I want to get to 17:30, here is my training. What should I do differently?

So are you currently a HS soph?

workouts are not necessary atm, focus on your base mileage//might wanna run these miles kind of quicker tho (7.20 pace?)

Easy jogging at a 8 minute pace for a hour a day twice a day. Do that for 8-12 weeks, than cut down on your volume and do some sharpening workouts for a couple weeks and than do a 5k. During the base building phase do some hilly fartlek runs, progression runs, tempo runs, strides and hill sprints.

short hill sprints once a week still a good idea. helps with more than just running hills in races but in form and strength

besides that add in some strides after your runs. on the grass, gradual up, gradual down, flat, barefoot sometimes

I think 17:30 is a good goal but you might even be able to give 17:00 a sniff at the end. Take off days every week or two.

as for mileage keep it in the 40-50 range throughout august and the season

wednesday speed work not needed during base period here. Id replace with a fartlek to get that speed in during continuous running and over a hillier terrain

Monday: 8 steady

Tuesday: 6 Easy + 4 Strides

Wednesday: (9) 2 WU, 5 miles fartlek, 2 CD. For the Fartlek just surge at a hard pace and back off before you get tired. dont follow any sort of set time on/off schedule. Just go hard then back off until you feel comfortable again then go hard. Could be 30 seconds hard, could be 3 minutes. Could be at an all out sprint, could be at tempo pace. If you dont think you can do this right then try a 2 on - 1 off fartlek x 6-10 times in the middle of a 9 mile easy run

Thursday: 7 Easy + 6 Strides

Friday: 5 miles + 4-6 Strides (Barefoot)

Saturday: 11. Run first 7 at Easy pace then last 4 turn it into a progression dropping 10-15 seconds per mile

Sunday: 5 Easy - Off - Cross train

Sand Dunes wrote:

Easy jogging at a 8 minute pace for a hour a day twice a day. Do that for 8-12 weeks, than cut down on your volume and do some sharpening workouts for a couple weeks and than do a 5k. During the base building phase do some hilly fartlek runs, progression runs, tempo runs, strides and hill sprints.

Some good suggestions, I like this one.

First you have to reach 18:30 and then your program look like this:

mo: 8 miles 8:00 mile pace

tu: 12-20 x 400m at 88 sec recovery = wait easy walking until 120 bpm or 60% of MHR.

we: 6 miles 8- 8:10 mile pace

th: 7 miles 8:00 mile pace

fr: LT- pace intervals, 5- 8 x 1600m at 6:20 - 6: 25 mile pace recovery= same as on tuesday`s workout.

sa: 10 miles 8:00--8:10 mile pace

su: RESTDAY

You have to put in more quality in your weekly program.

Do this and I guarantee you will run 18:30 5 k within a couple of months for a good start down to 17:30. Good Luck! - The Magic Wizard -

The reason why the Wednesday workout is there is because my coach has us do workouts for these unofficial practices, and I try to avoid her practices since I do more mileage than what she says. I don't think I would be able to recover enough from 9 miles and then a 7 miler after. Is there anyway I can shift some of the difficulty from the Weds and Thurs portion to another portion of the week?

do 8 on wednesday and 6 on thursday

that should help

If you are a HS soph and run on a team, you should be following your coach's advice, not ours. Generally speaking though if you are running 40-50 mpw as a 15-year old, that's enough to drop your times without any quality work. You will improve just on mileage alone. Don't be in a rush. Get stronger, put miles in the bank, and your times will improve. But it does take some time. Oh, and don't neglect the hills!! No matter how strong you think you are on hills, doing hill workouts will always help make you stronger. And stronger => faster.

wolfedhd wrote:

The reason why the Wednesday workout is there is because my coach has us do workouts for these unofficial practices, and I try to avoid her practices since I do more mileage than what she says. I don't think I would be able to recover enough from 9 miles and then a 7 miler after. Is there anyway I can shift some of the difficulty from the Weds and Thurs portion to another portion of the week?

Summer of Malmo

No rest days and runs need to be faster. Even if that means one workout. You can go 17:15 if you really push too.

Run the hills. Otherwise, this looks pretty good. Keep the mileage up as long as you can.

There are things you could do differently, but at this point I suggest you stick with your plan. See how you do in the fall, then think about changes you might make for next season.