Why cant i run a sub 18 5k?

I have had trouble breaking 18 in the 5k as well. My 1 mile PR is 5:10 although I believe I can break 5 right now. I run 30/50 miles per week and I'm 36 yo. My PR for 5K is 18:33. I'm going for sub 18 next week. I typically do at least one workout per week and one long run of at least 10 miles, sometimes as long as 20 miles.

throwback wrote:

yeah uh im a sophomore and ran 16:21 5k last week and have a mile pr of 4:51 and an 800 pr of 2:09....granted i ran 4:53 first mile so i can obviously get faster on my mile time.

Wow you really screwed up the pacing on that one. 4:53 first mile then 16:21. You must have had tons of people passing you in the second half of the race. Embarrassing

ramus313 wrote:

I simply do not understand why i have not broken 18 minutes for a 5k yet. My PR's:

800m - 2:08

1600 - 4:55

5k - 18:34

i dont know what im doing wrong. The harder workouts we are doing include 2 mile tempo runs, 1000m, 800m, and 400m repeats. My racing strategy is basically to run the first mile in 5:40, finish mile two by 11:35, then under 6:00 for the last mile. I can get to around 11:37 by mile two, but i dont know what happens the last mile. Can anyone offer any advice to help me break 18?

. B.

You will eventually! You have the necessary talent. It takes time to absorb the training. You're probably relatively young or new to running? You will below at least 17:30!

5-7 Miles is like 1/2 a long run it should be 10-12

I ran a 18:34 on saturday in a xc race. Im also a sophmore. I've ran 18:22 before but got a ankle injury. Our season just ended. I hit a 5:37 first mile and still could not do it, partialy because of my ankle. What im planning on doing for my off season training is 9-11mi long runs ranging from 6:30 to 7:20 pace, 1-2 tiempo workouts a week, (20-30 broken or reg teimpo) and recovery runs of 5-7 miles. One off day a week, and possibly a speed week running 400s or 800s. On the 22nd im running a 5k and planning on running around my pr because im on my 2 week no running :( period for recovery ending the 15th. After that im planning on running a 17:30-45 5k in december. I havent run a mile race in a while but 9 months ago I ran a 5:26. I know I can be that know as I ran a 5:23 in a mile interval track workout 2 months ago. Thats what im personally doing.

You need to run more. If your long run is 5-7 miles, I imagine you probably run around 30 miles a week, very possibly less. Some people can run what they consider to be a good 5K off of that, you seemingly can't. Like many other posters, I was running comfortably under 18 the same year that my mile pr was around 4:55 but I was also running 50-60 miles a week. Just keep upping your mileage and if you still can't break 18, then start to wonder why and start messing with workouts

Bad Wigins wrote:

If you can run a 2:08 800, you can stand a lot worse than anything in a 5k.

Oh man, where's Shawn H and Dial it up??

First Mile wrote:

Up your tempo runs to at least 4 miles and get a long run of 8 or 9 miles in every other weekend. Also consider getting out harder for the first mile of a race (aim for 5:30-5:35) and then just stay in a "discomfort" zone for as long as you can. If you crash and burn after 2 miles, then you can use that as a building block to say "I made it 2 miles before hitting the wall last race, let's try to make it 2.5 miles this race."

^This + a longer long run.

Do not go out too fast. It ruins you for the rest of the race.

Lenny Leonard wrote:

18:00 is 5:48 pace, so you don't need to run faster than 5:40 at any point during the race except for the last 800m if you're feeling good.

If Bekele used your strategy (running about 2.5% faster than even pacing for the first mile), he would run his first mile in 3:56.

A better idea would be 5:50/5:45/5:45 for 17:20 at 3 miles, and then sub-40 for the final .1

I meant to quote this. Sorry for the mistake.

I run a 2:03 in the 800m and I have a pr of 17:15 in the 5k and for me I struggled with the same thing but its important to not get out at a pace you can maintain with a slight drop off in the second mile. So for me it was good to try more even splits. So for sub 18 maybe 5:40/5:50/5:40 maybe faster but make sure to use any downhills they can make up times.

OP, your 5k XC PR is 18:34 or 5:59 pace.

Even 6:25 pace for 20 minutes is TOO FAST for your tempo run.

Tempo runs are not about how fast you can run against your team mates, they are about practicing moving at a decent TEMPO with as little effort as possible.

I'm sure, even on a track, 6:25 feels hard to you during the second mile. Instead of running 6:00, 6:25, 6:25 for your tempo try running it as 7:00, 6:45, 6:30.

"we do 15-20 minute tempo runs at like a 6:00-6:25 pace occasionally,"

Sounds like you need more endurance, try longish 5-7 mile progressive runs by dropping ~15secs off your pace every mile or simply get faster. If it's your first one start slower and go shorter distances then move your way up.

bigtimerunnergirl wrote:

Sounds like you need more endurance, try longish 5-7 mile progressive runs by dropping ~15secs off your pace every mile or simply get faster. If it's your first one start slower and go shorter distances then move your way up.

OP started this thread seven years ago. OP could be a sub-2 800m runner or not a runner anymore.