#project15
Hmm, this is an interesting one and not one I thought I'd seriously consider back when I was running 18.30 Parkruns not too long ago.
A 15.xx for 5k has always had masses of appeal as I think it's really the point where you separate good club runners from ones that are really decent. It's actually not that good a level at all in national terms but as a local athlete if you run a 15 then you'll be expecting to win or top 3 every race nearby.
It's kind of the point where people expect you to win races.
At the moment I'd consider myself a 17-17.30 runner that can go sub 17 on a good day. For the purpose of this I'd like to consider myself a 16-16.30 runner that can go sub 16 on a good day!
From Mcmillan calculator the racing equivalent times are as follows -
5,000m - 15:59 (5:09 per mile) against 16:59 (5:28 per mile)
3,000m - 9:05 (4:52 per mile) against 9:54
1,500m - 4:15 (4:34) against 4:38
800m - 2.04 (4:09) against 2:23
5 miles - 26.30 (5:18 per mile)
10k 33:12 (5:21 per mile)
Half marathon - 1:14:00 (5:39 per mile)
Interestingly I think I have a lot more chance of getting to a 1:14 half than a 2:04 800m !! The shorter paces seem way to quick if I am honest especially at this age! In fact out of all those times the 15:59 looks the softest!
15:59 would also be an 88.26% age grading. I'm currently at 83% - possibly better theoretically as it was over a month since my fastest time this year.
What's very clear is that my current training allows a very broad range of times for not an awful lot of effort. I'm punching above my weight for the effort I put in !
First up, I think tempo runs need to be a huge factor in this. 5km is endurance and running over distance at close pace is always going to build speed AND confidence. You need a set of balls to start a parkrun at close to 5 min miles!
I'd say running 5 miles at 5.30 pace at threshold would practically guarantee me a 15.xx for 5k. That's currently ~30 secs per mile quicker than I go. I'd have to build in to that and not get tempted to go too hard in the last couple of miles. There's a significant difference in threshold and proper tempo HR in my opinion and threshold (like bike sweet spot) give huge returns from an average effort point - i.e. you won't need to run 9/mm the next day because your legs are fucked!
The second factor is exactly that. Being able to recover to put consistent effort in. Doing a session one day then taking 2-3 days to recover to be able to run at a decent pace will stagnate. Consistency is required. that comes from conditioning. And it also adds to conditioning.
This week is the first time I have had that feeling that I can run steady (not hard) after a hard effort. Saturday ran a track 3k. Sunday 10 miles @ 6:56/mm feeling comfortable. Monday Kingston handicap with 3.6 miles @ ~6:10/mm feeling easy (it was mainly downhill!). However recently after a tempo effort I've trudged out a tired 8:40-8:50/mm run.
If I can keep the conditioning high, running at a decent pace means I can build TSS for the same time / effort and also manage pace by effort rather than necessity - because I can't go any harder! I'd say that looking at the guys that run 15s they are running easy paced runs at low 7s high 6s without any fuss. There is a difference between doing that and it actually being true! I am talking about genuinely running 145 bpm pm the HRM at sub 7s the day after a track session not 6:59/mm at threshold just because it looks good on Strava!
The third factor is track sessions. Pushing form the bottom up. To run, and more importantly relax at 5:09/mm you need to be able to run considerably quicker over short stuff. My gut feeling is that people do too much on track and end up doing stuff at 5km pace. I think that's leading into a grey area for me. I could run lots of 3:15 min km reps right now because I've got that speed. I think running 2km reps at 6:30 would kill me though. It sounds the wrong logic but that's buffering pace and that's what the threshold runs are for for.
Training like a 1500m runner at way under 5/mm pace and more importantly being able to relax at that pace is where I am going to make big gains. Off no sessions for 3 months or so this will take time. Sessions like 2 x 4 x 200m, 8 x 400m at 30 secs and 70 secs target will fire up the fast twitch fibres. The key again is relaxing at those paces. The idea is that 5/mm feels comfortable.
It's not a step to far as 5:15 pace felt easy for the first half mile at Parkrun a couple of weeks ago. Holding that pace was another matter !
The key markers for me would be running running 400m reps in 70 secs consistently through a session, in fact the first 3/4 should feel like the hand brake is on.
I've never actually believed a long run is important for a 5k. Being capable of running considerably quicker than goal pace on track and running close enough over long tempos should be an indicator that you are ready.
So is it do-able? Hmm, not sure. Track opens up a huge possibility of injury and fatigue. I think if that builds along nicely and the recovery / conditioning happens at the same rate then it's possible but it does need a whole lot of luck. It'll be interesting to see how close I can get though! Almost all of this will be done solo too, just don't have anyone else committed to run training right now with similar aims!
