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

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supra_driven
supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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.

MileageLog.jpg
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Replies

  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    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.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    You may prove me wrong, but it is very unlikely that you'll drop your time into the low 20's. Those guys (gals) are gifted athletes with natural talent for running.

    That said, you can improve your speed by training specifically for speed. One approach is to run fartleks. This is similar to intervals where you alternate between speeds (part of the time running below your 5K pace, part of the time running faster than your 5K pace). http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-fartlek-workouts-for-3-training-phases
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    You may prove me wrong, but it is very unlikely that you'll drop your time into the low 20's. Those guys (gals) are gifted athletes with natural talent for running.

    That said, you can improve your speed by training specifically for speed. One approach is to run fartleks. This is similar to intervals where you alternate between speeds (part of the time running below your 5K pace, part of the time running faster than your 5K pace). http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-fartlek-workouts-for-3-training-phases

    The "gifted" athletes run under 15 min 5Ks, maybe without training and a couple year layoff they would run higher teens low 20's. I would say within a year with training (find a training plan and stick to it OP) there is no reason why low 20's isn't doable.

    I am by no means a gifted or even a causal distance runner, I run once every 1- 3 weeks for 2-2.5 miles, and can run 23 min 5K's no problem, so OP it is def doable if you put in the time and effort.
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
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    @AllanMisner - I usually like to prove people wrong. ;-)

    Looks like I have a lot of learning ahead of me which is OK. Anyone have any tips or links on proper running form? I don't want to cause any unnecessary injuries.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    Slowly raise your mpw up to the ~15 mile range. Do what your body is comfortable with.

    With 12 mpw, just mostly steady state, I do ~21:00 5Ks. My PR, back when I was 17, is 18:06, but I'm 18 years older than that and 25 lbs heavier (138 lbs then).

    Feel free to look at my Strava profile, all my runs are there. But I've been cold and lazy since my last race in October ;) : http://www.strava.com/athletes/754407
    The "gifted" athletes run under 15 min 5Ks, maybe without training and a couple year layoff they would run higher teens low 20's

    I ran a race last May where the top 7 guys broke 14:00. The winner came in at 13:37... THAT is gifted. IMHO any man* can get to about 16:00 with lots of hard work. Depending on age, any man under 35, over 35 is when we start to slow down.
    In the same race, I finished at 21:27. I was in 583rd place! 70th in my AG.
  • WriteRunWrite
    WriteRunWrite Posts: 24
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    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've only been on here a few days, but she ^^^ definitely has the best running advice. I agree that the best thing to do is add to your miles. I ran my first 5k ever last spring in around 30 minutes, and it wasn't until I started running more consistently a few months ago that I was able to drastically lower my time. Focus on adding mileage, and then add some speed work in after that. Good luck!!
  • WriteRunWrite
    WriteRunWrite Posts: 24
    Options
    You may prove me wrong, but it is very unlikely that you'll drop your time into the low 20's. Those guys (gals) are gifted athletes with natural talent for running.

    That said, you can improve your speed by training specifically for speed. One approach is to run fartleks. This is similar to intervals where you alternate between speeds (part of the time running below your 5K pace, part of the time running faster than your 5K pace). http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-fartlek-workouts-for-3-training-phases

    I'm not sure I agree. I don't think people who run in the low 20s are exclusively naturally gifted athletes. I run that and I highly doubt I am naturally gifted :)

    I ran my first 5k in April 2013 (30:00), and only ran sporadically until this last summer. After a few weeks of training, I dropped my time to 24 minutes. My PR now is 23:47 (October 5k).

    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 :)
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
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    I ran a race last May where the top 7 guys broke 14:00. The winner came in at 13:37... THAT is gifted. IMHO any man* can get to about 16:00 with lots of hard work. Depending on age, any man under 35, over 35 is when we start to slow down.
    In the same race, I finished at 21:27. I was in 583rd place! 70th in my AG.

