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Reddit mentions of Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon
Sentiment score: 15
Reddit mentions: 27
We found 27 Reddit mentions of Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon. Here are the top ones.
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Human Kinetics
Specs:
Height | 9.86 Inches |
Length | 7.51 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | November 2014 |
Weight | 1.3007273458 Pounds |
Width | 0.61 Inches |
If you are looking for more structured training, I recommend Pfitzinger's Faster Road Racing. It covers all the types of training needed for road races between 5k and half marathon, and provides sample training programs.
You may find it much harder to go from 42 to sub 40 than it was from 49 to 42. The difference is bigger than it seems.
First, congrats on the babies. Double the fun!
Second, it sounds mostly likely that given your times, age, and 40 mpw, you can get below 40:00 for a 10K in 3 months. Mostly. You may need to change up your training a little bit.
You definitely need some VO2 workouts, track repeats. That's probably more important in a 10K training than tempo runs, but you want a healthy mix of both.
The most recommended books around here for generic training plans (which would suit you well I think) are either Faster Road Racing or Daniels Running Formula. You could probably tailor one of those workouts to your time/mileage needs and do very well.
This is all very generic advice though, I second /u/lostintravise's questions. Knowing where the 19:49 and 41:30 times came from, mileage/workouts/how recent, is the biggest indicator. That said, if you weren't following a structured plan, they were recent, and less than the mileage you want to hit, there's pretty good chance you can get to where you need to be.
Long run I would start at maybe 8:45, and then work down to 8:15ish. If you are going to do 1000 repeats, aim for your current 5k pace or maybe 5 seconds a mile faster with 3 minute rests. I would focus more on tempo runs for the summer, so 3 miles at a 7 minute pace, or 2x2 miles with a 2 minute rest in there and a couple mile warm up/cool down at easy pace.
You might check out summer of malmo, it is pretty much designed for someone like you doing summer work. Also check out Daniels Running Formula, and faster road racing. Daniels is where I pulled the training paces from, and faster road racing has base building plans which would help a great deal. You might be able to find them in a library, but I haven't seen them personally.
Second Pfitzinger Faster Road Racing. Personally I think that's the best place to start.
This is a very very basic question and there aren't any real "tips".
Your best bet is to following a training program and see how it treats you. Most people recommend Jack Daniels or Pfitzinger.
Science
Training
> I am not sure if just running 5km each day and slowly getting faster is the best way to go?
This is a common mistake, since it seems like it should work. It won't. Training like this will lead you to plateau very quickly. If you do break 18 using this method, you probably could have gone much faster with smarter training.
Check out Pete Pfitzinger's Faster Road Racing: http://amzn.com/1450470459. Follow the section on building up a base and then choose a 5K training plan based on your goal mileage. Get a heart rate monitor and follow Pete's advice on run pacing. It's a lot of information to digest, but sub-18 is a pretty big ask and requires smart training. Even if you don't break 18, you'll know more about running and racing than most people.
Good luck!
First change is you need more variability both in your pace (easy runs should be A LOT easier), and you should vary your weekly mileage as well. Every 3rd week or so do a week of lower mileage to let your body recover.
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Plug your most recent 5k into this calculator https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/ , and you'll see your correct training paces.
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I'd keep ht monday 5miles with 3 at tempo (your tempo pace is close to where it should be based on your 5k time), but for sure add in some much slower easier runs (perhaps on non-recovery weeks you can do 1 longer (10+ mi) easy run and a few shorter runs instead of a bunch of moderately hard runs in the 5-8 mile range).
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Check out a book like Faster Road Racing (https://www.amazon.com/Faster-Road-Racing-Half-Marathon/dp/1450470459) for programs, or even an online program like Hal Hidgon if you want to do a half marathon with a training plan
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Edit: Words
It's in Pete Pfitzinger's Faster Road Racing. It has a ton of other helpful information, exercises/stretches, and training plans, but if you just want the plan pm me and I can send it to you when I get back to my apartment later tonight. I know there's a pdf of the book floating around somewhere though, I remember finding it but I don't remember where unfortunately.
You might want to invest in a copy of Pfitz's Faster Road Racing, where the lowest volume half marathon plan starts at 30 mpw and a 10 mile long run.
