My Training Log - Building Into a sub 5:00 Mile

for the earliest weeks of a plan, the only thing I’d add is a day dedicated to max speed development, which is critical for the mile. Something like 6x100=400m pace w/ 2:00 rest

Hmm okay. Maybe something like 4 laps of 100m hard walk the straights? Certainly could be a good easy session to keep my running economy up. Will think about it, thanks!

Week of 9/25-10/1

9/25 - 2.21 @ 9:03/mi

9/26 - 6.12 @ 8:25/mi; 2 @ 8:14/mi (8.12 day - doubled when I went to lift)

9/27 - 4.5 @ 8:30/mi w/ strides

9/29 - 5.01 @ 7:28/mi

9/30 - 5.14 @ 8:14/mi w/ strides

10/1 - 5.23 @ 8:18/mi w/ strides

Weekly Total 9/25-10/1: 30.21 miles

Overall a decent week. HR was in the right zones for these runs and I feel pretty solid overall. Nothing outstanding about this week, just staying consistent.

Looks good but ditch the HR. That’s hobby jogger shiz. Also pure speed development:

8-10 second all out reps with full recovery, not supposed to be hard. 5-6x60m all out with long rest is a good one. Work on driving powerfully with good form.

Also be sure to do core strengthening.

About the HR, I have pushed easy days too hard in the past so this is just an easy way to make sure I'm working the right systems. As for the speed work I'll definitely be throwing in some soon, thinking of maybe throwing in some hill sprints too. Core gets done when I lift, which is anywhere from 3-6 times a week depending on how I feel.

Week of 10/2-10/8

10/2 - 5.25 @ 8:37/mi w/ 4x100m strides

10/3 - OFF

10/4 - OFF

10/5 - AM: 3.01 @ 8:39/mi; PM: 2 UP, 8x100m hill sprints w/ jog recovery + 2:00 standing, CD to 5.6 (8.61 day)

10/6 - 2.71 @ 7:22/mi

10/7 - 6 @ 8:20/mi w/ 4x100m strides

10/8 - 7.5 @ 7:50/mi - 7 Mile Easy Progression, .5 CD

Weekly Total 10/2-10/8: 30.07 miles

Overall a solid week considering the cards I was dealt. Mon/Tues I was completed baglogged with work so didn't have the time to run, Thurs got a minor case of food poisoning. Still managed to finish the week strong and get the quality in where I needed. Finished 4 consecutive weeks at 30/week and have done 200 in the past 6, so I'm bumping to 40 for the next 4 weeks. Feeling alright! Got a very low stakes Road Mile TT this coming weekend to see where I am at fitness wise.

Week of 10/9-10/15

10/9: AM: 1.5 @ 9:13/mi; PM: 4.03 @ 7:07/mi w/ 2 strides (5.53 day)

10/10: OFF

10/11: AM: 2.35 @ 7:55/mi; PM: 1.14 Up; 8x400@Mile: 77-76-75-75-75-75-77-80. Starting every 4:00 (2:45ish rest). 3.09 Down (8.58 day)

10/12: 5 @ 8:56/mi

10/13: 5.11 @ 7/17/mi w/ 2 strides

10/14: 2.61 Up; Race: 4:54 Road Mile; 2.18 Down (5.76 day)

10/15: 3.47 @ 9:07/mi w/ 4xhill strides

Weekly Total 10/9-10/15: 33.45 Miles

Not a bad week! Ran a road mile at a local charity event and was really surprised with the result. Definetly think the course was short, maybe by .03 ish? Or maybe it wasn't and I legit ran that time (I doubt it). Got a bit soft in the middle, ran the whole race by myself in cold, rainy weather. Roads were slick. Regardless, running around a 5:10 ish or whatever it was off of this little training is certainly something to be happy about. Honestly just wanted to get a race stimulus in and see where I was it so this was good! The workout also showed I'm in okay shape, especially considering my turnover is nowhere near where I want it to be. Good week and I can feel myself continuting to get fitter. We move.

Week of 10/16-10/22

10/16: OFF

10/17: AM: 4.28 @ 8:19/mi; PM: 4.18 @ 8:14/mi (8.46 day)

10/18: 2.28 Up; 8x100m HARD barefoot on grass, 13.5 avg; 2.11 down (4.88 day)

10/19: 5.08 @ 8:39/mi

10/20: AM: 1.83 @ 8:48/mi; PM: 2 Up, 4 Mile Tempo w/ small 800m squeeze at end: 6:31-31-29-16, 2 down. (9.83 day)

10/21: 3.61 @ 8:18/mi

10/22: 3.55 @ 8:05/mi w/ 4 strides

Weekly Total 10/16-10/22: 35.41 Miles

Overall a solid week. Been keeping up with consistent lifts and feel well recovered at the end of this week. Beat both my goal avg's in the workouts so I'm happy with that. Sprints left me sore but felt good and the tempo was much faster than I was expecting so that is good! Just gonna stay consistent and keep stacking weeks.

Week of 10/23-10/29

10/23: AM: 4 @ 7:32/mi; PM: 2.03 @ 7:41/mi (6.03 day)

10/24: 2.03 Up; 8x120m HARD on road, full rest; 1.14 down (3.76 day)

10/25: AM: 4.91 @ 8:15/mi; PM: 2.15 @ 8:52/mi (7.06 day)

10/26: OFF

10/27: 5.5 @ 8:08/mi w/ an 800m @ tempo (3:07) within and 4 strides.

10/28: 2.67 UP; 2.31 worth of workout, ending up calling it. (4.98 day)

10/29: OFF

Weekly Total 10/23-10/29: 27.3 miles

So not a stellar weekend. Was supposed to do a long run workout on the 28th but the body was not responding well and I was redlining doing tempo work. Decdied to call it and rest up the following day. Body feels alright now and I've accepted that there will be some bad days. Besdies the last two days of the week this was an otherwise succesful week of training. Ball stays rolling.

