Want to break 16 and run mid 15s this year! Approach on workouts, weights, mileage, etc? (Previous pr of 16:12). Mileage has been in the mid 60s. 95% have been easy and steady running
Want to break 16 and run mid 15s this year! Approach on workouts, weights, mileage, etc? (Previous pr of 16:12). Mileage has been in the mid 60s. 95% have been easy and steady running
My best friend doesn't believe in my athletic pursuits.
Everyone else who I talk to don't believe in me either. They're just haters. However, when my best friend doesn't think I can do it, it hurts. Since I know that he has good intentions for me, it was a blow to my ego.
Completely rely on yourself. Building mental strength is important too.
Lasse Viren:
High mileage, often running three times a day
20 x 200m, with 200m easy
you must dedicate yourself to the art of running to believe
My mindset throughout my season (15:48 PR) was to be race ready, no matter what and on the race day not to go out super hard. I would go out in the 4:58-5:08 range and then on the second mile I would pass as many people as possible so I kept my pace. In my two fastest races my mile split went like this 4:58-5:03 and 5;08-5:08 so it’s a good strategy to use
I'll bite. To keep it really simple, you will want two hard sessions a week. Perhaps a 4 mile tempo run at 5:20-5:30 pace. Then one interval workout 5-7 x 1000 at goal race pace. A 3rd would be a set of long strides, or 8x200m fast, but not so fast that it prevents recovery from harder sessions. Aside from that, keep the other days easy as you are, with one day a bit longer.
Mindset? Enjoy the process, and set up to the starting line thriving for competition, not thinking about times and splits. The vast majority of big PR's come in races where people are engaged in the competition, not the stopwatch.
When you can run 3 x Mile in 5:05-5:10 with no more than a 75 second recovery, you should have no trouble breaking the 16-barrier. Another great workout is 12x400 in 75s with the balance of 2 minutes recovery. Mileage does not need to exceed 35 MPW if your quality sessions are in fact quality. Do these things, Grasshopper.
FormerTree wrote:
I'll bite. To keep it really simple, you will want two hard sessions a week. Perhaps a 4 mile tempo run at 5:20-5:30 pace. Then one interval workout 5-7 x 1000 at goal race pace. A 3rd would be a set of long strides, or 8x200m fast, but not so fast that it prevents recovery from harder sessions. Aside from that, keep the other days easy as you are, with one day a bit longer.
Mindset? Enjoy the process, and set up to the starting line thriving for competition, not thinking about times and splits. The vast majority of big PR's come in races where people are engaged in the competition, not the stopwatch.
I have to agree with this, especially the last part. I was a mid 16s 5k guy, eventually working my way to mid 15s. My PR, 14:45 was in a race I got my ass kicked at. Don't worry about splits. Worry about keeping up with the competition and the times will take care of themselves. My fastest races were ones I not only didn't win, but didn't even come close. At the time I was pissed about not winning. Looking back I can see that obviously the competition was the more important factor.
+1--having a good training group and coach helps big time-don't sweat the splits all of the time. i went from 16:20 to 15:42 the next spring with 3 months of quality work-i did only 2/3 of your milage-mid 40's but 2 workouts a week and sometimes a 3 mile tempo on Saturday if no racing...I learned to run recovery runs real slow---getting my butt kicked in workouts didn't hurt and paid off on race day...good luck!
Wax On wrote:
When you can run 3 x Mile in 5:05-5:10 with no more than a 75 second recovery, you should have no trouble breaking the 16-barrier. Another great workout is 12x400 in 75s with the balance of 2 minutes recovery. Mileage does not need to exceed 35 MPW if your quality sessions are in fact quality. Do these things, Grasshopper.
The first one is killer, especially if just done by yourself and definitely indicates sub 16. The 400s don't really indicate sub 16, but is a good pacing workout, that a sub 16 runner should feel smooth throughout.
