Speed Endurance for 10k?

I am 23 year old, and been training for 6 weeks now doing roughly 20-25 miles per week with one long run 9-11miles. I did a 5k fast run today in 19:48 but towards the end my legs felt very heavy and i dont think i could go much further at that pace, i have a few weeks before a 10k race and i want to go under 40min 10k, what training should i do so that i can keep the pace going for the whole 10k, got roughly 4 weeks to go.

p.s I managed to do the 10k 3 years ago in 40:05 with around 3 months training but cant remember what i did.

Right, 4 weeks to go.......

I'd do mile reps at race pace (6:24 per mile ish) once a week, with maybe 1:30 recovery. I'd start with 4 reps and increase by one rep each week.

Your long run sounds long enough. But keep it at easy pace (7:30-8:00 per mile pace).

I'd also recommend a weekly tempo run....perhaps 5 miles continuous at 15 secs per mile slower than race pace (sub 6:40 per mile pace). But wait at least 2 days to recover from your mile reps before doing this.

Also try to up your weekly mileage by maybe 3 miles each week. Just easy miles to keep up improvement with your aerobic training.

Lastly, have a go at a 4 mile race pace time trial one week before the race. Keep your pacing even and monitor it. If you can keep the pace up in training for 4 miles......you'll probably manage the full race distance on race day.

Best of luck...

Thanks for your response.

Some brilliant ideas here i will defanite give them a go. With the 1 mile reps with 1:30 recovery, would i walk the recovery or keep jogging at a slow pace?

Also the last week before the race, what sort of training should i do? slow paced runs?

thanks, much appriciated

Hi Cliff,

Its what I did in training before getting inside 40 mins for my first 10K. I got 39:38 at the time.

With the mile reps, I must admit I walked a few paces after finishing each rep and just generally kept loose. At the point of finishing each rep I'd check where the analogue hand was on my watch and just catch my breath whilst moving. Some swear by jogging recoveries, its just not what I do.....

Ah, last week before the race. Do the 4 mile time trial seven days before the race, I personally wouldn't do anything the day after. 4 miles at race pace is a tough session.

But in the final 5 days I'd keep most running at around two thirds of what you'd been doing in previous weeks, no hard sessions, speed sessions or tempo runs. I might do a few race pace half mile reps a few days before the race (maybe six, with 1:30 recoveries). This just as pace practicing, so that you are familiar with your chosen pace and don't go off too quick or slow on the day.

I almost always take the day before a race off. I have been known to do a few miles of slow running, but nothing much. Others swear by a session of strides the day before.....but I don't.

Let us know how you get on, I'd be delighted for you to get inside 40.

Thanks again for the response Jamie.

I will give all these sessions a go and hopefully it will be enough for me to get under  40min. The race is on the 23rd of September so will let you know on here how I got on.

Thanks

Did one of your suggested sessions today, the one mile reps with 1:30 recovery in between, did the reps in 6:23per mile pace, was tough but good session. 4 reps today might give 5 a go next week now.

Brilliant! You're clearly closer than you think.

I'd avoid anything heavy for the next two days. Maybe a nice recovery run around the 8:00-8:20 pace tomorrow perhaps 6-8 miles. Perhaps a slightly quicker easy run the day after that around 7:40 pace.

Then perhaps a tempo run at 6:40 pace or your weekly long run three days after?

Then a rest day should be on the cards......Sunday.

Now that sounds like a good plan to me.

Yea think will do the weekly long run three days after and will get the tempo run done on Monday.

Got to admit big confidence booster today.

Superb news, keep us posted.

Got a bit exited today for my tempo run, ended up doing the first half a mile at 5:15per mile pace, then i started to slow and get tired managed 5k at just under the 20min.

Do you think that the fast pace at the start affected the rest of my run, if i would have gone at 6:26 from the start would i be able to keep that pace for longer?

I need to remember to get the little man on my garmin on the race pace and keep with him, keep forgetting, and i find it so hard to judge the 6:26 pace. only 2 weeks to go.

