A program to run sub 40 min in 10K

[TheEd]

looking forward to seeing the feedback from the race, as you going out at quite a hot pace and you are sure to feel it over the last 3k, however I am sure a PB is a possibility if you hang in at the end

enjoy and good luck

TheEd

[Palmer]

Well you were right that I was going out at quite a hot pace and it turned out that I did not have the energy to keep it the last 5K.

Here are my analysis of the race, mainly for my self for future reference! This course was really up and downhill and I think that my strategy was wrong. During the warm up I noticed that the first 2K were uphill (24m) and against the wind, around 5 m/s, so I deceided to run this part slower than I planned before the race. However; I think I should have run this part even more slower than I did, 4:07 avg. pace because I might have spent to much energy which I needed the last 5K. The 3rd, 4th and 5th K were downhill 59 meters and with the wind in the back so I ran this part fast (avg 3:55 pace). Then 6th and 7th K were 18 meters upwards and I could not keep up the pace (4:13 avg) and others runners started to pass me. Even though the 8th and 9th K were 20 meters downhill, they were against the wind and I only managed to run at 4:19 avg pace and the last K was really tough 27 meters uphill at 4:25 avg. pace.

This gave me a total time of 42:03 and 4:09 avg pace and the 51th place of 343 runners. The course was total/net downhill 8 meters. According to my GPS the course was 10,14 km but in most of my 10K races my GPS measures the courses around 10,1K so perhaps this one was a bit longer than 10K.

Even though I did not reach my goal I ran around 1 minute faster than the 10K in the start of June so I can be happy with the progress. Also, because of how hilly this course was, I think it was rather difficult.

Here are the laps statistics:
Splits; Time; Cum. Time; Elev. Gain; Elev. Loss; Avg. Pace; Avg. HR; Max HR

1; 4:08; 4:08; 6; 2; 4:08; 159; 189
2; 4:07; 8:14; 20; --; 4:07; 175; 181
3; 3:54; 12:08; --; 19; 3:54; 170; 182
4; 3:45; 15:53; 2; 6; 3:45; 179; 183
5; 4:05; 19:58; --; 34; 4:05; 175; 184
6; 4:13; 24:11; 9; --; 4:13; 185; 186
7; 4:14; 28:25; 9; --; 4:14; 185; 186
8; 4:22; 32:47; --; 16; 4:22; 187; 188
9; 4:17; 37:04; --; 4; 4:17; 186; 187
10; 4:25; 41:29; 27; --; 4:25; 189; 192
11; 0:35; 42:03; --; --; 4:14; 192; 192

Sum; 42:03; 42:03; 10,14; 74; 82; 4:09; 179; 192

I have no idea why my Max HR is so high the first km but it also happens often in my training sessions.

Next possible races:
August 6: 5K
August 8: 10K (very flat course)
August 22: 10K (part of the Reykjavik marathon, rather flat course)
August 27: 5K and 10K
September 2: 10K (flat course)
September 12: 10K (very flat course)
September 22: 10K
September 27: 10K (flat course)

The 10K as a part of the Reykjavik Marathon is the largest race of the year here in Iceland at which I will participate. My question is if I should also take part in the 5K on August 6 or the 10K on August 8? Or would that have negative effects of my training sessions up to the 10K race on August 22 and my performance in that race?

Related to this I would appreciate your suggestions of trainings sessions the next days.

Best regards,
Arnie

[TheEd]

Arnie we can balance things around, of course if you race another 10k it will have an impact, it can either benefit or have a negative impact

which 10k do you want to do? 6 or 10

then after that in the run down, the Thursday the week before Aug 22 Race you can do the following session

2 x 2k Rest 2 min @ 10k pace then 3 x 1k Rest 90 seconds

do the last week of the cycle before the event on the 6th or 8th

not sure whether you have read this: Race your best 10k
http://www.time-to-run.com/training/10k/...t-10km.htm

TheEd
ps.. racing always adds to the experience

[Palmer]

Ok, I prefer running the 5K race on August 6th. I enjoy racing and it is important to gain experience. Up to that run I will do the last 7 days of the cycle as you recommend.

I have read this article many times and my initial strategy for the 10K race yesterday was actually based on it. But since the course was really hilly I changed the strategy just before the race.

