I've run a 10k - now I want to improve

I completed my first ever race on Sunday and finished in 57.45. I've read a ton of different training plans all promising to get my time down, but instead I thought that I'd ask you good folk on the forum what plans you follow, whether they work for you, how you approach training (tempo runs, hills) and races (pre-race rituals, nutrition, etc).

I know I should probably post this in the Training section where the big boys and girls live, but I'd rather engage people of a similar or slightly higher level, rather than discuss getting my time down to under 40 minutes as that's unrealistic at the moment. 

Anyway, just thought I'd put this out there. Ultimately I'd like to get together a decent plan that for myself that others can also follow, too. 

Hi Jae,

Well done on completing your first race and getting under the hour!

If you want to improve I would suggest you have a  think about what a realistic target time would be - which will all depend on how much time you want to devote to training.  

Once you have a target time in mind, you might want to consider RW smartcoach - which will plan a programme for you based on how far you want to run each week and the length of programme you desire.  It will have some elements of speedwork, tempo runs and long runs.  Have a look here http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/runners-world-smartcoach/3057.html

Having some kind of structured programme will really benefit you, rather than just cranking out miles.

Best of luck!

Hey Rob,

Thanks for the reply. I've sent you an email. Just out of interest, there are divided opinions regarding the Smart Coach plans. I take it you're positive about them? How do you find them comparatively? Incidentally, I'd like to get under 55 mins, though I know this might take a long time to achieve.

I think the smartcoach is quite good as it is very flexible and allows you to develop a programme based on your current ability and time available rather than some guestimated target time.  Well worth having a look if you are a begineer and not sure how to structure your training.

If you are after some general advice on what you should to improve, then I would say gradually increase your base mileage at an easy pace (no more than 10% each week is the oft stated rule) and add in a couple of resistance sessions to build strength.