I have always classified myself as a long distance vs short distance runner. By long I mean anything over 10km. I ran my first 5km park run in February 2016 when testing the park run as a possible end of course goal for Coast Road Runners debut 0-5km running course. I did it in 21.42.
Roll on 4 years. I was curious to see what I would now run a 5km in. In January 2020, I did my second ever park run running myself vs part of a 0-5km course group. I did it in 20.30. Result. A new 5km PB. When I saw the results table, something caught my eye. A section for sub 20 min 5km runners. With no speed training I did 20.30 so I thought with a bit of speed training, I might get into what sounded like a much coveted sub 20 min section.
Roll on a few weeks. March 2020. The world as we know it came to an end. My aspiration to do a sub 20 min 5km along with even a stab at speed training disappeared entirely from my mind.
Roll on a few months. I ran the Virtual Run in the Dark 10km in November 2020. The winds were absolutely wild that night! There was a status yellow warning in place in Dublin, with winds of up to 100km/hour. The wind literally pushed me out for the first 5km. It did the entire opposite for the second 5km. My first 5km time was 20.39. Seeing this reminded me about my sub 20 min 5km running plans of 10 months previous. It felt like 10 years.
With the seed back in my head, I decided to try to do a sub 20 min 5km before the end of 2020. I was in the midst of another personal challenge, to run to the top of Howth Hill so decided to wait until that was done. This left about a week to do the sub 20 mins. Funnily enough I didn’t achieve it. And nearly died trying as I literally went from 0 to 90 in one week. I finished the year with a 20.47 5km time on 31 December 2020 with my tail between my legs. It took everything in my power to run this fast. With a normal 5km time of approx. 22.5/23 mins (based on my normal 8 mile runs) I thought I might have bitten off more than I could chew.
January 2021. It was time to practice what I preach. To achieve a new running goal you have to train for it. So my New Year’s Resolution 2021 was to train for and run a sub 20 min 5km before my 45th birthday at the end of February.
In all my running years (15+) I have never done any speed training per se. I am a fast long distance runner, and by most people’s standards a fast short distance runner too. Every so often, I will see someone running ahead of me, gauge what speed they are running at and then try to catch up with them. So I will consciously up my speed and if I reach them, I will maintain that speed so I don’t look like I am literally trying to overtake them. Which as all runners know is very annoying. Especially if said runner literally stops short right in front of you. Or worse yet, stops short then tries to overtake you again! Sometimes I will misjudge how fast/slow someone ahead of me is running. If the gap continues to widen rather than close, they are much faster than me. So I will resume my normal pace.
By doing this a few times a month, I have maintained and improved my average pace over the years. Not very scientific and you probably won’t read about this method in any running books on how to run faster but it has served me well over the years.
But I knew this approach would not cut it for the sub 20 min 5km. A much more disciplined and structured approach was needed. I knew to run a sub 20 5km, I needed to be able to run five consecutive 4 min km’s. During my limited efforts in December, I realised how hard it is to run one never mind five consecutive 4 min km’s. In December I changed my watch from miles to kms, set alerts for the watch to beep at me after every km and also set an alert for if I was running below a 4 min km. From someone who doesn’t clock watch, I was fit to throw the watch away with all the annoying beeps and alerts.
So the first thing I did in January 2021 was switch my watch back to miles. Like with marathon training, I prefer to run and think in miles than kms. It is what I have always done. And there are less of them. So it made sense that I do the same for the 5km challenge. Which is 3.11 miles. A much more achievable sounding goal!
I love nothing more than putting together a running plan so I was off to the drawing board with my 3.11 miles. Like with all my training plans, I build them based on personal experience. My 2 month plan was to build some fast miles in to my normal 8 mile runs. So for the first few weeks, my plan was build sub 7 min miles in to my running then for the next few weeks, it was to build the actual pace that I needed to be running to achieve the sub 20. Which is 6.25 min/miles. I would normally average around 7.20/7.30 min/mile on my 8 mile runs, so this was a huge jump. I had no idea how big a jump this was when I first set the challenge back in January 2020.
For the first few weeks of January 2021, I built the following in to my twice weekly 8 mile runs, saving my weekend 8/10 mile run as leisurely paced:
Week 1: 1 x sub 7 minute mile
Week 2: 2 x sub 7 minute miles (1 outward leg 1 return leg)
Week 3: 2 x sub 7 minute miles (done consecutively)
These 3 weeks taught me a lot. I initially found myself clock watching, which again is something I’ve never done or liked if I accidentally found myself doing it. I found it deflating if I didn’t achieve the sub 7 min mile. Or if I did, I would think how on earth can I ever keep this up for 3 miles. Neither were very productive thoughts to have floating in my mind. So I stopped clock watching and just listened out for the beep to signal if I had reached a mile or two miles, whichever the case may be, so I knew I could reduce my pace again. And analysed the results after rather than during my run.
