hey - I’ve been lurking here for a while. Background, I’m 24M - have a full time job & family responsibilities. My current goal(s) are to crack 17 for 5k as well as go 4:50 for a mile. Current PRs are 17:28, 4:59. I have averaged about 40mpw for the last 3 months (built up from 0 starting in June from a 18 month break).
I’ve had some build ups in previous years that were more or less successful. This year I’ve gotten more serious about my training and the methodology behind it, but I still haven’t cracked the goal I’ve had since 2020 which is to crack 17, and crack 5 in the mile by a decent amount (shooting for 4:50). I spent all summer trying to make progress on both these goals and I’ve hit the same times as I did in 2020 when I had much less knowledge or focus (was running more sporadically and only ~30mpw).
I’m currently doing a tempo, vo2 max session and long run of 10-12 miles per week. I take my easy days easy, my tempo runs are around 6:15 on a hilly route, and for vo2max my progression has been 6x1000m in October ( 3:24 avg w 3’ rest) to 6x1200m in November (4:10avg w 2 minute rest). These seem to be progressing moderately, but I’m running more per week, training smarter, and I haven’t PRed this year, haven’t hit my goals, and feel plateaued. so what’s my next move here? Change up my vo2max sessions? Do I build to 50 mpw? Should I do more speed work? Longer tempo runs?
One session I’ve thought about doing is a 6x600 at 5:10 pace w 3’ rest just to get used to the faster pace but not as short as something like 8x400.
6x1200 is really more optimal for a Jack Daniel’s style vo2max session (more time at vo2max) but perhaps there’s a time and place for the above session. I’ve also thought about shortening the recovery to 1 min instead of 2. I basically need to be able to bridge the gap between my 1k repeats which would suggest sub 17 (i can cheat them a bit since I’m speed oriented) and my 1200 repeats which predict my true 5k performance (17:30) a lot better.
Thanks in advance.