10 Steps to a Successful 10K

Harder to find these days, but a fun distance to run, the 10K can be a great bridge between a 5K and a half marathon. The 10K is twice as long as a 5K, but in may respects it's a more enjoyable race. Instead of shifting immediately into 5th gear from the starter pistol, the 10K allows for a little more time to get in your groove.

While the 10K pace may be a little toned down from the 5K, it's still moving at a pretty good clip and for twice the distance. Speed training is a component of 10K training, but endurance-training is really the key to a successful 10K. Working to maintain your speed over a longer distance is now your primary focus.

Listed below are several tips to help you achieve great results with your next 10K.

1. Begin with a base.

Having a solid base before beginning your 10K training, will ensure that you're acclimating only to the new training demands. A solid base also helps to decrease chance of injury from over training or doing too much too soon.

If you're fairly new to running (just beyond the beginner stage), you should have a total weekly mileage base of about 8 miles (with your longest run at about 3 miles) for at least a month before beginning a 10K training program.

If you're more of an intermediate runner, you should have a total weekly mileage base of about 10 to 15 miles (with your longest run at about 4 to 5 miles) for at least a month prior to starting an intermediate 10K training program.

If you're an advanced (seasoned runner), you should have a total weekly mileage base of about 20 miles (with your longest run at about 8 to 10 miles) for at least a month before beginning a 10K training program at the advanced level.

2. Train with a buddy or group.

One of the best ways to succeed with 10K training is to ensure your accountability. Training with a buddy or joining a 10K training group helps hold you accountable for the weekly workouts. Knowing you'll be missed goes a long way in making sure you get to each session. The encouragement of others can really help you through the tough portions of training.

3. Find a plan.

Do your homework. Not all 10K running plans are meant for all runners. If you're a beginner, look for a 12 to 14 week plan. Intermediate and advanced runners will do fine with a 10 to 12 week plan. Also, look at the total weekly mileage. Beginners, your weekly mileage should be in the upper teens to low 20s. Intermediate runners, your total weekly mileage should be in the mid 20s. Advanced runners, your mileage may reach into the 30s. More miles are not necessarily better. Quality runs such as hills, intervals, and tempo runs may not rack-up the mileage, but the conditioning they provide trumps lots of long steady-state miles. 

4. Vary your pace.

Don't run all your runs fast. Because a 10K is only 6.2 miles, many runners (especially intermediate and advanced runners) find themselves running all their runs at or close to race pace. A plan with varied-paced runs will help to improve endurance—both aerobic and muscular. It will also help to increase your pace. Runners that run fast with every run thinking they'll eventually get faster often find they stagnate or hit a wall with their speed and can't get any faster. A weekly regimen of short easy runs, speed work (hills and/or intervals), a tempo run and a slow long run will help to increase pace as well as better prepare you overall for race day as well as keep your injury free.

5. Run long.

It may seem odd to have "long runs" in a 10K training plan, but they are key in helping to improve your aerobic glycogen metabolism (energy making). Increasing your longest runs through the duration of the training program to mileage longer than the race length will help tremendously in making your energy production more efficient. If you're a beginner, having your longest run go to 7 miles will suffice. Intermediate runners can take their longest long run to 9 miles and the advanced runner can run his/her longest long run up to 12 miles.

Remember that a long run is an easy slow run. These runs are designed to increase distance endurance. Most of your long runs should be run about 1-minute slower than your 10K race pace. In the second half of your training, it's good mentally and physically to start picking up the pace to your 10K race pace during the last couple of miles of your long runs. This teaches your body and your brain that you have the ability to "pick-it-up" later in the run.

Click Here to Read Steps 6-10 at Active.com. 

Pick It Up With A Tempo!

Mixing it up is the best way to keep your running fresh, increase your endurance and up your speed. Hill repeats, track intervals, tempo runs, and your long runs are great ways to mix up your weekly workouts. If you're not training for a particular race, I recommend having 2 quality workouts a week. If you're training for a half- or full-marathon you can up to to three. Quality workouts are workouts (like previously mentioned) that either increase the intensity or distance. Then the rest of your weekly runs should be easy-effort runs designed for building and or maintaining your base mileage. It's best to have at least one complete rest day in the week. I usually like to have my rest day the day after my long run.

So, mixing up your weekly workouts is a great idea, but you can also mix up the type of tempo runs your running. Running the same old 4- or 5-mile tempo run can get boring week after week. In case you're new to running, a tempo run typically begins and ends with a 1-mile easy warm-up and cool-down mile. The "middle miles" are run at tempo pace (typically 30 seconds slower than your 10K or 5K  race pace). So for a 4-mile tempo run, you'll run 1-mile easy, 2-miles at tempo pace, and 1 mile easy for the cool-down. But....that's just one way to do a tempo run.

Basically, a tempo run's purpose is designed to give your body experience running fast for longer periods of time. This helps increase your speed and endurance. It's also great for pushing out your lactate threshold. That's the point at which you begin to find that "burn" in your muscles. That burn is caused when you increase your pace faster than your body is acclimated to and the body isn't able to clear out the lactate (a by product of the energy produced for muscle movement) fast enough. But, if you keep exposing yourself to faster paces over longer distances, you can actually push out the point at which you get that burn (or the lactate threshold) so hopefully you'll never experience it during a race.

Other types of tempo runs include Tempo Intervals, Race-Pace Tempo Runs and Kenyan Outbacks. Tempo intervals are very similar to fartleks (bursts of speed during a regular run). To do a Tempo Interval, simply divide your run into 10 minute intervals rotating between slow and tempo-pace intervals. So for example, if you're running a 6-miler, begin with 10-minutes at an easy conversational pace for 10-minutes. Then ramp it up to your tempo pace for 10-minutes. Continue this until you've completed your 6-miles. The last interval may actually be shorter than 10-minutes depending on your pace. Or if it's easier, don't base the Tempo Interval run on mileage. Instead, just plan on running for 60 minutes doing 6 slow/fast intervals.

Race-Pace Tempo runs are run just like a regular Tempo Run beginning with a 1-mile warm-up at the beginning and a 1-mile cool-down at the end, but instead of running the "middle miles at a pace that's 30-seconds slower than your 10K or 5K pace, run it at your actual race pace. If you're training for a 5K or 10K, then this give you a chance to ramp up your speed so your body knows what it feels like to run at the faster race pace. If you're training for a half- or full-marathon, then this lets your slow it down a bit and get a feel for what it's like to run at your endurance run race pace.

Kenyan Outbacks are similar to tempo runs, but with the second half much faster than the first. To do a Kenyan Outback, pick an out-n-back route. Run the "out" portion at a moderate pace and run the "back" portion about 30-45 seconds slower than 5K pace. This helps your body learn to "kick-it-in" or "pick-it-up" later in a race.

Mixing up your runs throughout the week not only helps keep your workouts fresher and more interesting, it also jacks up your metabolism and increases your caloric burn, keeping you fitter and leaner. It also gives your body a chance to use more than one energy-production system. Track intervals use more of the phosphagen system (the quickest and most powerful source of energy for muscle movement) and the glycolytic energy system. Tempo runs will make use of the of glycolytic system and the oxidative systems of energy  production. The long run will begin with the glycolytic system but it will mainly make use of the oxidative system. During a long run, you body can also learn to burn fat for energy production. Allowing your body to experience using all the various energy-production systems, makes you a more efficient runner.