Only Easy Miles + Tempos + Strides = 5k PR? Need advice.

So? Whatever it is has managed to prompt some decent responses and a good discussion which, unlike your post, have some potentially useful ideas.

Why don't you just get yourself a coach? Every type of work you do, helps. The key question is, what's the dosage? And that changes based on your current development and the time of the training year. Then of course you do need proper recovery after harder workouts. The harder workouts will probably be interval training. long runs and longer tempo runs. Of course with those harder workouts, scheduling matters, thus emphasizing the need for a coach.

I got downvoted but I am within 40 seconds of 16:50 and I did it with nothing faster than "tempo" / sub threshold pace and 35 mpw AND I'm in my mid 30s.... so 70 mpw should easily get you there. On 70 you should be running sub 16...

You give some background, but you don't give your age. A teenager or 20s runner with 2yr experience will just keep improving by doing almost any consistent training.

Other posters have already said you need VO2 work. This can be done anywhere and consists of 3-6min efforts with 2+min recovery. Ex. 5x3min, jog 2min. These will be close to current 5k race pace.

I am a strong believer in "tempo" runs. These are really runs near the edge of your Aerobic/Anaerobic Threshold. Typically they are 20-45min +warmup, cool down. Better to err on the side of slightly slower than too fast. For long term benefit this is the best type of training you can do.

With GPS watches and HR monitors built in, you can really hone in on AT and VO2max paces pretty accurately. But there is no substitute for "feel". Some days you'll be faster or slower based on body fatigue, work stress, etc.

Definitely keep doing strides. They help your raw speed an keep you sharp and ready for VO2 work. Maybe add some drills to work on neuromuscular coordination.

Forgot to mention, your current training is excellent "base" phase. You need VO2 work for about 12-16 weeks leading up to your goal race. The last 6 weeks you could sub some shorter intervals (200, 400) for a VO2 workout or tack on full recovery 200s at the end of a workout. Again, GPS watches allow you to do this on the road. 30s or 60s repeats are fine too there is no magic to exactly 200m or any other distance. Duration and target pace/ stress is the important thing.

You got downvoted because what works for you might not work for OP.

Maybe you're more talented.

Maybe you're running 10 years and OP 2 years.

Some people run 70mpw do all the right workouts and still don't break 18. You can't just humblebrag and say "IF you run 70mpw you WILL break 17 minutes because I have done it on less mileage".

To everyone that replied, thanks for the feedback.

I was actually on a training plan, doing thresholds on the track 1x per week and a workout at 3k pace 1x per week. Next phase was to transition to tempos and 5k specific workouts, to eventually tune up for the 5k.

Issue is that time got in the way with other commitments, I can only do AM runs. I'll likely be building a monster base by doing singles at 70 MPW and then once time frees up, I'll then pivot over to 5k specific training.

To your original question, it's POSSIBLE to get good results in many different ways. Ed Whitlock was the best old runner there was and did nothing but easy runs, no tempos, no fartlek. At shorter distances there was a guy called Francis Burdett doing very well as a forty year old on nothing but very easy runs:

