10K Road/Track Race - 35:00-40:00 - Written by Joan Hunter
Plan Length: 4 Weeks
This training plan is for runners who have been consistently training 6-7 days a week for the last several months, and who are currently running at least 35 miles a week.
Some useful terminology:
Easy run pace- About 2:00-2:30 slower per mile than your 10K race pace. You should easily be able to carry on a conversation at this pace.
Recovery run pace- About 2:30-3:00 slower per mile than your 10K pace
Tempo pace- About 30-50 seconds slower than your 10K race pace. You should be able to speak a few sentences at this pace, but you would not want to have a long conversation.
Threshold pace- About 10-25 seconds slower than your 10K race pace. You should be able to speak a sentence or two at this pace, but not much more.
Critical Velocity (CV) pace- About 10K race pace, plus or minus 3-5 seconds.
Here are your reference paces to determine your training paces for the workouts in the plan:
10K pace per mile:
35:00: 5:37
36:00: 5:47
37:00: 5:57
38:00: 6:06
39:00: 6:16
40:00: 6:26
Sample Week of Training
Below is a week of training from this plan which represents the type of workouts you will be doing.
Run - 8x 20 second pickups
Easy run 25 minutes, then do 8x 20 second pickups at about 5K race effort or slightly faster effort. Easy run 40 seconds in between each rep. Reps should not be so fast that you have to jog in between- you should just drop back to easy conversational pace for the 40 seconds. After you finish the pickups, easy run until you get to 50 minutes.
Planned: 50:00
Run - Plus hills
Today will be a 4-5 mile tempo run. Keep the total time spent at tempo pace between 26 and 30 minutes, so depending on your pace, some will runner farther than others.
Easy run 10 mins, then do 3 mins at an up-tempo effort- fast enough that your breathing picks up a bit, but not super fast. Then, easy jog 2 minutes. Next, run 4 miles at easy tempo pace: For a 40:00 10K runner, this should be about 7:00-7:20 pace per mile, and just go 4 miles. For a 37:30 10K runner, 6:35-6:55 pace. For a 35:00 10K runner, 6:10-6:30 pace is about right.
After the tempo portion, easy jog 2-3 minutes to a hill. Do 4x 30second hill reps at a stronger effort, about 3K race effort. Easy jog down the hill for recovery. After the hill reps, easy run until you get to 65 minutes. total for the day. This should be about 10 to 15 minutes of easy running, depending on how many minutes you tempo ran.
Planned: 1:05:00
Run - 35-55 mins, depending
Easy recovery run. This can be very easy pace, especially if you are sore or fatigued after yesterday's workout. Total run time should be 35-55 minutes, depending on what kind of mileage you started this training program at. If you were only running 35 miles a week, you need to keep your easy runs on the shorter side.
Planned: 35:00
Run - Easy/steady run
Easy/steady 35 to 55 minutes. Lower mileage runners should keep this run at 35 minutes. If you are fatigued or sore, keep the pace very easy. If you feel fine, feel free to run faster, but make sure it's still a conversational pace.
Planned: 35:00
Run - 10x 2 minutes
Easy run 15 minutes, then do 10 x 2 minute pickups at 10K pace/effort. Easy run 1 minute in between each pickup. The easy portions should not need to be a jog, just easy pace. After you finish the pickups, easy run 10-20 mins. If you started the program at 35 miles a week, only 10 mins of running. If you were already running 40-45 miles per week, you can go up to 20 minutes.
Planned: 55:00
Rest Day - Or easy run
If you normally take a day off each week, today is the day! If you normally run 7 days a week, easy run 35-50 minutes, depending on your mileage goals for the week.
Run - Long run + strides
Easy long run, about 20-25% of your weekly mileage for the week, and at least 55 minutes for this run if you have not been doing a long run each week. Most of you should be able to do 65 minutes or so if you have been running 35 miles a week prior to starting this plan. If you have been doing a long run already, up to 90 minutes, then keep your long run at that same time or distance, and adjust the runs during the week to avoid a big mileage leap over what you have been doing.
After the run, do 4x 20 second strides at approximately 2 mile/5K race effort. Just what I call "feel good pace". You may jog 40 seconds in between or do a standing rest- your choice.
Planned: 1:05:00
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