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Anonymous
Sup /fit/?

Any distance runners here? I run high school cross country, and my time for a 5k is about 20 minutes, but I can't seem to break that 20 minute barrier. Any tips on what I should be doing? I have been working my ass off at practices, but I'm not really sure that what I am doing is what I need to be doing. For example, yesterday's practice we did 10 1 km repeats with 1.5 minutes in between each one, at race pace, and the day before we did 13 400m repeats with the 1.5 minutes in between, at 70 second pace, with a 2.5 mile cool down afterward. Any tips?
>> Anonymous
bump
>> Anonymous
I'm a hobbyist runner so take my advice as what it is: bullshit conjecture without scientific merit.

That said, I've had good results on improving my speed with interval training. Run 5 minutes at your normal speed, then alternate fast and slow. Start with 20 seconds sprint, 40 seconds slowdown. Note that this isn't HITT and you should never approach full intensity in your sprints, just reach a speed that you can keep for 20 seconds, then drop back to your normal speed until you're ready to push it again. Ideally you should lengthen the fast stretches every time you go for a run until you can keep at your faster speed for the full 5k.
>> Anonymous
>>329824

Although knowing absolutely nothing about the subject, I think this man is onto something.
>> Anonymous
>>329811

The 1k intervals are your best friend. Try to run them close to your 400m pace then rest for one quarter of the interval. They really help; if you can, go do some hill work, too.
>> Anonymous
5k is a junior length.