry for the confusion.  I've ran sporadically since 2001. I'm 185. Being a firefighter, I'm in pretty good shape for being 39yo. But, like my OP said, after a major surgery and back injury, I've had to stop and start over the years.

           

          In the month before the race I did the following (I had a lot of other workouts in order to deal with other weak areas, but these are the running-focused ones).

           

          4.9 mi run/hike mix

          3.9 mi ruck hike

          3.4 mi run

          3 mi run

          1.5 mi run


          SMART Approach

            The training you list above is not a lot of prep. Your leg speed is plenty fast so you don't need to do speed work with your aerobic engine not being string. To improve racing times you need to build your aerobic foundation. If you just jogged 4-5 times a week for next 10 weeks, you would be so so much faster or in better condition to run a 5k/10k or obstacle race than you are now. Just get out a run comfortably 3-4 miles miles each time working up to 6-7 mile run once per week. One other run per week, finish the last mile or two at a progressively faster pace. The rest of your running should be comfortably paced and build slowly. This is all you need in next 10 weeks.

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

            Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

            Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

            www.smartapproachtraining.com

            hale1114


              "A lot of prep" wasn't necessarily running. To quote my first reply, "I had a lot of other workouts in order to deal with other weak areas, but these are the running-focused ones"  I had to deal with some upper-body and grip-strength issues.

               

              Looks like I got some running to do this week. Smile

              hale1114


                Update:

                While I haven't been posting every run on my training log, I've been making some progress. This morning I ran 6.5mi at a 10:22 pace. This was almost impossible when I first posted this in April.  I haven't ran that many miles since 2006! Thank you to every who replied.

                hale1114


                  Thanks to your help, in June, I finished a 5k trail run with a 8:55 pace. Looking at my OP, that's a pretty good improvement over 3 months.

                    Good job on the improvement.  You are probably just getting started on the improvement curve.  Some consistent running (25-30 miles a week) and an occasional race (like a 5k/10k every month) and you'll see quite dramatic results soon.