Lately I really enjoy creating running workouts for myself because it makes the miles more meaningful and the time seriously fly by. I have also found that giving some structure to my miles has pushed me to break out of my comfort zone and pick up the pace much more often which is the best way for me to tackle speed work on a regular basis.
This 10K speed workout came together last week when I wanted to push my pace for 3 miles.
However, after completing those 3 miles, I realized I still had more to give and wasn’t ready for switching solely to recovery/easy running to finish out my run so I added in 2 miles of .50 mile recovery/.50 mile speed.
With the remaining .20 as a cool down, the total was 6.2 miles.
I was crazy sweating from this 10k speed workout which either means it was extra hot outside or I worked myself really hard. Or maybe a combination of the two? I don’t know, please try this workout and let me know if you find yourself drowning in your own sweat too.
Here’s what my workout looked like:
I took the warm up mile seriously and then got down to business. I didn’t mean to run the 3 miles in negative splits but it happened anyway which was fine with me! I just tried to push myself.
For miles 5 and 6, I slowed to a recovery pace for half a mile and then picked up the pace again which is really challenging after pushing your pace for 3 miles and then slowing down for a bit.
The .2 mile cool down brings you to your 10k distance (6.2 miles). You can always continue running easy if you want to run more but this 10k workout left me satisfied.
Please note that I didn’t focus on hitting a specific pace. I have an idea of what my goal half marathon pace should be but quite often during my runs (especially in the summer), I don’t focus so much on hitting a specific pace all of the time but on giving a really genuine effort.
Running by effort right now helps to keep some of the pressure off (I never liked pressure) while still putting in the work you need to do in order to improve your running and tackle your goals.
My October 3rd half will be here before I know it so hopefully all of this sweaty speed work is going to pay off!
Other running workouts of interest:
Negative Split Running Workout <- my favorite
Treadmill Workout with Progressions
[bctt tweet=”New 10k Speed Workout #running #10k #speedwork #halfmarathontraining #FitFluential”]
**********
Favorite race distance?
Which running shoes do you wear for speed work?
What’s for breakfast today?
The Cookie ChRUNicles 
Like I said in my shoe rotation post, i’m all about my Newtons or my Zoom Elites for speedwork. Something that is a bit lower of a drop, and definitely lighter on my feet than the Pegasus. That said, I feel sofast last week in the pegasus, but I wasn’t really doing outright speedwork.
I love this workout. I totally agree that giving some structure and speed to your run makes it go by faster but also makes it so much more fun!
My favourite distance is the half. It is usually pretty daunting to me but I always love it in the end.
Breakfast was some egg white oats and coffee:)
Agreed. I love the half but it’s certainly challenging when you are running it!
I want you to be my running coach 🙂 Your workouts always jive with my mindset! Planning to do your neg split workout this thursday but I’ll also be throwing a version of this into the rotation as well.
Thank you, it makes me so happy to know you like my workouts 🙂 Let me know if you do this workout, it seriously left me sweatier than any other workout recently!
I haven’t tackled the 10k yet, and I think a lot of that has to do with just not being able to push myself past my comfort zone. I guess I should get around to doing that, eh? And breakfast this morning was oats with apples, dates, and maple syrup. Can you tell I’m really waiting on fall? 😛
Your breakfast sounds perfect to me. And yes, time to get out of the comfort zone and go a little further. You can do it!
Although I haven’t run a lot of them, I really love the 10-mile distance. I think a close second is the half marathon, then the marathon. Shorter races are definitely harder for me since I’m not much of a speedster. I am totally boring and not techie at all so I wear the same shoes for my speed workout as I do for all my runs – Nike Pegasus. Need the cushioning in a bulkier shoe for all my runs. Breakfast was a smoothie and an apple with honey and cinnamon. It will never get old 🙂
I ran one 10 mile race. I would run more but it’s hard to find them!
Not sure what my favorite race distance is- maybe the half-marathon? I wear lighter shoes for speed work- the Pure Connects. Today’s breakfast was a smoothie which I drank while getting ready for work!
I used to think the half was my favorite distance but somewhere Ialong the way I started to really like 10k’s, I wish I could find and register for more of them!
When I was running religiously, I really enjoyed half marathons.. however 8 miles is my favorite!
I have a half coming up, I sure hope I enjoy it!
Love love speedwork! Thanks for sharing this Meredith. This is too good not to share 🙂
Let me know if you try it and end up as sweaty as I did!