If you are in the USA you know that it is that time of year again! People are gearing up for Thanksgiving day turkey trots. This tradition has been growing, and we are so excited that more people are participating in these events. A lot of our listeners may be coming back into running more again after a big fall marathon or half marathon, so this is often a strange time of year for racing. We wanted to chat about some tips to help with your turkey day 5k-10k.

How much of this race is aerobic vs anaerobic?

Is it still important to keep your easy days easy?

Are you still running high mileage?

How do elites train for 5ks?

What sort of workouts should you do the week of the race? Strides and short fartleks

Should you do strides? Yes! Before the race, I definitely want 4+ quality strides. I’m a fan of a few longer 200m pickups about 10-15 minutes or so before the race and a few shorter ones 50 meters right before your race

What sort of pacing plan should you have? Negative split or even split

How do you know what kind of shape you are in? Recent time trials or workouts. Compare consistency in your recent training block to previous seasons when you ran a 5k.

Will the weather play a role? Weather always plays a role to some degree. Hopefully being that Turkey trots are in November that is typically a nice time of year in most areas where we don’t experience one extreme or the other.

Should you consider using this as more of a fun run? Absolutely, It can be tough to run well if it’s colder like here in the midwest. Also It’s a great family event to do and a great way to start the Holiday.

How long of a warm up or cool down? 1-3 Miles

How many days should you taper before? 2-3 or perhaps a few more.

Pacing for a 5k: what is the speed limit the first mile? Your Goal 5k pace (should be 5-10 seconds slower than) If you are super fit it may be okay to run 5-10 seconds faster than 5k goal pace

Pacing for a 10k: what is the speed limit for the first 1-2 miles? I would say even a bit slower, so 10-20 seconds slower than your goal 10k pace. You have more time to work your way down to race pace :)

How should you feel during the halfway point? Strong - Like you can negative split

How should we dress? Be prepared for the weather including overdressing at the start if it’s cold!