The road to 10k

sheldonklein

This morning I did my first official 5k. I was sufficiently enthused that I want to do a 10k. I'm not naturally inclined to follow rigid training programs, so I am inclined to do speed intervals about once a week and otherwise just work to graduallyb work on extending my running time/distance. I have a two part question: 1) do I need á more structured program; and, if so,at training program should I follow?

cheshirecatastrophe

Congratulations!

I think you're fine working yourself up from a 5K to a 10K. Well, actually I think that if you just went out and ran 5K with enthusiasm to spare at the end, you are likely *physically* capable of running 10K. (Although it would probably really, really suck at the end).

It's mostly for the marathon+ and usually half marathon distances that people follow dedicated training plans.

Building gradually is good. A lot of people cite the 10% rule--don't increase your mileage by more than 10% each week. Adding a mile onto your weekend long run (it will become your long run! ) every week and a mile onto one of your midweek runs every few weeks should do the trick nicely.

I definitely recommend having a midweek medium-long run in addition to your weekend long run. It'll make the end of the race easier.

bwogilvie

I'll second what @cheshirecatastrophe said. My advice would be to make one weekly run your long run, and add distance/time to that while keeping your other runs the same length. If you can run 15K at a conversational pace on your long run, along with somewhat faster shorter (5-8K) runs, and some speed work, you should be able to put it all together for a decent 10K race.

If you want more guidance, though, check out Hal Higdon's online 10K plans. He has several, depending on how experienced you are, and you can use them for ideas without necessarily following them to the letter.