Half-Marathon = Ideal 5k training?? (Read 50 times)

I've been looking at some HM plans lately....and had the thought they seem perhaps like the ideal 5k plan...or similarities....

I remember some advanced or ideal 5k plans saying that your long run can be capped at 10-12 miles....

and then the rest of the runs appear to be 3-6 or 8 miles...

also I've heard others say that they set their 5k pr's during marathon training etc... assumed that's from the higher mileage...

Anyone think you could train for a HM and kind of also tailor it for the 5k too?

I'm debating the HM, worst case I suppose I could train and then if not run a 10k, or 8miler etc...

My goal isn't to finish a HM, I'd like to be in shape and ideally run a decent time...

Thanks.

In general, most people are limited way more by their aerobic base than their speed. This means that running higher mileage like you will in a HM plan will require (many advanced 5k plans are higher mileage too but the usage of that term varies greatly) will usually lead to better 5k times. Furthermore I'd argue many 5k plans you find online (YMMV, this is a huge generalization) have too much focus on things like 400m repeats which will be run way faster than your race pace and not enough focus on tempo runs which help train runners to push for longer periods of time and are an absolute staple of HM training.

In short, yes I think a HM plan would be great for your 5k, especially if you tweak the workouts just a little.

With that disclaimer out of the way a lot of the differences I see in plans are weather the author believes in "physiological system" training (ala Jack Daniels and Pfitz) or a specificity funnel ala (Canova, Hudson etc).

System coaches tend to believe that you run certain paces for either "Running Economy", "VO2Max" or "lactate threshold" and most workouts correlate to those paces. Edit: The point of this was to point out that while HM may emphasize LT more than a 5k plan, under such system there's very little actual difference in training between 5k plans and HM plans.

A more "specific race pace" coach might do a lot of that stuff during general training but then they'll have a specific phase where almost all workouts are run between 95% and 105% of goal race pace usually building toward a long race specific workout with short or minimal rests roughly 10 days out from the big race. Edit: This style of plan will show a much bigger difference between a 5k plan and a HM plan.

My final thought on this is that I don't know how much you're currently running but it can be rather hard to find 5k plans above 40 miles/week online. Looking at some books like Running Formula by Jack Daniels or Run Faster by Hudson can provide you some more reasonable suggestions for a serious runner than what I typically find by googling.

 

Incidentally, the Pfitz book Faster Road Racing 5k to Half Marathon has 5k/10k/HM plans with various weekly mileage levels, and includes a 5k plan at 60-70 mpw. The book is a pretty good investment for any intermediate runner regardless.

 

I think I ran all my PBs from mile up to the marathon on that kind of mileage.