I am no expert, but I have read several different plans now. I think it's fair to say that with ~20 mpw currently, you would likely be happier come race day if you prioritize building up gradually (~+10% mpw) but fairly steadily (recover/consolidate every 4th week) to 35-40 mpw instead of your target 25-30 and spread over 5 days instead of your target 3-4. You can do three quality runs a week at this volume -- a couple of threshold/tempo intervals/runs (might want to base one on hills) and a long run -- with the others be easy/recovery runs. The other runs can incorporate some strides.
A valuable part of a formal training plan is getting the taper right, but you can probably piece this together from internet sources.
It never hurts to add a faster day a week if you feel up to it - and that can be the 4th short run OR the middle section of a longer day - but mostly I meant to simply add more easy mileage. You can look at Higdon as linked above, or even some of the more advanced, structured plans; those though you'd need to work up to consistently running probably 25-30 MPW over 5 days per week before jumping on to them.
For the 5K (and shorter than marathon distance), there's Pfitz's Faster Road Racing.
For the marathon distance, there's his Advanced Marathoning.
https://www.amazon.com/Faster-Road-Racing-Half-Marathon/dp/1450470459
Of course not!
I'm using a bit of a hybrid of a a 5K training plan and a half-marathon training plan from Faster Road Racing (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Faster-Road-Racing-Peter-Pfitzinger-x/dp/1450470459)
Typically six days a week, Monday a rest day. Typically two proper speed work sessions during the week. This week, for example, on Wednesday I did 1,200m, 800m and 800m off 50% interval time recovery, x2. I swapped out today's speed work for actually 'racing'. But yeah, two proper sessions a week (with a longer endurance run at the weekend, although when I move into the more half-marathon focussed stuff there tends to be a couple of longer runs with one of the speed sessions during the week being replaced by a longer run).
I definitely think you can get it or come pretty close. You clearly have some solid natural talent and those lifetime miles always help, even if its been a while. Plus the fact that you haven't put on weight helps too.
I think it depends on what type of training you respond to best, but from reading Daniels and Pfitz books recently, there are sort of the 4 types of training that are important for the 5K. Easy aerobic runs/long runs, tempo(about what you could run for an hour or so), interval/V02 max(3k-5k pace) and repetition/speed(about mile pace or so). I think tempo and V02 are more important than the speed in the 5k so those should be the focus.
For a 5k time of 17:00 you want to be hitting tempo workouts around 5:54. Things like 4-6x1 mile with 1 min rest, 2-3x2 mile with 2 min rest, or a 4 mile tempo run. For the V02 stuff you want to be at around 5:25 mile pace or 2:42 800 pace. Workouts like 8x800 with 2 minutes jog. 6x1000 with 2-3 min jog. 5x1200 with 3 min jog. The shorter faster stuff is around mile pace. so 75 and under for 400 or 37 and under for 200. Workouts like 200 repeats with 200 jog or 400 repeats with 400 jog.
Maybe try to do any two of those workouts each week and a long run and you can get there I think. One week do a tempo workout and speed. Then the next week V02 and tempo. The week after V02 and speed. Try to get all those systems working. I would say try to make sure you can get your long run up to 10-13 miles or so.
These are what you should be running for a 17 min 5K, so its fine that you work into it. If it means slower pace or less reps, cool. These are just some benchmarks that to shoot for as you get closer to the race. Obviously if you can't handle the 2 quality sessions and a long run right now, back off a little and stick to the tempo and V02 stuff once a week and alternate them maybe. You can always do strides after runs or 200s after tempo workouts to keep some turnover going.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a book if you are serious about it so you can understand why you are doing these workouts instead of listening to me on the internet haha.
http://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Running-Formula-3rd-Edition-Jack/dp/1450431836
http://www.amazon.com/Faster-Road-Racing-Half-Marathon/dp/1450470459/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456842179&sr=1-1&keywords=pete+pfitzinger
Good luck. Keep us posted.
Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon https://www.amazon.com/dp/1450470459/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-R6bAbHH6CD30
Since you have the running background and are interested in improvement, I'd recommend picking up a book from one of the better known coaches. Two very well-regarded resources are Pete Pfitzinger's Faster Road Racing or Jack Daniels Running Formula. For more information on different training plans, check out the Summer Series from /r/AdvancedRunning.
