I posted this in the June Running thread but thought it might be more visible here.
I've been running since January now and have my first 5k race on 3rd July. I run 5k or slightly more on the treadmill at least twice, possibly three times a week now, and then do one outside run to get me used to conditions for the race. My outside runs I make sure I cover 5k or slightly more, but due to hills I'm having to walk a little a times. The race circuit is supposed to be mostly flat so I'm hoping that I'll be able to run the whole thing without walking, and my goal is to do it in under 40mins.
I'm wondering now if you more experienced runners can give me some advice please. Now that I'm consistently doing 5k I'm getting bored on the treadmill... I have tried to mix it up a bit. On a couple of occasions I've run for 45mins at my steady pace and ended up doing about 5.5k. On others I've done about 10mins at my steady pace, then upped the speed for say 10mins, then knocked it back down, then up again etc. The problem is I don't feel I've got any structure to my treadmill runs and I'm feeling they're getting stale. I really want to keep improving my running overall, and the speed and distance that I can cover, but not sure how best to do it.
I've read loads about running in mags, books and websites, but it all seems confusing and aimed towards more experienced runners. Terms like fartlek, tempo etc have me totally unsure what I should be doing.
I think I need one long run each week, which I gather is running at your steady pace for a longer time, so overall covering more distance. Is this right? If so how should I do that? Should I add more time each week or more distance?
And as for improving my speed, any ideas? I know my speed has improved since I started running but I just want to make the most of my workouts. Am I right running for say 10mins at a faster pace or is that too long? Should I be running faster still but for a shorter time?
As I said, I have definitely two treadmill runs, and quite often three in a week, so what's the best way to use them to make the most progress? My running outside is still evolving and haven't managed one locally without doing some walking because of the hills, so still working on that.
I would LOVE to be able to build up to a 10k by the end of the year and speed up a little more, if that helps anyone know what I'm hoping to achieve.

Do you bump up the incline on the treadmill to make it more taxing and a better approximation of outside running? A 1 to 1.5 incline should do the trick.

Unfortunately, the treadmill is boring. Running outside lets you look at lots of different things. I like speed work on a treadmill better than trying to log distance.

I am by no means an expert, but for speed work, I run for about 10 mins at a warm up pace, and then every two minutes I bump up the pace one notch until I can't go much faster.

(Don't go so fast you can't stay on the treadmill, but so your breathing is faster and you can't talk easily.)

I then slow it back down to a manageable speed and recover my breath for about 5 mins. Speed work can be very structured or it can be flexible - in my opinion the most important thing is to get your body used to running a little faster. Sometimes I repeat this pattern.

It's going to take some time to get faster, and you don't want to go too fast to soon or you may incur injury. Getting faster for me has happened by running with other people who push my pace - I can run faster than I think I can.

I answered in the other thread but now I am going to get both a little more specific and a little more general. You are battling 3 different goals at once here. 1) alleviate boredom 2) get faster 3) build up to run a 10K.

You can't let 3 goals be your master at the same time.

Ramping mileage and adding speedwork AT the same time for a new runner is just asking for injury. But you can alternate phases.

Phase 1 is the month you have left until your 5K. You've built your distance fairly well, although your 5K will rock even better if you work up to say 4 miles but that is your choice. So from now to then, 1 day a week play with different types of speed work or hill work. and 1 other day maybe push your pace just a little out of your comfortzone.

Phase 2 will be maybe the 4-6 weeks after your 5K. Maybe you stop playing with speed for awhile and focus on endurance for awhile. This would be a good time to look at something like "the one hour runner" plan. You might be somewhere in the middle of the plan.

After 4-6 weeks then hold your mileage steady for awhile again and go back and play with speed for awhile.

Pick a goal 10K and count back about 6-8 weeks and leave yourself time to do a program like maybe Hal Higdon's novice 10K program. which will primarily focus on endurance again.

Anyway, just pick a race, look at your year and break it up into 4-8 week chunks that change focus.

I found this thread very helpful when it came up. I had read about "intervals" and "repeats" but never understood quite what that meant.

This is also helpful (from Hal Higdon's website):

Speedwork: If you want to run at a fast pace, you need to train at a fast pace several days a week. This training schedule for Intermediate runners alternates interval running with Tempo Runs. (See below). An interval workout usually consists of fast repeats separated by walking or jogging. The program begins with 5 x 400 meters in the first week and adds one more 400 every other week to reach 10 x 400 meters the week before your half marathon. Walk or jog between each repeat. The best place to run 400-meter repeats is on a track, although you can also use an accurately-measured road course. Run the 400s at about your pace for 5-K, or 10-K. For more information on speed training, see my book, Run Fast.

