Building up to a 12km Fun Run

M

mhorsman

0
I'm currently performing a FBW on MWF and run 2km on the treadmill at the end of my workout.

A friend has suggested I enter a 12km Fun Run to be held in 3 months and run with him.

Question... given I am only running 2km, 3 times a week now (10min @ 12kph but could probably run for 15min min at this pace) how should I best build up to the 12km run ?

I'm not interested in the time I complete the run, just the challenge of doing it.

Thanks in advance
 
They say you shouldn't increase more than 15% per week, to avoid injury and allow for optimal recovery. Welp, if you can run 3k now, 1.15^12=5.35, and 5.35*3=16.05. Should be more than doable at a safe pace, if you work hard.

If you're starting at 2k, though, you'll only make it up to 10.7k in 12 weeks, at a 15% increase in distance per week. At 2.5k, you end up with 13.4k. So, if you can run 2.5k now (find out :p), just keep doing what you're doing now but increase the distance you run (keeping all other factors equal - most notably, speed or "pace") by 15% each week, and you should be able to run 12k by the time of the event.

Here's how it'll look:

Week 1: 2.9 k
Week 2: 3.3k
Week 3: 3.8k
Week 4: 4.4k
Week 5: 5.0k
Week 6: 5.8k
Week 7: 6.7k
Week 8: 7.6k
Week 9: 8.8k
Week 10: 10.1k
Week 11: 11.16k
Week 12: 13.4k


'Course, that's not how real runners do it at all. So, I'd wait and see what they have to say.
 
Try running before doing your FBW. Try going at 12kph as long as you can. The next time, try slowing down to 10 kph and seeing how far and long you can go. Then you can see from that what you will have to improve by each week to meet your goal. But, you will not be able to improve every week - improvements will come in spurts and you may need 1 or more rest weeks in there.

Since this is a fun run, you don't need to go 12kph; 10kph will be fine.

Report back on your times.
 
g8r80 said:
Try running before doing your FBW. Try going at 12kph as long as you can. The next time, try slowing down to 10 kph and seeing how far and long you can go. Then you can see from that what you will have to improve by each week to meet your goal. But, you will not be able to improve every week - improvements will come in spurts and you may need 1 or more rest weeks in there.

Since this is a fun run, you don't need to go 12kph; 10kph will be fine.

Report back on your times.
Click to expand...

After a bit of a break from the treadmill (feeling a bit flat) I ran tonight and managed 30 min @ 12kph or 6km... I could have gone a bit longer but to be honest my feet started to hurt (new shoes).

I must admit I am encouraged by this as I would not have thought I could run 6km.

I'll try again on Thursday to see how I go then.

One more question regarding training... should I be aiming to increase my distance each run or just run my usual 2-3km after my FBW and run a longer run on weekends seperate to my FBW to build up my maximum distance ?
 
Have a longer run during the weekend and concentrate on your fast sessions during the week.
 
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