Running
Improve Your 10K Time
10K threshold-led development with interval support. Twelve weeks, five runs a week.
- Distance
- 10K
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Runs per week
- 5
- Level
- Intermediate
- Goal
- Run it faster
Who it's for
You already run a few times a week. It is built to help you run a faster 10K.
How the weeks work
It runs for twelve weeks with five runs in each.
If life gets in the way you can stretch it to 18 weeks, or tighten it to 10 if you are already fit.
The last 10 days are a taper: less running, a little intensity, so you start the race fresh.
- Threshold runs of 15 to 30 minutes at a comfortably hard pace. You could say a few words, not hold a conversation.
- Intervals: repeats a little faster than race pace, with easy jogging in between.
- One long run a week that grows slowly. Run it easy; the time on your feet is the point.
Setting your paces
Start with a 10K time trial. Your result sets the paces for the rest of the plan, so run it honestly and on fresh legs.
Later benchmarks: a 20-minute threshold test. Use them to adjust your paces rather than to chase a number.
Making it stick
- Keep easy days slow. Most plateaus come from running them too fast.
- Put an easy day or a rest day after every hard session.
- If you miss a week, pick up where you left off instead of cramming the sessions in.
