Training for elite 5k?
Welcome to the Peak Performance forums!
To contribute to the discussions please either register here for free or login.
To access 20 years worth of Peak Performance downloads, articles, workouts as well as the locked members only forum click here to take a trial membership for $1.97
Useful Links: Quick Start Guide, Forum Guidelines, Terms and Conditions,Recent Activity…
27th Jun '04, 6:26pm
I am mentoring a runner who is 19 and really needs to step up his training. This guy has been training as an 800/1500 meter runner and, quite frankly, not been doing enough for those events (maybe 15 miles/week) with no periodisation an any way, shape or form. He wants to step up to 5k, with good reason I think, and to get into the European Champs at u23 level.
I happen to think he can do it, but he might need to drop a minute at 5k. His training has been pretty pathetic to date and now he understands this to be the case. despite this, he has run 3.52 for the 1500m and in his one and only 5k, in which he was running alone, he ran 15.04 - and was not anywhere near his maximum. I watched him run 10k on the road in aroudn 32 1/2 minutes, and it was just a training run. However, in a 1500m, he set out at 60s pace and in the third lap it really bit him. He looked, and felt, really comfortable (initially) at that pace but he just doesn't have any anaerobic work behind him.
His Vo2 max is in the high 70s, despite his training regime, and his aerobic threshold seems to be very high, at around 190-195 bpm.
He can't consider moving clubs at the moment because he doesn't have the means to travel. For the same reason, nutrition is an issue.
I'm no athletics coach but know that he needs to build up his training at all levels. For the time being, however, I've suggested that he starts to make a change by adding in one hard aerobic session of approx one hour with warm up & down, plus a recovery run. I'm investigating what the next step might be and would really appreciate any advice, sample sessions, cycles etc.
You can contact me on or off forum (rob@mentalskills.co.uk).
Many thanks,
Rob Robson
Re: Training for elite 5k?
28th Jun '04, 5:02pm
Hi Rob
Im sure the other guys will give you some good advice about the appropriate running sessions, but i just want to touch on a slightly different area to help your client.
It is well worth integrating some strength work to benefit his performance. If travelling is difficult and he cannot get to the gym then there is a lot that can be done for runners at home.
He needs good postural endurance. A lot distance runners develop a kypho-lordotic posture - ie, an increased thoracic curve and an increased lumbar curvature, and with forward head posture. It is critical for distance athletes to acheive as ideal alignment of posture as possible, because if the instantaneous axis of rotation of the joints is altered there will be an increased stress on them, resulting often in 'overuse' injuries, such as achilles tendonitis for eg.
This type of injury is usually present in runners that overpronate and can be caused by lack of postural endurance of the lower abdominals that cant counter balance the pull of the hip flexors during gate drawing the knees into hyperextension and over pronation as a by-product. This is just one example.
Furthermore, by being as ideally aligned posturally,he will be wasting less energy in compensatory movements, thus becoming a more efficient mover - being more efficient in his running and expending less energy means a quicker 5k run!!
Hope this helps, i know its not quite what you were asking - but definately worth looking in to.
Cheers
James