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10K Race Training: Advanced Beginner Schedule

By , About.com Guide

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You've already run at least one 10K (6.2 miles) road race, or you have some running experience and are ready to race a 10K. If the beginner runner 10K schedule doesn't seem like it's challenging enough or the intermediate 10K schedule seems too tough, try this 8-week advanced beginner 10K schedule (see chart below).

This schedule is geared toward runners who can run 3 miles comfortably and can run 4 to 5 days per week.

Notes about the schedule:

Mondays and Fridays: Mondays and Fridays are rest days. Don't ignore rest days -- they're important to your recovery and injury prevention efforts. Your muscles build and repair themselves during your rest days. So if you run every day, you're not going to gain much strength and you're increasing your risk of injury.

Tuesdays and Saturdays: After you warm up, run at a comfortable pace for the designated mileage.

Wednesdays: Do a cross-training (CT) activity (such as biking or swimming) at an easy to moderate effort for 45 to 50 minutes.

Thursdays: These distances should be run at your 10K race pace. If you're not sure what that pace is, run at a speed that you think you could hold for 6.2 miles.

Sundays: Sundays are active recovery days. Run at an easy (EZ), comfortable pace to help loosen up your muscles. Or, you can do a run/walk combination.

Note:
You can switch days to accommodate your schedule. So, if you prefer to workout on a Monday or Friday, it's fine to swap a rest day for a run day.

10K Advanced Beginner Schedule
Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 Rest 3 m run CT 2.5 m run (race pace) Rest 3 m run 30 min EZ
2 Rest 3 m run CT 3 m run (race pace) Rest 3.5 m run 35-40 min EZ
3 Rest 3.5 mi run CT 3.5 m run (race pace) Rest 4 m run 35-40 min EZ
4 Rest 4 m run CT 3.5 m run (race pace) Rest 4.5 m run 40-45 min EZ
5 Rest 3 m run CT 4 m run (race pace) Rest 5 m run 40-45 min EZ
6 Rest 3.5 m run CT 3.5 m run (race pace) Rest 6 m run 40-45 min EZ
7 Rest 4 m run CT 4 m run (race pace) Rest 7 m run 40-45 min EZ
8 Rest 3 m run CT or Rest 3 m run Rest Rest 10K Race!
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