Forums >Running 101>Moving from 5k to 10k: Training tips appreciated!
Greetings from the hot, steamy, U.S. East Coast!
I'd really appreciate tips on training for a 10k. Some details:
-I'm 54yo and started running in March.
-I've done three 5k races and have completed about 20 5ks on my own.
-I run 20-25ish miles a week (road preferred, treadmill when it's too hot).
-I'm an incredibly average runner, my 5k times are between 28-30 minutes.
-I've recently started running further, I'm at 4 miles, with mile paces between 10:30- 9:30 mins. At a 10:30 pace I could likely complete 5 miles.
I've signed up for a 10k on August 29, so I have about two months to train. What training strategies do you recommend?
Are we there, yet?
Primarily increase your mileage, but add some variety. Don't run the same distance and pace every time. Slow down a little on longer runs. Some of the shorter runs can be at a faster pace, but some should also be easy for recovery. If you make your log public so we can view it, it will give us a better understanding of where you are in your training and how you've been progressing.
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.
I just want to say you should consider looking at a calculator like Jack Daniel's to get a feel for appropriate training paces. Most of your runs should be easy and with a 28 minute 5k race time, most of your runs should be done around 10:50-11:53/mile, besides making the appropriate aerobic adaptions this will also help keep you feeling fresher and ready to go on those few days when you do a tempo or faster workout.
Onto your question:
Training for a 10k is very similar to training for a 5k but usually just includes a little bit more threshold work rather faster efforts that you train for a 5k. To finish, your 4 milers are awesome but just choose 1 of them and increase the distance every couple weeks making it your "long run" for the week. Long runs for most of us should be run at "easy" pace and can go as long as 2 and a half hours though I personally find 90 minutes to 2 hours to be my personal sweet spot where I get fitter but remain able to recover in time for my next workout.
If you want to do more than that, consider adding strides to the end of a couple of your 4 milers they're a great bang for your buck addition to straight running. There are other workouts you can do, but you really don't want to add too many stresses at once, so I suggest building your weekly mileage and long run until your happy with where your endurance is and only then consider adding workouts.
p.s. there are a ton of really good books on training, a non-exhaustive list is Jack Daniel's Running Formula, Pete Pfitzinger's Faster Road Racing, Brad Hudson's Run Faster, Pete Magill's Fast 5k and many more. As some people in this forum are fond of saying all of them boil down to: Run a lot, mostly slow, sometimes fast.
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
Thank you very much! I'll take the advice on board and get rolling with a training plan.
Now I just need the heat and humidity to go away so I can breathe and sweat properly!
link
Thanks!