What are the best 10k workouts? How can I get faster over 10k?
The 10k is a great distance to test yourself. Where a 5k might feel too shorter and a half marathon is too long for you, the 10k fills that gap, making it an easily achievable distance for most.
Here are my best 10k workouts to either tackle your first, or if you’re trying to get a personal best!
First things first, there is no ‘easy’ workout. You’re pushing your body. Mentally, you may prefer some workouts over others!
How to do these workouts: The ultimate 10K workout is tough, so you need to train for it. Start with the build-up workouts listed below. Perform a warmup before each workout.
You should aim to focus on an 8 week-plan, tacking 1 workout per week. However this best fits into your schedule, try not to run hard days consecutively though! You should be able to run 10k already as all sessions total 10k of effort, excluding rest. 😎
With any of these 10k workouts, aim to warm up and cool down for 10-20 minutes on each side 🙂 In addition, try 4 x 15 second strides during your warm up to activate your muscles, before pushing the pace during your efforts. If you are unsure what your 10k goal pace is, please use a pace calculator. Recovery jogs should be just that, go slow, let your heart rate come down and catch your breath.
1. 6 x 1 mile
Run 6 x 1-mile repetitions at your goal 10K pace. Taking 3 minutes recovery jog between each repetition.
Respect this session, 1 mile can be a long way if you set out too quick. Make sure you find an appropriate loop or straight section of road, ideally traffic free so you’re not having to stop. The goal is to run your pace, not faster. If you’re being wary, start slowly and build into it.
2. 2 miles + 4 x 1 mile
Run a 2-mile repetitions at your goal 10K pace then take a 5-minute recovery jog. Next, run 4 x 1-mile repetitions at goal 10K pace, taking 3 minutes recovery jog between each.
2 miles is a good distance, so find an appropriate loop or straight section of road, ideally traffic free so you’re not having to stop. Pay attention to the weather too, you don’t want to me running 2 miles into a head wind! 😀
3. 2 x 2 miles + 2 x 1 mile
Run 2 x 2-mile at goal 10K pace. Take a 5-minute recovery jog after each repetition. Then, 2 x 1-mile repetitions at goal pace, taking 3 minutes recovery between each repetition.
Don’t under estimate this session, those 2 x 1 mile repetitions after 4 miles of effort will sting if you’ve expelled too much energy already.
4. 3 x 2 miles
The ultimate 10K workout. Run 3 x 2-mile repetitions at your goal 10K pace. Take a 5-minute recovery jog between each repetition.
You want to finish this session feeling like you’ve really pushed yourself. It’ll be an intense session so make sure you fuel and warm up accordingly. If you can hit your goal 10k pace for each repetition, you’re in a good place to hit your 10k goal! 💪
10k Workouts Summary
These workouts are design to push you. There are a number of key points which you should do and can help:
- Warm-up and cool-down for 10-20 minutes
- Do 4 x 15s or 2 x 30s strides towards the end of your warm-up
- Find an appropriate loop or straight section of road, ideally traffic free so you’re not having to stop
- Pay attention to the weather, particularly the wind if you’re running on an open road or loop
- Do the workouts using the shoes you plan to run your 10k in.
- Using a pace calculator to understand your goal 10k if you’re unsure
Lastly, get comfortable being uncomfortable. If you want to get faster you’ll have to go through some pain first! 😉
