Running 5k in 25 Minutes - What Do I Do?

by Jay
(Lucknow)

I have been running since I was 10 yrs old... I was in school as well as college basketball and the athletics team....

Now I'm in a training program where I am supposed to do 2.4 kms every day in 9 mins and 5kms once a week in 25 mins...

But I am unable to do so because my calves and lateral muscles of my shins keep cramping up after 3 kms or so...

This has brought my timing to around 28 mins or so...

Please help...

I have 6 weeks before the second phase of this training schedule starts when I have to do 5kms in less than 25 mins...

Please guide me...

Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thank you for your question about your 5k running program. This sounds like an academy type program for police, army, etc...

It is unclear to me whether you have any say in how you train for the next six weeks. But this is what I am thinking:

1. The problem with racing every day
2. A better way to prepare for a faster 5k
3. Strengthening the calf muscles

The Problem with Racing Every Day

I am a bit confused. If I am not mistaken the goal is to hit sub-25 in the 5k. The way "they" are preparing you for this is by doing 2.4k runs in 9 minutes. This is not an optimal running program. 2.4k in 9 minutes is pretty fast. I imagine you are racing every day.

The little known secret about exercise is that exercise itself actually damages your muscles a little bit. But your body is smart. In the recovery period, after the exercise, the muscles repair and get a little stronger, preparing themselves for another beating.

When you race every day, that does not leave enough time for recovery. Repeating this process day-in day-out can actually make you slower and weaker and, as you noticed, get you injured.

A Better Way to Prepare for a Faster 5k

Assuming you can make your own choices about your running, I would do the following:

1. Stop racing every day - Stop doing the daily fast 2.4k runs. My sense is they are wearing you out and are not helping to make you faster or fitter. It would not be a bad idea to take a couple of days off altogether to help your legs recover.

2. Start running slower and longer - Replace those fast 2.4k runs by longer, slower runs first and foremost. You need some speedier workouts as well, but you need to increase your endurance first. You need to be able to comfortably cover that 5k and more than that. Suppose you'd be able to run 8k or 10k straight-out. Not necessarily fast, just being able to run it.

Do that consistently, then running a fast 2.4k or 5k becomes so much easier. It might help you get rid of those muscle problems at the 3k mark as well.

3. Build up steadily - Don't immediately jump into doing 10k runs. You can do 5k now. Do a long run of 6k first, then 7, then 8. Steadily build it up. Assuming you run 5 times per week there is nothing wrong with a few slow 6k-7k runs in your schedule and building up to a long run of 10k or so over the next six weeks.

4. Alternate your faster work - A fast 2.4k is good training. But there are so many other options out there! Check out the running workouts page for a ton of ideas. For a fast 5k, I am a big fan of a weekly tempo run and a weekly interval session. You basically want to run at a range of speeds, some a bit faster or at goal pace. Some a bit slower than goal pace.

Strengthening the Calf Muscles

Taking a lot of the stress out of your training may be enough to give your calf muscles a break and repair themselves. In addition to that I'd recommend some dedicated strength training exercises. Heel drops and calf raises are a great way to strengthen your lower legs and help prevent nasty injuries like Achilles tendinitis, shin splints etc.

A strength training routine that supports your running will be very helpful. Additionally, check out some ideas on how to warm-up and cool-down before and after runs on my running stretches page.

Hopefully the adjustments in your running training and the strength training will provide you with a better aerobic base and make you a stronger, more injury resilient runner. This should provide you with a much better chance of completing your 5k within 25 minutes. Have faith though.

If you can do a 2.4k in 9 minutes, a 5k in 25 minutes is well within your ability. All you need to do is to do longer runs to build your aerobic endurance, give your body a chance to recover and build strength and resilience.

I have good hopes that you can ace that 5k test in six weeks with these adjustments.

Best of luck.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Dominique