Help me get the girl (and run a 5k PR)

First, you must increase your distnace of course. Insert a long run once a week that makes up about 20% of your entire weekly mileage. And take one day off as well. With the other 5 days, place 3 runs and 2 workouts in the mix. Of the two workouts, make one long thresholds, and the other intervals. An ex. of the threshold one would be 10 min warm up 2X10 min threshold with 2 min rest, 10 min cool down. For the intervals, for the first few weeks do 4-5 1000m, starting as race pace of your goal time to get a feel for the pace, taking 3-4 min rest of an easy jog inbetween. Of course do a warm up and cool down around those 1000s as well. getting cloer to the race day week, probably the last two weeks, do some shorter intervals, perhaps a ladder such as 400, 800, 1000, 800, 400, 200 with the first 3 at race pace, and the last ones hard. a few weeks before the race, add on to your threshold run a last spurt of abou 4-5 min all out after a 2 min rest after the thresholds to simulate the last part of a race and your body geting use to pushing itself while being tired. go easy on your long runs and use the other runs in between the workouts as runs, but never go too easy unless your body is feeling tired. eat small, numerous meals throughout day and make sure to refuel an hour after you run. the week before the race, back off of the effort so as not to tire for the race--probably shorter mileage and some strides at the end of a run a few days before. The day before the race just do an easy 20-30 min run. some of this is just common sense but I do no know how informed you are as a runner. Hope this has helped.

Isn't it spelled Geoffrey?

Oops. Geoffrey it is.

Thanks to "Thanks." I do have some knowledge about how to train properly as a runner (although that is more Mid Distance than distance, from my days on the HS XC/Track teams), but our training always involved 4-5 months before the peak, so it's kinda useless here.

As it is, I only have 7 weeks, so I don't really have time for base building phase beyond what I've already got.

And while those "All Out" sessions do sound hardcore, are they physiologically sound, or more of a mental thing?

For your all outs after a threshold, as long as you get a decent cool down in afterwards to get rid of lactic acid, you shoudl be fine. Its both for benefit of mental and physical--making your mind and body get used to "comfortable pain" during workouts will help push through the end during a race. again, I woulnd't do it after every threshold workout. Probably with 2-4 weeks to go, then back off the last week from anything too exhausting.

Powerpoint.

Peter, your earning potential is going to impress her...not your running potential. Currently she is wearing $$$$ goggles, not speed goggles.

Son, trust me on this. She is, or soon will be, looking for a provider.

Tell her you don't have time to run much, that your career is taking all your time. If you want to impress.......

desert rodent wrote:

Peter, your earning potential is going to impress her...not your running potential. Currently she is wearing $$$$ goggles, not speed goggles.

Son, trust me on this. She is, or soon will be, looking for a provider.

Tell her you don't have time to run much, that your career is taking all your time. If you want to impress.......

I actually don't think she's wearing the cash goggles, as she's going into teaching as a profession... Her family is already fantastically wealthy as it is, and she has pretty much everything she could ever want in that department. While I don't doubt that having money is in some way important to her, I really think that my fitness will be a bonus. I mean, it can't hurt right?

To steer this back on course: any recommendations for a workout today to assess my fitness? I'm going running in about two hours. If no one has anything I'll just go for a 45 minute run and add in some strides afterward.

The above was me.

The obsessive-compulsive high mileage types aren't going to like this, but the best short term improvements come from interval-based approaches. The problem with this approach is that you improve rapidly over 1-2 months, and then you also plateau rapidly, and to keep improving you need gradual increases in mileage to a relatively high level (you can also run 5-8 mile runs really hard like Lagat). I would have 2-3 interval workouts a week, including 3-5 X mile with 3-5 minute rest, 12X400 faster than race pace with 60-70 second rest, and also a tempo run of ~4 miles, 30 sec/mile slower than present race potential once every 2 weeks, perhaps replacing an interval session. Note, this all comes right out of Johnny Mac's playbook. Run mileage for recovery, with emphais on the recovery, not mile-per-week goals. If the race has some hills, you might consider either 10 X 100m hill repeats like the Kenyans (walk back recovery) or VO2max sessions of 3-4 minutes up a long hill, with equal time reocvery.

The workout I would do NOW to assess fitness is a 3000m or 2 mile time trial, on the track. Go back to this in the last 1-2 weeks before your big race (but not within 5 days before the race), replacing the mile repeats. This comes from Dieter Baumann's training, and he ran a 3000m time trial each week (I believe at 5K pace) during comp.

8/10

you wrote a lot so most people will probably believe you without reading the whole thing

Thanks Coach D... by virtue of the fact that you were first to post, I'm going to take you seriously. I'll go do a two mile time trial right now.

