Increasing My Speed for 10k Races

by Kelly
(Georgia)

I love to run and have recently gotten involved in races in the past 3 years: such as 10k races (usually) and just completed my first half marathon in 1 hr 45 min.

As I continue these 10k races, I am now getting competitive about it and jealous at the top dawgs finishing so fast!




My fastest 10k was 45:46.
I want to run a 10k in under 42 min. Thus far i have simply loved running and don't know the ins & outs and lingo asscoiated with racing and such. So I have no clue how to work on my speed to get to this pace.

Any tips or advice on how to accomplish this?

My current run schedule: I run 70-80 miles per week (roughly 10-15 miles per day) at a moderate pace of about 6-7 mph. My 10k races range 45:46 - 49:48 min.

Thanks for your help!

Kelly


Answer by Dominique:


Hi Kelly,

Thanks for your question and thanks for adding the detail. That makes answering the question so much easier.

I will answer your questions by referring to some pages in the running training area of my website.
You will need to get familiar with some of the running lingo in order to understand what to do.

The mileage you do per week and each day is great . Not much I can help there. I can however advise you to:

Vary the speed and the distance per day

Get acquainted with the concepts of tempo running and interval running.

Follow a structured running program

Learn more about the concept of periodization.

A great running training book which helps you both in understanding why you need to vary your speeds and in building your own tailored running program is Daniel's Running Formula. I can absolutely advise you to get that running training book as it will help you break personal record after personal record.

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.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Dominique