My Run Time for 5k

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barry78

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hi guys

Yesterday i clocked 34 mins 34 seconds for my 5K race. I must admit that this is so far my best. What are your timings. I dont have any particular strategy to run 5k. i just mix running and speed walking.

I am 30 years old and a smoker for a decade. I run indoors in treadmill. Been running very short distances (2 kms) for around 2-3 months. Started running 5k for the last two weeks.

any suggestions will be appreciated. wotz ur take on my 5k timings...what should i do to run it in sub 30 mins.

Btb i run coz it really feels good...and to loose weight too...is running 5k 6 times a week a good idea ? should i increase my distance ?
Regards

Barry
 
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well stop smoking if you haven't already. you'll never break 30 if your lungs can't keep up. plus having the built up CO in your blood doesn't help your body run efficiently either.

after that just try running longer with less walking and running faster as well.
 
First, congratulations for setting a personal best. That is the only important time that you should be concerned with. FYI, the world record is 13+ minutes.

Second, suggestions? What Spatak said: quit smoking and keep at it!

A 30 yo who has been at it a while should be able to get down to 25 minutes and you will too if you quit smoking and stay with it.
 
my personal best 5K time was 20:18 and I was still smoking.

SMOKE until you die that's what I say!

Of course I hated smoking, and once I realized I was still smoking when I didn't want to, I had to stop. It took many attempts, but on Nov 11th I will have 2 years smoke free.
 
That's really good if you ran the whole time.

I did it in 26:33 last 5K run on ground.

The 5k run-swim-run took me an hour to do. lol.

Best advice is to just run it over and over again and you'll get better by experience.
 
I just ran a 5K race this past weekend and ran it in 23 min. flat. I am 38 years old. Yes, quit smoking for sure!! Keep running and incooperate speed work if you want to improve your time. Go to a track and run fast 100 meter sprints with recovery period in between.. repeat that workout for at least 20 minutes and aim for 30 minutes. Runn 100 meters and walk to recover. Its pretty straight forward and will improve your time. Best wishes
 
Have you competed in a 5K race yet? I did my 1st one this summer in 31.04. It was a great motivator to keep running and to run faster so I wasn't last!
 
I haven't run a 5k in AGES. My best is probably somewhere around a 20:20 or so, but if I ran one now, I'm pretty sure I would come in well under 20.

Anyway, great to see that you're progressing! Here's a few pointers to get even better:

-Quit smoking (ok that's obvious). Yes, there are people who run pretty fast even though they smoke, but truth be told, they're probably be even faster if they stopped.
-Loose some weight. I don't know your height/weight, but chances are if you lost a few pounds, you'd get faster. It's generally believed that unless you're underweight, loosing 1pd of weight will take off about 2secs/mile. You can do this by making some dietary changes, and a moderate amount of weight lifting can help here too.
-Get off the the treadmill. More then likely, your race is on a road, not on the treadmill. There are significant differences between the two. If you train on the road, you'll race better on it.
-Mix up your runs. I've got another post where I've gotten into hills, speed work, fartleks, etc. You may want to read that. Point is, running the same distance at the same speed everyday is not going to be a great stimulus for change in your body. Run longer then 5k 1-2 times a week, and faster then you've been running 1-2 times a week as well. Keep at least 1 5k weekly run.
-Speedwork. Train fast to race fast. Every week or two, do 400m repeats at the track, close to your 5k race pace, with 400m rest. Start w/ 4 work/rest sets, and build up to 8-10. You may want to change directions (clockwise vs counterclockwise) to avoid overuse injuries on one side of the body.
 
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Hi,

I have been averaging 28 - 29 mins for 5k. I have been very happy with that. However if anyone wants to give me some tips on how to increase it would love to hear.
 
I run them around 22-23mins. As for suggestions, stay at it, but make sure you give your body some rest in between runs. I never run more than 2 days in a row, after the second day, my pace and stamina are hurting significantly. Also, i take a few days off before a longer runs, 5+ miles.

Make sure you stay hydrated and stay away from carbonated beverages before runs. I made the mistake of drinking a Monster energy drink before a 5k last fall and it was my worst 5k time. Not only did the caffeine dehydrate me quicker, I was cramping by the second mile.
 
03gt said:
I run them around 22-23mins. As for suggestions, stay at it, but make sure you give your body some rest in between runs. I never run more than 2 days in a row, after the second day, my pace and stamina are hurting significantly. Also, i take a few days off before a longer runs, 5+ miles.

Make sure you stay hydrated and stay away from carbonated beverages before runs. I made the mistake of drinking a Monster energy drink before a 5k last fall and it was my worst 5k time. Not only did the caffeine dehydrate me quicker, I was cramping by the second mile.
Click to expand...

It was the carbonation in your digestive tract causing the cramping...not dehydration.
 
5k is 3.1 miles right? Pretty sure my best time for that was 18:45, in the FCIAC championships back in 2001 (I was a freshman in highschool). It's the only one that comes up when I google myself or I'd never remember that haha. If I tried it now.... not so much. :D
 
To the OP:

The best method for getting faster I have found is this:

- 1 speed workout per week
- 1 long run per week
- 1 target distance run per week
- 1 leg weight workout per week
- 1 random cardio workout per week (stairs, elliptical, etc.)
- Daily grams/protein intake equal to your body weight

By "speed workout" I mean doing sprints. I started doing 10 sprints at 50 meters before my legs were fried. Now I do 15x100m sprints every Sunday morning, and am pushing myself with a stopwatch on them. This develops your fast twitch muscles, strengthens your legs, and produces greater overall velocity when you run.

By "long run" I mean add an additional 50% to 100% distance to your racing distance, and pace yourself about a minute slower per mile. This is to develop your overall endurance. For example, when you are training for a 5k, run 4.5 miles for your weekly long run. As start to feel your endurance increase, increase your long run distance.

By "target distance run" I mean run your 5k and time yourself. This is practice, so every week try different strategies of pacing. I have found that running the first two miles about 30 seconds slower than the last mile on a 5k will give me a greater kick at the end of the race.

Leg weight workouts are pretty cut and tried. Identify your major muscles and kill them in the weight room!!! Calfs, hamstrings, quads, and gluteals are the primary vicitms.

Also, it is key to get enough protein in your diet. I supplement with whey and eat lean meats. I weigh 200 lbs. so I make sure every day I get 200 grams of protein. I also use L-glutamine, but that's sort of lacking the lab data to back it's necessity. There is way too much accredited info out there that supports the benefits of protein for any athlete to not focus on it.

This is the method I have used to take my 5k time from over 30 minutes to down under 24 minutes. I have achieved this 6 minute gain in the last 4 months. Before that I could barely even finish the 5k, so I suppose this will get my greater gains over the coming year or so.

Oh, and STOP SMOKING!!! It's a filthy habit for a plethora of reasons.
 
Hey I just did my first 5k and my chip time was 23:18.5. This is better than what i was training for around 27 mins. I was running every other day after doing a resistance training circuit. Sometimes I did hills on the treadmill, or just straight runs at around 6.5 mph for 30 mins straight, or run outside on my 5.6km route which i could complete in under 30 min. This is about 2.5 months of training and I quit smoking at the same time. Of course I have ran in the past (not in races) but just for exercise on the treadmill.
 
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