In article <[email hidden]>,
(Chris Hansen) said:Hello,
Does anyone have advice for improving my time in the 5K?
I'm kind of a running novice. I ran my first 5K last year
(didn't come in last but I was near the end)and am trying
to get in shape for another one in June. I've been running
mostly short distances of about 15 minutes. Lately I've
been doing a longer run once a week working up to 40
minutes nice and slow on a flat, paved trail. I don't have
a convenient way to meaure distance so I've been going for
time. Today I did my first run of a known 5k distance at a
local park on unpaved trails and completed it in 36.5
minutes. I'm also training for a couple of biking events
so I'd like to work the running around that.
Thanks.
i'd say start out by ramping up those 15 minute runs so
that they are more like a half hour, closer to your
current 5K time. don't run them all at "race pace", but
just get the body more used to doing that distance. at
this point, you are covering the distance just once a
week. nothing wrong with that, but if you want to see some
improvement in your next race, then try that. keep that
longer run, and even build that up to maybe close to an
hour, if you have the time.
nothing wrong with running for time rather than distance.
maybe just now and then test yourself (as you did) to check
your progress. i find that cycling and running in one's life
will soon lead to either a duathlon or if you are also a
swimmer... to triathlon. that did it for me!
if you are running 3 or more days a week, then make one of
those runs a bit faster than the others. start out easy,
build up the tempo, and maintain what feels like fast but
sustainable (without killing you) until the end.
best of luck and have fun with it,
Cam
