i’m a sophomore girl, 5k pr 19:37 and 3k 11:07 (not good, from last year when i only raced 3k once).
in xc i ran 30 mpw, and then had an injury and took almost 2 months off. i’m just returning and raced last night. i did the 3k and got 11:17 which i was really unhappy with (but i did have the stomach bug a day before and was injured/didn’t have much training in me at all except elliptical).
i’m noticing that several of my competitors from different nearby teams i was quite a bit better than last year are now quite a bit better than i am. i don’t want to let this happen, because it feels terrible to have people you were better than now crush you. i feel like i’m not good anymore/just not improving. so i was wondering about good training to do for the 3k. i REALLY want to get sub 10:30.
for some background: in xc, my team all ran like 15-20 mpw but i would go and run a little more. my coach isn’t great so i almost had to coach myself. we never did any long runs, we would do interval stuff (mile repeats with hills, 1ks) and fartlek runs but that’s really it. the workouts were only those three things, 2x a week and a race (or 3x if no race). we did easy days in between and i was always sure to go easy and keep my heart rate in a specific range. my easy pace ranges from 7:50 to like 8:30 it’s so different everyday, i just keep my hr average at 150 or lower. to do 30mpw i would do 5 miles a day 6x a week, but i’m not sure that’s the way to do it (clearly i need help).
in track, the team still runs really low mileage and we do weird workouts, mostly 400 based, like 4x400 (that’s it) and sometimes 1x800 and a 6x200. 1k+ runners are all in the same group with the same workouts. i just want to get faster and sub 10:30, and want to do 3k workouts that will get me there.
so, what are some good 3k workouts for me? how many mpw is good? 35? do i do long runs? or what? can someone give me a sample week of training? thanks in advance! also any other tips to get faster would be great :)
oh and also, i have a core and other area strength routine i do consistently! i eat healthy/enough, drink enough, and try to sleep enough too.