Forums >Racing>Goal of sub 20 5k
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.
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.
I am sure that is true but it is hard to imagine running many 50 mile weeks just to run 5k races.
We truly have some crazies in here and I raise my hand as I belong to the crazies.
The reason many of us are running 50 mile weeks is to beat sub 20.
I think I shall beat sub 20 twice this year (to prove it is no fluke) then I will graduate into the longer distance runs.
I just finished the novel Once a Runner. The main character there "Cassidy" is a miler. He runs 140 miles a week. Though it is a novel, it was written by a guy called John Parker who was a miler and won a number of mile races and the US national steeplechase race. So, there must be some truth to it. So, I guess it is not that crazy to run more than 50 miles a week for a 5k.
Pretty good read though, I recommend the book too.
I am sure that is true but it is hard to imagine running many 50 mile weeks just to run 5k races. We truly have some crazies in here and I raise my hand as I belong to the crazies. The reason many of us are running 50 mile weeks is to beat sub 20. I think I shall beat sub 20 twice this year (to prove it is no fluke) then I will graduate into the longer distance runs.
I've got a fever...
I am sure that is true but it is hard to imagine running many 50 mile weeks just to run 5k races.We truly have some crazies in here and I raise my hand as I belong to the crazies.
Nothing crazy about it. Ask any collegiate 5,000m runner what their weekly mileage is, and I guarantee you it's well above 50mpw. I didn't run competitively in college, but I spent the better part of a semester running 50~60mpw and I PR'd in the mile.
Running works.
Truth is, the only real difference between proper 5k training and marathon training is the speedwork and the length of the long run.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
Run like a kid again!
I'm running 40 - 45 MPW and just ran 20:15. No it is not sub 20 YET but I was really not training for the 5K. I am training for the Marathon and that just started this week. So my mileage is going to start to go up. I don't think the more mileage you run the faster you get. I think that helps a lot more with the marathon. However, I do think you need to get 30+ miles and get speed work in. That and find a nice flat 5K and get good weather.
I do think the more miles you run (up to a point that most of us won't reach any way), the higher chance you will run faster in shorter distances like a 5k. Many folks here set their 5k/10k PRs while training for the Marathon.
And it looks like sub 20 will be in the near future for you with your Marathon training. Best of luck.
take two identical runners running 20 miles per week.
have one guy build up over 6 months to 50-60 miles per week with no hard workouts. have him hold that for 1 month. run 1600m intervals 3 weeks before the race. then 800m intervals 2 weeks before the race, then 400m intervals the week of the race. that's it... 3 hard workouts in 7 months of training.
have the other guy run the next 7 months with 20 miles per week with adding 1, then 2, then 3 hard speed workouts per week.
My money is on guy #1 every time.
I have increased mileage in the past. I enjoyed the running, but not the side affects: hungry all the time, sore/achy legs, quicker shoe turnover ($), and nasty looks from my wife.
I think I can run sub 20 minutes right now, on the right course and with perfect pacing. I am having a hard time finding a race. There is a 5K I would like to do July 18. However, I am on call for work that weekend. I am doing a 5K August 1. There is another 5K I would like to do August 22. Once again, I am on call that weekend.
Both of the August courses are advertised as fast. I have run the August 1 race before, but not the August 22.
Books I Have Read
Last Race: Portland Maine Half Marathon October 5 2014
I enjoyed the running, but not the side affects: hungry all the time, sore/achy legs, quicker shoe turnover ($), and nasty looks from my wife.
This coming from a guy that has run 446 days in a row. That is a very, very impressive streak.
"Good-looking people have no spine. Their art never lasts. They get the girls, but we're smarter." - Lester Bangs
My marathon training partner, who was a cross country runner in college, thinks I'm crazy for running 40 mpw to train for a 5k. She claims that her best performances in college came when she was running only once or twice a week. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure she has a lot more natural ability than I do, yet I'm currently faster because of my consistent mileage. I bet if she put in a consistent 40-50 mpw she could run in the high 18s for 5k, even though her current PR is 20:40.
