5K coming---need HELP

[Colonel]

OK, most of you know me, but some history. age 56, I have asthma which is controled, lean build, worked out forever. I've always wanted to do a 5K so this is the year.

I've run off and on for years, but since 3/25 it's been 3 days a week without fail. I do a light weight workout 3 days a week, and run the other 3 and take 1 day off totally. I started at 30 minutes, did that for 2 weeks, upped to 40 minutes for 2 weeks, then 50 minutes for 2 weeks. Usually about a 9-10 minute mile, my best was 7:55 on mile 4 on my 50 minute day. No record setting here! A week ago I cut back to about 30 minutes, clocking out a 5K to improve my time. My first run was 28:29 and every run has increased timewise. I have 2 races scheduled, 5/27 and 6/2. My diet (which could use some improvement) is the same. The weight workouts are scheduled for a break next week so I go into the races not lifting.

I can't seem to improve my 5K times at all, I'm going backward in time and can't get any wind or improve. I ran for 50 minutes now I can't get thru 30 minutes without slowing to a walk a couple of times! My leg workouts stopped a week ago (it's a MH workout) but I figured running was my leg w/o. Yesterday I had to rest in less than 2 miles! If I had more time I'd take a week off from running but hate to do it this close to a race. It's gotten a lot warmer here in the last week, could that have a bearing?
Any tips or hints to help me? I've looked so forward to doing this race now I'm dreading it cause I'm doing so poorly in training.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

[BamaDave]

Hey Colonel,

How warm is warm?? Warm temps. can certainly affect running due to dehydration and especially overheating of the body. Oxygen gets diverted away from muscles to the skin to facilitate cooling. However, unless it's getting up into the 70's or higher for your runs, or the humidity is way up there, it's probably not the weather.

If I am reading correctly, one week ago you ran a 5K trial in 28:29 and then have run other trials with slower time... all within the past week?? That may be your answer. Are you running these hard, as in at race effort or near-race effort? If so, you are probably just fatigued. I would take a few days off and let your legs recover from the intense running. If you want to do race effort training, I suggest breaking it up into shorter "repeats" where you run hard for 0.5 miles or up to one mile, then take a breather recovery for a few minutes (slow run, jog, or walk), and then run hard again for 0.5 miles - 1 mile. Keep up those repeats until you have covered 3 or 4 miles. That's a great way to help increase your speed. You could also do a "tempo" run of around the race distance, which is a "comfortably hard" effort - but not at race effort (save that for race day). A third weekly workout idea would be an approx. 5 mile run -- to help keep up the endurance aspect. Definitely rest for 2-3 days prior to the race and maybe only run once between those two races. Gotta keep the legs as fresh as possible for race day!

[UpNorth]

I agree with Dave. Running times don't drop off while you're training unless you're doing too much. You might want to either drop one of the running days and/or lifting days to allow for some better recovery.

Also, your races are only 10 and 17 days away. I wouldn't expect to get much faster in that short a time but you probably could gain back a bunch of your lost confidence by just getting out and running the 5k distance, untimed. Most 5k strategies are to go out comfortable in the first mile, pick it up in the second and then hold on in the third. You might want to approach some training runs like that, again untimed.

I'm training for a 5k goal as well and I have to warn you these can be tricky bastards (don't go out too fast!) but they are also a lot of fun.

[Colonel]

OK, thanx! All these ideas and tips are great. Tuesdays run it got hot and humid quickly, low 80's and very windy which I was heading into on the almost continious incline home. I had been doing a type of interval running to increase my speed on my previous runs.
I am surprised by the suggestions to not run 2-3 days before the race, I figured to do it to stay loose for the race. I don't know much race statergy as this is my first. Plus I run alone with an ipod so running with a group will be a big change. My fear is starting out too fast too soon and running out of steam.

Upnorth, I'm glad you said I shouldn't expect to increase my speed much, I may have been focusing on that part of it too much. I will do an untimed run to help my confidence this afternoon.

I hate every step of the run but feel so great at the end of it, and nothing has changed my body as much as the running has so I want to keep at it.
I have 1 more weight workout for this program then take some time off. I find I look forward to my running time. My goal is to do the 5K in 30 minutes, 35 at worse and so far my worse time has been right at 30 so I know I cn do this.

Thanx again for the help. I'll keep you updated.
Alan

[BamaDave]

Oh yeah, humid and low 80's AND wind to boot will hurt your time on a run. Surely that won't be the case for the race, though, since they almost always start early in the AM. Good luck