? For you runners: How do I prepare for a 10K?

lesliew1

lesliew1

Cathlete
My DH and I ran years ago and competed in a lot of 10K's, but that was before I became "educated" and I didn't give much thought to training. Of course, I was in my 20's and my body was very forgiving back then. I remember my best 10K PR was 54 min, and that was after a night of drinking beer and eating pizza!

I'm now 44 and a lot wiser to the ways of nutrition and cross training. DH and I decided to start running again this summer. Right now we do 3 miles every other day; sometimes we run on hills, sometimes the track. In btw. I do upper body weight training, core work and once a week a Cathe lower body workout. I'm stretching on my days off too. We want to prepare for a 10K this fall and I'd like some input from fellow Catheites. I've checked out runners boards, but I want to know if you runners on this forum do anything specific, like certain Cathe workouts to help w/ training. My goal is to beat my old PR.

TIA!
 
You asked about Cathe workouts that might help. I'd say any of the Imax workouts would be great; Imax 2 is the popular favorite of the three.

I wouldn't do the lower body workout or the running in the week before the 10k so your legs feel all nice and rested and fresh for the timed run.

Let us know how it's going!!!
 
I did my first 10k on the Fourth of July this year. :)

For training, I ran twice a week, sometimes 3, but not generally more than that and never two days in a row. I used Cardio Coach Vol 3-6 when I ran. I ran in the heat of the day when I ran outside so I'd get heat training. A week before the race, I ran a 5.4 mile steady state run outside.

My non-running days, I did Cathe weight training or Cathe steady-state cardio. Too much interval training is over-training for me.

I worked out 4 - 6 times a week.

I finished the race in 77 minutes. Not a stellar performance, but 13 minutes faster than my goal and I finished! Which was my main goal. And I did run faster and longer than I ever have. It was a success and I look forward to my next one. :D

April
 
Thanks for the links. Regarding lower body. How many lower body strength workouts do you do a week? Running is doing a great job punishing my legs, as I'm sore a lot. Aside from running, do you do any Cathe cardio? I figured IMAX 2 would be good for the interval work which would help endurance. I have all her workouts and was wondering which ones would benefit my training.

Edited to add: I missed your post April. Congrats on the race!
 
For lower body weights, I was doing Cathe's 4DS Lower Body Premix once a week. I was doing upper body weights twice a week. Running twice a week and often doing an extra step cardio once a week (45 - 60 minutes), like Rhythmic Step. And a prolonged (20 min) stretch once a week.

April
 
I did my first 10K in April. I ran 2 or 3 days a week. Nothing more than that. I started training in October and was already run/walking 6 miles. I started out using a gymboss interval timer where I did run/walk intervals. In between I was doing Cathe weight workouts, Drill Max (the cardio premix) and working out with kettlebells. I didn't do a lot of leg work because I was running lots of hills and my legs were sore.

I completed the race in 70 minutes. Not bad for a 46 year old non-runner. Since it was my first 10K, I had no expectations. Setting the goal and completing that goal was reward enough.

Good luck and keep us posted on your results.
 
The only cardio that helps me with running, is running.
Other than cardio, I highly recommend Gym Style legs. Runners tend to overdevelop the hip flexor and quad muscles. One leg workout a week helps me balance out my hamstrings, push my calves to become stronger, and GS legs has tibialus(sp?) work to help balance the calves. The hamstring and tibialus work are really important for injury prevention.
Core workouts (twice a week) help with posture for running.
I also try to do upper body work to keep myself toned.
That is what works for me.
 
I've found that for a 10K the best training is running steep hills... and I mean STEEP!

Also, I run 3 to 4 miles every day, along with Cathe weight workous and The Firm Classics.
 
I am training for a half marathon in October. I am doing one lower body weight w/out and 2 upper each week. Here's my typical week : long run, upper body, easy run, total body, speed work or tempo run, then an easy run. One full rest day per week. I would check out the runner's world link. Oh and do lots of stretch maxes. They are helping me a lot.
 
I'm doing a 10K in August. In May/June I was doing p90x weights 3X/week and running 3X/week. Gradually increasing time or distance by no more than 10% a week. I started around 2 miles/30 minutes.

Now I'm doing 3 runs a week - 2 are 40-50 minutes and focus on speed. And I do 1 long run at a decent pace. This past Sunday my long run was 7 miles in 75 minutes. On the non-running days I do 1 day of upper with a little cardio, 1 day of lower with a little cardio, and 1 day of yoga. By 'a little cardio' I might do a lower body premix then kickboxing from 4ds for example. Yoga is power-style to work my muscles a bit more.

I'm going to pull back on the weights and shorten the runs for a couple weeks before the 10K. Then hopefully go back to 3 days weights and 3 days run (I'd love STS by end of August!).
 
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