Quote:
Originally Posted by rodeo
unguarded, i've lost 27 lbs., (only 5 more to go), and have gotten my 5k time down to 26 minutes. any training suggestions to quicken up my time a bit? i know i can find stuff on the internet, but i was just curious if anything has worked particularly well for you.
Jesus... I remember you being slim. You must have a lower BMI than the African runners by now, lol. My best advice is to take a balanced approach to running and fitness. Adult runners tend to just log lots of miles without much stretching, weights, drills, faster stuff, etc. I used to do this... running big miles got me results in the short term, but I lost tons of my strength and flexibility and ended up injured non-stop. My basic training structure, though I do vary it based on season/goals.
Mon: Track workout, something like 8 x 400 w/ 2 mins rest, 4-5 x 800 w/ 2-3 mins rest, 2-3 x mile w/ 4-5 mins rest w/ warmup, cooldown, strides
Tue: 4 miles easy, leg weights
Wed: 4-6 miles easy, strides
Thu: 4 miles easy, arm weights
Fri: 4 miles tempo run
Sat: 6-10 miles easy
Sun: off
Stretch daily, sometimes do some other stuff too.
My best advice for improving your times right now is to run negative splits in races... run the second half faster than the first half. Young runners and newish runners almost always go out way too fast. This absolutely ruins your race. If you have this bad habit, fixing it can do wonders. Stay calm the first half of the race, then really push the second half and finish really hard. With all of the adrenaline on race day, this is hard to do. But it makes a massive difference. It is especially easy to run the first 100 yards and the first half mile of a 5k way too fast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by efficacy
lol.
I'm considering giving up the really long distance stuff for a year and trying to get fast again. I have a pretty good setup here, getting to train all summer / fall with XC kids that can smoke the **** out of me. There is a local race series too with 5k-13.1mi races that I'm considering doing.
Hopefully I can get a lot faster over the year then go back to longer trail races in 2016 and be more competitive.
Sick "high school kids are willing to hang out with me" brag! With all your mileage you have put in for ultras, I bet you could kill some 5ks if you just train like a miler for a couple months.
I have been sorta dicking around since my little track season ended. I am about the same speed I was a few months ago due to halfassing things. Also, races are at the absolute dumbest times. 8 AM on a Saturday? I basically have to stay up all night and go to bed at 10 AM which ****s up my sleep for a long time. track meets work better since they are in the evenings, but not many track meets for non-elite adults.