How to and how long to break 18 minute 5k?

1. How old are you now? You have some advantage being in your 20's.

2. A 4:40 mile is pretty decent, but the mile and the 5K are two different worlds. Even in the college ranks, there are 800/1500 guys who can't put together a decent 5K.

3. Right now you lack aerobic strength and endurance. You simply need to run more...but not 80 mpw. Your body will not be able to handle that mileage this year, so save that for next year. Working to that amount of mileage is a progression and leaping to that mileage too quickly will be nothing but counter productive. For reference, when I was running in the 17:XX range, I was averaging just under 60mpw. I know several guys who run far less than me and run in the 16's.

4. Buy the Daniels running formula book and look at some of intermediate/novice plans and follow those for now.

Look at this calculator and punch in your recent time to get your training paces:

http://www.runbayou.com/jackd.htm

Immediate advice? Easy running for the next several months with 3 to 4 mile tempo runs each week. Extend your longer run to 8 to 10 miles.

It will take 17 minutes and 59 seconds at most.

I broke 18 (17:52) this summer after running 18:52 last summer.

What worked for me:

- Averaged 34 mpw all winter prior. I focused on consistency rather than high mileage.

- Key workouts:

3 x 1600m with 400jog.I ran the exact same pace in the race.

1 week before the race I ran a solo 3200m on the track @ 11:50. It felt great. I made a mental note that I needed ~11:30s for 2 miles for my goal race (I ran 11:32).

- One run a week that totaled about 1 hour and at a good clip. Usually did this Friday after work when I knew I'd be anxious to let it rip.

- Long run weekly/biweekly. Lot of times this turned into a progressive run where it started 8:00-ish pace and ended fast. I tended to run fast in my long runs if it felt good otherwise I just slogged it in. Take what your body gives you.

I ran two races in the lead up to my sub 18.

1. A windy/cold mid-19 5k. At this point I thought it was going to be another year similar to last summer.

2. A mid 38 10k where I was running a PR at every split past 5k. In all the times I had run 10ks I never even sniffed 40 minutes, much less 38. I knew then that I was ready for something special. My fitness was at another level. Sub 18 level.

Good luck!

lkjgdkjgfkljfd wrote:

1. How old are you now?

He was 24 in July this year. That leaves 24 and 25 as possibilities. You're welcome.

Get your mileage up to about 50+ per week. Don't rush it. When you can handle that level of miles, start running some long intervals. Repeat miles. Start with 5 X 1 mile at your current race pace. Two or three minutes rest between. Keep a rest day in each week. You'll get fast, but get strong first.

A few years back I was doing low-mid 16s off 25 a week, but had run a few years of 50/week prior to that.

I was planning on an 18:01 5k to break 18 minutes but your suggestion of under 17:59 might be more effective.

Nutella1 wrote:

lkjgdkjgfkljfd wrote:

1. How old are you now?

He was 24 in July this year. That leaves 24 and 25 as possibilities. You're welcome.

omg hahahah lololool thanks!

First I'd try to reactivate your speed (4:40 mile). Focus on that. It's sufficient to do 45 miles/week for a sub 16:20 5k.

acd wrote:

I was planning on an 18:01 5k to break 18 minutes but your suggestion of under 17:59 might be more effective.

You asked how long.

What's your weight now? Getting the weight down is the first thing...

wiefranz wrote:

First I'd try to reactivate your speed (4:40 mile). Focus on that. It's sufficient to do 45 miles/week for a sub 16:20 5k.

+1

what you need is to increase your anaerobic threshold, and re-learn how to run fast.

As for the grass, soft surfaces handling distance is a myth. Grass is no better than pavement (asphalt is no better than concrete either.) What produces shin splints and stress fractures is something called impact transient, which is caused by form and biomechanics, and occurs no matter what surface you're on. Grass is also a very unstable surface which creates stresses of its own.

Running on a soft surface will merely slow you down and adapt your form to running on that slow surface. Train on the surface you're going to race on.

Can you link me some evidence or proof that grass is not better to run on to prevent things like ITBS? It could be a small sample or just a placebo effect but my knees have felt better running on grass than asphalt.

I totally agree with the weight thing.

I'm always a 19:30 guy, but went something like 18:30 after having lost a bunch of weight when sick.

When I put the weight back on, I was back to around 19:00-19:30

Good luck! Although with your kind of pedigree, I would aim for 17:00 instead of 18:00

If someone like me can get to within sight of 18:00, you should go faster.

What IS your weight now, and what was it in HS?

Well I was 5'7" in HS and my weight fluctuated between 130-140. I'm about 5'8" 162 right now and was 175 when I started out in July. My weight is still way to high but I am a lot more muscular now than I was in HS so that is part of it.

I am eventually shooting for sub 17 minutes but that is a long long ways away from where I am now at 24 minutes. Eventually I would like to even break 15 minutes but that is so far away I'm more worried about breaking 18 first.

Weight is so important I'd bet if you just ran 25-30 miles a week and dropped your weight to 150, you'd break 18.

+1, but I know nothing about 5k except for my own experience.

Considering you've dropped 12 lbs in 2.5-3 months, I would guess that you were pretty egregiously overweight when at your max, or else you are just massively dehydrated right now! What do you think the chances are of your dropping another 12 lbs?

If I could give you ONE piece of advice considering training in a steep part of the improvement curve, it would be to stay well hydrated, especially going into a workout. In my experience, dehydration is insidious, and quietly robs you of your potential to do work.

I think it should take less than 20 minutes.

Good luck.

Run for 17-18 minutes every day, and gradually increase your distance until you reach 5k.