Back Pounding the Streets Again

Started running again in October. First time since I was 25. Now 43 so it's been quite a while.
Been steadily improving so decided to up my mileage this week. So here's my breakdown.

Sat 4 miles 26.45
Sun Off
Mon 6.5 miles 43.36
Tue 11.2 miles 82.41
Wed 4.5 untimed easy run
Thu Off
Fri 6.5 44.10

Total 32.7 miles

Feel fine after the runs & have noticed my recovery has improved.

Goal at this time is to do a 10k under 40 minutes which i feel is achievable if I can maintain my current mileage.
Any feedback, tips, training schedules is much appreciated.

Personal best (PB) in my 20s were:
10k 35.40
H/Marathon 77 or 78 mins can't remember.

My real question is am I on the right track to break the 40 min 10k again?

– Gary C, Stenhousemuir Scotland

Answer by Dom: Hi Gary,
Thanks for your running training question.
It sounds like you are getting back into the swing of things again! You are on the right track, and a 40-minute 10k is realistic — but how far along you are hinges on the pace of your Tuesday run. Your biggest risk is not your lungs. It is your tendons and bones catching up with your fitness.

1. What your Tuesday 11.2 miles really tells me
2. Reading your week and building up sensibly
3. The paces behind a 40-minute 10k
4. Testing your progress with a 5k every 4–6 weeks
5. A 12–16 week build to 40 minutes

What your Tuesday 11.2 miles really tells me

10k in 40 minutes definitely sounds doable for you given your fast times in the past, although it is not easy to assess how far you are from getting there.

When looking at your distances and times I wondered what the pace was you used for your 11.2 miles in 82.41 minutes? I make that about 7:23/mile (4:35/km). If it was an all-out effort then my race conversion calculator suggests that you would run a 10k in 44.15 minutes. That's not completely there yet, but after only one-two months back into the running game it is very good.

However if that was an easy run, then you'd be well, well on your way to break 40 minutes (meaning it would surprise me if you would not be able to do it now). So here is the test. Could you chat in full sentences the whole way round? Did you finish feeling you had more in the tank? If so, great. If you were gasping by mile eight, treat 44:15 as your honest starting point.

Either answer is fine. You are one to two months in, and you finished the week feeling good.

Reading your week and building up sensibly

Your week is well shaped. You have one long run, two full rest days and an untimed easy run on Wednesday. Your recovery improving tells me your body is coping at the moment. Tuesday is 11.2 of your 32.7 miles though — over a third of the week in one run.

18 years is a long time since you stopped running. So my first advice would definitely be to not rush into it too fast and increase your mileage safely. You are not 25 anymore! Keep healthy, first and foremost.

Here is what I'd do. Hold around 32 miles for the next two or three weeks. Keep Tuesday's long run easy — no pushing. Then take a consolidation week (a lighter week where you cut your mileage by about a fifth, to roughly 26 miles, so your body can absorb the work). Repeat that pattern: three steady weeks, one lighter week. When you do add mileage, stick to roughly 10% at a time.

Your heart and lungs adapt in weeks. Your tendons and bones take months. A niggle in your Achilles, shins or knees is your cue to ease off — listen to your body, because it will tell you early.

The paces behind a 40-minute 10k

I worked that out by using Daniels' Running Formula.
He uses two sets of tables to link race times with running training pace.

A 40 minute 10k is 4:00/km (6:26/mile) in the race itself, and it is linked to:

• easy pace of 4:58/km (7:59/mile)
• tempo pace of 4:07/km (6:38/mile)
• interval pace of 3:48/km (for this pace Daniels suggests that running as far as a mile is not beneficial as it would breach the 5 minute barrier for running intervals).

Now, one warning when looking at these training times. Do not immediately attempt to make your easy pace 4:58/km if it is currently 5:30/km (for example). That would lead to a higher risk of injuries. It is something to gradually work towards. As you run consistently, increase your mileage gradually and follow a sound running program you will start running faster naturally (Daniels can help you with that as well. The back of the book is full of running training templates).

You may find that, because you haven't been running for a long time in your "second life", that you will quite quickly start going faster.

Testing your progress with a 5k every 4–6 weeks

Guessing from one long run only gets you so far. I'd rather you measure it. A 5k time trial is a solo, all-out 5k on a flat route — a mini race with no crowd. Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running first, and do it after an easy week so your legs are fresh.

Run your first one in about four weeks, then repeat every 4–6 weeks. Put the time into the calculator and see what 10k it predicts. Your 44:15 is the number to beat. For a 40-minute 10k you are looking for a 5k of roughly 19:15 — so you'll see progress long before you hit the target.

Keep the time trials to every 4–6 weeks, no more. They are hard on the body, and your easy weeks are doing the real work.

A 12–16 week build to 40 minutes

Do lots of easy running to build up your base, stay away from running injuries and I'd say that over time you will be able to break 40 minutes again. Here is how I'd shape it.

Weeks 1–4: easy running only, at 32–35 miles, with week four as a consolidation week. No quality sessions yet. This is base building.

Weeks 5–10: swap Friday's 6.5 miles for ONE quality session a week. Start with a threshold effort — comfortably hard, where you can speak only a few words. Warm up, run 2 x 10 minutes at about 4:07/km with a two-minute jog between, and cool down. Build to 3 x 10 minutes. Everything else stays easy.

Weeks 11–14: change the quality session to intervals — for example 5 x 800 metres at 3:48/km with a jog of the same time between. Take a consolidation week after every third week.

Weeks 15–16: trim the mileage by a quarter, keep a few short sharp efforts at race pace (4:00/km) and run your 10k. If your time trials are tracking well, you may be ready by week 12. If not, take the extra weeks. Rushing costs you far more than waiting.

Best of luck with that. I hope you'll make it. More than that, I hope you re-discover the joy of running and keep on running for the rest of your life!

Kind regards,
Dom

Some Other Pages You May Like