Can I run 10k in 40 minutes with this training schedule?

13

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  • Iwan Jones 4 wrote (see)

    Lou, that's simple, tell Ms D that YOU have a 5k planned!

    Not so simple when you have two young kids to look after.

    We are also getting married next weekend so yesterday Ms D spent the morning at the hairdressers -  I knew that there was a reason it wasn't convenient.  It will have to wait a few weeks now -  see if I can maintain training on my honeymoon.

    Steady 10 miler instead yesterday afternoon - looks better on my weekly mileage anyway.

    I think next race will be Coombe 8 (8.3miles so guarenteed pb).

  • ML84ML84 ✭✭✭
    I enjoyed a nice 6miler on the morning of my wedding and then went running on 10 of the 14 days I was on honeymoon in cancun. image
  • @mattl. Good work running on the morning of the wedding. Not sure I'll be able to get away with that. But honeymoon is in Scotland so I'm looking forward to some nice long runs in the hills. Have to make sure I don't wear myself out (wink wink).
  • Chuchter your 10k PB attempt on 10 November ... Same date as mine, I wonder if it's the same race? Mine is Self Transcendence 10k, Battersea Park - you?

    I think you said your current PB is 42:30, mine is 40:51 though 41:58 is recent. Perhaps we could run/race together to spur us on?

     

    [@cicerunner]

  • Hey Cicero,

    It's actually a small race up in Elgin that will be the big PB attempt for me - that reminds me, I better enter! Good luck at Battersea Park though.

    Iwan - 19.26 is indeed now my 5k best. If I can take a few more seconds off it in the next couple of Saturdays that'll boost my confidence. I work Friday nights until 2.30AM, getting up at 7.30 to prepare for the parkrun on a saturday. I like to tell myself that I'd be running a bit faster if I wasn't so sleepy!

    When's the half marathon you're training for and how's the training going?

    I'm gonna try 4x1000m at intervals at race pace this evening as well (my legs are quaking in fear...)

     

     

  • Hi Chucter,

    Yeah that definitely doesn't sound like ideal parkrun preparation! Hard to tell how much difference it makes though. A few days of taper should have you in better shape for the 10k as well.

    That sounds like a good session to start with, try maybe 2 minutes rest and reduce that gradually before adding more reps. Regarding pace, some people say do them at 5k/10k pace, however I generally like to do them as quick as I can whilst having enough in the tank to pick it up a bit on the last one.

    My training is going very well, been doing a lot of long 6/7 mile half marathon pace runs and longer 1,000m/1,200m intervals and the improvement is huge since my 10k.

    My race is on the 18th November but I have just found out that there is a 2 mile hill in the middle of the race, which has 400ft of total climbing. Possibly not ideal, but still confident I should be under 1:28. 

  • You guys sound like you are at a very similar stage to me.

    10k pb (only done one) 41.46

    5k pb (done two parkruns) 19.26

    I got stuck in the group at the start of the 10k and fell over so I know I can go a fair bit quicker.  I'm certain I can go sub 19 for the Parkrun and Sub 40 for the 10k so just training hard right now to see where it can take me.  I've only just started to take this stuff seriously.

    Entered my first marathon in April next year too so really looking forward to pitting myself against a longer distance.  A long, cold and dark winter of training in the north awaits me!

    Well done on your progress chaps.

  • Hi Strangely. PBs that good this early in your running career bode really well. If perhaps you have youth on your side as well ... who knows!

    New 5k PB today at Dulwich parkrun 19:50! Sub 20!! image

    Splits 3:58, 3:57, 3:56, 4:10, 3:49. My left shoe came untied in k4 and though I chose to ignore it perhaps it affected me more than I realised at the time.

    Really pleased with the new time. Now perhaps sub 40 10k doesn't seem so far off.

    Almost all my training at the moment consists of short runs - 8k typical - focussing on improving form for last 250m of every km. Following my Running School coaching this essentially means maintianing good posture, recycling feet quickly and so increasing cadence, keeping feet/landings soft and lfiting heels high so engaging glutes and hamstrings. Although I'm not aiming to make those 250m intervals fast the use of the technique inevitably seems to mean they are paced at around 3:40/km and the remaining 750m recovering so that I'm averaging about 5:00/km overall.Typically getting 2 or 3 such runs in each week plus parkrun on Saturday.

