Re: advice on 5K in 2 weeks. can do 27.5 minutes now, how fast can I get by then?

[Guest guest]

Theresa,

Welcome to the group! I have nothing to add to your advice (prolly

because I am not an experienced runner) but I just wanted to comment

on your post.... Wow! Great info!!! Very detailed explanation,

I could totally see what you were describing. Filing this away for

future reference too - I am just starting back to running again and

plan to run some 5Ks in the fall (and may drag a certain other BFLer

who lives near me for the ride - don't run and hide , LOL).

I bet your were a great coach, and it sounds like you miss it. Once

again, welcome and thanks for such an informative post.

Jen B.

C7W5D1

" No excuses! "

>

> PS. I forgot to mention that the 5K is very mental. If you can

visualize yourself running 25 minutes you will most likely hit it or

come close or even beat the clock. Race yourself and if it helps

know where you should be at each mile and if you are behind schedule

don't freak, just pick up the pace in the last mile when you have

nothing to lose.

[Guest guest]

I think you have an opportunity to improve your time, even in 2

weeks! I ran a 5K last year 2 weeks after I had began BFL and had a

much better time than the previous year.

Your leg workouts are very important so keep doing those. Just don't

do too much the day before a race. I highly recommend sprints where

you run a level 9 or 10 for 30 seconds and jog for 30 seconds. I've

been doing those for several weeks and could really tell a difference

with the race I ran on Saturday. The 5K seemed like nothing although

my time could have been much better. I ran a 19:58 and finished

first in my age category. Hugh ran a 23:00 and finished first in his

age category as well. It was raining so running conditions weren't

that great.

Hills are good to practice on especially if there will be some in the

race. Make sure you lean into the hill when going up and kind of let

yourself go with the momentum going down.

Honestly, I don't do anymore than 2 days per week of of 20 HIIT and I

do 1 day of sprints for 20 minutes. My 5K time is less than 20

minutes so you may need to do 30 minutes to get ready.

Have a good stride, but don't overdo it. Keep it natural.

Andyman

> I ran as fast as I could the other day to see just how fast I can

do

> a 5K.3.1 mile race. I did it in exactly 27 1/2 minutes. I am

> wondering how much can I improve over the next 2 weeks. I ran this

> race 4 yrs ago and completed in exactly 25 minutes. think I will

do

> this again? Or can I beat it? I am practicing on hills. Steep

> hills some of them. there are some hills in the race too. I just

> want to do good. I have been doing speed training 1-2 times a

weeks

> following the 20 min aerobic plan. Should I aim for 30 minutes now

of

> speed. Also I was told to increase my stride. Help me out please!!

[Guest guest]

I guess I don't really consider 5K to be distance running. What is

the official classification?

Jogging slow for an extended period of time never did anything to

improve my 5K. In fact, my 5K time steadily increased for 6 years.

When I started training BFL, I have had 5K times better than when I

was in track in high school.

My previous 5K best was about 21:30 and since BFL, I have ran 18:50.

I am doubting that training for distance would help me. What do you

think? I've done it before and it didn't work. 20 minutes per day

saves time and it seems to be working. The weight training I think

helps too. I don't seem to benefit from " endurance " training. I am

running a 5K so that seems to be a good way to train. My 20 minutes

HIIT is about 5k.

I know my times aren't faster because I weigh less since I used to be

even lighter with less muscle and my time and was slower.

Andyman

> I don't want to tell you to run more or less, the BFL program isn't

really designed to help long distance runners because I heard you can

either have more muscle or longer endurance, they involve two

different types of muscles(fast twitch versus slow