Just did my first 5K. I need help for long term goal.

supra_driven

Goals are good. I went from couch potato to 20:10 5K in 11mos/900 miles.However, i also lost all spare weight (178 down to 152) and did some intense crosstraining during the summer. Break your goal up to smaller pieces - 30 to a 20 is lofty. How about 30 to 27 by May?

I have set mini-goals. Right now is set to a minus 30 min time in one month's time. When I said long term, I meant as long as it takes me. Hopefully, it takes me as short as it took you. I'm OK with it taking a couple of years. I'm in no rush, but the mini-goals I set for myself will help me stay on track for the bigger goal. I'm still loosing body fat, so I know I will get faster just on this extra weight being eliminated.

eldamiano

I've never ran a 5K before in my entire life. I remember in high school doing a 1 mile test for P.E., but that's about it and I didn't even finish strong. A little background before I give you the results. I have been exercising for a solid 3.5 months doing calisthenics 3/week and HIIT 3/week. I have two weeks of running and walking around my local park under my belt. Since doing my first run, I did not and have not stopped to rest or walk some of it. I want to be consistent so that I can track my progress. Below is a log of my runs and walks this month. As you can I see I did the 5K (3.1 miles) in 31 min 53 sec. My question is for people running low 20's. How long has it taken you to get to that point and what kind of training do you do for speed? I'm just going to keep logging in those miles to help me improve my cardiovascular performance, but I know speed is going to be my weakness. Any tips and experiences are welcomed.

P.S. The reason I want a good time is because I want to place in the top 3 in my local events. They are usually in the high 10's low 20's. Just a personal goal.

I reckon just keep training and you will just naturally find you get quicker. Does for a lot of people.... and do races. Also use a phone app or a GPS watch so that you can track your runs. You can then see exactly the pace you need to go at to get your PB.

I started doing races in October 2012 and have run about another 12 since then. I love the race day so training for me is hard sometimes but I have a reason to do it. You have to accept some days that you have a cr@p day and cant be bothered, so stop midway through training runs. That is fine.

If you are like me, you will find that by just training (and if you are overweight, losing the weight at the same time) you just get quicker. This obviously does not continue forever. You will hit a stage where PBs seem harder to come by. Then you need to think about speed training. I do this now and also do strength training too.

So yeah, sign up to local races. Also check if you have a Parkrun nearby. I have one near me in the UK, but they are in the US I think as well (parkrun.com I think). Its a free 5k race every Saturday morning. I really enjoy it anyway, and I have taken a fair slice off my PB since I started doing it.

Montarosa456

So it's definitely doable, and I think men would have an easier time of it, as well. You don't need to be naturally gifted to run in the low 20s. Just a hard worker

This is so true – Sometimes it’s hard to accept that some people are just natural runners and find the flow to run faster easier than others but anyone can change with time.
I was at your sort of time for years – Then when I pushed harder and got comfortable a little faster and ran longer my times improved. I think that you should get really comfortable at 5/6miles at your 3.1mile rate and it’ll make a huge difference.
Try and focus on the mental side of things whilst training ‘Hey I ran 29.53 – I’m sub 30 and I’m awesome’ and 'I'm okay I can run a bit faster - I think I'm puffed out but really I'm not' rather than ‘I’m so much slower than Mr XYZ he must be really natural’. Try not to let other people and their super fast times get you down..There are sooooo many factors!
Look after yourself, sleep well, fuel well, lift weights and accept the highs and low’s..Better nutrition/training completely changed my fitness ability.
I’m aiming for 21/22minutes and I know it may take a year or so to knock those 4 or so min's off but I’m wiling to work, work, work to do that..and trust me I used to feel completely puffed out after a 30min 5km so if I can get a little faster anyone can!
P.s
Also previously mentioned - We have Parkruns here in the UK and they are excellent for improving times if you have something similar in the US make yourself a regular!!!!

scorpio516

hey man, you've got a goal, go for it. it'll be tough, no doubt about that.

look at the really fast olympic sprinters, and you'll see they all look like body builders. so don't neglect the strength training. and there is a saying in track: you can only run as fast as you can move your arms. so don't neglect the upper body.

That's all well and good for SPRINTERS. 5000 meters isn't a sprint. It's squarely middle distance. Cadence isn't slowing anyone down.

World class/Olympic 5000 meter runners DO NOT look like body builders



Mo Farah there has run a 12:53 5k...

eldamiano

So? What does Mo Farah know about running?

WriteRunWrite

So? What does Mo Farah know about running?

I don't know, we should ask Al Sal...

