10K-Specific Workouts That are Simple Yet Challenging
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(image above) Runners blast off from the start of the Statesman Capitol 10,000
Now that the main part of marathon season is wrapping up, runners’ attention naturally begins to focus on shorter races, like the 10K. And in central Texas, that means the Statesman Capitol 10,000 — the largest 10K in Texas and sixth largest in the country.
Since the race is set for Sunday, April 6, there’s still time to tailor your training specifically for the 10K distance. Racing the 10K requires running at around 85% of your maximum aerobic speed — a sustainable effort if you’re at a relatively high level of fitness. It translates to about 10 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.
Assuming you’ve already established a solid aerobic mileage base, you can fine-tune your training for the 10K. While training for distances like the half marathon and marathon are similar, the workouts listed below represent 10K-specific training. Always warm-up with 10–15 minutes of easy running before any of the workouts.
Former Austin-based coach Greg McMillan, now based out of Flagstaff, AZ, is one of the top distance coaches in the country. McMillan developed what he calls the “ultimate 10K workout.” It’s simple and not surprisingly, it involves a full six miles of intensity. One or two weeks before your 10K race, run three 2-mile repeats at your 10K pace with a five-minute recovery jog between each repeat. Note: this workout, along with the buildup to it are for intermediate to advanced runners, not beginners.
It’s a very challenging workout, and the only way to pull it off is to build up to it. McMillan advises his runners to start by breaking it up in chunks. All of the build-up workouts are run at your 10K goal pace.
Initially, you’d start out with mile repeats — six of them with a 3–4 minute recovery jog between each. While this may sound daunting, remember, you’re running them at 10K pace, not all out!
Workouts closer to the race call for variations of that: running two miles at 10K pace with a 5-minute recovery, followed by four mile repeats (at 10K pace) with a 3–4 minute recovery jog between each.
And finally, before the ultimate 10K workout (as mentioned above) you’ll shift to two 2-mile repeats at 10K pace (with 5-minute recovery jogs), followed by two 1-mile repeats at 10K pace with 3–4 minute recovery jogs.
The beauty of this buildup is that they are all a full six miles, done at your 10K-goal pace, making it super-specific!
Upcoming races: Saturday March 22 at 8:30 a.m., the Race to Cure Sarcoma 5K at Walter E. Long Park, Austin. Saturday March 22, the Rogue Trail Series — The Maze 30K, 20K, 10K trail runs. Start times are 7:00–8:30 a.m. at Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, Austin. Saturday March 29 at 8:00 a.m., the Chapa 5K at Chapa Middle School, Kyle. Sunday, March 30, at 8:00 a.m., the Athletica Cal Tri Austin (Olympic, Sprint & Women only) at Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park.