A 15.xx for 5k has always had masses of appeal as I think it's really the point where you separate good club runners from ones that are really decent. It's actually not that good a level at all in national terms but as a local athlete if you run a 15 then you'll be expecting to win or top 3 every race nearby.
It's kind of the point where people expect you to win races.
At the moment I'd consider myself a 17-17.30 runner that can go sub 17 on a good day. For the purpose of this I'd like to consider myself a 16-16.30 runner that can go sub 16 on a good day!
From Mcmillan calculator the racing equivalent times are as follows -
5,000m - 15:59 (5:09 per mile) against 16:59 (5:28 per mile)
3,000m - 9:05 (4:52 per mile) against 9:54
1,500m - 4:15 (4:34) against 4:38
800m - 2.04 (4:09) against 2:23
5 miles - 26.30 (5:18 per mile)
10k 33:12 (5:21 per mile)
Half marathon - 1:14:00 (5:39 per mile)
Interestingly I think I have a lot more chance of getting to a 1:14 half than a 2:04 800m !! The shorter paces seem way to quick if I am honest especially at this age! In fact out of all those times the 15:59 looks the softest!
15:59 would also be an 88.26% age grading. I'm currently at 83% - possibly better theoretically as it was over a month since my fastest time this year.
What's very clear is that my current training allows a very broad range of times for not an awful lot of effort. I'm punching above my weight for the effort I put in !
First up, I think tempo runs need to be a huge factor in this. 5km is endurance and running over distance at close pace is always going to build speed AND confidence. You need a set of balls to start a parkrun at close to 5 min miles!
I'd say running 5 miles at 5.30 pace at threshold would practically guarantee me a 15.xx for 5k. That's currently ~30 secs per mile quicker than I go. I'd have to build in to that and not get tempted to go too hard in the last couple of miles. There's a significant difference in threshold and proper tempo HR in my opinion and threshold (like bike sweet spot) give huge returns from an average effort point - i.e. you won't need to run 9/mm the next day because your legs are fucked!
The second factor is exactly that. Being able to recover to put consistent effort in. Doing a session one day then taking 2-3 days to recover to be able to run at a decent pace will stagnate. Consistency is required. that comes from conditioning. And it also adds to conditioning.
This week is the first time I have had that feeling that I can run steady (not hard) after a hard effort. Saturday ran a track 3k. Sunday 10 miles @ 6:56/mm feeling comfortable. Monday Kingston handicap with 3.6 miles @ ~6:10/mm feeling easy (it was mainly downhill!). However recently after a tempo effort I've trudged out a tired 8:40-8:50/mm run.
If I can keep the conditioning high, running at a decent pace means I can build TSS for the same time / effort and also manage pace by effort rather than necessity - because I can't go any harder! I'd say that looking at the guys that run 15s they are running easy paced runs at low 7s high 6s without any fuss. There is a difference between doing that and it actually being true! I am talking about genuinely running 145 bpm pm the HRM at sub 7s the day after a track session not 6:59/mm at threshold just because it looks good on Strava!
The third factor is track sessions. Pushing form the bottom up. To run, and more importantly relax at 5:09/mm you need to be able to run considerably quicker over short stuff. My gut feeling is that people do too much on track and end up doing stuff at 5km pace. I think that's leading into a grey area for me. I could run lots of 3:15 min km reps right now because I've got that speed. I think running 2km reps at 6:30 would kill me though. It sounds the wrong logic but that's buffering pace and that's what the threshold runs are for for.
Training like a 1500m runner at way under 5/mm pace and more importantly being able to relax at that pace is where I am going to make big gains. Off no sessions for 3 months or so this will take time. Sessions like 2 x 4 x 200m, 8 x 400m at 30 secs and 70 secs target will fire up the fast twitch fibres. The key again is relaxing at those paces. The idea is that 5/mm feels comfortable.
It's not a step to far as 5:15 pace felt easy for the first half mile at Parkrun a couple of weeks ago. Holding that pace was another matter !
The key markers for me would be running running 400m reps in 70 secs consistently through a session, in fact the first 3/4 should feel like the hand brake is on.
I've never actually believed a long run is important for a 5k. Being capable of running considerably quicker than goal pace on track and running close enough over long tempos should be an indicator that you are ready.
So is it do-able? Hmm, not sure. Track opens up a huge possibility of injury and fatigue. I think if that builds along nicely and the recovery / conditioning happens at the same rate then it's possible but it does need a whole lot of luck. It'll be interesting to see how close I can get though! Almost all of this will be done solo too, just don't have anyone else committed to run training right now with similar aims!
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