What You Should Do Before a Race?

Following are two training schedules, one for building up to a 5K and one for building up to an 8K or 10K. Here’s the fine print on these schedules:

• They assume that you can manage the first week’s training. If you’re not at that level yet, build your mileage until you are.
• I’ve only listed the key workouts for each week. Try to get in at least one on two other easy runs at your usual distance during the week.
• Don’t run so much or so hard the rest of the week that you can’t complete the listed workouts. They are the ones that will spur your improvement.
• Space the key workouts evenly throughout each week to allow proper recovery.
• Try not to miss any of the key workouts, but don’t try to “make up” missed ones. Just keep going through the schedule.
• If you miss the key workouts two weeks in a row, postpone your goal race by two weeks, and pick up the schedule where you left off.
• Do the striders at the end of an easy run. Try not to do them the day after the speed workouts or the long runs.
• The speed workouts are in terms of meters. If you don’t want to run speed work on the track, translate miles to minutes, and do the workouts on the road or trail.
• The schedules include races before your goal race. Enter these to get used to what racing feels like.
• Don’t run to exhaustion within five days of your goal race.

The speed workouts are in runner shorthand, specifying the number, distance, and pace for the workout. For example, 4 800 meters at 5K goal pace means to do four intervals of 800 meters each at your per mile goal pace for 5K, with the proper recovery between the intervals. Remember, a standard outdoor track is 400 meters around, so 800 meters equals two laps. Also, keep in mind that a 8K/10K goal pace is 10–15 seconds per mile slower than a 5K race pace. Finally, before starting these training schedules, your minimum weekly mileage should be 15 miles for the 5K and 25 miles for the 8K or 10K.