Francis Burdett ��
A Runner Profile
By Stephen Chantry
If you are a runner who loves to race
but you long for the ��off-season��
when you can get back to those
long, easy runs where you just
enjoy getting out there, then read
this article about Francis Burdett.
For those of you who enjoy the
comfortable solace of that effortless
morning run where you don��t look
at the clock and just cruise along the
road or trail enjoying the sun rise,
but you still want to race fast, read
on!
Like many masters runners, Francis
Burdett has experimented with
various training methods over the
years. And like many, although he is
still open to finding better ways to go
faster and compete at higher levels,
he has found what seems to work
well for him. National Masters News
has numerous articles depicting
successful runners and their training
routines and these varying routines
often contain a number of common
characteristics. But, the preferred
training routine that Francis Burdett
has adopted is probably more
unique than any other runner. His
success is undeniable with numerous
high level wins. He has a couple
of 5000m National titles and won
the World Master��s Championship
in the 3000m this past indoors in
Kamploops. In his training routine,
once again we see evidence that what
works for one runner may not work
for another ��you have to find what
works for you.
Because of his father��s corporate
job, Burdett lived in many places in
the US and in Europe as a youth,
but he spent his high school years
in Vermont at Montpelier HS ��a
place he describes as a great place
to grow up and to run. During his
senior year in high school, he was
state champion in cross country and
the 3000m for division 1 schools
running a state record 8:48. He
notes that his mileage in high school
generally started at about 25 miles
per week and then went down to
about 15 as they ran more intervals
of hill work and speed work. While
attending college at CW Post on
Long Island, his mileage increased
significantly and injuries kept him
from progressing. When the coach
capped his mileage at almost half of
what the other runners were doing,
he was injured less and he stayed
competitive. He recalled running a
road 10 miler at the end of his high
school track season. He had taken
three full weeks off from running
at the conclusion of the season and
jumped into a 10 mile road race and
ran 55:17. His fully recovered and
rested legs let him carry himself to
an outstanding time.
When the college coach capped
his mileage and his training pace
was still fairly fast, he only realized
partial success. Injuries still plagued
him off and on. As a masters runner
he decided to focus on keeping
himself recovered and healthy. Not
only would his mileage be meager
(by many other distance runners��
standards), it would also be slow
and easy. Burdett points out an
objective that he has in his training:
��I run easy today so that I can run
easy tomorrow.�� The significance of
this statement is not fully realized
until one understands that for years
as a master��s level runner he has
trained on mileage of 30 to 35 miles
per week at a pace of 9:00 to 9:30
minutes per mile. Only recently
has he increased his weekly mileage
significantly while maintaining the
same pace per mile. Yet, with this
routine he has the following stats
during the last couple of years:
Distance Time Age Event/Venue
1500m 4:08.91 (44) USATF Track
Mile 4:28 (44) Road 5th Ave Mile
5000m 15:14 (44) WMA Track
5000m 15:26 (44) USATF Track
5000m 15:16 (44) Road Master��s USATF
5000m 15:29 (44) Road Open USATF
7.08M 36:00 (44) Road Falmouth (ER 10K 31:48)
Mile 4:31.83 (45) Indoor Track
Mile 4:32.30 (45) Track
3000m 8:58.06 (45) Indoor Track USATFNE
5000m 15:23 (45) Track
5000m 15:31 (45) Track
5000m 15:33 (45) Indoor Track
Easy mileage is Burdett��s training.
He does not do speed work, core
strength training, intervals or
threshold runs. As he says, ��, I
will NEVER EVER do a tempo
workout...might as well race.�� The
only time he goes fast is in races.
And ��The only ��core�� or upper
body training I get is from some
heavy yard work or shoveling snow.��
When asked why not do strides,
he proclaims, ��well, I��m just plain
lazy.�� But, lazy he is not. As some
of his M50 buddies described their
high mileage and intense workouts
a couple of years ago, he decided
to give it a try ��but without the
intensity. He started at 60-70 mikes
a week but at an even slower pace
of 10:00 �� 10:30 pace per mile ��to
ensure I would be able to run the
next day/week.�� He also increased
his sleep time to 6 or 7 hours a
night. Burdett��s past routine had
been consecutive months of only 2
or 3 hours of sleep a night and then
a big ��sleep crash�� as he calls it. He
continued his accelerated mileage
and eventually topped at 100 miles
per week while gradually bringing
his pace back to his normal 9:00 ��
9:30 minutes per mile.
Now he is running steadily at over 80
miles per week and this past summer
he has 5 consecutive weeks of 90+
per week ��all at about 9:30 pace. He
has altered his training somewhat by
adding a few more races sprinkled
within these high mileage weeks
��with no tapering for the race. (At
the end of his fourth week at 90+
miles, he ran 15:41 in a 5K.) He
notes that often his first race after a
prolonged absence from competition
and with only long easy miles was a
shock to his body. He is hoping that
by racing somewhat more frequently,
albeit in low key and non National
Championship events, he will run
faster in the important races and
with less ��shock�� to his system.
Francis Burdett is certainly unique.
He may be the only one of his kind.
Or, he may have found another
magic formula that not only works
for him but for others as well. I
ran with him once while we were
at an outdoor track meet. I found
it difficult to keep his pace while
matching his stride. I tended to
shorten my steps and just shuffle
along at 10 minute pace like
one might do when completely
exhausted after a rigorous interval
session. But Francis moves along
smoothly, and in full stride as he
lopes along casually at 10 minutes
per mile. Each step a powerful
push lifting him slowly upward
and forward. He has a lean college
weight of 140-142 pounds with the
appearance (in racehorse talk) of
a tight skinned thoroughbred. He
hasn��t an ounce of fat on his body
despite his ��downfall�� of a taste for
sweets. He loves the Kit Kat Bar
and he loves Cap��n Crunch cereal
(and his three sons, Cullin, Addison
& Gibson along with wife Jane
would often be furious with him on
mornings after he would stay up late
��eating his fourth meal�� of an entire
family size box of Cap��n Crunch).
There is no question that he loves
to run fast, but he saves that for
the races. His training is geared to
let him do that freely and without
worry of becoming injured. Isn��t
that a main concern for master��s
runners? He races for PRs and
although he likes to win, he would
rather place fifth with a fast time
than run slow and kick it home for a
win in a slow time. He believes that
his training style gives him great strength. He says:
��Some folks don��t want to hear about my training,
some don��t believe it. Strength, That��s all it is....you
can run almost to your potential and fast with just
strength and letting your body recover...it��s a great
feeling not to struggle in the latter part of a race.
You may get out-kicked, but that��s OK if the overall
time is fast.��
The next time you are contemplating that long slow
run or putting in those ��junk�� miles and you start
to feel guilty that you should be training harder,
remember Francis Burdett. Train long, train so you
can train tomorrow. Stay healthy and RACE fast.

In the fifty seven years I've been paying attention to this sort of thing I've come to believe that what matters most is that you're running enough. That can vary from person to person but if you're running enough you'll improve.

It's a fake post on a somewhat general topic, which along with starting disingenuously makes people wonder how much of the discussion here is genuine and organic, versus astroturfed and otherwise fabricated by mods, brojos and trolls for engagement on a board they feel would otherwise get too little traffic.

If you say so. Or maybe not. Whatever it is I find it a lot more interesting and potentially useful than at least half the nonsense posted here.

This was a pleasure to read.