5km Racing Tips

[Kirby]

A colleague at work is really into running - does marathons and 5ks and stuff regularly, and wants to do a 5k with other people from the office near the end of November. I did cross country back in high school - I wasn't a superstar, but I was in shape (low 18s usually, pr was 17:45). Now, I'm about 50 pounds heavier, and a lot slower. I did a 5k about a year ago for kicks, and I timed in at 23:02 - about 5 minutes slower than my high school days.

OK, I get it. I'm old and fat now, so I'm slower. But I want to have a shot at keeping up with my colleague. As far as I know, he's running 5ks in the mid-19 minute range. That's still 3 or 4 minutes faster than I was last year, so it seems out of reach. But still, I have 3 months to train - maybe I can have a shot of getting back into shape. So far, I've been looking at this: https://www.runningfastr.com/5k-trainin ... ning-plan/

But it's just a random site on the Internet, and I don't have much other help. I was hoping to get advice from experienced runners on how I might be able to improve my time quickly. Maybe 4 minutes is too much to ask for in 3 months. Not sure. I'm doing a 5k tomorrow to see where I'm at compared to last year. I've just started training, though, so I wouldn't expect it to be that different than last year's race.

tl/dr: any tips on a training schedule that'll get me faster quicker? should I focus on endurance or on speed? I did this back in high school, but back then, I had a coach telling me what to do. Now I'm lost.

[mycophobia]

I saw this thread in "View new posts" and thought it was about 5 kyu racing. I'm sorry but I have nothing more to add to the topic.

[EdLee]

Only warning is be careful not to overtrain; arthritis will come back and bite you in a few decades.

[jlt]

Maybe "5km" would be less ambiguous than "5k" on a forum about go...

I don't have tips on how to run faster, but concerning

Only warning is be careful not to overtrain; arthritis will come back and bite you in a few decades.

Be also careful with your tendons, they take a long time to heal, so stop training and rest if you feel any pain. I've never run competitively, but found that my body became noticeably less resistant to effort after 40.

[Kirby]

I changed the title.

Did a 5k today, but was at 21:22. Not under 20, yet, but faster than last year’s 23:02.

I felt I had more left at the end than I should have, so I can probably squeeze out another minute or so by improving my psychology. Hopefully training every day will be enough to make up for the rest.

November is not that far away, but I have some time..

[SoDesuNe]

Can't really add anything concrete in terms of training regime but if you start your race in a pulk and frequently need to manoeuvre between other runners to run past them, you should spend some time doing interval training.

I ran a 5k this May and the above mentioned manoeuvres cost a lot of power since you can't really maintain your pace (thus ideal pulse).

Good luck!

[Joaz Banbeck]

Invest in your health. Get the best shoes that you can. It is cheaper than a knee replacement in 20 years.
Think of it as good aji that will pay off later.

[Uberdude]

If you care about your knees in 20 years, I'd suggest swimming or cycling instead of running.

[dfan]

Let me know if you need any tips getting your 5k time under 26 minutes!

[Kirby]

Can't really add anything concrete in terms of training regime but if you start your race in a pulk and frequently need to manoeuvre between other runners to run past them, you should spend some time doing interval training.

The table at that site I posted seems to be gone, but the general idea was to do speed workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Example would be to do 10 sets of 200m at above race pace with 90 seconds recovery between sprints. Another one was similar, but with fewer sets and at 800m. I guess that's somewhat similar to interval training.

I have a GPS watch that gives me my pace, but one of the issues is that it takes a bit of time to get an accurate reading on my pace. So instead of being strict, I'm just trying to go as fast as I can for the runs in those sets.

[Kirby]

Invest in your health.

Just to clarify, you are referring strictly to shoes?

[Kirby]

If you care about your knees in 20 years, I'd suggest swimming or cycling instead of running.

Tell that to the 76 year old that I was racing with today.

In all seriousness, though, I may switch things up after November. I just want to train for that, since I'll be running with folks that I know.

[Kirby]

Let me know if you need any tips getting your 5k time under 26 minutes!

I'd imagine similar rules apply, regardless of where you're at. Basically, I want to get as fast as possible at 5k in the couple of months that I have left.

[EdLee]

Tell that to the 76 year old that I was racing with today.

In all seriousness...

Yes, yes; we all have anecdotes.

Many years ago, I ran side by side a man in his 70's who fought at Normandy ( on the German side ); barefoot on quite jagged asphalt, 30° uphill, 5 in the morning before sunrise ( 4 days like this in a row ). He should be in his 90's now.

Dengxiaoping chain smoked and lived to 92.

These people won the gene pool lottery. They're the exceptions, not the norm.

My dad, in his 80's, cannot walk 20 or 30 steps without taking a break ( arthritis; from over-training in marathons in his 30's ).

Take good care of the joints.

[Kirby]

Look, I get that you should be careful on the joints. Don’t overtrain, stretch well, and be smart about the way you exercise.

But I don’t buy the idea that running is dangerous and that you should stick to swimming or some sport like that. I think that’s an excuse used by people that don’t like running.

Why can you blame good running skill on genes, but not arthritis? If there is a non-genetic impact, couldn’t it be due to the way one trains and not running itself?

Anyway, for the record, I’m one of those people - I don’t like running that much. But I’m doing a 5k in November with coworkers, and I intend to do my best for that race.

I’ll stretch well and try not to overtrain. I’ll let you know if Ai get arthritis.