5K track time trail time = 5K road race time?

Training Advice/Discussion 5k/10k

5 years ago 12/07/2018 4:46pm EST

Obviously 5K track is faster than road (as a rule). But given the extra adrenaline in a race, being pulled by others etc, does a 5K solo time trial on a track approximate pretty closely to what you could race on the road, on a decent flat course?

So if I ran an all-out time trial solo on the track of 20:00, could I reasonably expect to run the same in my local 5K the next week?

I'm wondering also if this is why the advice here is that, for example, 5 x 1K intervals with 1 or 2 minutes rest are a good race predictor?

5 years ago 12/07/2018 5:00pm EST

re: ho3p52hlite

I think that a track would be 30-40 seconds faster for someone in the 20:00 range, assuming the course wasn't too hilly. However if you don't have spikes probably more like 20-30. I would say solo track vs group road would be similar.

I personally don't think 5x1k is a great Predictor workout, I prefer 3-4xmile with a longer (2.5-3) break since Ive found you can fake your way thru k repeats a lot easier. However if it's a week before your race 4x mile is probably too taxing, the k repeats seem like a better idea, maybe finishing with a couple fast 200s.

5 years ago 12/07/2018 7:27pm EST

re: ho3p52hlite

I’ve done this twice.

Both times ran faster on the roads: 38 seconds and 47 seconds.

5 years ago 12/07/2018 7:50pm EST

re: ho3p52hlite

Not sure about the track time trial. The predictor that works best for me is a shorter time trial. Eg I can do a 2 mile solo time trial at about my best 5K pace.

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5K track time trail time = 5K road race time?

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