GET READY FOR A 10-K

Who Are You?
A Long-Distance Junkie Seeking a Short-Distance PB

Your Goal:
Learn Proper Pacing

Trust your base.

Drop down from half– or full-marathon training to race a 10-K, and you’ll probably wow yourself – even if you haven’t been doing much speedwork, says Hamilton. Long runs and high volume develop super-strong cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. You’ll need to run 40 to 55km per week (with 30 to 40 per cent of your mileage going towards a weekly long run) to run your best 10-K – no biggie for half- or full-marathoners.

Run fast…

Still, running your fastest 10-K requires speedwork. “Training at 5-K pace builds that horsepower,” Hamilton says – the strength and turnover you don’t develop when prepping for long-distance events. Ten to 12 weeks out from race day, add a weekly interval session at 5-K pace, with no more than 7 per cent of your total weekly volume run hard. For example, if you’re doing 45 kilometres in a week, you’ll want to run no more than about 3km at 5-K pace (4 x 800 with 400 metres of recovery, for example), after a warm-up lasting at least 10 minutes.

…then learn race pace.

The biggest challenge for half- and full-marathoners who drop to the 10-K is avoiding a too-fast start, Hamilton says. So run at race pace at least once per week for the six or seven weeks before race day. Hamilton gets her athletes to start with short intervals – 200s, 400s, and 800s – to practise staying under control. “When you’re running 200 metres at a pace you could sustain for 10km, you may find that you’re always going out too fast,” she says. Once you’ve dialled in at short distances, hit the roads: work up to running about five continuous kilometres at race pace in the middle of a 10- to 12km midweek run, about 10 days before race day.

<< Download your 10-K training programme here. >>

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GET READY FOR A 5-K
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