Decreasing 5k Time

FinntheVeggie
FinntheVeggie Posts: 74 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi guys!

So this is my first post in the exercise forums :) I've recently decided to get back into shape to run 5ks with some friends. In high school I could manage about 29 minutes, so I've decided that under 30 min is my first goal.

I never really stopped running, but over the years as I've just been doing it for the quiet time/enjoyment, so it's been a long time since I payed attention distance/time or tried to build endurance. I would just run until I wanted to stop, then walk for a little while, back and forth until I felt like turning in. Looking at my usual routes on Google maps, I'd say most of the time it comes out to be 3-4 miles. Right now I do this 3-4 times per week.

I used MapMyRun this morning (concerned about distance accuracy, but it seems to be the most popular app) and gave it my all, and my 5k time was just over 34 min. I kept a pretty even pace and took three 1-minute breaks to walk. So I don't have too far to go to get under 30 min again! I was hoping for some tips for increasing speed & endurance in a long-term, sustainable way :)

Thanks!

Replies

  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    edited March 2019
    Longer, slower miles. Increase gradually so you don’t injury yourself and practice running at a conversational pace. You shouldn’t feel winded on these long runs. A training plan is also very helpful.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    As FL Hiker said, increasing the length of at least one of your runs will help. You might also add another day of running or just get consistent with 4 days a week. Usually with more overall mileage, endurance and stamina improve which will increase your overall pace since you won't be running out of energy at the end. Run mostly at a slow easy conversational pace. Since you've been running for a while, you shouldn't need the walk breaks if you do your runs slower. One day a week, do some short faster segments in one of your runs. Warm up with a mile, then run 50 paces hard, 100 paces easy, 50 paces hard, 100 easy, etc. The do some slow easy cool down. You can vary the distance to make it more interesting, but keep the fast paced intervals short. Your overall mileage is too low to safely do more formal interval or tempo training, but strides and fartleks are usually okay because you aren't running hard for very long.
  • SchweddyGirl
    SchweddyGirl Posts: 244 Member
    Hal Higdon has some pretty good 5K training plans available.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    A very wise coach once told me not to worry about running a fast 5K until I could run a slow 10.

    If you're already running 3-4 miles 3 or 4 times weekly your best bet is to add a longer, slow run weekly and gradually work it up to the 10km /6 mile mark....that alone will help shave a couple of minutes off you 5K time and, perhaps, sign up for a race. You'd be surprised how a little adrenaline can help shave more time off your 5K results.
  • Claire5520
    Claire5520 Posts: 113 Member
    I'm a runner. I'm not sure you need to be able to run 10 miles to get your 5k time down. My advice would be to join a friendly running club (they're not all intimidating) and get in some sessions where you're doing some interval/speedwork. It's not as bad as it sounds. My old club would offer coached track sessions where people of all abilities would do a session together, combining harder efforts with recoveries. You can do that yourself with an app, or a plan from the internet, but running with other people in a session means you don't have to think about it. But if you want to do it on your own, and less formal, you can just intersperse your usual run with quicker efforts (i.e. run fast between two lampposts). I personally don't think you need to do more than 10k (6 miles) as a long run if your priority is your 5k time. And yes, you probably will run quicker in a race, but adrenaline is no substitute for solid training. You could also maybe find a friend who is faster than you and willing to help gradually increase your pace for one or two runs.
    However, that said, there is so much opinion, much of it conflicting, on the business of running, it can be hard to decide how best to approach it. Ultimately you might need to try a range of different things to see what works for you. The most important thing is that you 'enjoy' it. Well, enjoy the challenge of it, at least! If you find a plan and stick with it, you should see your time fall pretty quickly :-) Good luck!
  • The_Weaze
    The_Weaze Posts: 511 Member
    Someone suggested to use the Couch 25K app but use the running interval for faster paced running and the rest interval for regular pace running "breaks".
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Claire5520 wrote: »
    I'm a runner. I'm not sure you need to be able to run 10 miles to get your 5k time down. My advice would be to join a friendly running club (they're not all intimidating) and get in some sessions where you're doing some interval/speedwork. It's not as bad as it sounds. My old club would offer coached track sessions where people of all abilities would do a session together, combining harder efforts with recoveries. You can do that yourself with an app, or a plan from the internet, but running with other people in a session means you don't have to think about it. But if you want to do it on your own, and less formal, you can just intersperse your usual run with quicker efforts (i.e. run fast between two lampposts). I personally don't think you need to do more than 10k (6 miles) as a long run if your priority is your 5k time. And yes, you probably will run quicker in a race, but adrenaline is no substitute for solid training. You could also maybe find a friend who is faster than you and willing to help gradually increase your pace for one or two runs.
    However, that said, there is so much opinion, much of it conflicting, on the business of running, it can be hard to decide how best to approach it. Ultimately you might need to try a range of different things to see what works for you. The most important thing is that you 'enjoy' it. Well, enjoy the challenge of it, at least! If you find a plan and stick with it, you should see your time fall pretty quickly :-) Good luck!

    As a runner you should realize there's not really that many conflicting opinions (unless you go looking for some moron trying to sell the latest snake oil). It is pretty much a consensus that too much too soon is going to cause problems. Doing speed work before you are ready is too much too soon. If the OP cannot run 5K without taking breaks then what exactly will speed work help with????

    Build up the weekly distance and your times will improve. Just being able to run the whole distance will help.

    Good luck.
  • FinntheVeggie
    FinntheVeggie Posts: 74 Member
    edited March 2019
    Hi, thank you for all of these responses! If nothing else, the one thing you all seem to agree on is increasing distance! And ditching the walk breaks of course, which I'm almost there but sometimes it's a psychological thing, since I've been running with no goal in mind (just running til I feel like walking, taking a break, rinse & repeat for a couple miles) just for the fun of it for so long. Settling into a "training mindset" just took a few days.

    I've tried 5k and 10k training apps and I just don't like them. Sometimes I get in a groove during the "running" phase and I don't want to stop, but then that messes up the length of my break time and I'm not ready when the next "run" begins, rinse and repeat. I've been using MapMyRun to gauge the distance/time and pace myself with my own intuition/trial and error.

    Happy to say that I dug deep this morning and did my 3.1 miles in 29:30! Then I almost threw up on the side of the road due to sprinting the last quarter mile when I realized that under 30 min was within reach XD. Cooled off with another 2 miles alternating running and walking as I felt like it. Needless to say I'm chuffed so far! But yes, I will focus on increasing distance in the coming weeks, and possibly sign up for a race that's a few months out so I have a motivation to work towards.

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