no longer stressed wrote:i've never trained for a 5K, so i welcome suggestions; in lieu of any, i'll likely do 4 or 5xmile at 5K pace alternating with 6-8x800 at 5-10 seconds faster per mile. yes? no?
Sorry to intrude on the thread, but I liked this question.
Are you more geared toward the longer distances (marathon) or shorter stuff (middle distance track stuff)?
If longer distances are your cup of tea, you'd be well served including some more fast stuff. If you like the 800/1500, more "tempo" type work might be more helpful.
You've got almost 6 weeks until Thanksgiving. If I were you, I might do something like this between now and then:
this week: 2x(4 x 400) at (5k pace minus 8s/lap) with 200m and 400m jog; 5 mile "tempo" at 5k + 60-70s/mile, with 6-8 x 100 strides in the warmup, 75-90 minute long run
week of 2 Nov: 6-8 x 800 at (5k pace minus 2-3s per lap) with 200m jog; 4-5 x 2000 at 10k-hmara pace with 400 jog, 75-90 min long run
week of 9 Nov: 4-6 x 1000 at 5k pace with 200 slow jog, 2 x 3000 at 10k-hmara pace with 800 jog, 90 min long run
week of 16 Nov: 6 mile "tempo" at 5k + 60s/mile, with 6-8 x 100 strides in the warmup, 4-5 x 1200 at 5k pace with 400 jog, 75-90 min long run
week of 23 Nov: 4 x 1600 with 400 jog at 5k pace, 16 x 400 with 45-60 sec jog at 10k-HM pace, 60-75 min long run
race week: taper, Tuesday 4-5 x 800 at 5k pace with 400 easy jog, race!
No need to just include one or two workouts in your training.
Good luck!