Looking for some assistance trying to get to sub 20min 5km.
Managed a 20:35 and a 20:32 recently.
Been doing intervals, longer runs, some sprints, but just can't seem to crack it.
31 years old and based in Johannesburg (1600m altitude)
Looking for some assistance trying to get to sub 20min 5km.
Managed a 20:35 and a 20:32 recently.
Been doing intervals, longer runs, some sprints, but just can't seem to crack it.
31 years old and based in Johannesburg (1600m altitude)
VanillaChinchilla wrote:
Looking for some assistance trying to get to sub 20min 5km.
Managed a 20:35 and a 20:32 recently.
Been doing intervals, longer runs, some sprints, but just can't seem to crack it.
31 years old and based in Johannesburg (1600m altitude)
A lot of it may be mental. For me, 20mins was a huge mental barrier and took me ages to break. Once I did, I was able to get down to 18:00 in what seemed like no time.
First - and most important - step is to make sure you're doing the right type of training at the right paces (going through a couple of online plans should give you a good general idea). Next should be to ensure you're running consistently (5-6x a week was when I really started making big gains). Finally, when you feel like you're ready, don't be afraid to put the hammer down. I blew up in a couple of runs at the 3.5km mark before nailing it, but those runs taught me more than any of my training runs.
For what it's worth, the biggest challenge in Jhb is always simply finding a flat stretch of road. A 20:30 there is easily equivalent to a sub 20 on the promenade in Cape Town.
Thanks yes I’m sure you are right.
Running consistently 6/7 days a week, but probably missing what you describe as just being prepared to put the hammer down. I guess also the fact that I’m not too tired afterwards means I need to push harder early on. I often find myself going too slowly in km#2, (so something like 3:55, 4:30, 4:05, 4:05, 3:55) which granted there is a hill in the timetrial, is not time I can get back... Otherwise yes been doing interval training, longer runs, sprints, etc - just feel like I’m not seeing gains anymore!
What's your miles per week?
I’d say about 50kms
Are you doing much tempo running? Probably a bit more useful for 5k than sprints.
I am doing some yes, trying to (relatively for me) quite fast 10kms as part of training too - i.e. around 47:30-48:30
There should be a lot of ways to break 20 with 50-ish km/wk. Here's an idea - something like this simple approach:
Mon - off
Tue - 8K easy, 4 x 100m strides @ 1500m speed
Wed - 2K warmup, [alternate 20-min tempo OR 4 x 800m cruise with 200m jog], 2K cooldown
Thu - 8K easy, 4 x 100m strides @ 1500m speed
Fri - 8K easy
Sat - 2K warmup, workout, 2K cooldown
week A: 8 x 300m @ 65-70 sec with 90 sec standing rest (reduce rest when too easy)
week B: 12 x 200m hills @ 1500-3K effort, 3 min walk down (increase speed when too easy)
week C: 5K time trial
Sun - 12K easy @ slower pace, or approx 60+ min
Then, when you hit 20 min for your TT, take a down week and smash 19-something.
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Here's my thinking re this approach:
- 3 easy days, 2 workouts, 1 long run, 1 off
- 1 aerobic workout
- strides to work on turnover, so that the fast workout feels a bit easier/smoother
- 300m repeats to work on faster-than-20-min pace, so that 20 min pace feels easier/smoother
- Hills to improve strength for your hilly 2nd K
I am not an expert, so anybody feel free to correct me and pummel this suggestion if it stinks.
But I think this should be ok for somebody with decent general fitness trying to get down to sub-20, or even sub-18 or faster (I think I probably would have gone sub-16 when younger with something like this, esp if it was preceded by a phase with long hill repeats and 400m hill repeats)
Thank you this is very helpful. If it would be of any relevance for feeding into advice/comments, my strava name is “vanil pig” if you want to get a sense of how my runs and training have been looking like typically.