Why cant i run a sub 18 5k?

Stop partying the night before?

I was running sub 17 w a 452 mile pr. Maybe u arent doin enough mileage or lomg enough tempo runs get up to 5 miles at atound 620 pace

I think your tempos are too short. You have the speed, you need more endurance. 20 minutes is usually the minimum distance (run this at about 6:05 pace... slower for longer distances, like 40 minutes at 6:20 pace or so).

Cruise intervals are also a great 5k workout. 6 x 1 mile tempo, with 1/5 time rest (about 1:15). It's not a high-strain workout, but it's long and sucks and will definitely develop your strenght. For a point of reference I can consistently run under 18:00 even when I'm only running 6:05-6:10 on them.

we do 15-20 minute tempo runs at like a 6:00-6:25 pace occasionally, you think we need to more of those? we also go on long runs(5-7 miles) and what not, i was just trying to share the harder workouts we do with you guys.

den bosch wrote:

Cruise intervals are also a great 5k workout. 6 x 1 mile tempo, with 1/5 time rest (about 1:15). It's not a high-strain workout, but it's long and sucks and will definitely develop your strenght. For a point of reference I can consistently run under 18:00 even when I'm only running 6:05-6:10 on them.

We do 4-6 1500m tempo runs, and i run these anywhere from 5:40-5:50. so thats right around 6:00-6:05 if they were mile temp runs isnt it?

7 miles isn't enough for a long run

18:00 is 5:48 pace, so you don't need to run faster than 5:40 at any point during the race except for the last 800m if you're feeling good.

If Bekele used your strategy (running about 2.5% faster than even pacing for the first mile), he would run his first mile in 3:56.

A better idea would be 5:50/5:45/5:45 for 17:20 at 3 miles, and then sub-40 for the final .1

Up your tempo runs to at least 4 miles and get a long run of 8 or 9 miles in every other weekend. Also consider getting out harder for the first mile of a race (aim for 5:30-5:35) and then just stay in a "discomfort" zone for as long as you can. If you crash and burn after 2 miles, then you can use that as a building block to say "I made it 2 miles before hitting the wall last race, let's try to make it 2.5 miles this race."

Concentrate on holding your form over the last mile, not on trying harder.

And don't invent extra pain beyond what's already there. If you can run a 2:08 800, you can stand a lot worse than anything in a 5k. You just have to learn not to cower before the long distance. Fight the instinct to slow down just because you're above LT. Think positively - "go fast." And "go fast now" not "go fast later."

If you recover quickly when you finish, and think you could have run much faster, it's because you could have.

Your PR is 4:55. Could you run 4:55 in a race right now?

Flip your lap times around. Go out easy, pick it up and then finish hard.

Hitmonlee wrote:

Your PR is 4:55. Could you run 4:55 in a race right now?

yes probably a bit faster, im in much better shape then I was last track season. The thing that i dont understand is that i see kids with like 4:59 and 2:13 1600m/800m times running mid/low 17's. From what you guys are telling me, is it just because their long runs are a lot longer then mine?

I ran 4:50 as a sophomore and followed up with a 17:14 5K during XC season. You probably have inherent speed, but just need to develop greater endurance.

yeah uh im a sophomore and ran 16:21 5k last week and have a mile pr of 4:51 and an 800 pr of 2:09....granted i ran 4:53 first mile so i can obviously get faster on my mile time.

how do you think i could build up my endurance? longer temp runs? longer long runs?

work up to a 2 hour long run at 8 min pace with a few 10 to 15 min pickups in there. You'll break 18 easy within 3 to 4 weeks after.

My mile PR (adult, so not often contested, but still) is 5:10. I've run a bunch of 17:45-18:00 5ks (road).

If I could run 4:55, I'd expect to be close to breaking 17:00.

I don't run 2+ hour long runs (normally) either. 40-60 mpw, 90 minute long runs.

I think you need to do more workouts targeting endurance. 3-4 mile tempo runs, 8 mile moderate pace runs (like marathon pace), and interval workouts with lots of reps and short recovery at slower paces.

throwback wrote:

yeah uh im a sophomore and ran 16:21 5k last week and have a mile pr of 4:51 and an 800 pr of 2:09....granted i ran 4:53 first mile so i can obviously get faster on my mile time.

and they say high school kids are smart...

Yea im going to start doing longer runs, probably 60-70 minutes. Yea its sort of frustrating to see kids who i kill in the 800m/1600m in track completely blow me away in the 5k