What I also realised is that it is really hard to keep running for another c. 6 miles after effectively sprinting for 2 miles. Running that fast took up so much of my energy, that it made the remaining miles so hard. And unenjoyable. And with joy in the world at it’s all time low in January 2021, I thought right, something needs to change.
So I decided in week 4 that for the rest of the challenge, I would substitute my twice weekly 8 mile runs with twice weekly fast 5kms then do my one long run at the weekend. So I set out in week 4, and bagged a 21.29 and 21.23, which were a 6.54 and 6.52 average pace. I was on the right track but still had some way to go. Later that week I changed tack at the weekend when I saw the elements. Strong gusty 40km winds. I couldn’t let the opportunity of some wind support on my back pass me by.
And thank heavens I did as even with the wind on my back it was so tough! Especially the second half of it. I did everything in my power not to stop, taking mind over matter to the ultimate test. At times it was like an out of body experience. And my lungs were on fire when I finished. Give me long distance marathon running/training any day. I did it in 19.44, averaging a 6.20 min pace. I was absolutely thrilled. And shocked that I had done it.
I didn’t look at my watch until the 3rd beep to signal mile 3. I had to look at it then to know when to stop at 3.11 miles. Seeing my splits when I got home reaffirmed how glad I am that I stopped clock watching. Because my first mile was a 6 min mile. If I had seen that, I would have stopped in my tracks, hailed the nearest passing car and asked to be taken to hospital as I would assume that running at that speed could bring on a heart attack! Thankfully it didn’t. But what it did do, was give me such a newfound respect for sub 20 5km runners. While I did it that one time, I don’t classify myself as a sub 20 min 5km runner. A one or two hit wonder maybe.
I undertook a new running challenge in February and March 2021 (UCD Business Alumni 300km in 30 days) so I had to put my newfound speed training on hold. I did however set a once per week sub 21 min 5km in February and achieved it each week. As part of my 8 mile runs. I did 20.10 the last week in February, With no wind! While it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t nearly as hard as those first few weeks of speed running in January. So it also became much more enjoyable. And gives a great feeling of satisfaction. It also proves to be a great distraction from everyday life, Coronavirus global pandemic included. As when you are pushing yourself hard, every piece of your mind is focused on one thing and one thing only. How to keep going. I also found that my average long distance running speed has improved. A very pleasant knock on effect that I hadn’t anticipated.
So if you are thinking of increasing your speed, here are a few tips that might set you off on the right running foot, so you don’t make the same rookie mistakes that I made the first time.
1. Work out what your average speed per km/mile is, based on your normal weekly runs.
2. Choose a target distance and speed. This should be either a race pace target or go to run target, which are very different things. My sub 20 5km was 100% a race pace target.
3. Test your target speed for 1km/mile to see how far you need to push yourself from what you are currently running.
4. Adjust or set your target based on your test run. And set a timeframe for which to achieve it.
5. Make a training plan. This can be gradual (like the one I did in January ‘21) or full throttle (like I did in December ’20). After trying both I know which works better for me. But each to their own.
6. Don’t become a hostage to clock watching. It can interfere with your rhythm and pace. Your body will tell you when you’re pushing yourself or not. You don’t need a clock to tell you. And you can analyse it all after your run.
7. There is no easy way or short cut to running faster. The hard truth is that it is hard to run faster. You have to make a conscious effort to push yourself as it won’t happen by itself. But you don’t have to push yourself on every run. For me 2 out of 3 runs was a good balance.
When you push your body to run faster, it is like changing gears in a car. Once you change that gear, you put the foot down on the accelerator. You know and feel that it is putting more pressure on the engine, but you also know it will be worth it as you will get there faster. It might feel bumpy at first but when the engine adjusts to the new speed, it starts to glide again. The same can be said for running faster. At first it feels like the wheels might fall off but as your body adjusts, it becomes less of a shock to the system. And before you know it you have forgotten that you are even trying to run faster. Because you’re on autopilot.
Today, 12 March 2021, is the last day of my 300km challenge. It is also a year to the day that life as we knew it came to an end when the Government announcement was made on 12 March 2020 for all schools and businesses to close from midnight that night. What a year.
I aim to do another sub 20 minute 5km run by the end of March. I am hoping that it won’t be as tough as my first one and I don’t look as grey after it as it did in January. And I hope that I can do it without strong winds on my back. Time will tell. But one thing I have learnt through this challenge, is that like an old dog, it is never too late to teach an old runner new tricks. So give it a try. You might even take to it like a duck to water.
If you would like some support on your speed running journey, join our February ’21 turned March ’21 5km PB Facebook challenge group, with new challenges being set every month. Click here to join
