How to Run a Sub 45-Min 10km!

by | Sep 23, 2024 | Uncategorized

Coach Sage Canaday teaches you what it takes to run a sub 45-minute 10k!

A few weeks back, Coach Sage Canaday gave his advice on what to do in order to crack a sub 22-minute 5km. Now, he’ll take it one step further if you’re looking to run a fast 10k! These are tried-and-true training methods and workouts that can be adapted, whether you’re slightly faster or slower than these target times.

Let’s Start Off With The Math

To achieve a sub 45-minute 10K, you’ll need to maintain a pace of approximately 7:15 per mile or 4:30 per kilometer. Ideally, you should be able to run a 5K under 22 minutes—closer to 21:30 would be even better. If you haven’t yet reached that level, it will be challenging to sustain two back-to-back 22:30 5Ks, which is necessary for a sub 45-minute 10K.

Getting Started

So if you’re not quite there yet, focus on racing some 5Ks first to build up your speed and fitness. Once you’ve achieved a solid 5K time, you can then move up to the 10K distance and work on lowering your time there as well. The key is to develop your baseline speed for the 5K and then apply it to the 10K. About 80% of your baseline or “easy” pace should be about 8:45 per mile or 5:30 per km. If you’re in sub 45-minute 10km fitness, this is the easy pace that you’d be shooting for.

Since a 10K is twice as long as a 5K, it’s crucial to have extra endurance and stamina. But once you’ve built a strong mileage base and are consistent in your training, you can start incorporating quality workouts. These harder sessions include speed and interval workouts, similar to those in 5K training. For the 10K, it’s better to focus on longer repeats, such as mile repeats or 1600-meter intervals.

Advanced Workouts for 10K Training

To train effectively for a 10K, it’s crucial to include workouts that challenge both your speed and endurance.

Workout #1: Tempo Runs

Before starting the interval workouts, it’s beneficial to build up your stamina with tempo runs. Begin with a 20 to 25-minute tempo run at a pace slightly slower than your goal 10K pace, around 7:25 per mile or 4:35 per kilometer. This steady-state effort, at about 80 to 85% of your maximum, is controlled and sustainable, helping you develop the stamina needed for longer periods of sustained effort. Incorporate this workout once a week as part of your training routine to enhance your endurance and to get your legs and breathing accustomed to a near 10K pace.

Workout #2: Vo2 Max Workout

The next key workout is mile repeats. Aim for 4 to 5 repeats of 1 mile or 1600 meters each, targeting a pace of around 7:00 to 6:55 per mile. You can perform these on a track or a flat, measured path. Between each repeat, take a controlled rest break of 3 to 4 minutes. During this rest, you can walk or jog lightly, but your heart rate should not fully return to its resting state. This will keep you slightly fatigued, building specific strength and endurance for sustaining a high-effort pace over the 10K distance.

These intervals will elevate your heart rate to over 90% of your maximum and get your legs accustomed to running significantly faster than your 10K goal pace. This makes your goal pace feel more comfortable on race day!

Workout #3: 400-Meter Repeats

Similar to the 5K training, include 400-meter repeats at a pace faster than your 5K race pace. Aim for 8 to 10 repeats at 1:38-1:40 each on a track with a two-minute rest between each rep. This workout helps develop your top-end speed, which can be useful for a strong finishing kick in a 10K race. However, this is not as crucial for 10K training as it is for 5Ks. Consider doing this workout once every two weeks.

Workout #4: 2-Mile or 3200-Meter Repeats

The final key workout I’ll give you for today is 2-mile repeats or 3200-meter repeats. Perform these at your current 10K race pace, with the goal of gradually working down to your target 10K pace. For example, you might aim to complete each 2-mile repeat in around 14.5 minutes if targeting a sub-45-minute 10K. Try to do 3 sets of these repeats with a short, 5-minute rest in between. This workout covers approximately 6 miles of running at or near race pace, which is about the same distance as a 10K.

This type of workout is essential for building strength and stamina specific to 10K racing. It targets your 10K pace and is a staple for preparing your body to maintain that speed over the race distance. You only need to do this workout about once every two weeks.

