So You Say It's a 10k?

Absolutely the race that will get me out of my doldrums will be my old standby, the Race with Grace 10k on Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving). This is the 23rd time this race will be run, 20x by me. Race director Bob Dyjak does a great job organizing every detail of the event. Is there a better holiday than Thanksgiving? A great race in the morning at my favorite distance, family, food and football!

With ten weeks to go I needed a training plan, but wanted to keep it fairly simple, yet tough. I found what I was looking for in a 2010 Running Times article written by Greg McMillan.  The rationale behind the plan is in the article. It is important to have a reasonable goal pace/finishing time. If you are struggling at week 4 with the pace, adjustments may be necessary.

Combined with weekly 8-10mile workouts with the last 2-3 miles run a bit quicker, I should feel confident come race morning that I can run well. (M=mile, m=meters)

SIMPLE EIGHT-WEEK WORKOUT SEQUENCE FOR A FAST 10K

Week	Key Workout	Notes
1	6 x 1M	3-minute jog between 1M repeats
2	10-12 x 400m	Run the 400m repeats at 5K race pace; 200m jog between
3	2M + 4 x 1M	5-minute jog between 2M repeats, 3-minute jog between 1M repeats
4	3M Tempo Run or 5K Race	One simple prediction method is to double your 5K time and add 1 minute to get your 10K time. Are you on track for your goal 10K time?
5	2 x 2M + 2 x 1M	5-minute jog between 2M repeats, 3-minute jog between 1M repeats
6	20-24 x 200m	Run the 200m repeats at 5K race pace; 200m jog between
7	3 x 2M	Run the 200m repeats at 5K race pace; 200m jog between
8	RACE: 10K

GREG MCMILLAN is an exercise physiologistand USATF-certified coach who helps runners via his website mcmillanrunning.com.