Many thanks!

Arnie

[TheEd]

hope all going well on run down to 5k

TheEd

[Palmer]

The last days I have not been able to run as I planned due to a camping vacation that I went for from Thursday to Monday. Since the 10K race last Wednesday these have been my training sessions:

Thursday: Rest
Friday: 7K easy run for 40 minutes
Saturday: 8,6K easy run for 46:42 minutes
Sunday: Rest (should have been 10*400m)
Monday: 10*400m on a tartan track

Perhaps the 10*400m was too close to the 5K race on Thursday but I really wanted to do one quality session between the races. I started with a 16 min warm up with an easy run of 2,35K and did then some light stretching.

Lap; Time; GPS Dist.; Avg. pace; Avg HR; Max HR; Rest HR

1; 1:29; 0,42; 3:32; 145; 167; 116
2; 1:30: 0,42; 3:35; 155; 170; 114
3; 1:29; 0,40; 3:40; 157; 172; 125
4; 1:33; 0,40; 3:52; 157; 173; 121
5; 1:31; 0,40; 3:45; 157; 174; 128
6; 1:31; 0,42; 3:36; 160; 175; 131
7; 1:30; 0,42; 3:32; 162; 177; 130
8; 1:30; 0,41; 3:42; 162; 177; 130
9; 1:29; 0,40; 3:42; 164; 179; 136
10; 1:26; 0,40; 3:34; 167; 182;

My target pace is 3:50 (92 sec running the 400 meters) but I ran the laps a little bit faster. Felt I was in control all the time and deceided to run the last lap faster than the others and had no problem with that. I was happy with the session and really enjoyed it.

Today I plan to have an easy 30 min session, rest tomorrow and run the 5K race on Thursday. No time to do the Fartlek before the race since I did the 10*400m yesterday.

Arnie

[TheEd]

enjoy, may it be a good one

TheEd

[Palmer]

Hi TheEd

I took part in a 5K race this evening. It was actually a disappointing performance. My goal was to beat my 5K race time since June, 19:52, but I ended 30 sec slower, 20:22

Lap; Time; Dist; Avg HR; Max HR
1; 4:00; 1K; 167; 178
2; 3:53; 1K; 179; 180
3; 4:07; 1K; 181; 182
4; 4:11; 1K; 182; 184
5; 4:04; 1K; 185; 188
6; 0:07; 0,03K; 188;188

Total: 20:22; 5,03; 179; 188

I lost pace on the 3rd and 4th K which were partly against a slight wind and partly uphill. In comparison my split time after 5K in the 10K race last week was 19:58 but the first 5K were though a bit downhill. So this was not my day but on we go!

I felt some light stifness in my right calf after the race but hopefully it is not serious. I iced it after the race.

Next race is 10K on August 22. You have mentioned that on Thursday the week before the race I should have a session of 2*2K and 3*1K. What kind of sessions do you recommend the next 6 days before that session and the following 8 days after that session until the race? Could I jump into some day in the training program and start from there?

Best regards,
Arnie

[TheEd]

recover from this 5k run and look to put in recovery runs of up to 1hr

over the next number of months we should look to improve aerobic conditioning, so it will allow you to race events to close to one another.

The program is aimed at being a 3 week cycle, so do not be too disappointed with the performance as things can only get better once consistency is achieved

make sure you calf muscle is not stiff when progressing further with faster running

provide feedback and let's see how things go

TheEd

[Palmer]

I like the idea to improve aerobic conditioning. I am confident that all I put in I will take out in the end with good results. I am patient!

The calf is still a bit stiff after the race. Fortunately I did not strain it. I know the difference of a stiff calf and a strained calf! I just walked and cycled the first 3 days after the race. Yesterday I did an easy run for 30 minutes on a treadmill and that was ok, did not feel any stiffness/pain while running slowly. I plan to do some easy runs on a treadmill the next days and gradually increase time and distance. I will also do some fast cycling to work and back home to maintain fitness, total 40 minutes. I think I will not do any fast running sessions up to the race on August 22, to not risk straining the calf. My experience is that it takes at least 10 days for the calf to recover.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Best regards,
Arnie