    Wow. Sounds like the people up north may be more competitive than the North Texas people in the south. You know everything is bigger in Texas and that includes its residents. lol.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    Options
    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've only been on here a few days, but she ^^^ definitely has the best running advice. I agree that the best thing to do is add to your miles. I ran my first 5k ever last spring in around 30 minutes, and it wasn't until I started running more consistently a few months ago that I was able to drastically lower my time. Focus on adding mileage, and then add some speed work in after that. Good luck!!

    Aw, thanks. :flowerforyou:

    And yes, I agree with other in respect to your goals. If you had set your sight on a 15 minute 5k, I might give it a sideways glance, but low 20s is practical. Also, you never know until you try.
  • Superpowered
    Superpowered Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    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.

    This is great advice. Maybe also be careful with the HIT training as you rack up your mileage. I've found it is easier to get injured (due to muscle tiredness) when increasing mileage and doing high impact activities.
  • 99clmsntgr
    99clmsntgr Posts: 777 Member
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    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.

    I've never run a sub-20 5K, the closest I came was a 20:42, but, I'll echo your point. It wasn't until I started training for a half-marathon and started including real speed-work that my 5K and mile times really started to drop. Most of my speed work was tempo runs with the occasional intervals workout thrown in.

    And, in my opinion, the weekend LSDs to build stamina are what pushed me over the top for gaining speed on sprint runs.
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
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    This is great advice. Maybe also be careful with the HIT training as you rack up your mileage. I've found it is easier to get injured (due to muscle tiredness) when increasing mileage and doing high impact activities.

    Running is my substitute for my regular HIIT session. Sometimes, I'm short on time and HIIT helps me burn as many calories as possible in the shortest amount of time. When I have plenty of time, I'll run or walk instead. It just depends on how my body feels. I've caught myself overdoing it and just simply rest for 2 days without any sort of exercising and then I'm back to normal.
  • WriteRunWrite
    WriteRunWrite Posts: 24
    Options
    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've only been on here a few days, but she ^^^ definitely has the best running advice. I agree that the best thing to do is add to your miles. I ran my first 5k ever last spring in around 30 minutes, and it wasn't until I started running more consistently a few months ago that I was able to drastically lower my time. Focus on adding mileage, and then add some speed work in after that. Good luck!!

    Aw, thanks. :flowerforyou:

    And yes, I agree with other in respect to your goals. If you had set your sight on a 15 minute 5k, I might give it a sideways glance, but low 20s is practical. Also, you never know until you try.

    You're welcome :happy:
    Now if I can ever get out of the 23:00s, I will be thrilled :smile:
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
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    BTW, I'm doing these runs in a fasted state (20+ hrs). I have been doing intermittent fasting for almost 2 months now. I don't know if running on full reserves of glycogen will benefit me, but I'm hesitant to try it because I don't want to hit a wall and not finish strong. Any body else running while on ketosis mode? I've read some articles here and there about doing it the way I do it, but I want to hear from real people and their experiences.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    BTW, I'm doing these runs in a fasted state (20+ hrs). I have been doing intermittent fasting for almost 2 months now. I don't know if running on full reserves of glycogen will benefit me, but I'm hesitant to try it because I don't want to hit a wall and not finish strong. Any body else running while on ketosis mode? I've read some articles here and there about doing it the way I do it, but I want to hear from real people and their experiences.

    Depends. Are you just fasted, or on a full glycogen depletion?

    If just fasted, no problems. I don't usually eat anything before running. You may find your energy flagging, and if so, then you will have to play around with nutrition.

    Glycogen depletion/ketosis is a different story. I do a full depletion before carb loading before a marathon, and I can tell you, the runs during that phase are not fun. I can jog, but speed work is a huge challenge, as those quick bursts rely more on glycogen than steady-state long runs.

