LR#2 Week 2 of 10: 5K Training Plan

This is the end of my 2 week 5K introductory period, and I am liking the training so far. I cut my miles down by half (more or less) from my recent 1/2 marathon training cycles (doing 20-25 weekly miles now, compared to 30-40 miles for the last 6 months). This is the best part of 5K training. It almost feels lazy!

My proprioceptive cue this week was "Running Against a Wall." This one is closely related to last week's "Falling Forward" cue. For running against a wall, imagine that there is a moving wall right in front of your nose. If you lean forward too much or overstride, you are going to hit the wall with your knees and feet. If you lean forward at the ankles, per the falling forward cue, you can create a little more room for your stride so that you won't hit the imaginary wall in front of you. According to Brain Training For Runners, this cue will  help with developing a more compact stride and correcting overstriding. But I also felt it helped me to generate more thrust with each contact with the ground. My thighs were more engaged basically when I concentrated on this cue.

This week I recovered quickly from my plyometric workout; unlike last week, where plyo had me sore for 5 days! I did my first speed workout in this training cycle--a fartlek run with 10 x 20-second sprints at an intended 6:00 pace. But I way overshot and ran them at about 5:15. My Garmin just isn't sensitive enough to pick up pace changes for 20 seconds, and clearly I don't know what a 6:00 pace feels like yet. As my intervals get longer, hopefully my Garmin will help me out more, and I'll get a sense for what these faster paces feel like. 


I also ran the Coronado Rotary Club Low Tide Ride and Stride race on Sunday. This was a very cool race,  and I'll write a dedicated post later in the week. 

Monday (6/18): Plyometric workout.

Tuesday (6/19): 5.0 miles at base pace (8:13) plus 6 x 8 second hill sprints at maximum effort, Balboa Park.

Wednesday (6/20): 30 minutes of elliptical intervals (2 minutes on/1 minute recoveries); core strength workout; yoga.

Thursday (6/21): Fartlek run, 4 miles with 10 x 20 seconds at 5:15 pace "sprinkled in," Balboa Park.

Friday (6/22): Complete rest.

Saturday (6/23): 6.34 miles at base pace (8:20), San Dieguito Lagoon.

Sunday (6/24): Coronado Rotary Club Low Tide Ride and Stride Race, 8.2 miles from Imperial Beach to Coronado. 55:39 (6:48 average pace). 3rd place female; 12th place overall. 

Coronado Low Tide Ride and Stride: The bikes are off...waiting at the starting line at Imperial Beach.

LR#2

Kristen