I don’t race as often as many runners I know, so I feel a lot of pressure to make it count when I do. If I’m not going to race a certain distance again for another year, I need that PR. Last year I won a 4-year battle with the Monument Avenue 10-K to break 50 minutes, finishing in 49 minutes flat. (You can read that race recap here.) The race is set for March 29 this year, and while I will be content to shave even seconds off my time, I’ve set a goal to run it in 48 minutes.
Ambitious? Maybe. Possible? Yes.
With just over five weeks until race day, I am getting serious about training. To avoid injury, I only ever run three days a week, usually M/W/F. Typically when training for a longer distance (or no race in particular), my weekly routine includes one speed workout (either a tempo run or intervals), one long run (with “long” being relative to what I am training for), and one mid-distance, mid-speed run. However, after looking at various training plans, and considering that I am aiming for speed, I decided that I really need to make my running days count. Here’s my weekly training schedule for the next five weeks:
Monday: Tempo Run (30-50 minutes)
Tuesday: Weights + Cardio Cross Training
Wednesday: Intervals (mile, 800, or 400 repeats) + yoga
Thursday: Weights + Cardio Cross Training
Friday: Long Run
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Weights
I’m including both a tempo run and an interval workout each week to get my body accustomed to running faster. Here’s my tempo run from Monday:
Is it still a tempo run if you don’t run one pace the entire time? I like adding in a couple of half-mile faster spurts to avoid getting bored–plus, 7.7 mph feels easy when you’re coming down from 8.0 mph. 😉 It was a great workout, regardless.
I am pumped about the race and training and all that it entails! After work today I am heading to a local high school track to do some 400 m repeats…wish me luck!
-What are you training for right now?
–How may speed workouts do you do each week?
A Two Storey Home 
Great job! Tempo runs are really great! I’m training for Shamrock Half Marathon mid March and I do one speed workout (meaning track workout) a week. I also incorporate some speed work (not on the track) in (some) of my everyday workouts. Good luck on your speed workout today!
Wow, this is great! I never do speed runs haha. I just run. What a great previous time, and you’ve totally got this new PR under your belt with this training!
Good luck with your training (and future 10k!). I’ve never used a training plan involving tempo runs (I still have no idea what a tempo run consists of either and why it is beneficial running so if you could shed some light that would be fab as it keeps cropping up everywhere 😉 ) but have definitely benefitted from interval training (& strength training! All those lunges I reckon!)… I’m not training for anything at the moment, I’ve tried to keep my schedule flexible due to longer working hours, that way I can enjoy the runs when I do them but not panic if I go for a while without them 🙂
You can definitely hit 48 minutes girl, I believe in you!! 🙂 I’m training for the Nashville full so I’m doing the opposite – slow and steady! 🙂