Tempo Runs: This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace. A Tempo Run of 30 to 45 minutes would begin with 10-15 minutes easy running, build to 15-20 minutes near the middle, then 5-10 minutes easy toward the end. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout. Hold that peak only for a minute or two. I consider Tempo Runs to be the "Thinking Runner's Workout." A Tempo Run can be as hard or easy as you want to make it, and it has nothing to do with how long (in time) you run or how far. In fact, the times prescribed for Tempo Runs serve mainly as rough guidelines. Feel free to improvise. Improvisation is the heart of doing a Tempo Run correctly.
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When he says 5x400, he means running 400 meters at a faster pace followed by 400 meters walking or slow jogging, five times.

His website has lots of good training programs for different distances, including one called How to Improve Your 5K Times.

I just did my first ever interval run on a treadmill at the gym today. I warmed up for 5 mins, then did .25 miles faster followed by .25 miles slower, alternating, for the rest of my run (I think 400 meters is about 1/4 mile). It was great and helped a lot with the boredom! The treadmill at my gym let you enter your "fast" speed and your "slow" speed, and then you could alternate between the two by pressing just one button (instead of hitting the speed button 10 times). That was helpful.

Sounds like you're doing great -- best of luck!

Whoops -- I was writing my post at the same time as Ennay -- so you got a double dose of Hal Higdon love!

Thanks for all the great advice girls, I think I'm a bit clearer on what I should be going.
If I just concentrate on the next almost 4 weeks to my first 5k, would I be ok to try the following runs each week or am I trying to do too much too soon:-
1. Interval run - 400m faster pace/400m recovery x 5.
2. Longer run - Run 5.5k at a steady pace for 2 weeks, then up it to 6k for the last 2 weeks before the race.
3. Outside run - just get out there and run to cover 5k approx with the odd minute walk if necessary.
But what do I do for my 4th run of the week? Do I do 5k at a steady pace on the treadmill, or do the 5k slightly faster than my usual pace, or incorporate some incline?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just anxious to mix things up so I can get back the little bit of excitement I lost this past couple of weeks, and make my 5k race more achievable and enjoyable, but I definitely don't want to risk any injuries which will stop me running altogether.

If you are doing the other 3 runs as you describe then make the 4th run easy. Run easy pace as far as you feel like going that day.

All great advice.

I'll just add, that you could even try running some hills. Go to that part of the route that's normally difficult for you and just try and run the whole thing...or as much as you can. It doesn't matter how fast you go, just don't stop running until you absolutely have to (or if you're feeling pain that's not normal running pain). And just go up and down the hill, again and again. It'll really work you and it might be more interesting than running at an incline on the treadmill.

Also, maybe try pushing your pace a little at the end of each km or mile? For a minute just slightly increase it to the point where you feel uncomfortable but not where it's really noticeably difficult. You know you can't sustain it for very long, but you could keep going for a bit like that. Just do it for a minute, like I said, then settle back into your comfortable pace. The idea is eventually that "uncomfortable" pace starts to feel comfortable.

Good luck! I bet you'll have a great time on race day. It's such a great atmosphere; the adrenaline really gets you going.

Thanks so much for all the advice girls.
I went and did my first proper interval training session on the treadmill today and I LOVED it!
I'm not sure if I did it totally correct but I did 400m at my steady pace, followed by 400m at .5kph faster. I repeated this 5 times so ran 4k, then walked a couple of minutes to cool down afterwards. The first two faster intervals were fine, but the final three were definitely a push to do. It was great to get to the point where I felt I was tiring and then be able to back off to my steady speed to recover.
Since I finished the C25K programme at the end of March and got so I could run for 40mins non-stop, I've been pushing myself every run to run for the same amount of time, and sometimes running faster for a bit, and it's got so that it was a real effort to do the same thing every session and run on the treadmill for so long. Today it felt weird to finish the treadmill section of my workout after just over 30mins, but in turn I felt the rest of my workout was actually a little easier than normal which was a nice change and I really enjoyed the whole thing.
I really think this is what I've been needing, I think I've possibly been pushing myself too hard on the treadmill time wise and got bored and frustrated. Running for a shorter time overall but pushing myself in a more structured way today felt great!
Tomorrow is my usual step class, but Thursday I'm going to aim to do a longer run, 5.5k at my steady pace. I am a little worried I'm going to find this boring after today, but I'm going to update my music on my ipod so I've got loads of motivational music.

I'd just pick a schedule and go with it if you are trying to improve race times.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/index.html
www.halhigdon.com
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/index.shtml

I've walked in races and I prefer the structure of a scheduled workout. I esp liked Galloway for the cross-training days so I could get some lap swim or weights in to vary it up.

A.