Sub 15 5k plan for distance guy

Do you have a coach?

Bump your mileage up to 55 mpw and that alone should do it, at age 16.

8 weeks: 55miles per week

Monday - 6 mi

Tuesday - 20-30 min tempo run + 4-6x200m (8-10 miles)

Wednesday - 8 mi

Thu - 6 mi

Friday - 5miles worth of cruise intervals (5xmile, 8x1k, 4x2k) with a minute rest between reps at tempo pace or slightly faster (8-10miles)

Saturday - 6mi

Sun - 10-12 miles steady

Some weeks, swap the friday workout for hill repeats (anywhere from 30sec reps to 2min reps). Some weeks, swap the tempo run for a fartlek run of 20-40 mins (8x3on/1off .... 8x2on/2off etc).

Then, 4 weeks of: 45-50mpw

Mon - 5mi + strides

Tue - 20min tempo run + 8x200m at mile pace or 5x400 at mile pace

Wed - 8 mile

Thu - 5 mile

Friday - 5k workout

Saturday - 5 mile

Sunday - 10 miles

5k workouts should be 4-7km of work at or around 5k pace with ample rest between. Ex:

2x1600, 2x800, 2x400 @ 5k pace

4x1000, 4x400 @ 5k pace

8x800 @ 5k pace

120 Miles per week should get you down to 14:58. Jokes, sounds like you have a plan, just stick to it and be patient and it will happen sooner or later.

If you're willing and able to invest the money, I'd highly recommend getting a plan from RunCCG. They know how to develop young runners

If it ain't broke don't fix it honestly. The structure seems to be sound for you.

The one thing I would add if you're looking for progression is a long run of over 90-100 minutes. Alternating flat or over hills every other week. You should probably just stick to the flat terrain if you hit that hill workout pretty hard. You should keep your other runs and workouts the same and just add that long run. That'll increase your mileage enough to get over 55 miles per week and will illicit further adaptions to the aerobic system on top of also helping with the stamina of your fast twitch fibers.

Dont to throw in some strides 2-3 times per week at the end of your runs.

Your week should look like this.

Mon-EZ

Tues-Workout

Wednesday-EZ

Thursday-Workout

Friday-EZ

Saturday-Workout

Sunday-Long Run EZ

So basically a classic Lydiard schedule when approaching the first big race race.

If you're looking for some super hard or secret workout or sequence of workouts that will guarantee huge fitness gains, myself and everyone else can't help you.

Great results come from hard work in the form of consistent and repeatable workouts, days, weeks, months, and years. Just stay healthy, keep working hard, and have fun!

Great results come from hard work in the form of consistent and repeatable workouts, days, weeks, months, and years. Just stay healthy, keep working hard, and have fun![/quote]

What the poster above me said in the above quote.

There is no magic formula to success or even getting those next 15seconds. If you're running 15:13 on a cross course that is predominantly grass/dirt, then I would say effort wise you're already under 15:00. I've found that grass/dirt (flat, not too wet) runs about 3-4sec slower a mile than on a flat road course or track. Most modern track materials, when compressed, actually aid in the spring off of your foot strike. Grass and dirt, not so much. So if that was a cross time I'd say keep doing what you're doing, mixing it up from time to time for variety (keep the body from plateauing). If you take that to a track you're probably close already.

One thing I will add, as you are high school age, and high school athletes are notorious for neglecting this: I think you may be overlooking that it isn't hard workouts, tempos, intervals, weights, xtraining, etc. and how fast or much of them you do. It's not even so much more miles. It's HOW YOU'RE RECOVERING FROM WHAT YOU'RE DOING THAT MATTERS. What are you doing in the hour following a hard workout? What about the day after? It's in recovery that the body makes it's gains. I do agree with some posters here already that you should keep the recoveries in your VO2/anaerobic sessions to a minimum. That simulates the fact there isn't recovery in a race and stimulates your body to adapt to that better than running super fast intervals and taking long rests between them. At least it's worked well for the athletes I've helped over the years.