Racing goal 8k a month before goal 3k is it possible to train for both

Masters_Runner11 wrote:

This is a long ways out, next February and March 2022 to be exact but I was wandering if it’s possible and how you would approach training for a goal 8K road race in mid February and turn around 4-5 weeks later and run the Masters USATF indoor Nationals for 3K.

Is this possible to focus on both and is there any specific way to approach this if you were a coach. I have 54 weeks to figure it out.

You might not be in absolutely peak 8k shape but you should be pretty darn close. Imagine something where you do a normal base (lots of mileage, tempos, a few 10k pace workouts, and some sprints/short hills), Then do a 4-6 week phase where you up the quality a bit (do some 5k pace and some lighter anaerobic stuff at 1500m pace), taper for a 3-4 days and race, recover and then do a 3-4 week phase where you do even more 3k-5k work and do a couple of hard anaerobic sessions (i.e. 10x400s at 1500m pace), taper and race.

With 54 weeks, I would be planning on 2 or 3 cycles (i.e. 8 weeks pace, 4-6 weeks precomp, race for a week or two, take an easy week and repeat) and play around to see how you respond.

Absolutely you can do it & be at peak for both on that timeline. With the 3k in mind, the 8k is like ripping a hard tempo during that build. You're still going to do some workouts targeting 8k pace even if you didn't have one on the calendar training for the 3k.

College kids show us the blueprint. So many fast 3k's come in December right after XC nationals. Get strong. Add in some faster workouts before the 8k. Hit the 8k. Recover and you still have a few weeks to hit some 3k specific stuff where you can maybe ignore some of the strength workouts for a couple of weeks since you're coming off of a good strength block.

Love both the responses. I’m a Masters runner and I’d love to run 27-27:30 in the 8K at 42 and also get close to breaking 9:30 in 3K. I grew up in Tampa and never stepped foot in a single gasp stills distance Classic road race and I ran a lot. It’s time to race one and the 8k seems like a sweet spot for me possibly.

Most likely it would be perfect timing as you reduce your volume and sharpen up for the 3k.

Masters_Runner11 wrote:

This is a long ways out, next February and March 2022 to be exact but I was wandering if it’s possible and how you would approach training for a goal 8K road race in mid February and turn around 4-5 weeks later and run the Masters USATF indoor Nationals for 3K.

Is this possible to focus on both and is there any specific way to approach this if you were a coach. I have 54 weeks to figure it out.

Yes PR'd at 1500m, 3000m and 8k road my senior year of high school, all in a span of 4 weeks.

Masters_Runner11 wrote:

Love both the responses. I’m a Masters runner and I’d love to run 27-27:30 in the 8K at 42 and also get close to breaking 9:30 in 3K. I grew up in Tampa and never stepped foot in a single gasp stills distance Classic road race and I ran a lot. It’s time to race one and the 8k seems like a sweet spot for me possibly.

Most non Marathon programs are designed to give yo u a 4-6 week peak where you can run 2-3 races. To me the questions is what training would I do differently between 3k and 8k. For me that would be

a) a couple of decently hard anaerobic sessions like 8x400 @1500m pace.

b) a bit of pace work at 3k pace (4x800) instead of 5k (6x1000)

I have found that in general I respond better to volume (i.e. more work at 5k/10k pace versus less at 3k pace) but you do need some speed to feel good at 3k pace as it is getting pretty quick. Something like racing a mile (think like a 2weeks of fast stuff, race a with a workout and a couple days rest afterward, 1 more training week and then tapering for your 3k) could be good. Some people can just race off training. Other needs a couple to get the feel. For the 8k for example, you could set up a 5k 2-3 weeks earlier. The downside is always that if the race goes poorly you can lose a lot of confidence.