10k

chattychick

So I am trying to keep myself accountable in my running and have decided every month to sign up for a race. So far (I started in March) I have run 2- 5k's and one 10k. I am registered for another 10k in May (on the 7th) but was very frustrated with my last 10k (I ran the whole thing but my pace was a 12 minute mile). Any tipson how to speed my pace up closer to my 5k pace?

maddymama

I'm not an expert... but..... I think a great way to build speed/ pick up your pace is to do intervals during some of your training. Once or twice a week do a shorter run, but spring (90%) for a minute, recover slow jog for a minute, repeat for 10 reps or so.

AllyS7

I haven't done a 10k, but I knocked 5 min off my 5k time with Hill training, regular Intervals, HIIT and tempo running. I like to do one or two of these a week along with my long run.

wbgolden

My first 10k I was supposed to finish within 75 minutes (easy enough, right?).

Well, I finished it in 78:09. At least that's my best estimate. They had no idea I was still out there and had stopped watching the clock. The point is, I never stopped "running" (it's a run for me). And I'm proud as hell that I did it.

I do enjoy breaking a personal best, but I run for me, not a clock. I run because I love it and I love the way it makes me feel.

But to your question....hill repeats and intervals are your best bet. If you want to improve your time, you have to keep your body questioning "what's next?" Running the same route at the same pace is great, but you've gotta mix it up.

sara_m83

Speed interval will do amazing things for your race pace. I use my C25K app all over again when doing speed interval training so it notifies me to jog 90 seconds (though it says 'walk', i use this notification to mean 'slow to jog'), then sprint 60 (week 1). Work your way up to 90 second sprints, then 500m sprints, 1km sprints. By incorporating speed intervals into my running, I've managed to shave 7 minutes from my "average" 10km time and can maintain a quicker pace for long distances.

jeffrodgers1

Check out my blog on Speed\Interval training. It may help you.

godblessourhome

i agree with the interval training and hills. add more mileage in each week. if a 10k is your goal, you should be running over 25 miles a week. do a lot of 'core' and back exercises.

also, it may seem counter-intuitive but slow down your recovery runs the day after a long run. most professional elite racers will add up to 3 minutes per mile to their base running time. it should actually be harder to run slower than it is to run 'faster' (it is not easy to run easy).