High mileage to 10k transition questions...

your marathon time is better when compared to your 10k... your 10k should be down in the 31:xx range based on this performance.

Continue to do good mileage, 80-100. Continue to do hill reps. Do intervals like 400's with short rest. Tempo runs of 4-5 miles hard are better than the longer tempo runs. Jog easy and do some strides for two day's before important races. Your 10K time should be around 31:00.

You sound pretty close to me. Before Dec. 8th I was a 2:29 marathoner (2:22 now) and a 31:35 10K. I would say stick with what your doing especially the intervals if you are looking for that improved 10K. How old are your PRs? What are you doing for intervals? How often do you race the 10K?

Just having the increase in milage should lower your pr no problem. I may write more later if I get time.

Okay. So now that you have the base, you have lost the extra strength you need to take advantage of the endurance you have gained. I am a Lydiard devotee. What most coaches leave out is the transition from base work to strength/speed. I use a 4 week transition of hill-springing 3 days per week, and leg speed 3 days per week with the ever present long run the other day. We loose speed strength with all the mileage. It needs to be reestablished. We get faster either by longer strides or faster turnover. Either one requires stength. I usually see an immediate 1 minute drop in 10 km times after the month, before any anaerobic work begins. If you are interested in the specific workouts, let me know and I will send you the write I give the runners I work with. It is the same stuff for the high schooler trying to get below 9:20 and the marathoner trying to do his best. The Lydiard system is a systematic approach to building the required elements hrough specific training. Most of the verbage about his system revolves around the base work. The rest of the program takes 16 weeks and is what takes a runner from base to winning. I hope that helps.

good running,

Glenn

i have a question

during the hill phase, when you do hills 3x and speed 3x and one long run, do you lose any of your aerobic ability since youre only doing one long run?

Why not do you base running on routes that have HILLS?

It works great!

bumpngrind,

I dont consider myself an expert on this topic BUT here is what I think-

the hills phase is meant as transition from purley aerobic running to anaerobic intervals. You run your 3x hills and 3x speed WITH runs... Just an example I thought of- Mon-Wed-Fri Hills with say a 6 mile run afterwards or to warm up. Tues Thurs Fri 10x100m speed WITH a 10 mile run .... you cannot neglect the aerobic running completely or you will lose your fitness...

Perhaps if your doing say 100 miles/week in your base, then during hills drop it off to 80 miles/week so your focusing still on the hills but also keeping up good milage.

lydiard's hill phase is actually a hill circuit workout that, when including warm-up and cool-down, includes 90+ minutes of continuous running, so NO aerobic base is lost...

runna wrote:

your marathon time is better when compared to your 10k... your 10k should be down in the 31:xx range based on this performance.

That's what I've been thinking/told before. My spring goal is 31:30-31:40. I've never been a "speed" runner, even when I trained for shorter races, so I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get it quite down to predictions.

Miles and Miles wrote:

You sound pretty close to me. Before Dec. 8th I was a 2:29 marathoner (2:22 now) and a 31:35 10K. I would say stick with what your doing especially the intervals if you are looking for that improved 10K. How old are your PRs? What are you doing for intervals? How often do you race the 10K?

My PRs are recent (last Chicago, 10k 3 weeks prior). However the 10k was not all-out and included fending a nasty dog off the course (but I think 32:50 would have been all-out). I haven't raced the 10k since; I'm doing a 3k this weekend, hopefully 1-2 5ks at the end of indoor/beginning of outdoor, then 2 10ks (1 to get a mark, the 2nd Gina Relays at Hillsdale).

I think your 10K will quickly come down if you actually concentrated on it.