16:30 5K advice

Your 1600 actually seems weak compared to the longer distances - usually it seems to be the opposite with HS runners. Good work.

For us to know how to get there it would help to know what you've done so far. Speaking in total generalities since you don't tell us much...

- You should probably run. Probably most days. Probably 6-8 miles at a time. Maybe 10-12 once a week.

- You should probably do lactate threshold work. Maybe once a week. Maybe 20-30 minutes at whatever you could hold for an hour. Maybe 3x2 miles with short rest at a pace slightly faster than this.

- You should probably do race-pace and vVO2 work. Maybe once a week. 8x800, 5x1000, 4x1200, 3x1600 at between your 3k and 5k pace. Less than equal rest but enough to hit the paces.

That should do it.

young master wrote:

Your 1600 actually seems weak compared to the longer distances - usually it seems to be the opposite with HS runners. Good work.

Hmm. Actually, those three times seem to be pretty typical together. I would actually call the 1600 time the strongest (BARELY) of the three. There are three boys on my daughter's high school team who have almost exactly those PRs...all three of them (all three PRs and all three boys).

For what it's worth, the McMillian calculator says these are equivalents for a 4:55 1600:

10:26 3200

17:11 5,000

hhjhjhkbihub wrote:

I'm going into my second cross country season ever and i want to run 16:30. Any training tips of how i can get there? I am going into my senior year of High School

PRs:

1600: 4:55

3200: 10:25

5K: 17:20

Now, to the point of your question, between now and August 1, you should be doing MILEAGE, and pretty much ALL OF IT should be done at conversational pace. Hopefully your coach has a plan for you, but if not...

A second year high school runner (unless you are an outlier somehow) should not run more than 45 miles a week in my opinion, and that should be split among 6 days with one complete day of rest in there (at least through the summer), so 45/6=7.5.

So, the last week of July, you should do something like this:

Mon - 7

Tue - 8

Wed - 7

Thu - 8

Fri - 5

Sat - 10

Sun - OFF

You will work up to that all summer of course. You NEVER want to push mileage so much that you end up injured and miss part of all of a season, so if you're having trouble getting that mileage to that point, then keep it lower. The long run is one of the biggest keys though. If you can't get it to 10 miles, then at least work it out so that you are running an 8 miler every week.

Once Aug. 1 arrives and your coach is involved, you do what he or she says. At that point, the hay should be in the barn, so there's continued long runs, hills and or speed work, and racing. Mental toughness is a good quality too, but it's the training and your physical ability mostly that will get you to 16:30 or not.

Good luck.

Agreed with flagpole. That's weird.

kadoo wrote:

Agreed with flagpole. That's weird.

I'm not a chimp!

[quote]young master wrote:

Your 1600 actually seems weak compared to the longer distances - usually it seems to be the opposite with HS runners. Good work.

My guess is that the OP is female; OP if you are not, my aplogies(!!). HS Girls' times can look a little bit more like this.

Flagpole wrote:

For what it's worth, the McMillian calculator says these are equivalents for a 4:55 1600

"For what it's worth" = nothing in the case of the McMillan calc

800Fan wrote:

[quote]young master wrote:

Your 1600 actually seems weak compared to the longer distances - usually it seems to be the opposite with HS runners. Good work.

My guess is that the OP is female; OP if you are not, my aplogies(!!). HS Girls' times can look a little bit more like this.

No way this is a girl. Shooting for 16:30?