I Ditched the Marathon for the 5K and Loved It

I Ditched the Marathon for the 5K – and Loved It

By Heather Mayer Irvine

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017, 11:27 AM

In Partnership With Runner's World

"After seven 26.2s, I focused on shorter distances. This is how I broke 20 minutes."

KEVIN MORRIS

When I got back into running after a short break in college, I focused on training to run a half marathon, then a full marathon. My own interest in marathoning coincided with a national boom: In 2013, when I ran my first 26.2, more than 500,000 people in the U.S. finished marathons—a 40-percent rise from just 10 years earlier. Still, training for and completing seven marathons over the course of a few years wore on me. Last year, I decided to hang up my long-distance shoes after the Boston Marathon and focus on the shorter 5K distance. Two weeks after Boston, I ran a 20:40 5K, a two-second PR. And I thought, “If I really train for speed, I can go under 20 minutes.”

I followed our “Break 20” 10-week training plan and targeted the Runner’s World Half and Festival 5K in October 2016. I'm proud of my 3:31 marathon PR, but I’m more proud of the 19:46 5K I ran last fall.

MY WEEKLY MILEAGE REMAINED THE SAME

I wish I could be a higher mileage runner (that is, 40 to 50 miles per week during marathon training). But after an overuse injury during my first marathon training cycle sidelined me for months, I stopped running more than four days a week, swapping a fifth or sixth run for rest and cross-training days. Before all of my marathons, I logged about 35 to 40 miles per week, only exceeding 50 weekly miles once.

I thought my mileage would drop during 5K training, but it didn’t. I maintained 35 to 40 miles per week, but I spread it over five days instead of four, and my runs ranged from three to 12 miles instead of eight to 20. Each week included a track workout, a tempo workout, an easy-paced long run, and two short recovery runs. I really enjoyed the easy mileage—it helped me maintain a solid base for my speedwork and tempo runs.

I DIDN’T GET HURT OR BURNT OUT

Yes, my mileage remained high (for me), but I didn’t get injured. I attribute this to shorter, more purposeful training runs. I wasn’t on the road for hours at a time trying to make it through a hot and humid 20-miler just to get it done. And because the workouts were relatively brief and changed every week, I was challenging my legs and my mental toughness regularly. Because I'd only been training for long, slower distances, this was exciting. I also recovered more quickly and was able to complete another hard or long workout just two days later.

My 5K plan called for long runs of 10 to 12 miles. I was out the door and back in less than two hours, and I still felt accomplished. (And I only needed two postrun breakfasts!)

MY TRACK WORK WAS HARDER BUT OVER QUICKER

I used to dread track work. In high school, the impending doom of quarters made it impossible to focus in class. Once I joined a running club (hey, North Brooklyn Runners!) and started hitting the track out of the sheer desire to get faster, the fear dissipated. I even started leading the weekly workout.

Marathon track work is like most marathon training: long and arduous. You don’t run very fast and you turn left a lot. Track work for a 5K hurts a lot more—I was clocking 5K and mile pace regularly—but in about 45 minutes, I was done.

I RACED HARD AND IMMEDIATELY CONTINUED RUNNING

After a marathon, I don't usually move much for about two weeks. After my 5K PR, I was sucking wind, sure, but I was easily able to walk through the finish chute. And because it was the Runner’s World Half & Festival Weekend, I had a 10K to run about an hour later. I ran it with some friends and coworkers at a very comfortable sub-9:00 clip.

After a decent sleep, I got up early to run RW’s (very hilly) half marathon with a friend. We finished in 1:47—13 minutes slower than my PR, but it was a leisurely run, and something I never could have done after racing 26.2 the day before.

I RAN (AND WON) TWO MORE 5KS WITHIN SIX WEEKS

If you have a bad marathon (or even a bad half marathon), you can’t run a do-over for a while. You really need a few months to let your body recover properly, and by that point, you probably need to start a whole new training cycle. Not so with a 5K. Have a bad race? Line up the following weekend and try again.

After my mid-October race, I continued running, with one to two hard workouts per week. Three weeks later I ran another 5K, with a head cold, and won. Three weeks after that I ran another 5K, won, and posted my second sub-20 race. And then it was time for a break.

I DIDN’T DREAD MY LONG RUNS

I always enjoyed the feeling of being done with a 16-, 18-, or 20-mile long run. It gave me license to sit on the couch, eat three breakfasts, and feel a sense of accomplishment well before noon. But runs too much longer than 90 minutes are exhausting, and after training for seven marathons in quick succession, the time spent on the road started to weigh on me.

This Article Originally Appeared On Runners World