The Five-Pace Theory

Think of your 10K pace as being in the middle of a five-pace spectrum. There are two paces slightly faster and two paces slightly slower than your 10K race pace. Training across this range ensures a balanced approach to developing both speed and endurance.

Let’s put it all together:

Structuring Your 10K Training Plan

In your training plan, it’s essential to include a variety of paces to maximize your 10K fitness. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key paces and workouts:

1. Easy Pace:Base mileage runs at a relaxed, conversational pace.

2. Tempo Runs:Sustained efforts at a slightly slower pace than your 10K goal pace.

3. 10K Pace: Longer intervals like 2-mile repeats performed at your current or goal 10K race pace.

4. 1-Mile Repeats (1600 meters): Faster intervals to build speed endurance.

5. 400-Meter Repeats and Strides: Shorter, high-speed intervals to develop top-end speed and running economy.

Mixing these workouts in a cohesive plan is crucial for achieving your best 10K performance. Proper timing and progression of these workouts are important, so be sure to build your base mileage first before adding in the harder sessions.

I hope this is helpful – happy running and have a great week!

– Coach Sage Canaday

Dealing with tight leg muscles? Try this!

Dealing with tight leg muscles? Try this!

by | Sep 16, 2024 | Recovery, Strength

For today’s newsletter, Coach Sandi Nypaver gives you a few of her favorite active release techniques!

Ideally, these active release techniques should be the first part of your warm-up; whether you’re headed out for a run, about to do a strength session, or even just before you do some mobility or static stretching. If you jump right into mobility or stretching, you may not actually release your tight muscles. Doing active release first will loosen up your muscles so you can then fully benefit from mobility exercises and get the range of motion you need for your best running form!

I know this may just seem like another thing you should do but don’t really want to do. My advice is to make it a goal to do this for only a month and see if it helps! Notice if you feel better on your runs, especially that first mile. Sometimes one tight muscle can screw up your entire stride.

Also, know that a little is better than nothing. I think a longer, fully body active release session once a week is a good idea, but most days a couple of minutes is more than enough. Personally, I feel that listening to upbeat music and doing the active release is a great way to get both my mind and body ready for my run. Finally, for each exercise, there’s no “right” amount of time, but I usually find myself doing 30 seconds per exercise, per side. If you feel like you need to do a longer amount of time on a certain side or muscle, go for it. However, you shouldn’t go longer than a minute. If the muscle doesn’t release in a minute’s time, it probably won’t release today.

Before we start off, you’ll want to have on you a lacrosse ball, a tennis ball, and a chair. Or, you can also use a foam roller for any of these exercises.
Alright, so here are a few of my favorite exercises:
Exercise #1: Feet Active Release
I start by rolling around to check for any tight spots. If I find one, whether it be in the arch of my foot or near my big toe, I’ll focus on that area.
The goal is to activate the muscles on the way up, then fully relax as I bring my foot back down. I’m just rolling gently here. You can use a tennis ball or lacrosse ball, or you could even use a golf ball if you prefer. Just remember to do both sides!
Exercise #2: Calf Active Release
When I focus on my calves, staying in one place and breathing through it might be enough, or you can move to the side-to-side to find another spot. You may feel tighter on the inside of your calf.
The key is to make sure you can fully relax your muscle. If you’re using a lacrosse ball but can’t relax, try switching to a tennis ball.
Exercise #3: Quadricep Active Release
This is a big one for a lot of runners — the quads. I’m starting right in the middle of my quad. You can move up, to the side, or to the inside if that’s where you feel tightness.
Remember to take deep breaths and relax.
Exercise #4: Hamstring Active Release
For this exercise, you’ll need a chair. I take a tennis ball and sandwich it in between the seat of the chair and my hamstring.
This might be too intense for some people, so you may want to start with a foam roller on the ground and ease into it. I don’t typically have tight hamstrings, so I can handle this, but for others, it might be a bit painful — and that’s not what we’re aiming for.

I hope this gives you a few ideas on ways to work on some tight muscles. There’s even more muscle groups and exercises I didn’t get into today, but starting with just a few of these is a great start!