Capt_Apollo

hey man, you've got a goal, go for it. it'll be tough, no doubt about that.

look at the really fast olympic sprinters, and you'll see they all look like body builders. so don't neglect the strength training. and there is a saying in track: you can only run as fast as you can move your arms. so don't neglect the upper body.

That's all well and good for SPRINTERS. 5000 meters isn't a sprint. It's squarely middle distance. Cadence isn't slowing anyone down.

World class/Olympic 5000 meter runners DO NOT look like body builders



Mo Farah there has run a 12:53 5k...

agree to disagree

CarsonRuns

hey man, you've got a goal, go for it. it'll be tough, no doubt about that.

look at the really fast olympic sprinters, and you'll see they all look like body builders. so don't neglect the strength training. and there is a saying in track: you can only run as fast as you can move your arms. so don't neglect the upper body.

That's all well and good for SPRINTERS. 5000 meters isn't a sprint. It's squarely middle distance. Cadence isn't slowing anyone down.

World class/Olympic 5000 meter runners DO NOT look like body builders



Mo Farah there has run a 12:53 5k...

agree to disagree

Mo would eat Usian's lunch in a 5000. Of course, in the 100m it would be the opposite. Two world class athletes, totally different disciplines which require a different kind of training.

Phaedra2014

Hi, congrats on the goal.

In order to get to a near-20 5k, you're going to have to put in some training. I didn't run a sub-20 5k until I had trained for a 3:15 marathon.

First, since you're a new runner, just start adding miles. Increase your total mileage by 10% each week. Run at an easy pace (one during which you can carry on a conversation). After you have been running comfortably for 3 months or so, then you can start adding in speedwork (a common noob mistake is to start speed work too early, which leads to injury. First you need to build up your aerobic base).

After you have been running for a while, here are some workouts you can try
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/speedwork-for-every-runner/167.html

You will have to be comfortable running a lot more miles than 3.1 in order to cut the time off, its no easy thing to do.

Also, make sure you have properly fitted running shoes.

I needed to know this so thank you for posting. I am one of those recent runners and new to running 3.1 miles. I keep wanting to do more and faster but just don't have the endurance for it as yet. Your reply will help. For now, I'll just focus on mileage and then learn about running drills for speed.

ayalowich

...and then after 45 and through 50-55 you just slow down unless one is a freak or has access to PED's.

Or you started running later in life.

If you are referring to me, I started running when I was 28. Otherwise I am not sure what you are saying here. Someone who starts running later in life wouldn't have comparable times to judge against so sure they aren't slowing down, but so what.

DangerJim71

You've gotten a lot of input so far and most of it is good.

I would only suggest you be patient. My experience in going from fat smoker to fit at age 42 is that it's very hard and takes time but it can be done. I was a 270 lb pack a day smoker 20 months ago. Since then I've managed to get myself in good enough shape to make top 3 in my age group on some 5 and 10k races. The consistent work that I put into it was hard physically and mentally at times and I can't emphasize enough hoe dedicated you will need to be.

Once you are ready start start challenging for a top 3 finish find and event with like a 5k and 10k or half marathon at the same event. The really hardcore talented runners usually will run the longer distance making it possible for less experienced runners to finish well in the 5k

sjohnny

hey man, you've got a goal, go for it. it'll be tough, no doubt about that.

look at the really fast olympic sprinters, and you'll see they all look like body builders. so don't neglect the strength training. and there is a saying in track: you can only run as fast as you can move your arms. so don't neglect the upper body.

That's all well and good for SPRINTERS. 5000 meters isn't a sprint. It's squarely middle distance. Cadence isn't slowing anyone down.

World class/Olympic 5000 meter runners DO NOT look like body builders



Mo Farah there has run a 12:53 5k...

agree to disagree

The guy with the baton isn't running a 5K. The OP is asking about 5K running. Not the sprints/sprint relays that Bolt runs.

CarsonRuns

...and then after 45 and through 50-55 you just slow down unless one is a freak or has access to PED's.

Or you started running later in life.

If you are referring to me, I started running when I was 28. Otherwise I am not sure what you are saying here. Someone who starts running later in life wouldn't have comparable times to judge against so sure they aren't slowing down, but so what.

No, someone like me, still getting faster in my mid 40s without PEDs. The "you" was the general you, not the you you.:)

supra_driven

So I dropped about 1 minute off my previous time, putting me in at just under 10 mins per mile average (9min 54 sec). I thought I'd share because it feels like a mini victory. Only thing done differently is focusing on my form. I was running with my torso leaned forward a bit and it caused my lower back to get fatigued halfway through. This time around I made sure I didn't repeat this error and my lower back didn't even flinch. The bonus was the time reduction. I was not trying to improve my time per say because I'm just conditioning my body to run. Nonetheless a rewarding NSV.