To celebrate the launch of the new Endorphin Pro the 15:39 speedster sent across three tips. They cover pacing, training and form and might help with the next virtual event or, one day soon hopefully, parkrun.

Pacing for a PB

“Find out the pacing strategy that works for you,” starts the Welsh ace. “This might be setting off at a pace you think you can hold for a whole parkrun.

It could be going off slightly quicker and seeing if you can holdout for the distance or setting off steady so you can pick up the pace in the second half.”

With her parkrun world record Arter knows about racing 5km. “Either way, mix it up and see what works for you. Experiment.”

If you have gone off a little fast then what should you do? “It helps to focus on people who are 20-30m in front of you as targets. Once you reach them you set another target.”

Probably a little difficult for the Saucony star as there isn’t often many people in front of her.

Form and technique

“When things start getting tough during the 5km, usually the last 1-2km, try and keep as good as form and technique as you can.”

“The more efficient you can be, the faster you will run.” Seems simple. “So concentrate on moving your arms to help propel you forward and focus on your leg speed.”

The Cardiff AC runner adds that “if you find your breathing is getting out of control, try counting your steps to 30 and repeat this to help control your breathing and get into a rhythm.

These shoes will apparently make you run faster too. Photo: Provided by Saucony

Speed work for the win

What about training? If you’re new to 5k then it’s possible that adding a bit more easy running to your week, building consistency, will help you see some improvements.

After that you could think about adding some speed work in. “Try adding one faster session in a week” is the place Arter says to start.

“This could be 10 x 1 min (1min recovery) or hill sprints (something like 10 x 45 seconds with a jog back down).”

“This not only adds variety to your training but also will help improve your parkrun time over time.”

Set some goals

“This can be short term and long term” shares the Welsh international. “It always helps to have something tangible to work to. Once you meet your goal of running for a longer period of time without walking and then eventually running a 5K distance without stopping, your next target can be improving on your time for the 5K.

“The main thing is not to rush the timeframe of your goals and to always look back on what you have achieved, big or small, they are all achievements!”

Nothing comes for free in this world, so this these wonderful tips come as part of a press release for the new carbon plated Saucony shoe. Another fancy shoe that makes you faster, but always best to train hard and wear fancy shoes.

Competition Time

To celebrate the launch of the Saucony Endorphin Collection there’s a competition on Strava. If you run a 2020 5k PB in the next three weeks you can enter for a chance to win all three pairs of the all-new Endorphin Collection — Speed, Shift and Pro — shoes engineered by athletes and made for the everyday runner.

The ‘You, But Faster’ with Saucony Strava Challenge will take place between the 29th June- 19th July. To find out more please pop along here. 

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here. 

The post Charlotte Arter’s 5k tips appeared first on Fast Running.

I’m sure every athlete and coach has their favourite or ‘go-to’ workout for different distances. Most are borrowed, or personally tried and tested.

I wish they guaranteed a fast time, but there is always more to it, than just one session. But, if you’re looking for some hand me down sessions, here’s a couple of my mine you can have. Pass them on if you like!

My belief is that to have confidence in your race day pacing plan… you need to train at goal pace. The way to best do this is through interval sessions, with breaking down the race distance.

Here are a couple of simple session suggestions for 5km and 10km distance.

Saucony UK and James Thie coached athlete Tom Marshall literally flying to a finish line. Photo: Robert Gale (@awv)

5km:

Session 1: 4 to 5 day before race day: 5 x 1km aim @ 3 to 5 seconds under goal pace.

• 16min aim or under: 2mins rest after each 1km.

• 16 to 20min aim:  2.5mins rest after each 1km.

• 20min plus aim:  3mins rest after each 1km.

Session 2: To sharpen for important track 5km race, 5 to 7 days before race day: 3 sets of 1200m (@2sec per 400m faster than goal 5km pace)  then 400m @1500m/mile pace.

• 16mins or under aim: 1min rest after 1200m & 4mins after 400m.

• 16 to 20mins aim: 90secs rest after 1200m & 5mins after 400m.

• 20mins plus aim: 2min rest after 1200m & 5mins after 400m.

Going a little longer

10km:

Session 1: 12-14 days before race day: 10 x 1km @ your goal race pace.

• 33mins or under aim: 60secs rest after each 1km.

• 34 to 40mins aim: 75secs rest after each 1km.

• 40mins plus aim: 90secs rest after each 1km.

Session 2: 9-12 days before race day:

• 33mins or under aim: 7 x 4mins with 90secs rest after each rep.

• 34 to 40mins aim:  6 x 5mins with 2mins rest after each rep.

• 40mins plus aim: 5 x 6mins with 3mins rest after each rep.

For more 10km chat… join me on the 9th June @7pm for a Welsh Athletics Webinar. Aimed at all athletes and coaches looking to grow their knowledge of art of 10k training and racing.

The webinar won’t just be about single sessions but cover a much wider look at the 10k distance. This will include:

• Explore the physical and mental components required to run a 10k.

• Discuss training for a 10k including session examples and training block planning.

• Explore 10k race preparation.

• Dissect the executing the race.

Saucony UK ambassador James Thie is supporting the launch of the Endorphin Pro. He is also hosting home-based circuit training sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm. You can find the sessions here. 

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The post James Thie’s go-to 5 & 10k sessions appeared first on Fast Running.