Sub 20 in Galway 5K Series

lbucko

Hi,

I've been running for 3-4 years now but this is the first year I've tried doing any sort of proper speed work. My short term goal is to run a sub 20 min 5K, mid term would be a sub 40min 10K and long term to improve my marathon time. I've been following a mix of Hal Higdon and other 5K plans to try and improve my speed. I ran the first race of the Galway 5K series last Tuesday in Athenry with a time of 20:17 and would like to get that down sub 20mins over the rest of the race series(every Tuesday for next 5 weeks). So I'm looking for some advice on my current training plan which is something like this:
S - Easy run 3-4 miles
M - Rest
T - 5K race
W - Easy run 3-4 miles
T - 8x400m Interval
F - Rest
S - LSR 8-10 miles

I had been doing tempo runs with some hill repeats prior to this week but dropped them to fit in the race day each week, not sure if this was advisable or not. Normally on the rest days I'd do some strength training in the gym.
My tactics in Athenry last Tuesday probably weren't the best and I've since read some tips on other posts here which I hope to put into practice for the next races:
1. I started too fast, need to pace myself better
2. Measure it in KM rather than miles to allow more time for pace adjustment
3. Try running negative splits, maybe something like 4min/KM(or just below that) for first 2KM and then increase pace for the last 3KM if possible.

Anyway I was looking for some from advice from those of you with a bit more experience. Is there anything I should change in the above training plan? Maybe try and keep the hill repeats in it somewhere? Lose the Friday rest day? I'd appreciate any advice offered.

Thanks,
lbucko

lbucko

Just realised I posted this in the wrong location, didn't mean to put it in the events section but can't see any option to move it. Can a mod please move it? Thanks.

dna_leri

Plan looks good to me.
Just a few pointers - make sure you are well recovered from the Tuesday race for the Thursday session, assuming you plan on doing the 8x400s at 5K pace. Over time you can reduce the recovery time between these reps.
You could also look to add some strides to your Sunday easy run. Strides are 100-200m at around 5K pace, emphasising good form and taking full recovery. Start with 4, work up to 8.
I would leave out the hill reps during competition phase. You could add another easy/recovery run on the Friday but it depends on what your training volume has been over the last few months. Right now you should be focused on increasing speed and not mileage - better to do one of these at a time.

Getting under 20 mins should be well within reach in 5 weeks. Just a matter of getting good conditions and a group to race with that are running at an even 20 min pace.

aburke

Don't race all the 5km's hard - take some as training sessions.
Tuam is the fastest course - get yourself up the front for the start.

daithi1970

..also bear in mind that some of the courses are tougher than others- e.g. the Loughrea and Claregalway routes are quite hilly- maybe train for the Tuam 5k, as it is the flattest of all the races.

daithi

lbucko

Thanks for all the advice. Never tried strides before but I'll definitely add them to my plan.
Mapped out the courses and noticed some are quite hilly alright and I'd heard Tuam was the fastest one. Think I'll target it so, if the conditions were the same as last Tuesday it would be ideal :-) Appreciate the advice, thanks.

SeanPuddin

Heard Loughrea is the toughest next week. Most people improve week on week though so hopefully for you it's just a matter of time...

daithi1970

..sorry to hijack the thread, but can anyone tell me where the hilly bits are on the loughrea course?:o

ta,

daithi

lbucko

daithi1970 wrote: »

..sorry to hijack the thread, but can anyone tell me where the hilly bits are on the loughrea course?:o

ta,

daithi

Not familiar with the course but from mapping it I make it that the biggest climb is from around the 2.5K to 4K section. According to garmin it's 73M to 106M. Smaller climb from 0.5K to 1K.

daithi1970

thanks..I must remember not to take off like a scalded cat at the start so:)

Citizenpain

daithi1970 wrote: »

thanks..I must remember not to take off like a scalded cat at the start so:)

Did you remember ?
That hill was horrid

lbucko

Citizenpain wrote: »

Did you remember ?
That hill was horrid

The Hill was tough alright, but the last 1K coming down it was nice!

lbucko

Got my sub 20 this evening in Maree, 19:51, delighted with it. A much nicer course to run than last week or maybe I'm biased after getting a new PR.
Ran the full course nice and easy beforehand for a warmup, not sure if that's too long of a warmup for a 5k but didn't seem to do much harm anyway.

daithi1970

nice one..I got a pb 21'40''myself and am well pleased..hopefully i will be able for the hills in claregalway

Check out the route for Claregalway on the link below..there are 2 nasty hills in the first half of the race, but looks like plain sailing from 2.2 km onwards..


http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/34621248/

lbucko

Great stuff on the PB, think it was a good course and evening for them. Claregalway looks tougher alright, the first 2.2k will make or break me on that one, must remember to keep something in reserve for the rest. Hopefully we'll be in a position to improve again by Tuam.