Improving 5k endurance and speed?

megmay2591

I've been exercising since the end of December. When Spring began, I started going on an occasional jog. I mostly would run through a park and down hills and along dirt paths, not measuring my distance. Today, I did my first practice 5k in 35 minutes. Considering my route was on a road with a big hill, I think I did pretty well.

Now, I want to improve my time. I need to build my endurance because I don't want to walk at all. I eventually want to increase my speed too. Any advice would be much appreciated!!

(P.S. I'm running my first official 5k race on August 11th)

megmay2591

bump.

Steve_Runs

speed work girl. tempo runs, fartleks. 400s, 800s. runners world has some great articles on this.

LadyGreatrick

Bump! In a similar situation so interested to hear the responses. good luck!

azidpa

take a look at this;

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

megmay2591

take a look at this;

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I've seen this before, but I don't see how it helps with speed/endurance.

azidpa

Megmay,

First, what is your goal time for the August race?

pbl1966

You are off to a great start. I recommend working on your endurance and you will find your speed naturally increases. I ran my first 5k last November in 34 min, I recently ran over 8 miles at a faster per mile pace than I did that first 5K and my 5K time has dropped to 30 minutes.

scottb81

Anyone just starting running will get the largest fitness payoff by just running as many easy miles as they are willing and able for the first six months.

Easy doesn't just mean slogging through a run though. It means staying within the aerobic zone, around 80% max HR and below. Sometimes run faster and if you're tired then run slower. All of it contributes to building aerobic capacity. The more volume you run, within your ability to recover, the faster you will build.

Adding speedwork too soon has a small payoff because you will not have the aerobic fitness required to do the speedwork at the required intensity and volume to gain the benefit. And when you do add it, total anaerobic speedwork for the week should only be around 5% of your total weekly mileage. The rest is still easy miles.

gmpearson

Agree with all of the above, in summary:

1. Up mileage -- I recommend 15-20 miles per week - your runs should definitely exceed 5K
2. Pace - learn to pace yourself - set out to do a 9:00 pace for 4 miles (that means you might do 9:02, 8:58, 9:01, etc.)
3. Speed training - run 800M fast, run 800M jog, repeat 4 times OR run 400M sprint, 800M moderate, rest 1 min, repeat 4 times
4. Go out for a 5 miler, run 1 mile moderate, sprint for 30 seconds, run moderate for another 2-3 minutes, sprint, repeat through the 5 miles
5. Strength training - building strength (squats, lunges, leg extension, calf raises, etc)
6. Core strength training (situps, planks, med ball, etc.)
7. Flexibility training - dynamic stretching, yoga, etc.

All of this will help take time off your race. Most of all, learn to pace. Many people make the mistake of going out TOO fast, and dying at mile 2 and dragging through mile 3 and that last tenth. I work on pacing for the first 7/10 of a mile (on a 5+ mile run), and then kicking up the pace on the last 3/10 to bring in my goal pace time. This trains my brain and body to not drop my pace, and to understand that I am going to increase speed at various points during my run.

Good luck!!!

Greg

stfuandrun

Yep, run more and you will notice your speed naturally improving. You have only been running for a short time so speedwork could cause injury. How many miles are you running a week?

megmay2591

Thanks for all of this info everyone!
My goal time for the 5k in August is 30 minutes, maybe less if possible.
I don't know how many miles I run a week, but definitely less than 15-20. I'll start keeping track of how far I go and start running more instead of working on speed.
I wear my HRM when I run, so should I be "in the zone" determined by the information I entered (height, weight, age)? For me it's 139-169. But, looking back on my files it says my average heart rate was 173 and max. was 192 and I was only in "the zone" for 8 minutes out of the 35.

megmay2591

bump!

azidpa

Since your first race is only 2 months away, I would focus on building up your runs to the point of covering 4-5 miles
without stopping.
Run the race in August.
Your time should be under 30 minutes .

Then you can concentrate on setting a goal time and build into that.

Jenph20

try running for longer distances and try intervals of sprinting and jogging also do knee ups and butt kicks

HWeatherholt

Check out Podrunner (just google it). He has a program called speedbumb that is an interval training like c25k that is designed to help you run faster.

madmickie

Agree with Scott about longer slower runs to build up your aerobic capacity. Stay around 50 beats less than your max - if that means walking now and then that's ok. Build the distance by a k per week until you can run for 10k keeping your HR below150.

Once you can run for 10k then 5k will seem a lot shorter and you will more able to push harder. I would also say that 5k is a punishing distance and to get your best time it should be feel unpleasantly hard the whole time. Good news is that everyone running with you will be suffering just as much!

GaryRussell123456

Scott is dead right. I do a lot of my runs now at an easy pace, but have upped the mileage. I am hoping to get a new PR on Saturday. It's also a lot more enjoyable to run at an easy pace, speed work hurts.

megmay2591

Thanks everyone, this definitely some good information! I'm going to avoid speed work and just work on endurance and distance. Thanks again for all the help!