Kelpie Korrespondent #3: fast 5Ks for the time poor, middle-aged recreational distance runner
I have a goal to run a Parkrun (5K) in less then 20 minutes by the end of March 2022. This is something I have done before, but not for a while. My last trip south of the 20 minute border was over a year ago.
Why 20 minutes?
20 minutes is seen as a fast 5K time for a somewhat serious male recreational runner. It’s not an easy thing to do, and it’s a significant achievement to post a 5K run under 20. Which is not to say there’s any reason from a physical health point of view for me to re-achieve this milestone, per se. I could get the same or possibly greater physical health benefits from holding back on the pace and doing a lower volume of training. This is about;
Mental health (I get a mental benefit from hard running)
Enjoyment (I’m someone who enjoys the competitive aspect of distance running)
Motivation (providing me with a clear short to medium term goal to push towards in training)
Why now?
As I get older as a runner , I’m less concerned with getting faster than with being “not slower”! And so, I’m toying with the idea of trying to run a sub-20 minute 5K for each remaining year of my life for as long as I can manage it. Its something I’d like to tick off while I do all of the stuff of normal life that takes precedence over athletic achievement;
– raising children
– being a husband
- being a member of a church
– running a business
– working a job
How will I do it?
Here’s my recipe:
1. Run hard once per week
I’ll be doing hard running that mimics a 5K race and/or builds speed endurance once a week. The intensity will vary on a three week cycle (or thereabouts);
Week 1: Long Intervals. 4-6 repeats of ~5 minutes hard running. The pace here will be at an effort level I could sustain for about 10 minutes. It should feel a little desperate or panicky! It should be a reasonably strong mental effort to maintain this intensity (but not insurmountable or excessively wearisome). At this pace, you cannot finish a sentence uninterrupted by taking a breath, but you shouldn’t feel like talking anyway running this hard.
Week 2: Tempo Run. By “tempo” I mean “up tempo” or “brisk”. I will run between 20 and 35 minutes at a pace where I am breathing a little hard and the effort level feels hard-ish but without that desperate/panicky feeling I may have at long intervals pace. I’ll do this run slower than my 10K race pace (~45 minutes/10K) but not by much. Tempo pace cannot be sustained for long periods of time (unlike “steady state” pace). For me, with my current fitness level (5K in 20:40), this level of effort translates to around about 5 minutes per K. I encourage you to develop the skill to run by feel, and not by strict adherence to predetermined pace settings.
Week 3: Time Trial. Every few weeks I’ll run a pre-determined distance between 3.5K or 7K as fast as I can. The effort level will vary depending on the distance, but it should “hurt” in the sense that I’ll be holding my hand to the flame as long as possible. This is racing - but against yourself.
2. Run long once per week
On Sunday mornings, I’ll head out for a long run. I have a pre-set course: jog to Langley Park in the CBD then multiple 2K laps on the lovely, soft, fatigue-minimising grass before heading home. I will scale this run up from 12K to 16K (maybe more?) if my body can handle it. How do I know what I can handle? If this long run is wiping me out for the whole day on Sunday, or excessive muscular soreness or fatigue is setting in, or I start to pick up some lower limb niggles (ITB issues, achilles issues etc) then I will back off the distance. The pace here is easy, or “embarrassingly slow” - although, if I’m feeling fresh on the day, I may lift the speed a little.
3. Accumulate as much mileage as possible
I have two other small runs per week: Monday morning on grass (for ~30 minutes) followed by hockey drills, and a Friday morning 20 minute treadmill jog before my boxing class. These are at an easy pace, trying to accumulate Ks in the legs without bringing heaps of fatigue on board. The main adaptations I’m after will be driven by the hard run and the long run, but these little extras all add up and contribute to endurance development. Play the percentages! - as they say in AFL (or, as they said in the nineties when I last watched…).
4. Minimise fatigue
This is a key point for me. I’m 42, a busy father and small business owner. I don’t want to be tired all the time. For this reason, I have selected the low fatigue options wherever possible (long run on grass, no short intervals or sprints). I’ll have 3 non-running days per week. I have a training history of pushing a higher pace than my body can tolerate (because I’ve felt like I have had the fitness to do so) and getting very tired, injured or even sick. My bottleneck has been my ability to recover. Sticking to a tolerable training load is important for endurance athletes - especially recreational ones. The elites are always flirting with injury. They need to do so to perform at the top level. To do that as a recreational runner is foolish - in my opinion. This aspect of endurance training is difficult: ensuring you don’t push too hard for too long too soon! It takes self-control, planning and consistency, plus the discipline to reign in your competitive side.
5. Test performance & practise racing
The time trials will give me a sense of where my fitness is at but, in addition, I’ll do 2-3 Parkrun races prior to my sub-20 attempt. This will provide practice in racing - negotiating around other runners, pacing well, and really emptying the tank in the last K!
What about you?
Are you a recreational runner who wants to run faster over 5K? Without turning yourself into a zombie from too much hard running? Reach out if you need help :)
A Haiku on getting faster as a distance runner
Run a lot of miles
Some faster than your race pace
Rest once in a while
Michael Joyner