  • Great going Ciero, hearty congrats on the pb - even with an errant shoelace!  It's funny how many things can crop up to bugger up your runs.  I did a 6k tempo this morning but got terrible wind halfway through and had to walk a little until it passed - not something i've had to do on a run of any distance for 6 months or more.

    By the way, I didn't mean to make myself out to be a total novice.  I have been running for 4 years but up until this summer, all I ever did was go out and run 5k as fast as I could 3 or 4 times a week and then the odd 10k once in a while.  I hadn'r run any competitive races.  It's only since this summer that i've learnt how to train properly and have upped my mileage from 10-15 mpw a week to 30-42 and entered some races off the back of it.  Sadly, age isn't on my side as much as i'd like it to be - i'm 34.

    You sound as if you are a few stages ahead of me with your regime, i'm trying to introduce the speedwork bit by bit.  I thought i'd increase the miles first and then tempo runs (which I now do) and then intervals, hills etc further down the line.  Not worth risking doing too much too soon, right?

    Sub 40 would be such a magic marrier to break eh?

  • Cicero, another good run this weekend, really making some good progress at the moment, that sub-40 can't be too far away now.

    Strangely, if you look at the age of some people still winning races in some  very fast times you have plenty of improvement left at 34!

    For me, I unfortunately sprained my ankle on Friday night and can barely walk let alone run at the moment (had to happen 3 weeks out so little chance to make up for any fitness lost). If I can't run again by the end of the week I think I'll have to abort the half marathon, which is very frustrating given the progress in training. Such is life...

  • Hi Iwan,

             Yeah, that's a fair point.  I realise i'm in the middle ground.  Not so young that the world is my oyster in running but not so old that great things may still not be impossible.  I am just accepting of the fact that every statistic available proves that maximum performance potential begins to dwindle (albeit slowly at first) at around 35/36 so in a couple of years time, I will always be working that little bit harder as i'll be fighting a natural decline that I wouldn't have been had I started 10 years ago.

               Going for my third parkrun on Saturday and am interested to see how much my extra mileage might help as it's it'll have been 4 weeks since my last one.

                Sorry to hear about your ankle, the most frustrating thing for a runner is wanting to run but being prevented by your body.  Hope you recover in time to run your HM.

  • Strangely still starting at 30ish leaves you in a great position. I do wish I'd started running that early. I started just before I hit 40.

    A couiple of half remembered age related "facts" that I can't source anything to back up right now:

    • typical runner will experience about 12 years of improvement regardless of starting age
    • typical runner peaks at 27, but will be 43 before their performance returns to what it was at 19

     

    Wish I could find some online quotes to re-assure my memory.

  • Hey Cicero,

        I think they sound around about right, i've read and heard similar.  So in reality, I have maybe another 8-9 years of progression available before thngs will invariably begin to tail off.  I'm more than happy with that to be honest and even after then, being a top performer for your age should carry an equal amount of kudos and sense of achievement as doing well overall at a younger age will.  There's always a target to be pushed for, always a goal to strive to hit.

          There's also that wonderful feeling of watching your mates start to blob out and moan about their age-related aches and pains as you bounce around as fit as a butcher's dog next to them image

  • I started this year at the age of 38.  Took up running as I decided I definitely too old for martial arts - that really is a young man's game.

    I don't expect to win any races, the only challenge is to gradually improve my times and avoid injury.  I am competetive though so I always see how a I compare against the faster guys at the club.

    I was talking to a friend the other day, who was/is a very quick runner.  When I mentioned I had started running he leant in conspiritorially and wispered "you know the the thing about running is that you will get injured".

  • Chucter good luck tomorrow in Elgin. 

    Good luck me in Battersea Park.

    Race reports tomorrow afternoon ...

  • Muddy parkrun yesterday resulted in a new pb of 20:08.  So close.

    *should have worn me Cascadias*

  • Nice going Lou, great feeling eh?  image

    45 miles for me this week, my biggest week.  Happy to report it was completed injury-less.

    Looking forward to breaking the big 50 in the coming weeks.

     

  • My 10k in Battersea Park yesterday went well although I didn't quite PB 40:54 - 3 seconds outside. Splits 04:02, 04:02, 04:01, 04:01, 04:05, 04:03, 04:12, 04:12, 04:07, 04:09.

