Jon Lauder of Endorphin Fitness takes us through some training tips and advice for preparing for that local 10k race.

As runners many of you are no doubt feeling the looming presence of Richmond’s biggest road race – The Monument Avenue 10k! Many of our New Years Resolutions involved Monument – we claimed that this year we’d train hard enough to race instead of just survive, we promised to run with a friend who usually beats you, we pledged to beat the obnoxious neighbor from down the street (who wears running tights three sizes too small), or we vowed to just not “embarrass” ourselves in front of the whole city (as if a bad race will earn us the scorn of an entire city). It’s a great race, but it can be a stressful build up with those ubiquitous Ukrop’s signs reminding you of the training you’ve put off. Two months to go – what do you do?

So here’s my crash course in 10k training (made for those for whom running the entire distance is not a problem). First, take a deep breath and relax. Racing is fun – don’t forget to enjoy it. Second, start putting in the miles. Many runners who have completed a marathon before dismiss 10ks as “speed events.” And while one doesn’t need 20 mile long runs to complete a decent 10k, aerobic development is still the key to a strong performance (the 10k is 90% aerobic and only 10% anaerobic). So don’t rush out to the track to turn those quarters just yet. Start by increasing your weekly mileage and adding in a weekly long run (up to 90-100 minutes for seasoned veterans and up around an hour for novices).

For a quality workout throw in a lactate (or anaerobic) threshold workout once a week. A threshold run is when you run just below the pace at which your body switches from using primarily the aerobic energy system to using the anaerobic energy system. It’s about the pace you would be able to race an hour at (for some of you close 10 mile race pace, but for most its closer to 10k race pace), or your 5k pace plus about thirty seconds per mile. It should be comfortably hard, that is, you’re not really enjoying yourself but you can maintain the same pace the whole way without having to kick like mad the last few minutes. If you finish feeling like a truck just ran you over then you’ve gone too fast. The workout can be done in two ways. You can either run one long chunk of time (usually 15-30 minutes) at threshold pace or you can break the run into smaller segments of about three to eight minutes long. A good rule of thumb is to use 20% of the repetition length as recovery time (so one minute recovery for every five minutes of hard running).

By running threshold runs, your body will become more efficient at transporting oxygen to your muscles, at clearing lactate acid from your blood stream, and generally you’ll feel better running at faster paces. Moreover, you’ll gain mental toughness. If you can endure the endless middle of a 30 minute threshold run then you’ll be a tough egg to crack in the middle of a race. Once you’ve done a good month’s worth of threshold runs you can start adding in more traditional speed workouts. Examples include 3x1600, 4x1200, or 5x1000 with 3-4 minutes recovery in between. These should be done at 5k-10k race pace depending on your experience level. For a 10k you typically won’t need to run intervals shorter than 800 meters (half a mile) unless you’re an experienced runner gunning for a career best time. Good luck with your training!