Runner's Dilemma #41 — Breaking the 10km 50-Minute Wall
Runner's Log | Runner's Dilemma #41
Breaking the 10km 50-Minute Wall
Last Saturday was our group run.
A member who usually runs at an easy, stay-injury-free pace
ran seriously that day.
A little later, a post appeared in our group chat along with their 10km pace record.
Next time let’s run a bit faster!!! lol”
Average pace: 5:06 per km.
Even running that fast, those few seconds per kilometer added up to a full minute, and the finish was 51 minutes.
Under 50 minutes really isn’t easy.
I’ve been practicing running fast lately too, and yesterday I finished 10km in under 50 minutes.
It’s my first time in two years since my injury.
My comfortable pace is about 6:30 per km. While preparing for the full marathon I pushed it to around 5:50, and after focusing on speed for the past month, I think I’ve finally gotten down to a sub-50 10km.
I. My Level
I firmly believed that if you run slowly for a long time, speed comes naturally, so I only ran comfortably.
But the habit of running comfortably stuck, and my pace dragged out to 7:30, even 8:00 per km.
My goal was a sub-4 full marathon in early October, so from late August I stopped running slowly and hurriedly pushed up my speed. In the end I dropped out at 24km.
My average pace up to 21km was about 5:35, and that’s where it started to get hard.
6:30–7:00 was my comfortable range, so pulling the pace down by a full minute in six weeks was probably too much.
II. The Past Month, Paying Attention to Speed
Before, I usually started at 8:00–7:30, reached 6:30 by the 3km mark, then picked up speed to 5:50–5:30 to finish 10km and wrap up the workout.
But after failing the sub-4 marathon, I started running a little differently.
1. The Warm-up Stays the Same
The first 1–3km are the same as before.
Two years ago, my first full marathon left me badly injured, so until my body is properly warmed up, I go slowly, no exceptions.
I never push until my legs have loosened up and my body has settled into running.
If I get greedy and tweak something, I’ll have to wait a long time before running again, so I always try not to get hurt.
2. Adjusting to How My Body Feels That Day
I used to run in the evening and then, even if there was a group run the next morning, try to do the same workout as everyone else.
‘Tight legs? That’s just running. You’ll adapt as you go.’
That was my mindset.
But feeling proud afterward doesn’t necessarily help you get better, so for the past month I’ve been adjusting my workouts based on how my legs and body feel.
If I ran too hard, I wait until my body recovers before running again, and adjust the spacing between runs that way.
3. Putting a Hard Segment in Every Run
[Run slowly and you’ll naturally get faster]
If the distance you run is really long, I suppose that’s true.
But I have a job and a family, and it’s not easy for me to find that much time. So I decided this advice doesn’t fit me, and I’ve stopped believing it.
[The 80:20 rule]
Looking at this more closely, I think it fits marathoners and people who train like pros.
Considering the mileage they run, I don’t think the 80:20 rule fits someone like me, who barely reaches 200km a month.
So every time I run, I put in a hard segment.
- On a 20km run, I hold under 5:50 per km after the 3km mark, no exceptions.
- On a 10km run, I do 2–3km of intervals or fast running under 5:00 per km to push my heart rate way up.
Each run either has a segment where my heart rate gets hard, or it’s a long run done the hard way.
I also make a point of joining the Tuesday group interval session, and I try to get through intervals that suit me.
I couldn’t make it last week because of other plans. Two weeks ago, I ran 800m at 4:30 pace with 400m jogs, six rounds in total, and I really had to grit my way through it.
III. Running 10km Yesterday
For the first 3km I followed my usual pattern: starting at 7:30 and arriving at 6:30 per km by the 3km mark.
I walked for a moment and reset my Garmin.
‘How proud will I feel when I make it?’
‘If I don’t… ugh, I’ll feel awful…’
‘I’ve started, so I have to make it. That nagging feeling if I don’t… ugh, no thanks.’
And so I started running with a sub-50 10km as my goal.
1. To Reach 10km, Never Push Too Hard Early
I know how brutal the second half is if I’m worn out before even reaching 5km.
And I can’t just give up midway, and I know how painful it is to run for dear life.
So for the first 5km, I worked hard to keep it from getting too tough.
‘Just don’t go over 5:00 until 5km. Keep it natural, not too hard.’
- 1km 4:58. OK.
- 2km 5:03. Hmm, I can’t let it slip any further… but forcing it will wear me out, so let me find a bit more rhythm.
- 3km 5:00, 4km 4:56. Okay, please just hold this until 5km. 5km 4:52.
Now the second half. If I push a little harder, I can somehow survive 5km.
- 6km 4:46. Whoa, that’s too fast… I can’t burn out, so let me ease off.
Running carefully, yet thinking I could hold on for the rest, I ended up running under 4:50 per km.
With one kilometer left, I thought:
‘A little more suffering, and I can finish with pride instead of that nagging feeling.’
This is a method tailored to my own body. If you want to try something like it, check how you feel first and take it slowly.
My first 10km run all-out since the injury.
The runs I’ve done until now, slow, watching Anyangcheon stream and the setting sun, were a joy too.
Well, that was good in its own way,
I think this might count as an enjoyable run too.
