How to Improve My 10k Running Time?

by José
(Portugal)

I want to improve my 10k running time. Recently I did a training run in my "tempo run" zone and ended up doing 10k in 1h04'.

I read your 10k program, but in your opinion, is it still necessary to go through those weeks, taking in consideration that I can already run the distance?

How can I improve my pace thus reducing the time to run 10k?

Right now, I'm a "beginning runner", and let me introduce to you as I already know something about yourself :).

By the way, your website is amazing. The quality of the information is awesome.

I'm from Portugal, and live near Oporto, in the north part of this country. I use the sidewalk along the beach as my "gym", and have always the Atlantic Ocean as an "eye witness" :).

I began to run, because I wanted to lose some weight, and began to have some motivation with an app on my phone.
The landscape is also very beautiful, although in the winter, rain and wind is waiting for me.

I'm contacting you, because of some doubts I have.

Right now, I have 20 runs and a total of 90km in a average pace of 6'44"/km.

I began to run using a program that got you to run 30 minutes in 7 weeks. I didn't fully need 7 weeks to run 30 minutes.

Last week, I arrived at your website, and I read about how to use the heart rate monitor, as a guide to do your workout.
I'm 34 years old, and I borrowed a heart rate monitor from a friend, just to try it.
I run 30 minutes as usual, and I discovered that I was running between 171 and 180 bpm.

Next run, I tried to run 30 minutes at my tempo run maximum of 162bpm.
I ran 20 minutes and felt very good.
Then 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes and finaly ran 10km, in 1h04'.

My pace was 6'40"/km for the 7km, and in the final 3km, I ran at 5'40"/km (my normal pace to 5km).

My average pace was 6'26"/km, about 60 seconds above the pace I usually have for 5km.

I was amazed how I did it. I was feeling really good, I was smiling when I was achiving the 10km mark.
So, my question now is, given this situation, how can I improve my running.

Can you give me any advice?

Thanks for the helpful advice you have on your website.

Cheers,
José

Answer by Dominique:
Hi Jose,

Thanks for your question. I am happy you find my site useful. Well done on your progress to date. From nowhere you have been able to build up to your first 10k run. And I recognise that feeling of getting to the end of a run, doing something you are really quite proud of. It might be nailing a workout. It might be running longer than you have ever done. It might be setting a PB or simply running much better than you were going to give yourself credit for. It is a great feeling. Keep on running and you'll have many more of those days in which you can't wipe the smile off your face!

Now let's focus on what to do to keep on improving, by covering off on:

1. What is important for a fast 10k?
2. Using heart rate when you are starting out
3. What to focus on to improve your 10k

What is Important for a Fast 10k?

You clearly have some potential to run a faster 10k. First of all, this was only your first one. You were able to speed up towards the end. And your 5k speed of 5:40 min/km (5k in 28:20 minutes) suggests you are able to run a 10k in 59 minutes. See my race conversion calculator to check this out for yourself.

For a fast 10k the absolute number one ingredient is endurance. So far, 10k is the furthest you have run. Now, imagine if you build up the length of your long run further. You need to give it time. But imagine if you were to build your training up to a regular 20k long run, supported by a bunch of shorter runs of 8-12k. Suddenly, covering 10k is peanuts. You are no longer wondering if you can actually run that far. You cover that type of distance all the time and more.

So far, in recent history you have done 20 runs with a total of 90k. That's a great start. Now you want to build that up to hundreds of kilometres of training, thousands over time. Some useful information on how to do that is on my increasing mileage safely page. Another thing we are going to have to is slow down. More about that below.

Using Heart Rate When You Are Starting Out

Your heart rate of 171 - 180 bpm is pretty high for usual runs. It is quite normal for beginning runners to have this happen. It is usually a combination of two things:

1. Your cardiovascular system is not well developed yet. Your heart is working hard when you are trying to do an activity (running) you have not done much before. Over time, as you build your endurance, I expect your heart rate to come when running at the same pace.

2. You are running too fast. A lot of running training is about running at an easy pace. Something just a bit faster than a walk. I know that is hard to do. We have been told that running is hard. You feel like you need to push the pace. You want to be faster. But the key in getting faster, is running slower.

At your age, I'd like to see you run at a pace where your heart rate is 140 - 155 bpm or so. So, let's now get to what to do to improve your 10k.

What to Focus on to Improve Your 10k

Now all of the above is leading to the following few tips on how to improve your 10k:

1. Run slower
As suggested above, I'd like you to run slower, not faster. I'd like you to develop your cardiovascular system safely. When you do a lot of running at a lower heart rate, you will get stronger and stronger over time. Also see my base building page which talks about the benefits of running slower.

2. Build your mileage
When you slow down, you will also be able to run further and run more. Just slowing down and keeping your mileage where it is today would do very little to help you improve. The key is in running longer distances and running more. 4-5 x per week is great. 3 x per week is a minimum. Slowly build up the length of your runs as per my page about increasing mileage.

3. Add a little bit of speedwork
Once a week, run a bit faster. Tempo running as you have done before is a fantastic way to prepare yourself for a faster 10k as it is reasonably close to your 10k pace at the moment. Check out the link I just gave you for some specific tempo workouts you can do. Although tempo running and easy running should be the backbone of your training, don't ignore other forms of running. Check out my running workouts page for an overview.

Lastly, a good article on my site which brings together quite a bit of information is this one about Improving Your Running, check it out.

You have made a terrific start with your running. And you are at a very exciting point in your training. You are starting to see some results, but there is so much more around the corner. For now, slow down a bit, build up that mileage, sprinkle in some speedwork and you will finish many more runs with that smile on your face in the future.

Hope this helps.
Enjoy your running.
Kind regards,
Dominique