I’m going to train for a faster 10K. My current PB on that distance is 36:26 and I’m hoping to shave off a minute. While this may not seem like much, it actually is — it’s the difference between an average pace of 3:38/5:51 and 3:32/5:42.
The program
I’ve created a program, loosely based on Pfitzinger & Latter’s 10K plan in Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon. The 11 week plan has five workouts a week, with one day of cross training and one day full rest. The first week has a total of 75K and it peaks at 88K in week 6.
The guidelines I’m following in this program are:
Each week consists of a tempo workout, a speed workout and two endurance runs, each with its own benefits. (More on that later.)
The hard efforts account for approximately 20 percent of a week’s total, the other 80 percent of the kilometers are at easy pace (whether it be a long run or the warming-up to a speed workout). This guideline is based on Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 Running.
Let’s hope I can do this and let’s also hope I do not forget to continue this series here.
I’m the last guy there, with the yellow shirt. It was very, very hot this day, so I was quite happy to run a 10K in 37:24
Today, I did a long, steady run of 22km mainly through the farmlands around here. The weather was abominable for August, but it always feels more rewarding finishing a long run in the pouring rain. On the upside, the cows were very friendly today.
A friendly cow somewhere between Schipluiden and Schiedam
I have added a training pace calculator to the site. You can enter a recent race time or (reasonable) time you’re striving for and calculate pace (ranges) for your long runs, easy runs, tempo runs, yasso’s and faster sessions. Below is an example, but be sure to check out the calculator for yourself.
