5km/10km/21.1 Training Schedule

Looks good but a few things I would,add and change.
10x400 with 1 min rest is fine but add 4x5x200 with 30 seconds rest 2 min between sets as well
4x1k at 3:50 w3 min change to 5-6x1k at 4:10-4:15 w/2 min rest
Add threshold sessions example 3x6 min at 4:30k pace with 1 min rest. You can do a variety but work up to 20 minutes.
Monitor your training through use of HR data.
Good luck.

Looking at all your numbers (age, weight, height and PRs) and I can't see anything wrong with your training.
Once we get out of this whole Covid situation, you can actually do races and you will see that you will improve. Right now I would say, be patient, do your thing and wait until you can race. Then don't do too many races and space them out a bit. With that experience you can plan your next moves next year.

Good luck

Thank you for this. Much appreciated.

Should I be increasing my km/mileage by 10% each week too? And when should my min per mile/km increase on my "easy runs" from around 5:50-6:00 ish.

I would be careful with mileage increases. Right now it seems not very sensible.
You probably could go up to 70k for some weeks if you are specifically training for, lets say a Half Marathon. Right now I would just get through Covid in one piece.

Also make sure that you listen to your body when you are increasing your mileage.

Keep your easy runs easy. Your volume looks fine but if you increase 10% is fine. Probably would have you do 4-5 Sessions per 14 say cycle. Remember hills are always good as well.

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coahc wrote:
Keep your easy runs easy. Your volume looks fine but if you increase 10% is fine. Probably would have you do 4-5 Sessions per 14 say cycle. Remember hills are always good as well.

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ScottKDougan wrote:
Thank you for this. Much appreciated.

Should I be increasing my km/mileage by 10% each week too? And when should my min per mile/km increase on my "easy runs" from around 5:50-6:00 ish.

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Thanks Jiggy. I'll keep that in mind. Nice work on your 5k. What kind of speed workouts do you do?

This all looks pretty good. Seems like you have a touch more speed at the 5k versus strength for the longer stuff. Completely normal when first starting out and off of 50km/week.

I would focus on the 5k and then move up in distance with increased potential. You should focus on trying to build up to 80km/week or more if your schedule allows for it. The workouts actually look pretty quick for your current times. I would aim for more volume and shorter rest, even if that means slowing down the intervals a touch. 4 x 1km turns into 6 x 1km w./ 2:00 rest. That turns into your 5k pace. Maybe you can't do 6 @ 3:50 but have to do them @ 4:00. That's fine that shows ~ 20:00 5k fitness. Do 2 workouts/week -- 1 5k specific like the 6 x 1km and alternate 1 faster workout 10-12 x 400 and 1 tempo every 2 weeks. Start with 3-4 miles of tempo work and build to 5-6. Experiment with some faster running in your long runs. It doesn't have to be every week and maybe replaces a tempo run if you want to add some tempo in there. Keep all of the other days super easy. You'll improve just by getting in more volume at this stage with some structured training.

I more or less cycled between three different kinds of speed sessions that I would do twice a week (tuesdays and fridays).

400s at mile pace with 2-3 times the rest of the interval. For me that was around 70 secs with 2:20 to 3:30 rest. I'd aim for 5% of my weekly mileage in reps.

Fartleks on the roads: picked 3 on / 2 off, 4 on / 3 off, or 5 on / 4 off. This is sorta like doing repeat k's but more just by feel. I'd aim for 8% of my weekly mileage in reps.

Threshold repeats: picked 1 milers w/ 1:00 rest, 2 milers w/ 2:00 rest, or 3 milers w/ 3:00 rest. Pace was just comfortably hard, should feel like you are in a groove and not killing yourself. I'd aim for 10% of my weekly mileage in reps.

I found cycling between these three kinds of workouts for 12 weeks leading up to my first HM to work really well. Of course, gotta get in your easy days and long runs too. It's all part of the package. Never kill yourself in training.

As someone also newer to serious training who's a little faster than you right now (mid-19 5k, 1:34 HM), I agree with much of what NERunner53 stated above and that your workout paces seem a little aggressive. I also think you might enjoy and benefit from some longer/sustained tempo efforts like 5-8k @ 4:45-5:00/k...nice steady, comfortably hard efforts that will build up your strength but won't kill you. It may also be worth building up your mileage a bit in the process; even getting to 65k/week should help a lot but shouldn't be too overwhelming, especially if you dial back the workout paces a bit.

Good luck!

If you can run 4 x 1K at 3:50 pace then I wouldn't say speed or power is your limiting factor with a 21:13 PB, looks like it's your aerobic endurance that is limiting you the most. As others have said an extended tempo run would be good for you, maybe in place of one of your interval sessions. Forget about all paces on easy days, just keep the breathing comfortable.

I'm a similar height, weight and age to you and your PBs are similar to mine a year ago. Tempo runs are so useful to get you comfortable at cruising along. I eventually increased from 50k a week to around 90k a week over the course of 6 months, mostly just by adding easy miles. 1 interval session a week. 1 tempo session a week, 1 long run, the rest all easy/recovery.

Thanks for that!

I'm still trying to grasp exactly what a tempo run is? Or what pace I should be running them at.

Are you able to recommend a couple of tempo workouts that I should be doing?

Thanks heaps!

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ScottKDougan wrote:
Thanks for that!

I'm still trying to grasp exactly what a tempo run is? Or what pace I should be running them at.

Are you able to recommend a couple of tempo workouts that I should be doing?

Thanks heaps!

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Update:

Was able to do 17 x 400mtr @ 4:05 with 60 secs rest inbetween sets, along with 2x4x200 @ 3:25 with 30 secs rest inbetween. Still feel like I had plenty of energy at the end of the workout and felt like I had plenty more to give and could've gone quicker. Hope this is a good sign?

Thanks everyone.

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ScottKDougan wrote:
Thanks for that!

I'm still trying to grasp exactly what a tempo run is? Or what pace I should be running them at.

Are you able to recommend a couple of tempo workouts that I should be doing?

Thanks heaps!

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You’re doing a lot of speed work of the kind that is beneficial short term but doesn’t set you up for long term, season over season benefits.

I would recommend picking a goal race (or, if there are no races where you are, a time trial) 4-5 months from now, and for the first 8 weeks focus on adding 3-5km week, with a down week back to 50km every 4th week. During this phase, replace your one of your current workouts with 3-4 miles continuous @ 4:50km followed by 4 x 200m fast (in your case, probably around 43-44s) w/ 200 slow jog recovery and the other w/ 10-16 x 200 fast (43-44s) w/ slow jog recovery. A couple times during this period you can replace the 3-4 mile continuous run with a 3k or 5k time trial. By the end of this period, you should be able to do approx. 75km/week, including these workouts.

Once you get through that base-building period, you should be able to return to workouts to similar to the ones you’re doing now (although some of the changes recommended by others above are good, and depending on the distance of your goal race you may want to some slightly different workouts), but while doing faster/higher-quality workouts and while maintaining a higher 65-75km/week training load (still with a down week very 4th week).