Forums >Racing>Goal of sub 20 5k
How close to 20 were most of you when you made the commitment to make a sub 20 5k your goal? I ran my first 5K yesterday and was shocked to run a 24:05. I thought that I would come in around 28:00 or so. I'm not saying that I'll make it any time soon, but I wanted to know when people started thinking about running that fast.
Congratulations on your race. That's a nice time for your first race. It's hard to say how long it will take you to reach sub-20 (depends how hard that 24:05 was!). but there's no harm having a goal. In fact as soon as you've thought about it, it's out there. You are fairly young and may see some rapid improvements. I've known people in their 30's go from 20+ to sub-18 amazingly quickly. Let's see, one local runner who was 31 in 2007 was doing 22 minute 5k's and is doing 16:40's today. Although that may be an exceptional example I'd encourage you not to put a limit on your possible improvement but also don't expect huge leaps. Take it one step at a time and going from 24 to 20 may be rather a large leap.
What really helped me (and is still helping) was having a series of goals without too much distance between any two of them. Shortly after starting running I discovered age grading and realized I could use that to put all different distances on the same scale. So for me, my first series of goals were:
10 k sub-43 mins 67.7
15k sub-66 mins 67.9
1/2 mar sub-1:35 68.8
15k sub-65 69.0
5k sub-20 69.1
10k sub-42 69.3
etc
(I think a sub-19 5k was the last item on my list. I couldn't imagine ever being able to do this!)
That last number is the age-graded percentage and that's how the list is ordered. I can't remember which formula it was, but I think it was based on the 42 year old me. You can create your own series of challenges based around races in your area (there's no point having 15k goals if there aren't any 15k races). I used to have some 12k goals but since leaving the Bay Area they are somewhat moot since there are no 12k races here so I deleted them. You can also put in goals up to whatever distance you want. I deliberately didn't train for a marathon for the first three years so had no marathon goals.
It's VERY satisfying to have to go back and add new goals because you're starting to finish off all the ones you have. I've had to do this twice (in 3 years), adding 3 or 4 each time and will shortly have to think about doing it again. Nowadays I don't think of the list as having an end point, I just take it one step, or a range of steps, at a time.
Remember you can also find pace goals eg sub-7 1/2 minute 5k (ie under 23:18) or sub-7 minute pace (ie under 21:45) or other 'round' numbers - there's a sub-1:40 half marathon thread here now (1:40 is 100 minutes....). Whatever works. The big ones will have threads here which can help you but there's an infinite number of goals out there.
Without looking up the exact numbers the following might be some good goals for you:
A sub 40 5 mile (similar to your 5k performance but working on endurance)
A sub-50 10k (similar to your 5k performance but working on endurance)
A sub 70 15k or a sub-75 10 mile
A sub 45 10k
A sub 22 5k
Then tack on the list above....
If you have a single goal that is too far away it can get a little overwhelming. I like to break it down into smaller chunks but that's just me.
John
My 1st 5k race I ran a 23:28 in high school. After about 2 months I ran a 22:18.
I ran sparingly until my next season and ran a 20:30 for my best high school race.
About 5 years ago at age 31 I decided to make a sub 20 my goal. At age 31 my best racetime that summer was a 20:41. I lowered my times slowly every racing year about 10 seconds a year and finally ran a sub 20 at age 35.
Prince of Fatness
Full race report here: http://www.runningahead.com/logs/bb6c497b284b43409db3c4ace52839f3/workouts/75dcb1ffb8c640358970b9f8a6383961
Full race report here:
http://www.runningahead.com/logs/bb6c497b284b43409db3c4ace52839f3/workouts/75dcb1ffb8c640358970b9f8a6383961
Nice job! You're getting close.
Not at it at all.
Splits are interesting: 6:26.8 (kept thinking, easy.. slow down) 6:11.52 (I didn't believe this, and figured the Garmin was giving me bad data because is was so easy) 7:11.57 (Again, it seemed like the same effort, but much slower times) last tenth at 27.63
Splits are interesting:
6:26.8 (kept thinking, easy.. slow down)
6:11.52 (I didn't believe this, and figured the Garmin was giving me bad data because is was so easy)
7:11.57 (Again, it seemed like the same effort, but much slower times)
last tenth at 27.63
I think someone already asked whether those are Garmin or mile marker splits. I'm curious, too. I don't race with my Garmin but if I did I think that I would prefer to take splits at the mile marker rather than have the Garmin auto lap at every mile. I would think that you ran more of an even race than your splits indicate. Either way hang in there. You are close. It may just be that the sub 2 will come on a day where you least expect it.
