Turkey Trot 5K Training

I am running the York YMCA Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving and I have been trying to decide how I want to train for this race. I am absolutely not a sprinter when it comes to swimming, biking, or running. However, I know I can run a faster 5K than I did in June and this is the perfect time to crush that PR.

I have been struggling with coming up with a training plan for this race because running the Rock n' Roll USA Half Marathon is also on my radar. I am going to try incorporating some speed work into my training but I also want to make sure I get in some long runs too.

Because it is pretty hilly around here I am only planning on running four times a week. I would love to run five days a week but given the hills nearby I don't want to end up injured. Because of this I want to put a heavy emphasis on cross training. Luckily I have some pretty awesome free options for cross training at my school.

I don't have how much I want to run on what days yet, but I know how many miles I want to hit each week and what runs I want to incorporate into my week. It doesn't matter which day I do each run though. As for running I want to do one speed work run, one long run, one tempo run, and one easy run.

I have never done speed work but I have heard a lot of really great things about Yasso 800's so that is what I am going to be for my speed work. I am going to start out with only 2 repeats and work my way up to 4 repeats by race day.

I do want to do some long runs but they will only range from 6 miles to 8 miles. I want to use this time to get really comfortable with running these distances without stressing running longer distances.

I also want to use my easy runs to get more comfortable with running 5-6 miles. I am really comfortable running 3-4 miles right now meaning that anything longer than that is still a struggle for me. I want to increase my endurance some before I jump into half marathon training.

Finally, tempo runs. Tempo runs are actually my favorite type of runs. I lost a lot of my speed since I left for school but I am hoping that with the combination of tempo runs and speed work I will really be able to increase my speed.

A few weeks ago I started doing yoga and that is absolutely going to stay a part of my training. I am planning on sticking to doing yoga twice a week so that I can still do some other cross training.

Over the summer I started doing Insanity and it really helped my running. But then I stopped doing it and I am not quite sure why. Insanity is a great workout and will absolutely help me increase my speed and endurance.

I also want to start swimming again. I stopped a few weeks before my Baltimore so I could focus more on running but I really want to start again. Swimming calms me down and is almost like yoga for me.

Any suggestions for crushing my current 5K PR?!