How to get to a 20 min 5k fastest

If you work out and stay with it, your weight will be what is necessary.

Dr. Abravanel's Body Diet Type is a great book. Like most people, you may be eating as per your dominant hormonal system (adrenal, pituitary, thyroid). The first part of the book is invaluable as to the types of foods to eat so as to stimulate the secondary and tertiary hormonal systems.

The rest of the book as to the amounts of food to consume is counter-productive, but it is tough to sell a diet book unless there is some food plan for obese people.

Your workouts sound fine as they are, especially if in HS.

You will get better over time, so that the runs are faster. Also, the interval workouts will be faster, even with less recovery.

Core work, some weights. Water running if available.

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it.

kari013 wrote:

I am a 16 year old female with a current PR of around 23 minutes in the 5K. I am looking to drastically reduce my times, hopefully to around 20 minutes. I currently run 15-20 miles per week with 1 short speed day and one longer run of 6-7 miles. Would you suggest increasing workout days or mileage first or can I do both at the same time? Also, I am 5’3 and weigh 115. I know this is kind of heavy for a runner and I am thinking about losing about 10 lbs (slowly and safely obviously). Is this a good idea and how should this fit in with fueling for training? Thanks!

Young women have much more uncertainty with their progress than do young men, so nothing is guaranteed to make you faster, and you could get slower.

However, the biggest thing you can do is increase your mileage. 20 miles a week is just not anywhere near enough for a high school athlete wanting to be competitive. You should have that up to 45 MPW by the end of summer 2021 heading into your cross country season. This should be done in single runs running 7 days a week with no planned days off. Your long run should get up to 10-12 miles.

Do that.

Too much for 90% of 16 year old girls, especially when she is low mileage now.

I agree. Building into the 40s slowly, is the probably the "fastest" way. Then when you have a good base, interval work will become more important- but keep your one speed day and LR you have now, as these will become longer days with more mileage, or key workout days. These should have more mileage attached to them.

A day off or even two will not hurt, but you will have to run more miles on run days. I liked 3 on one off, two on one off, but you have to find how best your body adapts. 6-7 is optimal, IMO.

If 40s is too much, 30s is the next best thing, and that is only 5 miles on average a day. My wife is almost 55, and her shortest run is 5 miles- and she averages 10-11, min. miles on her easy days. You got this! ?

Don't worry about your weight. It may come down naturally it may not. Sara Hall is listed at 5'4" and 112. Some of the fastest women I know were about 5'3" and 115-120. Increase your mileage, get at least one faster effort in a week, eat enough to stay well fueled and you'll be fine. Intentionally trying to drop weight will harm more than it helps.

Houlihan is about 5'3" and 115.

You do not need to focus on losing weight when you're 16 and still developing. You can't just look at someone's height/weight because there's a lot more that goes into weight than excess fat, like your bones, muscles, water, etc. Instead, focus on nutrition and likely you'll need help with that, so do some legitimate research outside of here.

Check out Stacy Sims for a start. Her book "Roar" really helped me shift my perspective:

https://www.drstacysims.com/

What do I know? Well, in high school I started with a similar height to weight ratio. I thought I needed to be lighter and ended up with an eating disorder that pretty much ruined my running career, but more importantly, did a lot of health damage.

I'm now 34 and running/racing again all while being back at my weight before the ED. I just train for my individual body. Basically, forcing myself into a body I wasn't born with was a complete waste of time.

Ahead of the Curve wrote:

Don't worry about your weight. It may come down naturally it may not. Sara Hall is listed at 5'4" and 112. Some of the fastest women I know were about 5'3" and 115-120. Increase your mileage, get at least one faster effort in a week, eat enough to stay well fueled and you'll be fine. Intentionally trying to drop weight will harm more than it helps.

And Sara Hall is also 37 years old, so as a female you should focus on your long-term development. Weight is more complex for females for a multitude of reasons.

How many miles a week would you suggest? During xc season I got up to 25 consistently and peak at 30 for a week or two but that was over a year ago (Covid messed up my season this year) and I might be able to handle more now. I agree 45 seems like a lot though...

Thanks, this really helps me have a different perspective about everything. I’ve struggled with disordered eating in the past myself and I don’t want to go down that road again...

Thanks for the advice. From the responses I’m getting it seems like not trying to lose weight is the right thing to do. I lift heavy weights too so I probably have more muscle mass than the average xc runner...

Very do-able! Increase your long run to 9-10 miles and try to run 30-35 mpw for 3-4 months. Honestly at age 16, just that should get you close. Your weight is fine.

I’m an old lady, age 39. Running 35 mpw with one speed workout has me running a 21:15 5k. I would think if I was age 16, it would be closer to 20.

My goal is sub 20, but at my age it’s harder, and I probably need to run 50 mpw to get a crack at it. I believe I can do it still.

Thanks for the advice! Good luck with sub 20!

kari013 wrote:

I am a 16 year old female

kari013 wrote:

I am 5’3 and weigh 115. I know this is kind of heavy for a runner and I am thinking about losing about 10 lbs (slowly and safely obviously). Is this a good idea and how should this fit in with fueling for training? Thanks!

Def listen to the good, supportive, body-positive input from other posters, especially from the experienced women.

The thing is, if you do the training, eat healthy, and get good sleep, your body will get the the right composition & weight. You don’t even have to think about it. It will take care of itself.

kari013 wrote:

Thanks for the advice. From the responses I’m getting it seems like not trying to lose weight is the right thing to do. I lift heavy weights too so I probably have more muscle mass than the average xc runner...

Back in May when I sprained my ankle, the gyms were closed and at the time I didn't have any cardio equipment in my house, so I took up doing a lot more strength-based excercise. I found that my body responds way better to this than running. Too bad I love running :)

I try to avoid the scale for the most part, but I got one that also measures body fat, muscle, water and even bone density. I don't know how accurate it is, but close enough to make me feel better. The last time I checked, I gained a couple of pounds, but my body fat was on the low end. So yeah, muscle weighs more than fat, plus most high school age runners (no offense) don't have the foresight to know the right way to eat/live/train.