Is this a good 10K race strategy? - General running

seesteverun

25/08/2011 at 19:53

I'm running a 10K on Sunday. It will be my 3rd 10K but I'm hoping to both get under the 60-minute mark for for the first time and improve significantly on my PB (60:27) as I've done a fair bit of running since the last 10K, particularly parkrun 5Ks.

I'm aiming for somewhere between 50 and 55 minutes. My PB for 5K is 25:10.

My plan is this: 2 miles @ 8:45; 3 miles @ 8:20; 1.2 miles @ 8:10. I think this works out at 52:18.

I've never planned a race strategy before - always just run with finishing in mind - so any advice would be appreciated.

PS Hope this is the right forum; wasn't sure which was appropriate.

Thank you.

Doner Kebab pirate

pirate

25/08/2011 at 20:35

thats one hell of a difference in average pace, your PB averages at 9.47 min mile, your target average is 8.25.

it all really depends on how long ago your PB was set and in what conditions. if they were favourable conditions and you tried your hardest and this was only last month or 6 weeks ago your chances of knocking 8 minutes off your PB are slim imo. but onthe other hand if your PB was set 4 months ago and you have put a fair bit of training in theres no reason you shouldnt hit your target but i wouldnt use that stratedgy. better to a more conservative negative split - maybe about 8.30 first half 8.20 second it obviously still averages 8.25 but doesnt rely on you turning into superman for the last half

seesteverun

25/08/2011 at 20:44

The 10K PB was set at the end of May in the Bupa London 10000. It was hot but otherwise quite good conditions. The 5K (parkrun) PB is much more recent, so I was using that in the RW time predictor and got 52.5 mins.

I did also manage to go from 67:01 in March to 60:27 in May, so was hoping for similar (if not better) progress this time, although I do realise it's ambitious. I've recently been running four times a week.

I do like your split much better; I think maybe I was over-cautious about the start. Thanks for the advice.

Doner Kebab pirate

pirate

25/08/2011 at 21:02

well the BUPA race was a bit crowded, even with the stagggered start - you should be able to do a bit better in a small race - not so many people to go round, the week before and the week after the london bupa 10k my races were both over 1 minute quicker than london (one was actually 2 mins quicker) and they were of the same type - flat road. Big races arent the best indicators, unless your at the front, which i certainly am not

the RW race predictor is a fine tool but some people are better at endurance (more/better slow twitch muscles) and some better at the faster stuff. It predicts i should do a mara in 3.30 but theres not alot of hope for that.

just get a few more 10k races for a better range of data and youll be fine for knowing what is your preferd pace - im taking it that your using a garmin or similar.

happy to help

TimR

25/08/2011 at 22:14

How far is your longest training run and how long does it take?

JohnnyBike

25/08/2011 at 22:22

Just go out at slightly slower than 5K pace and see what happens. As you will be well in line for a 10K PB that in itself might be enough to get you to hang on. Even if you slow down you can still run the 2nd 5K in 35 mins for a PB.

What have you got to lose.

Nessie

26/08/2011 at 09:28

JohnnyBike wrote (see)

What have you got to lose.

Yup - give it a go. It might work. It might not. Then next time you'll know whether to try it again, or go for something else. That's the beauty and excitement of racing.

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