    In short, I would not recommend any sort of intensive running program on a keto diet.
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    BTW, I'm doing these runs in a fasted state (20+ hrs). I have been doing intermittent fasting for almost 2 months now. I don't know if running on full reserves of glycogen will benefit me, but I'm hesitant to try it because I don't want to hit a wall and not finish strong. Any body else running while on ketosis mode? I've read some articles here and there about doing it the way I do it, but I want to hear from real people and their experiences.

    Depends. Are you just fasted, or on a full glycogen depletion?

    If just fasted, no problems. I don't usually eat anything before running. You may find your energy flagging, and if so, then you will have to play around with nutrition.

    Glycogen depletion/ketosis is a different story. I do a full depletion before carb loading before a marathon, and I can tell you, the runs during that phase are not fun. I can jog, but speed work is a huge challenge, as those quick bursts rely more on glycogen than steady-state long runs.

    In short, I would not recommend any sort of intensive running program on a keto diet.

    I'm not on a keto diet, but I am glycogen depleted at the end of my fast. At least that is the readings I'm getting from my test strips. So you are saying that running on ketones would be beneficial for longer steady runs and running for speed would be ideal on glycogen stores? It's just that I don't want to eat at night to make sure I have full reserves of glycogen and I don't want to wake up super early to make sure the carbs are digested in time for my run. I make time in the early morning to exercise as I don't have much time after I get my day started with all the other life activities.Regardless, I will experiment and see what works for me. Thank you for insight.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    I'm not on a keto diet, but I am glycogen depleted at the end of my fast. At least that is the readings I'm getting from my test strips. So you are saying that running on ketones would be beneficial for longer steady runs and running for speed would be ideal on glycogen stores? It's just that I don't want to eat at night to make sure I have full reserves of glycogen and I don't want to wake up super early to make sure the carbs are digested in time for my run. I make time in the early morning to exercise as I don't have much time after I get my day started with all the other life activities.Regardless, I will experiment and see what works for me. Thank you for insight.

    Its not that running on ketones is beneficial for a long run, just that its more doable than for speed runs. Its still pretty miserable to run any distance at any speed while depleted :laugh:


    I tend to just eat a banana or something to top off the stores a half hour before running. I know a lot of people who will wake up around 330, eat, and then go back to sleep before running in the morning.
  • supra_driven
    supra_driven Posts: 90 Member
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    Its not that running on ketones is beneficial for a long run, just that its more doable than for speed runs. Its still pretty miserable to run any distance at any speed while depleted :laugh:


    I tend to just eat a banana or something to top off the stores a half hour before running. I know a lot of people who will wake up around 330, eat, and then go back to sleep before running in the morning.

    I didn't know people did this. It makes sense though. I think I will try it in the coming months after getting properly conditioned to run on a normal basis.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    I ran a race last May where the top 7 guys broke 14:00. The winner came in at 13:37... THAT is gifted. IMHO any man* can get to about 16:00 with lots of hard work. Depending on age, any man under 35, over 35 is when we start to slow down.
    In the same race, I finished at 21:27. I was in 583rd place! 70th in my AG.

    Wow. Sounds like the people up north may be more competitive than the North Texas people in the south. You know everything is bigger in Texas and that includes its residents. lol.

    Boston is pretty deep competition wise, but that race is the BAA 5k, two days before the marathon, so they get a lot of top tier athletes in town. The winner of the 5k was from Ethopia...
    Most the other races around here, 20-22 is fast enough to podium in the 25-35 men range, and top 10 overall.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    My $.02 - more miles, more miles, more miles! But ramp them up smartly to avoid injury.

    Arbitrary time goals are just that - you may have an easy time getting under 20 (if you've got good genetics) or you may work your butt off, run 80+ miles a week and never get under 22.

    I don't race 5K very often (my least favorite distance for sure), but I can I come in under 21 when I do. I've been under 20:00 exactly once (that was painful)!

    If my arbitrary goal had been to break 18, I'd never get there.

    Anyway, more miles and have fun!

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