And to everyone calling me a troll, I know, I do the same thing, but I'm actually serious about this one. This is just a case of the board who cried wolf but like the G-man you will soon see I am being truthful.

First off Peter I would like to say thank you. After Geoffreys Sunday afternoon race I've found myself with a large void in my life. This morning I had a hard time waking up, knowing I wouldn't have any updates on 1.38 mile intervals at 4:23 pace to read about.

I definitly agree with the 2 mile time trial. I'd hit up the track and do either 3000 or 3200 meters. You can go to a variety of websites afterwards and plug your time in to get what your current predicted 5k time is as well, to really let you know where you currently are at.

As with what Coach D is saying, I agree 100%. I ran Chicago (and bombed) early in October. The last month or so of my training went horribly, as did the race. I took a week off after the race, then a week of easy miles. Since then I've been gearing up for a turkey trot 5k doing two interval runs (one of 400's the other of anywhere from 1000-2000m repeats) and a tempo run per week. I have never done so many workouts per week before in my life, but I have also never gotten as quick as fast.

Also, if you learned anything from Geoffrey, have it be that you only trust Google Maps, Map My Run, etc. for rough estimates of easy run mileage and not Intervals, Time Trials or Tempos.

And thanks again, I now have something to look for in the next month. Please post your workouts and times.

Well, the time trial was a complete and utter disaster/disappointment.

Warmed up 1mi to the track. Conditions were fine (cool weather, a little windy but nothing insane).

My splits:

1:22.58

1:28.59 (150m into this lap I made a conscious decision to slow down... I think this killed me mentally).

1:30.55

1:32.38

1600m: 5:54.10 (I didn't look at my watch until this point).

I was so shocked/upset by the slow first mile that I pulled off the track in disgust. I'm not one for making excuses, so I guess I have to shoot for something like 18:00-18:30, which sounds pretty pathetic to me but I guess it's still a PR.

What should I do tomorrow? Easy run? How many miles/minutes?

What kind of pace should I run my Wednesday workouts at?

What is it with you f*cking people asking for advice on how to get faster and then quitting mid-race or mid-time trial?

Don't give this guy the time of day, he's just another quitter like Geoffrey.

another transplant wrote:

What is it with you f*cking people asking for advice on how to get faster and then quitting mid-race or mid-time trial?

Don't give this guy the time of day, he's just another quitter like Geoffrey.

Whether I had kept on running and finished in 12;30 or stopped like I did, both times tell me the same thing - I'm not as in shape as I thought I was. That one mile gave me a reasonable indication of where my fitness is RIGHT NOW (very very low). Race day is still 6 weeks and change away, and I guarantee I won't drop out then, or from any other workout for that matter, now that I'm prepared and realistic with myself. I went in blind and started out at 5:30 pace which was clearly too fast for me.

This mile was just a reality check, and it registered loud and clear (unlike Geoffrey's workouts that continued to substantiate his progress, I now have a clear idea of where I stand and what my goal should be). So I don't really think a comparison can be made.

Geoffrey didn't listen to suggestions for workouts, atleast you went out and tried. A. 5:56 is pretty bad, B. Getting a faster time isn't going to get you a girl. C. Without some previous fast times you are not going to achieve success in such a short time.

How are you going to push yourself harder then you ever have without a team or coach? 5k in college is a hard time to match in highschool just because your lifestyle is so different. Just do what coach d said, doing 45 minute runs isn't going to help you. Also remesure your average rate. 7:00 isn't too lesiurly for someone who can only run 5:56

Geoffrey didn't listen to suggestions for workouts, atleast you went out and tried. A. 5:56 is pretty bad, B. Getting a faster time isn't going to get you a girl. C. Without some previous fast times you are not going to achieve success in such a short time.

How are you going to push yourself harder then you ever have without a team or coach? 5k in college is a hard time to match in highschool just because your lifestyle is so different. Just do what coach d said, doing 45 minute runs isn't going to help you. Also remesure your average rate. 7:00 isn't too lesiurly for someone who can only run 5:56

Geoffrey didn't listen to suggestions for workouts, atleast you went out and tried. A. 5:56 is pretty bad, B. Getting a faster time isn't going to get you a girl. C. Without some previous fast times you are not going to achieve success in such a short time.

How are you going to push yourself harder then you ever have without a team or coach? 5k in college is a hard time to match in highschool just because your lifestyle is so different. Just do what coach d said, doing 45 minute runs isn't going to help you. Also remesure your average rate. 7:00 isn't too lesiurly for someone who can only run 5:56