5K & 10K Goals

Here are two opportunities to set some short-term goals.

• 5K on Saturday, November 21 (2 weeks from now)
• 10K on Saturday, December 12 (5 weeks from now)

What should my goals be? New PBs for each, obviously. I think that shaving the 5K to 25:00 or below is reasonable. My time for the first 5K of last weekend's race was 26:08, and I know I can shave a minute off that. So, we should shoot for 24:00 or something.

5K Goal

A finish of 24:30 would be a pace of 7:53/M. I think I can do that. So, let's try to do 24:30 or better on the Grand Blanc Road Race 5K. Should be doable.

Another thought, going backwards. Try the Mild/Hot/Fire strategy with 1 mile per spice. Do the 1st mile @ 8:30, the 2nd @ 8:15, and the 3rd @ 7:55. That would be a time of 22:35. Oh, there's that pesky 0.1 mile, but that should only add 45 seconds or so.

10K Goal

How about you try to do your race plan from the last one? Mild/Hot/Fire, with a goal finish of 52:00 or less. Or, you could try to go for it and attempt to get below 50:00. That would be a real challenge. A pace of 8:02/M gets you below 50:00 in the 10K. A pace of 7:53/M gets you safely below at 48:59.

Given the time available to prepare, I think that these goals could work. I can revise as I train, but I think the goals should be:

• 5K - 24:30 - 7:53/M (shaves 3:38 off previous time)
  
• 10K - 49:50 - 8:01/M (shaves 4:25 off previous time)

The 5K goal is easier because I don't have to sustain an effort. The 10K could be pretty difficult, but I have 5 weeks to train.

How to Train.

Here's my idea. For the first two weeks, I don't train. I just run. Get to the 5K and do my dead level best. I know I can beat my previous time, and I think I can really do better.

After the 5K, there will be exactly 3 weeks to train for the 10K. I can make a plan then. This plan can be based on my 5K performance and how I am feeling. One idea: I think I should build in a long run that exceeds the 10K. That might mean an 8 mile run or two. And some pace work, and a little speed work. Again, we aren't talking about a huge improvement--just about 45 seconds per mile.