15K Race Training Plan

Charlene____

Hi All,

I signed up for a 15K race in February, 20 weeks from yesterday. Two issues/questions.

1) This race will be 1.5 weeks after I finish a 6 day ski vacation (5 days of skiing). How should I go about adjusting for this?

2) I have done 13.1s in the past and have used Hal Higdon's plans. I have formulated my own running schedule that allows me 3 short runs, 2 of which are easy, 1 tempo or fartlek on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, a pace run on Thursday, and long run on Friday. Thursday + Friday distance equals Sunday + Monday + Tuesday distance. This works for my work schedule too with a few exceptions or swaps. My last 10K was 51:56, heat index was around 93 which made me walk twice. My goal for this race is 80:00 or less which is 8:36/mile, my 10K was 8:21/mile.

What should my long run be and what about weekly volume? I have some weight to take off so I am currently in a 3500-4000 calorie a week deficit. I'm pacing between 8:45-10:00 depending on heat/humidity, length of run, and effort involved. Volume right now is 17M per week, long run is 5M (but could run 7M comfortably if I wanted to) as I was in a "I don't have anything specific to train for but need to run mode" until this morning.

Thanks.

spiriteagle99

Hal Higdon's intermediate plan for 15k peaks at 30 miles, with a longest run of 10. I think that would be a good minimum since you aren't a beginner. Pfitzinger's plans have more miles. His 10k plan peaks at 42 with a long run of 11. I don't know about his 15k plan, but I imagine it's pretty comparable, maybe a long run of about 12 or 13? Obviously it's up to you how much work you're willing to do to get ready. Five months gives you time to build your base before starting race specific training.

DX2JX2

Your stats are quite similar to mine. Your goal of 8:36 should be tough but definitely doable with 20 weeks to train. Weekly volume won't be your issue - something like 25 miles per week will suffice to give you the cardio conditioning you'll need for that distance. Weekly long run can be something like 8-10 miles, with your basic easy runs at 5 to 6 miles and your speed runs at 3-5 miles.

The bigger challenge will be training for speed over longer distances. Make sure to include some dedicated speed work in your training plan on top of a bunch of 5-6 mile runs at race pace.

Charlene____

Thank you for the replies. My friend is also running the race and is committed to get her long runs up to 12 miles in preparation for it. She is more of a distance runner, I am more of a speed runner. I guess I’ll keep adding 1-2 miles a week in total distance and see how I progress over the next month and how my weight loss progresses (looking to take 10 off before Christmas, 15 definitely by the race).