Best Way to Improve My 3km Time!

by Einars
(Latvia, Baltezers)

Hello, I need to improve my time on 3 kms in 6 weeks.
At the moment I run 3 km in about 10:30, but what I need is 09:50 I have never trained in running, I just run! :)

I want to know are there any special workouts, how many times in week, how fast and what distances should I run to get 09:50.



And what further training should I do to get an even better result!

Thx!


Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thanks for your running training question.

Considering you have never really trained in running, you do a really good 3k! In addition to that, you have got a reasonable chance of some improvement over te next six weeks. Let's hope that it gets you the 40 seconds you need.

It is very hard to give you more than general advice as I don't know how much you would have been running so far. I.e. if you currently do about 20 miles per week, then suggesting 25 miles per week for the next six weeks would be quite okay. However if you do not really run consistently then telling you to run 25 miles per week could force you to do too much and lead you on a path to likely injuries.

So, general advice it is.
In order to get improvements, I would suggest running a minimum of three times per week, four times would be better. You would want at least one out of three sessions and at least one out of four sessions to be easy runs and long runs that help you build your stamina.

Then there is some faster stuff that you should do to get ready for the speed required in a 3k.
These are predominantly interval runs. I would suggest doing different intervals, i.e. one sessions do something like 8 x 400m intervals, then another session do 4 x 800m or 2-3 x 1 mile etc.

Other good running workouts you can do are tempo runs or fartlek.

Want to do more exercise than three or four running training sessions per week? I would suggest cross-training instead. Gym class, weights, swimming, bike riding, whatever. I would not go from "I just run" to running five times per week. Again, you would risk getting running injuries that way. With that in mind, I would also like you to read my increasing mileage safely-article.

Subscribe to the Best Running
Tips Newsletter and get a
FREE e-book !!

Email First Name Then Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure. I promise to use it only to send you Best Running Tips Newsletter.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck and kind regards,
Dominique