When I broke 16 for the first time I was running about 40-50 miles per week, was a junior in high school, and weighed 140 lbs at 6' tall. This was on a fast XC course, so who knows how accurate the course was, but my track times at 1600/3200 later in the year corresponded. My training consisted of mostly easy running except for the following:
- A long run of 10+ miles once per week
- A quality day, normally about 5 miles total with ~2 miles of hard running (e.g. 8 X 400, 2 X 1600, etc.) at 3200M to 5000M pace
- A progression run of ~5 miles, normally starting at 8 min per mile and descending to ~5:30 per mile
Breaking 15 required another 40ish miles per week, and a much more structured training plan. I was also 3 years older and 10 lbs heavier.
I probably could run a 15 minute 5k but I simply don't want to. That would be way too complicated for the amount of effort and risk I have to put in.
1. Don't obsess over running 15:5x. Time goals like that can cause you to burn out if you struggle to dip under or get lazy if you hit your magic time early in the season.
2. Focus on different sections of the race each meet. (Run negative split races, throw in mid race surges, pace a slower teammate at a smaller meet. IMO, young athletes should not truly run all out more than 4 or 5 times in a 3-4 month season )
3. A good portion of your runs should remain easy. That said, it's really about learning to run fast and easy. Cue tempo runs and long progression runs. For me, the fast finish ten mile run is the best all around workout. For a sub 16 5k, you should be able to run ten miles hitting 5 miles at 30 minutes and then gradually ramp down to sub 5:20 pace over the last two miles or so.
4. Treat interval workouts as form runs not race simulations. Running sixteen 70 second 400s with 1 minute break is NOT a predictor of low 15 5k ability. In many ways sixteen 75 second 400s is a better workout at your development point. I could go on and on about this point but vast majority of your workouts should prepare you for race conditions from 400 meters to 4600 meters (ie continuous running at a pace you can maintain for approximately 15 minutes. Workouts that induce a huge amount of lactic acid and puking are counterproductive. See tempoes and fast finish long runs above.
5. Learn to race. This does NOT mean you have to win every race. It does mean learning, to settle in early, maintain form and time your kick. Always remember you cannot win a 5k race in the first mile but you can definitely lose it.
I found that taking myself way too seriously and being judgemental of casual runners really helped.
Jjb4246 wrote:
Want to break 16 and run mid 15s this year! Approach on workouts, weights, mileage, etc? (Previous pr of 16:12). Mileage has been in the mid 60s. 95% have been easy and steady running
Do more running around race pace. Easy. There aren't many shortcuts based on what you're doing anyway.
Example....
1x long run (c90mins)
1x approx race pace session (e.g. repeat 800s etc)
1x tempo + strides e.g. 20 mins at close to 10 k pace + 10 x 100
1x hill reps (30secs to 2 mins e.g. 6x 2mins + 6 x 30 secs or other combinations.
+ easy/steady mileage as you see fit - include more strides if you can.
No point wasting time on weights until you've exhausted the low hanging fruit.
Jjb4246 wrote:
Want to break 16 and run mid 15s this year! Approach on workouts, weights, mileage, etc? (Previous pr of 16:12). Mileage has been in the mid 60s. 95% have been easy and steady running
I just ran 70 -80 mpw with lots of easy runs 6:45-7:10 and 4-6 mile tempo runs once a week all summer. Did weights on wednesday and intervals on tuesday. Did all my mileage in 6 days a week as well.
westsouthrunner wrote:
Jjb4246 wrote:
Want to break 16 and run mid 15s this year! Approach on workouts, weights, mileage, etc? (Previous pr of 16:12). Mileage has been in the mid 60s. 95% have been easy and steady running
I just ran 70 -80 mpw with lots of easy runs 6:45-7:10 and 4-6 mile tempo runs once a week all summer. Did weights on wednesday and intervals on tuesday. Did all my mileage in 6 days a week as well.
I would like to also add that I ran 4x1600 during the summer in 4:55-5:05 with 5 min standing rest in between and 5x mile during the season in 4:50-5:05 with 400-800 jog rest. I don't think what worked for me worked for everyone else though. Only ran about 45-55 mpw during the season in hs.
Besides your distance and some tempo runs, the only intervals you need to do is this:
5 x 1000 at goal race pace with 1 min rest