How to Speed Up My Running - Improving My 5k Time

by Paul
(Derby, UK)

My average 5k speed is about 5.05 minutes, my 10k speed is about 5.40 minutes. I have tried all kinds of ways to speed my times up such as different eating habits, drinking habits, clothing, time of day running, running a bit quicker for 15 to 20 seconds at the start of every new kilometer, starting off a bit slower trying to gain speed as I run, running more on the flat, etc.

Nothing I seem to do helps my speed. All I end up doing is getting injured, I am now adding distance rather than speed, two days ago I completed 10 miles for the first time in my entire life. How can I improve my running speed and achieve a faster 5k?

Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thanks for your question about how to speed up your running and getting to a faster 5k time.

Let's cover off on your question as follows:

1. Analysis of your race times
2. How to run a faster 5k
3. Healthy habits

Analysis of Your Race Times

The great thing is that you have provided a little bit of race information.

So, 5k at 5:05 minutes / km = 25:25. When I plug that in to my race conversion calculator and estimate an expected 10k time I get a time of 52:59. Your 10k time (at 5:40 minutes/km) is 56:40 minutes. So, your actual 10k time is almost four minutes slower than your predicted time.

Now, what does this little bit of information tell us? It tells us that you tire quickly as you run further. And why is that? It's because you need to build a stronger endurance base. Don't feel bad about that. It is great to have a clear problem to work on. It means that we know with relative certainty how to fix it.

How to Run a Faster 5k

The 5k and 10k efforts are predominantly aerobic performances. They rely on having a strong base. The stronger your base, the stronger your heart is. The stronger your heart, the more blood it pumps to your muscles with every heartbeat. And the better your heart functions, the better your running becomes.

You have started developing your base. But there is more work to do. Base building needs to be the foundation of your running, especially when you are starting out. What I'd like you to focus your running on, is a lot of easy running and covering a lot of distance. Check out my page about building your base to learn more.

Now, it sounds like you already have made a really good start with your running. You might even have been doing it for a while now. You are able to run 5k and 10k distances. And two days ago, you completed 10 miles for the first time in your life. That's really good! Not many people are able to cover that distance in a run. So, well done, that's fantastic.

Your long run of 10 miles is a great distance as a basis for a faster 5k when you are starting out. You could build it up a bit more, if you wanted to, but it's a solid distance and generally long enough when you are focusing on a faster 5k.

What I'd like you to do is:
1. Run often - three times per week is a minimum. 4-5 days per week is better.
2. Build your mileage - work on increasing your mileage on most your runs. Check out my page about increasing mileage safely.

That's it. Basically. One thing I'd like to stress is that most of your running should be relatively slow. It's not clear to me how fast you are training at the moment. A mistake many of us make in the beginning is basically racing every run. That's a recipe for disaster.

Slow down. Keep it easy. But go far. Over time, add in some faster running. You want to do some runs at a pace slower than that 5k pace, through tempo running. That is pretty close to your current 10k pace. Then also add in some running that is at or close to 5k race pace, through interval running. Keep in mind that intervals and fartleks are intenser workouts and they increase the risk of injury. So, be mindful of that.

Healthy Habits

You mentioned that you are changing eating and drinking habits to improve your running. Changing eating and drinking habits is very important for longevity and health. And there is a whole host of other healthy habits we can add to that list. They won't help you improve your 5k time by minutes. They may help your 5k time 30 years from now. I am not trying to say that healthy eating and drinking habits are not important. They are. And I am pretty strict about what I eat on a day-to-day basis. But the impact will be quite low right now. Your future you will thank you for it immensely though.

Two healthy habits I'll share with you that can have an important impact right now are sleep and strength training. Sleep is an incredibly important one. It is the most important recovery tool we have.

And strength running is key, especially as we get older. It will make you stronger, more injury resilient and makes your running more economical.

So, bottom line is: slow down to speed up. I like what you have done with building up to that 10 mile long run. Keep at it, build your mileage and add some speed work to the mix. I am convinced that if you give it some time, your performance in both the 5k and the 10k will improve!

Best of luck!
Dominique