Yep, so you did the first 1/2 mile in 2:37 ish!? That will have crippled the rest of your run. I'd imagine that 5:15 would probably be faster than your 1 mile pace at the moment. That will have bashed you straight into oxygen debt.....

I track every 1/4 mile to make sure I'm on pace.

ok thats a good idea, need to try getting this pacing better, will do the test run this weekend and will constantly keep an eye on my watch at the start, as soon as i get itno the pace and rythym im fine after that then its just always at the start.

I've annihilated quite a few races by starting out too fast. With the adrenaline, you don't feel the faster pace for half a mile or so (and other fast starters don't help either)......but you always pay for it later on. My only cure has been to track every quarter mile and even then it can be tricky.

Do you track the quarter miles on a Garmin?

My advice is based only on my own experience. I expect to get a bashing for it... but whatevs... it works for me.

3 quality runs (sprint/threshold/endurance) and a couple of strength sessions sort me out these days.

My running has come on massively using this routine:

• M: sprints of 400m or 800m with recovery to 140HR. Tack on 2 miles either side of the inetrvals for a warm up and cool down.
• T: squat and deadlift, heavy. 3x3 + a couple of heavy singles is my fav. None of this 10 reps or more crap. HEAVY. Like, upwards of 100kg for squats.
• W: hill or threshold run. Big hills are great. 6-8 miles. Occasionally a bit more.
• T: squat, light. A few sets of 6-8. Focus on volume but keep the load high enough.
• F: swim. 500m as fast as possibe.
• S: long fell run. Can be anything from 8-15 miles depending upon terrain.
• S: off.

I absolutely do not buy into the 'junk miles' philosophy of going for a plodding along run or filling up empty days with no effort runs. It's just a waste of recovery that could be used to recover you from more effective and arduous training. As you can see from above, I rarely go above 25 miles per week anymore. I'm no Mo Farah, but I can squeeze out a 40min 10km in an urban environment -- i.e. with prams and dogs and traffic lights and junctions -- and half marathon in

I absolutely do not buy into the 'junk miles' philosophy of going for a plodding along run or filling up empty days with no effort runs. It's just a waste of recovery that could be used to recover you from more effective and arduous training. As you can see from above, I rarely go above 25 miles per week anymore. I'm no Mo Farah, but I can squeeze out a 40min 10km in an urban environment -- i.e. with prams and dogs and traffic lights and junctions -- and half marathon in

For some reason the web site is cutting bits out of my messages and chopping them off... sorry to anyone who is trying to read this coherently!!

Hi Propaganda,

Yes, I track my quarter miles on a Garmin. I usually find the Garmin pretty accurate.

And Hi SomeOldDog,

Your routine looks like mine from a year and a half ago.......and yes it will give you some damn good improvements for a while. But you will eventually stagnate and your times will stop improving. Its because everything you do barring the long fell run is pretty high intensity anaerobic work......and the fell run might (if your effort level is high....which it probably is!) fall into this category too.

Watch out for injury too, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are three heavy days in quick succession. I'd split them up with a rest day or your swimming day.

I never bought the junk miles thing either till I tried it. I thought it was a load of lazy assed bollox from plodders who should have been doing more quality work to really improve their times. WRONG! It is amazing what a diet of easy paced running can do for your aerobic fitness and your race times. Developing anaerobic fitness and aerobic fitness seems to be the key to improvement.

My easy paced runs vary between 135-150 BPM (8:00 pace - 7:20 pace). You never feel anything like out of breath but these miles are doing more for your fitness than you can possibly think.

Race day this Sunday, Has come quickly now, not sure if i am ready for the sub 40min to be honest, when i ran the 40:05 back in 2008 I felt a lot fitter then, but I will go off at 4min per KM pace from the start and try and keep it going to the end, if not there is another 10k in december I am aiming to do will have to smash the barrier then lol

but fingers crossed it will go this weekend then I can start trainning for the sub 35