What’s with the mid run 800 at a hard pace the day before a workout? All that’s going to do is funk up your legs before the real hard effort. Stand alone hard reps like that don’t do anything

Also there is absolutely NO REASON to be doing any doubles for you. You would get more benefit doing all those easy days in one big 50-60 minute run. Don’t even think about doubling until you’re running 55-60 mpw

For the mid run 800, my legs were feeling crappy so I thought spinning the legs a bit would prime them for a workout. In hindsight maybe not the best idea. As for the doubles, I prefer to do single runs but the scheduling works out better with my classes at school. Plus the double runs help warm me up for lift. If I have time I try to get longer easy runs in.

Week of 10/30-11/5

10/30: 6.25 @ 8:10/mi w/ strides

10/31: 5.69 @ 7:39/mi

11/1: OFF

11/2: OFF

11/3: 2.12 up, 2 down; 4 sets 4x200, first 3 of each set @ Mile, 4th hard. Started the mile reps every 2:00, had 3:20 rest between sets. Averaged 36 for the mile reps and 32 for the hard reps on the road. (6.55 day)

11/4: 3.36 @ 8:42/mi

11/5: 8.2 @ 7:34/mi

Weekly Total 10/3-11/5: 30 miles in 5 days

Overall a solid week. Was really busy with school and exams so took an extra day off to focus but I'm happy with both the workout and the long run this week. The speedwork I have been doing has made mile pace feel really smooth and the aerobic fitness is coming along.

Do strides the day before workouts to get the legs ready for workouts. Anything from 4-8 80-100 meter strides would be just fine. Also, depending on your schedule, think about structuring your weeks with tuesday/friday workouts. One of the days can be like your 4x4x200 workout, and then the other day do 5-7 longer reps (1k's) around 10k race pace to build some strength in the legs, take about 90 seconds between these reps. After these longer reps you can do about 4 200 meter reps around Mile race pace with 2 minutes between. Hope this helps

nah, eventually those doubles become longer runs as you get older. But you got used to training like a real runner from a young age. It's a learned skill.

Week of 11/6-11/12

11/6: 5.02 @ 8:51/mi

11/7: 2 @ 6:49/mi

11/8-11/12: OFF

Weekly Total 11/6-11/12: 7.02 miles

Well this was a bummer. Got a nasty respiratory illness the evening of the 8th and food poisoning on the 10th. Left me with zero energy and fatigue up my ass. Took the rest of the week off to recover and tried to move as much as possible. A bit frustrating but I really did not have the energy to run. Still recovering from the respiratory illness but I ran today and was able to slog my way through, so I'm planning on a full week of training, if a little bit lower in intensity as I get back into things.

As for my future plans, I'm planning on building up in mileage a bit until my next race, which should be mid December. Once I get up to around 40-50 I'll hover there and train through the winter. Gonna get a few races under my belt on the track and carry that momentum into outdoor.

I will definitely include those strides for this week and I will try the tues/fri schedule too, we will see how I feel! Not sure about what I am going to do for the workouts but I'll decide when the day comes up! Thinking of hill sprints for tomorrow. I appreciate the advice!

Week of 11/13-11/19

11/13: 5.89 @ 8:15/mi

11/14: 2 up - 10x20sec hill sprints w/ jog recovery - CD to 5.16

11/15: AM: 2 @ 7:26/mi; PM: 3 @ 7:16/mi (5 on day)

11/16: OFF

11/17: 2 up - 4x800m @ threshold w/ 45 sec rest. Goal 3:07. Reps: 2:59-2:58-3:02-3:12. 1.08 down (5.08 day)

- Not the best workout. Planned for 6 but got nauseas and was working far too hard for the workout intensity. Poor nutrition and planning (in the freezing rain on the roads) just mentally did me in. Onwards we move.

11/18: 4.26 @ 7:58/mi

11/19 - OFF

Weekly Total 11/13-11/19: 25.39 miles

Not the best week, not the worst. Wish both workouts went well but I'll do better this coming week. Going to build mileage from here and try to incorporate cross training/lifts alternating each day as my "double". As for this coming week, I'm planning on doing a 1k time trial to see where the fitness is at. Depending on how that goes, might set my sights on an indoor mile in about two weeks.

Week of 11/20-11/26

11/20: AM: 4.32 @ 7:15/mi w/ strides; PM: 2.01 @ 7:44/mi w/ mobility work (6.33)

11/21: OFF

11/22: 10 min UP; 400 @ Tempo (1:35), 4x200 @ Mile (37 avg), 4x100 strides (15-16), CD to 3 miles.

11/23: 4.05 @ 8:04/mi

11/24: AM: 2 @ 8:01/mi; PM: 1.72 UP, 1000M TT: 3:02; 1.05 down (5.39 total)

11/25: OFF

11/26: OFF

Weekly total 11/20-11/26: 18.77 miles

This week was a very sporadic. Between traveling for the holidays and my first time wearing spikes in 7ish months my body was very beat up. Tried to get some speedwork in earlier in the week to prep my legs for a planned TT, but I just never felt 100%. Night of the TT was freezing cold, raining, and pitch black. I had a hard time warming up but decided to rip it nonetheless. Unfortunately I let all those factors get in my head and I never committed to running fast, just coasting along which really did not do me any favors in such a short distance. I finished feeling relatively fresh and not stressed to the levels I would have liked from a hard effort like this. On the bright side, this 1k felt like mile pace, so if I could pull that off I would be happy! Planning to run an actual race this coming week, so we shall see where that puts me. Aiming to be around 35 for this upcoming week.