Running News Daily

Can you train for a 10K in two weeks?

That spring race you forgot you signed up for last fall is fast approaching, and we are here to tell you, don’t panic. Although it’s impossible to pack eight to 12 weeks of training into two, there are several things you can still do to help prepare.

You won’t make any significant physiological gains in two weeks, but it’s better to do something rather than nothing. It is still a good idea to run a few workouts at your goal race pace to develop an idea of what type of shape you’re in, so you don’t have to find out the hard way… on the course.

If you have run out of time, the last thing you want to do is overtrain and run every day. Since your body is not familiar with training, give yourself adequate rest, so you aren’t sore, fatigued or injured on the start line.

There are two types of workouts you should focus on. The first is a few high-intensity intervals at your goal race pace or faster, to get a feel for pace, and the second is a few long and slow runs to improve your endurance and promote recovery. 

If you want to make the most of your two-week training plan, run three days a week, or every other day. Separate the two interval workouts with a long, slow run of 40 to 60 minutes. Keep the pace strictly conversational. You will also want to make sure you are not doing a workout the day before the race, so it might be smart to take a rest day. 

Two other things you can do to improve performance, outside of your run training, are getting lots of sleep and fuelling your body with the proper nutrients. Working on both will help your muscles feel rested and ready heading into each workout, and most importantly, the race.