MTA: Nevermind on my question on the markers. I see that you answered that later on in the thread.
The Limping Jogger
I'd set a goal of 20 mins for my first racing season. I don't recall how I came up with that goal. Perhaps I asked someone what a decent time was or that it simply decided that it was a nice round number to aim for?
My training comprised of minimal mileage (<10mpw) but it was all fast and mostly on the treadmill. Plus I did a lot of cross training and strength exercises, though I'm too skinny for it to show. My primary goal was to run as far as I could in 1 hour starting at an easy pace and end it running all out; or hit 4 miles in 30 mins. Sounds stupid but I didn't know any better and I saw rapid improvement.
I ran my first 5k 6 months after I started running (October -> April). I'd run 3 miles in 20mins on the treadmill and thought I was going to die. My first road race ever, an 8k a month earlier, had gone to plan with a 7mpm pace. Come race day I ran the 5k in 19:51.
So, I guess I was running fast from day one. However; my average pace now is a lot slower than then but I'm a lot faster over a wider range of distances. I guess running 4x the distance per week helps.
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
mainrunner....You have been running consistently for as far as your chart works backwards.
You are averaging about 35 mpw or 5 miles a day.
That is similar to my mileage though some weeks I do more and some less but my average is right around 33-35 mpw.
I notice the 18:36 thread runners (your sub 19 guys) alot of them are running 60 mpw.
Also I notice that on here alot of the 20:15 guys are running right around 40 mpw.
I think an increase to 45 or 50 mpw for a month would easily catapult most of us into the sub 20 crowd.
Its hard to go up in milage for a month and possibly risks injury.
But we first need a goal race so we know how far out to start our mileage build.
I have a goal race of July 26...flattest fastest course in the Lansing area so I started my mileage build on July 1st and will see where it leads me. I know you have been hampered by not many races in your neck of the woods.
Its hard to go up in milage for a month and possibly risks injury. But we first need a goal race so we know how far out to start our mileage build. I have a goal race of July 26...flattest fastest course in the Lansing area so I started my mileage build on July 1st and will see where it leads me.
I have a goal race of July 26...flattest fastest course in the Lansing area so I started my mileage build on July 1st and will see where it leads me.
I disagree. I've averaged 50+ mpw for a couple of months and feel fine. I can't see all that much benefit in ramping up your mileage for a week or two. I think the key is to get your mileage up and keep it there for several months. Let your body acclimate to it.
My times aren't getting better because of one 50 mile week. They're getting better because of a couple months of 50 mile weeks.
Absolutely. One really useful training indicator is to track your running weekly average. I use an 8 week average (ie average of the last 8 weeks mileage). Getting your 8 week running average over 45 will be much better than getting the odd week over 50.
(MTA - I guess that makes it a running running average).
MrPHinNJ - what strikes me about your log is not a few 50mile weeks strung together but several 200+ mile MONTHS strung together! That's whats gonna get the job done.
I am quite envious of MrPHinNJ log.
+1 on the 200+ Months
Current Goals: Run and stuff
MoBramExam
I agree. I guess my aerobics capacity was severely underdeveloped when I was young, so I need even more volume to be able to run well. I have increased mileage to upper 80's without any injury (knock on wood). I think it is very important not to increase volume and speed at the same time. So, if we do increase volume, we may need to cut down on speedwork for a while and let the body acclimate to the volume. After that, we can reintroduce speedwork.
I disagree. I've averaged 50+ mpw for a couple of months and feel fine. I can't see all that much benefit in ramping up your mileage for a week or two. I think the key is to get your mileage up and keep it there for several months. Let your body acclimate to it. My times aren't getting better because of one 50 mile week. They're getting better because of a couple months of 50 mile weeks.
Hey, that's me!! Upper left next to masthead in the blue. This link may only work for a week.
http://jacksonmo.com/cashbook/docs/page1.pdf
This was taken right after the gun, so I hope I had just turned on the Garmin or had looked to see if it started. If I'm still running with my arms across the front of my body like this, I've got more "form" work to do .
Yeah, and I blame this place. When I log stalk the people that are having success racing I see a bunch of 200+ mile months. I also see that over in the masters group, so age is no excuse. So far this year I've been lucky. There has been nothing keeping me from getting out the door week in and week out. The fun thing is that I'm just training right through these 5K races and still having success. Once I get this marathon out of the way in September I may target a 5K race or two and really make a run at 20 minutes.
There's nothing special here. I'm just a very average guy running a lot (for me) and having fun with it.