The Need for Speed
One of my new short term goals is to incorporate some speed work into my training, with a view to quickening my pace in general. With Corporate Cup starting in Adelaide in August, I thought this would be a good way to measure my progress and also add some shorter/faster workouts into my training routine.
Once we entered our office team, we discussed our goal times for this year. Last year my best time for 4.5km was 23m02s, and I wasn't in my best form, so I am fairly confident I can knock that over. I ended up deciding that sub-20min sounds like a pretty good goal to aim for. (I also want to beat the guys in our office, and this might be the even bigger motivator!)
I got home and started scouting the internet for advice on training for a sub-20min PB (for 5km) and found an abundance of useful (and some not so useful) advice. What I was looking for was a speed training program that would not compromise the training I am doing to get ready for a 32km uphill race in five weeks. I will be building up my mileage and doing hill specific training at least once a week so don't want to cut back on these, but on the other hand, I don't want to risk injury by trying to fit in too much too soon. I also wanted workouts that I would look forward to doing (in the past I've tried to add in speed sessions, but found them a bit boring/repetitive on my own).
Based on my goal time of 19m55s for 4.5km, I need to be running 4m25s/km or speed of 13.5km/hr (thanks CoolRunning Pace Calculator). To give you an idea of what that means for me, I haven't seen an average pace faster than 5min/km (ever!) recorded on my Garmin, so I have my work cut out for me!
Taking different approaches and workouts from several online sources, I have come up with the following which actually does excite me:
(Interval sessions modified 9/08/2010)
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Notes |
|
Intervals: 4x 700m (4:00-4:30/km pace) Cycle |
Easy run (mid length) |
- Strength Training - Corporate Cup |
Easy run |
- Strength Training - Short Pace run |
Long Hill run | Rest | |
|
Intervals: 4x 1km (4:00-4:30/km pace) Cycle |
Easy run (mid length) |
- Strength Training - Fartlek run |
- Strength Training - Short Pace run |
Long Hill run | Rest | (low mileage running week) | |
|
Intervals: 5x1km (4:00-4:20/km pace) Cycle |
Easy run (mid length) |
- Strength Training - Corporate Cup |
Hill Sprints |
- Strength Training - Short Pace run |
Long Hill run | Rest | |
|
Intervals: 4x 5min @ 4:00-4:20/km pace) Cycle |
Easy run (mid length) |
- Strength Training - Tempo run |
Hill Sprints |
- Strength Training - Short Pace run |
Long Hill run | Rest | (start to taper for event) |
|
Intervals: 5x 1km on 4:30 Cycle |
Easy run (mid length) |
- Corporate Cup | Easy run | Sea to Summit 32km |
...
Following this five week block, I have about three more weeks in which to try get my 4.5km Corporate Cup PB.
At this point I'd like to reiterate, that I am not an expert on this, and it's the first time I've really incorporated speed workouts into my training. If you have any feedback or advice on this please leave a comment on the bottom of this article - I'd love to hear what other people have found works for them.
Related Articles: The First Speed Session
