Opening up next Thursday.. Predict my 5k opener!

26:44 - 27:03

lol my 5k PR is 22:42... my half marathon was 1:43 and my first 5k was 24:20 in that.. I hope to open up around 22 flat.

Come on guys.. am I crazy for thinking I can open up in 22 flat. What kind of workout would I have to do to indicate sub 20 for a 5k?

i predict that you slow down a ton after the first mile, give up mentally, then produce a huge sprint in the last 100m to some through in about 22.

and that workout isnt useful at all because you didnt do it on a track and you kinda f*ed it up pretty badly.

my advice: quit doing workouts and just run every day and you'll get faster, quicker. you dont need any workouts to break 20 for a 5k at 24 yrs old.

wdude wrote:

Excited to run my first 5k race of the year next Thursday. Course is very flat. I've had a good few months of training and feel myself improving every week.

Recently I ran a 5:59 mile solo into the wind and my last speed workout I ran 6x800 at 6 minute mile pace with 3 minutes rest in between. It was on an incline loop but to be honest I fell off pretty hard.. laps were 2:56-3:02-3:29-3:24-3:25-3:15. I'm also 24 years old and 6'6 and 222 lbs. Predict what I'll open in. The goal is to break 20 minutes before 2014. Am I on track to do that. Just bought a new pair of shoes too. Newton Distance. Hoping they'll help my running gait a little and it will end up in me using less energy per stride.

6x800 with 3 mins rest falling off that much just isn't a good workout. The pace was much too fast, the splits are way too inconsistent, and the rest was too long.

Your shoes aren't going to do a thing about your energy return unless you were running in house shoes or something before.

Are you on track for 2014 sub 20? Sure, why not. 2014 is a long ways away. Run a lot more, lose some (a lot of) weight, do some decent workouts, and stay consistent.

If you want to have an accurate predictor or even just a workout that has some semblance of specificity, try 4x1000m in 4:24 with 90s jogging recovery (at least 400m).

That's 22 flat pace. If you can do that, then you should be close.

I'd also try some harder/tempo 20+ min continuous runs, maybe shoot for 3 miles in 22:30-23 mins.

In the race go out NO faster than 7:00 for the first mile. If you're in sub 22 shape you'll hold it. If not, you'll die over the last mile and barely crack 23, but that's better than going out at 6:45 or something and barely cracking 24.

reed wrote:

and that workout isnt useful at all because you didnt do it on a track

Say what?

What does doing a workout on a track have to do with it being useful or not?

Thanks for the advice. You say I should easily be able to run under 20 at 24 years old. I just started running last year. Started out with a 32 minute 5k and 10 minute mile.. I wasn't a runner in school.. On the contrary I was a thrower and didn't run a day in my life. I used to be 305 lbs so at 220 I've really hit close to my goal weight. I have 14% body fat which is pretty low. Could I lose weight, sure and I'm trying but unless you saw me you would see I don't have that much weight left to lose. I've been doing 25-30 miles a week recently. Not sure how many miles I need to be doing and that workout I posted was the second speed workout of my life so I don't do many speed workouts if any at all. When I plugged in my mile time in the McMillan calculator it said it equates to a 20:46. Not that I expect to run that. I think I've come a long way but I want to continue to progress but I don't think saying sub 20 is easy for a 24 year old is very accurate. You have to have some sort of talent to run that fast.

What are you talking about?

Where did I ever say a 24 year old should easily run sub 20?

It's hardly "easy" for the vast majority of people to run sub 20. what are you reading, exactly?

Pretty sure I said with a year more of consistent training and weight loss you should be on track for a sub 20.

Read more carefully next time.

And no, 14% body fat isn't low. It's 8-9% higher than it likely could be for optimum performance.

And no, hate to burst your bubble but you don't need some sort of talent to run a sub 20 5k. You need to train consistently and lose some weight. Some people need to train less and lose less than others and might break 20 or much faster much sooner than someone else, but at that level, "talent" isn't really a limiting factor.

PS, your above post makes you sound like either a troll or some depressed chump who needs someone to hold their hand and tell them how awesome they're doing even though they totally suck.

If you want to break 20 then quit telling yourself how "far you've come" and how low your body fat % is and go out and bust your a$$ for a year.

You don't need talent, you need to get out and push yourself.

Well done if you're trolling. You've really pissed me off with that whimsical "I'm doing so well" diatribe.

I wasn't talking to you bud.. I was talking to the poster above you.. I'm not trolling and be mentioned at 24, I shouldn't need any workouts to run sub 20.. Just mileage.. I don't believe that know but and I don't need to be told I'm on a praising-myself tirade. I'm an inspiration to MANY people and that fuels me as well as seeing myself progress and learn more about running everyday. To everyone else, thank you. Looking forward to more Prs and making new friends on the roads.