    I just didn't have the stamina to maintain my pace. Up until k7 I felt really comfortable at the pace of around 4:00/km, but at that point fatigue hit. Time to up the mileage over the winter!

    (I actually thought I was running at 4:00/km over the early kilometres, but my watch very slightly over recorded the distance as 10.1 km.)

  • Strangely Brown wrote (see)

    Nice going Lou, great feeling eh?  image

    Nice to get a pb, but still a little disappointed not to break the magical 20min barrier.  I blame it on the mud - definitely eight seconds worth of slipping and sliding.image

  • Bit frustrating on both counts by the sounds of it, nearly 20 broke and nearly 40 broke.#

    I definitely get the feeling with running that getting down to a 20 minute 5k and a 40 minute 10k is within the capabilities of a lot of male runners with the right training but progressing beyond these levels is far more of a challenge.  I could take chunks of 30 seconds or even a minute off my PBs in training when getting down to this sort of level but now I think it's going to be more of a case of the odd few seconds here and there in races.

    Nice splits Cicero, shame about the slight tail-off.

    LD - I know all about muddy park runs...I live near Manchester!!

  • Cicero wrote (see)

    My 10k in Battersea Park yesterday went well although I didn't quite PB 40:54 - 3 seconds outside. Splits 04:02, 04:02, 04:01, 04:01, 04:05, 04:03, 04:12, 04:12, 04:07, 04:09.

    I just didn't have the stamina to maintain my pace. Up until k7 I felt really comfortable at the pace of around 4:00/km, but at that point fatigue hit. Time to up the mileage over the winter.

    Very frustrating whe you can just feel the pace slipping away.  Your final split was still slow, which, to me suggests you'd given it everything.  No sprint finish.

  • Hi guys,

    Not sure who's a beginner and who's a more advanced runner but just thought I would share this site on training for various types of races (marathon, half marathon,  5K & 10K).

    Good general info for amateur runners.

    All the best

  • Sounds like you guys are making good progress, you'll all be under 40 minutes pretty soon I think.

    I'm admitting defeat in running the half marathon on Sunday, have hardly run for 2 and a half weeks since the ankle injury and when I have the ankle has felt pretty dodgy as well as causing some pain in the achilles. Think I will have to leave it another week or so and start again. Very frustrating as I was probably in sub 39 10k shape and 1:26/1:27 HM shape based on my training efforts before the injury.

     

  • Did anyone else follow Viral Shah's link?

    I did, because people who've posted here so far have all contributed something of interest/value. Not the worst example ever for sure, but I think perhaps there's a clue in the name - Viral Shah ... Check out his post history and suddenly all becomes clear.

    The only reason I checked is because the training plans are totally irrelevant to this thread being essentially "couch to just get round" 5k and 10k plans. 

    Viral Shah wrote (see)

    Not sure who's a beginner and who's a more advanced runner but just thought I would share this site on training for various types of races (marathon, half marathon,  5K & 10K).

     

    Ho hum.

     

  • On 27 October Cicero wrote (see)

    New 5k PB today at Dulwich parkrun 19:50! Sub 20!! image

    Splits 3:58, 3:57, 3:56, 4:10, 3:49. My left shoe came untied in k4 and though I chose to ignore it perhaps it affected me more than I realised at the time.

    Further small PB on 24 November - no parkruns since 27 October due to a variety of factors.

    Saturday's PB 19:47. Paced by an 18:01 runner which really helped. Splits 4:00, 4:02, 3:57, 4:01, 03:47. Next milestone target 19:30 ...

    Next race is Perivale 5 mile on Sunday 2 December. Automatic PB since it's my first race over the distance, but am going to try and run it at 40 minute 10k pace to help with my next 10k ... Though not sure when that will be yet since I'm struggling to find something close that my diary can cope with.

    In other news I just entered the Bournemouth Bay Run - Half Marathon - https://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/runs-and-jogs/event-information/bournemouth-bay-run.aspx. A great course and well organised event and thoroughly reasonable £16 entry.

  • Another nice PB Cicero, I think you should be in 40 minute 10k pace in the next 3 months, just need to get that 5k down to around 19:20.

    I'm still struggling after my ankle injury, that's more or less recovered now but I tried a tempo run on Monday and had lost a ridiculous amount of fitness in  a month and I've now developed a hip problem! So I've now taken this week off.

