tips to break 16min on the 5k

Hi everyone!

I wanted to report =)
I ended up running 16:02 in Carlsbad this morning; it was a beautiful day. I am pretty happy with the result given it’s a 30-second improvement compared to 12 months ago.

…a week after initiating this thread, I severely hurt my left foot and didn’t run for 4-weeks. I did some elliptical biking every day during that time for about 45-60 minutes to get my sweat on. Later, I was able to resume to 60mpw and had about 5-weeks of good consistent running leading to this race.

I went out a bit too fast for me the first mile and the wheels fell off the last mile (first two miles in 10:05). It was a great experience and I am looking forward to run again next year (maybe in the low 15:5X range!). It’s just so nice to see some improvements over time.

happy Sunday =)

I'm fascinated with your goal given how my friends and I have the opposite goal right now (broke 16 for 5k already but are currently training for a sub 1:20 HM), glad to see mostly solid advice and a positive attitude from the OP. Will be watching this thread closely.

Great run OP! Sounds like you would've gone sub-16 with better pacing. You should try to hop into a 5k on the track & control the first 3200 in ~10:20 & then work it down.

Hi everyone,

just wanted to continue keeping everyone up to date (is this something people do?) but I think it’s nice to keep folks updated.

I’ve ran a tiny bit less lately due to lack of sleep and other things going (I like ‘hiking’ a lot in the summer in the Sierra Nevada) on but still running about 40-mi/ week. Did a lot of 800/ 1k at 75s pace on the track following Carlsbad.
Today I ran 10:00:80 at an all comers meet so super happy with that! I was alone the whole time. Not too many people showed up this evening compared to last week where I ran a 4:51 mile (sadly my personal official best).

Splits were 4:56/ 5:04.

i think a good goal next year would be to dip under 15:45-15:50 for the 5k.
also want to break a 1:11:59 on the half after running twice 1:13 now.

If I am not supposed to update my own thread, super sorry to have done so. just think it’s nice to keep in the loop the original contributors.

In short, your weekly schedule is WAY TOO HARD. You have 4 real workouts/efforts in 5 days!

Take your schedule and stretch it out over 2 weeks:

L-E-E-R-E-E-ML-E-E-T-E-E-S-E repeat

L= long

R= Reps (3-5km pace) 400,800,1000,1200, 1600m distances

ML= Medium long (.75 of your long run)

T= Tempo (5:50-6:05 pace )

S= speed (200, 300m) distances at 1500m/mile pace

All workouts except L, ML are prefaces w/ WU + strides, same for WD

Marcos,

Good data points with the 4:51 and 10:00. Arbitrary or not, I think we can glean from these times a decent estimate of your vVO2 Max as somewhere between 4:50-5:00 Mile.

5K Race Pace should be approximately 95% of this pace, or around 5:08-5:15 Pace for you at the moment. You're very close to breaking 16:00.

I would spend some time in two-week blocks focusing on the following session progressions until you hit your goal. Also, keep your mileage elevated in your normal range since it is on the lower end. Do some short hill sprints or very fast strides each week with full recovery.

1) Specific Speed Endurance: 16-20x 400m @ 78-76sec with Steady 200m Recoveries (not jogging)

2) Specific Aerobic Support: 4-6x Mile @ 5:35-5:25 w/ 90sec Jogging Recovery

3) Threshold Support: 6-8mls @ 5:50-5:40 Pace w/ Longer WU and WD to replace your traditional long run during this period

Keep us posted.

First off you are doing awesome so congrats on your hard effort and great results. I will keep this simple. I believe in the benefits of long slow distance so would advise you to increase your weekly mileage with more long slow distance. At 17 I was able to run 15:53 almost entirely off the back of long slow distance. Was away from running for more than 30 years and grew fat. Have been running every day for the past 16 months and ran my first race in 34 years just this year. It was a 5km race. Have now competed in six 5km races this year plus my first 3000m steeplechase in 35 years. My 5km times in order from 1st race in May to 6th one in July were, 20:11, 19:41, 17:50, 16:48, 18:35, and 19:05. I'm pretty sure the 16:48 must have been on a course that was measured short and possibly the 17:50 too. So this is a good reminder that the best and most true results will come on the track which is flat and consistent. Hills, terrain, turns, weather conditions will all affect those road race results greatly. Plus if you run 3 races in 8 days as was the case with my last two times well you will be running on tired legs, so great for training but the time will suffer. My thought is that we have a plumbing and electrical system in our body. The plumbing is the oxygen delivery system and the electrical is the energy delivery system. Long slow distance works on both of these systems. If you search McRun23 on youtube you can see the ending portion of that 16:48 5km, which I believe was really an 18:30 effort. So keep in mind, even a so called certified course might be incorrect and you will only really know for sure your true fitness from a track. Cheers and all the best with your running endeavors and keep up the great work. Pretty sure you will crush that 16 minute barrier.

1:13 shows that you have the endurance for <16. I'd do a little 800-mile work if I were you while keeping up tempos and mileage - if you can get down to a 4:40 mile (in spikes) and/or a 2:10 800 you should be there

yeah wheels falling off a bit happens sometimes. the first time I broke 16 I ran 5:03/5:03/5:12 and change. the final mile is always tough, but the only way to get it is to race often enough that you're ready

Hey, it’s me again:)

well I finally ran 15:54 at a track meet last night in San Francisco. I am elated:) didn’t go out too fast ; all laps between 75s-78s and a bit of a kick for me the last 200m!

super happy to have reached my goal and set something like 15:45 as a new goal for the next one in a few months.

thank you all for your support.

This is fast enough, but you want to make it a smooth, strong, relaxed, and efficient workout. Don't sacrifice form to hit a fast 200.

This actually seems like good advice, and more about building strength. I know JS gets a lot of grief here but this particular post seems solid.

Thank you for your nice support " jecht" ! :) Greetings from my beautiful Sweden.