Not only will you find training plans for various distances, but you can read about the philosophy behind the training: What is the purpose of each run you do? How do you structure a training plan for optimal performance?
Edit: And now that I see what the bot linked, I HIGHLY recommend reading /u/itsjustzach's Bicentennial Race Report.
A couple options to check out:
They’re in his other book:
https://www.amazon.com/Faster-Road-Racing-Half-Marathon/dp/1450470459/
I'm not an expert on 5K plans, but generally speaking, I like running 5-6 days a week, with 1 workout day, and 1 long run day. The rest are easy runs. For my schedule, I do workouts on Tuesday and long runs on Friday, but you should find what works for your schedule. So you don't want to suddenly increase to 5-6 days, but see about adding one easy day to what you're doing already. Make sure the effort is easy and I'd probably start it shorter than your normal runs. Sustain that for a few weeks and make sure you're doing ok, and if so, then either add another day (if needed), or start adding a little mileage on your easy days.
I saw someone say the other day that there are three key areas to think about when increasing your training...total volume, speed, and number of running days. At most, only increase one of those things each week as you build up. And feel free to hold for an extra week if you don't feel you're ready for another increase.
If you really want to get better answers and structured plans, I'd look into getting this book
Going sub-40 requires interval training and solid weekly mileage. There are no shortcuts or secrets. It will take time. You first have to get sub-44, then sub-43, then sub-42, and so on. Pick up one of the major training guides like Pfitzinger ,
Daniels, or Hudson. You can get any of these used for a few dollars, or new for not much more. While there are endless debates about which plan is best, you're just trying to get under 40:00, not qualify for the Olympics, an any of these will help you do that.
Broadly speaking there are several reasons to choose a plan:
There's a LOT of half plans out there. Hanson obviously has two, Higdon has 7, Pfitzinger has at least one. FIRST has one. And that's just the 'big names'. Every running plan generator and running website will have a plan - most only subtly different from the ones already linked.
Regarding 'easy'. You should be fully in the aerobic zone, able to hold a conversation (I talk to myself occasionally to prove I'm going easy enough).
Your current mileage is fine for individual runs, but most plans will have you training more than 3-4 times a week, be that runs or cross-training. So your first step needs to be:
a) Making sure you have time for that
b) Gradually building in another short run in preparation for a plan.
I'm about to start week 7 of my C25K program and I'm really enjoying it. I'm looking for other programs after I finish this one. I put in a request for my library to buy Faster Road Racing by Pete Pfitizinger. I wanted to check it out before buying a copy. I know they are about $10 but still, unless someone has a copy they don't need anymore...and would like to donate. I've noticed a better feeling in my breathing. Backstory, when I was 13,14, and again at 19, I had a spontaneous pneumothorax. Twice my left side and once on my right. Eventually, I had surgery when I was 19 to adhere my lung to my chest wall to prevent any further collapses. The result however had limited my lung capacity permanently, something I didn't really know was controversial at the time. I saw a very cocky specialist years later that wanted to point that out to me... but I can't really cause them so I've always moved on and done what I could. But lately I've noticed a bit less pain and these weekly runs are improving my lungs.
I'm really hoping I get the book Fast Road Racing for Christmas.
Does he have a buff?
Ich kann Ihnen auch "Faster Road Running" empfehlen. Es tut mir einfach Leid, dass ich nicht weiss, ob es auf Deutsch kommt oder nicht. Es hat mir viel geholfen, Beide beim Theorie und auch mit Praxis. Ihr Englisch ist einfach wunderbar, höffentlich ist mein Deutsch mindesten verstandbar!
ETA: Link - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Faster-Road-Racing-Peter-Pfitzinger/dp/1450470459
alles gut beim Laufen!
Splodge
First of all, congratulations! I'm not sure it's necessary to take an entire week off, but it might be helpful to reduce your mileage and throw in some slow recovery runs for the next week or two.
Depending on what your goals are, it might be helpful to further build up your base level of aerobic fitness by increasing your weekly mileage before you begin training for your next half. I just bought a copy of Faster Road Racing by Pete Pfitzinger, which has a number of great training programs for building up base mileage (as well as for specific race distances).