    5 weeks now of no run, so will be starting back almost from step one when I can run pain free again, very frustrating.

  • Good running Cicero - the sub 40 can't be far away.  Was that with an official pacer or just some guy you knew?

    Leamington Parkrun is difficult to pace as basically it all uphill for the first half then all downhill on the way back.  There is also a very steep uphill section of about 100m at 5-10%, so its impossible to run anything like an even pace.

    Recent Coombe 8 xc went well, although time of 58:07 is fairly meaningless, official distance was 8.3, bit I and a number of others logged it at around 7.7 miles . I finished ahead of a couple of my clubs ladies (they won the team prize) when previously i've come in slightly behind.  I'll take that as a sign of improvement.

    I've not been able to find a convenient 10k in the near future too.  Club xc handicap race this weekend, then that probably it until after Christmas.

    Running the 5 miler at sub 40 pace is a good plan - should give you a good idea of where you are currently.

  • Lou Diamonds wrote (see)

    Good running Cicero - the sub 40 can't be far away.  Was that with an official pacer or just some guy you knew?

    A friend. My coach in fact from the Running School in East Dulwich. I know some parkruns have pacers for certain times, but I'm guessing Dulwich isn't yet big enough. Typically just under a 100 runners. The Leamington parkrun sounds hard!

    Lou Diamonds wrote (see)

    Running the 5 miler at sub 40 pace is a good plan - should give you a good idea of where you are currently.

    Well it was a good plan ...image Which actually didn't come off as badly as I thought when, as I started, my watch didn't. Tried a couple of presses, but something was up. Probably user error. I've yet to go back to it and confirm that it does still work. So with no watch on and not being able to spot the mile markers I had little clue as to how I was running. (Event details state markers every mile, but I'm notoriously bad at noticing anything when running.) I'd planned to run 6:30 miles hence aiming for 32:30 which is a little outside 40:00 10k - 40:23 in fact. Reasoning here being that I currently feel that my next 10k attempt should be a more measured attempt at a good PB - 40:30ish - rather than an all out attempt at sub 40:00.

    I asked a friendly looking runner what pace he was aiming for after about 500m and he said 6:20 so I thought I should let him go, but not too far. I lost track of him after about 3 miles, but take into account my comments about me noticing thingsimage

    Not having my watch on it felt all but impossible to push towards my target pace. I just settled in and made myself uncomfortable. All I can say is I still had a little left at the end as I didn't see the finish coming up. (You know what I'm going to say.)

    So, all in all, when the results were published I was actually quite pleased with a 33:11. Plenty of room for a PB next time anyway.

     

  • Last minute entry in Moreton Morrell 10k yesterday.  I had assumed it was on Sunday and that that it clashed with a mates 40th birthday, but when I realised it was on the Saturday morning I thought it would be a good opportunity to finish off my first year of running which started with a 44:52 in the Leamington Regency back in April.

    My mind was on sub 41 but found that another guy from our club was running and that he would probably get close to 40, so decided to stick with him.  He started quicker than I expected but the course drops about 100ft over the first mile and is then fairly flat before climbing back up to the finish.  Stuck with him feeling fairly comfortable and realised that if I managed to keep it up I was on target for around 40.  Went past him at 8km and then hit the final climb back up to the finish.  

    What a bastard of a hill! I knew it was coming and battled up it passing a couple of guys on the way but knew the sub-40 was slipping away.  Anyway, finished in 40:15, which I was very pleased with and rather surprised by.  Bring on 2013. 

  • Lou, so close!

    Relatively little running since my last post, but thought I'd check in. I took a week out after the 5 mile race on 2/12 and on returning struggled with what felt like ITB caused knee pain in a couple of easy runs on 11/12 and 13/12. Both were cut short and I had to walk to avoid the pain which kicked in around 6k. Felt pretty low about this, but took advice and have been doing regular foam roller work since.

    Decided to parkrun on Saturday 15/12 - it's less than 6k! - and felt fine. In fact I ran a 19:51 which I was very pleased with. This morning I went out intending to go through the 6k barrier and see what happened ... Managed 9k and though there was a hint of knee pain around 7k/8k there was nothing intense and I didn't need to slow or stop. So, fingers-crossed and foam roller at the ready, I'm hoping to taper my run distances back up and get fit for another 10k attempt in the new year.

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