For what it's worth, she ran Boston in 3:40 this year on 30-35 mpw average. I think she could be really fast if she put in more mileage.
Thanks Lank - I am proud of that number. Yet it is just another different thing I tried to break 20 minutes, but keep coming up 30 or less seconds short.
RunningAHEAD'S mile a day group
The Limping Jogger
Yeah, avoid the 5ks that are advertised as slow. Hope you find the right race.
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
Nothing crazy about it. Ask any collegiate 5,000m runner what their weekly mileage is, and I guarantee you it's well above 50mpw. I didn't run competitively in college, but I spent the better part of a semester running 50~60mpw and I PR'd in the mile. Running works. Truth is, the only real difference between proper 5k training and marathon training is the speedwork and the length of the long run.
Most college runners are getting a scholarship to run those miles.
We are paying to run races
We are crazy!
At track club last night a mid 40s women looked at me in shock when I said I was doing 35 mpw and still could not berak 20 minutes. She gasped "do you think you are overdoing it maybe?" When I said no she said "I don't want to tell you how few miles I run then" ..she just ran a 19:50 in a 5k. I know she has talent and I did not mention that if she ran 50 mpw she would be much faster but I definatley thought it.
A fellow who runs aruond 16 minutes for 5ks told me he is running 70 mpw but likes to run more for marathon training. He also told me a former Olympian from the area ran a 13:41 5k at Stanford while running 45 mpw.
I myself know that mileage helps me. Do I need speedwork? Of course....but I probably also agree with some of you in that you only have so much hard workouts before you can burn out. So better to work on the base and start speedwork 4-6 weeks before a goal race.
No doubt she would be a lot/a lot/a lot faster had she put in the miles in college and now for the Marathon.
My marathon training partner, who was a cross country runner in college, thinks I'm crazy for running 40 mpw to train for a 5k. She claims that her best performances in college came when she was running only once or twice a week. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure she has a lot more natural ability than I do, yet I'm currently faster because of my consistent mileage. I bet if she put in a consistent 40-50 mpw she could run in the high 18s for 5k, even though her current PR is 20:40. For what it's worth, she ran Boston in 3:40 this year on 30-35 mpw average. I think she could be really fast if she put in more mileage.
Most college runners are getting a scholarship to run those miles. We are paying to run races We are crazy! At track club last night a mid 40s women looked at me in shock when I said I was doing 35 mpw and still could not berak 20 minutes. She gasped "do you think you are overdoing it maybe?" When I said no she said "I don't want to tell you how few miles I run then" ..she just ran a 19:50 in a 5k. I know she has talent and I did not mention that if she ran 50 mpw she would be much faster but I definatley thought it. A fellow who runs aruond 16 minutes for 5ks told me he is running 70 mpw but likes to run more for marathon training. He also told me a former Olympian from the area ran a 13:41 5k at Stanford while running 45 mpw. I myself know that mileage helps me. Do I need speedwork? Of course....but I probably also agree with some of you in that you only have so much hard workouts before you can burn out. So better to work on the base and start speedwork 4-6 weeks before a goal race.
We all start from differing talent levels etc but most of us will reap benefits from running more miles. I met a guy at the 5K I ran this Saturday who runs in the low 19's for 5K off of ONE run per week of about 5 or so miles, on a treadmill. He's a masters runner (48 or 49) and just hasn't been able to run more miles without getting hurt. He'd like to but hasn't been able to do it. Back when he was 24 or so he ran in the 16's for 5K and ran a 2:54 marathon and, guess what? He ran a lot more miles back then.
I once knew a guy that knew a guy who coached this guy who only ran in races and was a sub 16'er. I'm pretty sure most college runners are ungrateful knobshines that never work and party too much and they probably never have to eat vegetables.
It's a major bummer that all you knuckleheads got the talent and left me as the only one that has to work. A major bummer indeed.