Just a case of chasing pace !!

[Fit4life]

Hi guys !! Am on the cusp of starting interval training for 5K , so any advice/ training plans for this distance, will be appreciated !! I am at present running a gentle jog of a 10K once a week , a 5K tempo run ,at 85% effort,again once per week ,and I now am looking to replace what at the moment is just an easy run 5K ,with speed work.As our running is done on the public footpaths we have no way of measuring the short distances that may be involved for sprints etc , so would appreciate if any advice could include 'times' ie 30 seconds etc regarding sprints or recovery jogs , thanks in advance guys !!

[RunBrianRun Graduate10]

Have you looked at fartlek? That gets good press. I hate it because I always bottle it before it gets too hard. I prefer staged intervals and I use my watch to monitor my heart rate, trying to get it into zone 5 during the interval and then resting till it drops below 120 no matter how long that takes.

[Couchpotato2]

Hi, I enjoyed the NRC fartlek podcast and they have a few interval ones, then you can get told when to run faster, slower etc. You could also run on hills as that makes a big difference.

I will wait for more experienced people to comment but my instinct is that you have the 10k (long), tempo (fast) and the other run should be easy. I would suggest swapping tempo for intervals/fartleks on alternating weeks and keeping an easy shorter run.

[Couchpotato2 in reply to Couchpotato2]

by the way I just noticed your graduate 10!!! WOOHOO

[Fit4life Graduate10 in reply to Couchpotato2]

Thank you CP2 !! Yes, we feel like part of the team here on B210K and are learning all the time . To reach 10K and graduate ,well before our B,ham charity run , is so encouraging for us as we know barring injury , we have this ,and have it good - the guys on the forum are so helpful too !! Training for a sub 30 5K and being some 3 minutes off it at present ,the advice you have offered me makes sense .Until ,as a consequence of my current schedule, my times per kilometre come down 'naturally', and I get within striking distance of my goal and adjust my training with a new Pb in mind ,I,ll go with your advice !!

[Couchpotato2 in reply to Fit4life]

that's so cool, you really sped through your 10km training. I'm now running 7km but I would say it's comfy up to including 6km but I'll just try and do a few more 7km before I move on. I'm also thinking I'd like to reduce my 5km time but that will probably happen by running longer distances... Keep running, you are both doing great!

[UpTheStanley Graduate10]

You might try something like:

1..... 5 mins warm-up jog

2..... 5 * 30 secs jog, 20 secs run (normal 5k pace), 10 secs sprint (eyeballs out)

3..... 5 mins jog, maybe winding up back towards run

4..... 5 * 30 : 20 : 10 again

5..... 5 mins warm down, or run to make up a total distance (I did this sometimes on the short runs of the magic plan)

Maybe only 3 or 4 reps in each set initially.

I used my watch to time 30 and 20 secs, and found 10 secs was about the longest I could maintain a sprint.

The first few seconds of the 30 following a 10 were usually more of a stagger than a jog.

There are apps that will cue you to jog, run and sprint at the right moments. Dexy5 uses one sometimes and can probably give you a link - I've tagged her so she'll see this and respond (I hope)

[tony_a Graduate10 in reply to UpTheStanley]

This is pretty much what I do for intervals on the rare occasion I force myself to do them - this morning was one of those rare occasions. I do three sets of five with 2 mins between each set, but I think your recommendation of five mins between is a good one as two mins never feels enough. Ten seconds is definitely enough for the sprint though 🤣

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

Hello Fit4life, if you have an iPhone, there is an app called JogRunSprint which I use for intervals. Beachcomber66 used it recently for the first time too.

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10 in reply to Dexy5]

Yes Tony. It is a really simple app . No knobs and whistles, just tells you when to jog then run then sprint...works for me.

[Fit4life Graduate10]

Thank you all so much for your help and advice , will take it all on board and implement in to my training schedule, where and when appropriate .