10km under 60min with Garmin Coach

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It has been about 6 months that I set a goal to try to run 10km under 60min.  The last time I ran that distance was in May 2015 in the Mississauga Marathon.  My time was 1:04:00, my pace back then 5min 57sec.  I don’t think I’ve been able to run at that pace consistently for the past 3 years.   So I was determined to fix that.  

Why 10km? and why under 60?

 Well I have been able to run 10km in the past and I know I can run 5km with very little training, so I wanted to push the limits a little bit more.   I wanted a challenge, something that was not going to be easy – so I had to keep pushing and keep training to achieve it.  Also, something that I could do in 1 hour so I don’t need to leave the house for too long or give up a bunch of “honey-do chores’ that would get me in trouble. 10 Km or 6.2 miles is the great distance with not a huge commitment in training like a half marathon or a full marathon, most of the training is based on increasing pace and adding endurance. Which can be achieved easily with the right program.

10 km distance is considered to be the natural next step from 5 Km, most running event you will find have a 5 Km, 10 km, Half-Marathon, and Full-Marathon, so there are plenty of them to select from if you want to set a goal for a particular date.

The Training plan

So, once I picked that distance and time I needed a training plan.  There are many different plans online that you can download or free apps like Nike Run that you could use to get a somewhat tailored training program to go from no running experience to a full 10km, half marathon or even a full marathon (I’ll post a few links to the ones I’ve seen at the bottom of the post). You can google “10km training plan” and you will get 3.3 Million results.

Sorting between 3.3 million results was not going to work for me. So, I decided to give a try to my new Garmin forerunner 645 and paired with the Garmin connect app they offered a coached program for no additional cost and since it takes advantage of the full capabilities of my new watch it was a match made in heaven (check my review here).       

Basically the app allows you to select between different coaches programs and different levels.  You will select how many workouts per week, which days,  and your target date to complete the program.   In the background, it uses all your inputs to estimate a program tailored to your fitness level.  Through the program, you get videos and tips for injury prevention, nutritional tips, and what I like the most a Confidence level indicator. 

This indicator keeps you in track in my opinion.  I’m not 100% sure how it works yet.  But it is based on you completing the scheduled activities and the performance of those.  I know that because I missed one or two sessions and the confidence dropped, which pushed me to get back on track.  In the phone app, you get your Dashboard with key indicators, your workout schedule, detailed steps for your workout and a calendar view.

The Results

My experience so far has been fantastic.  I love the progress I’ve made over the last 9 weeks.  I can run further and my pace is improving, and no injury so far.   Some of the things that I really like are that the schedule I set up in the app was bang on what I needed a mix between short easy runs, HIIT, and Long distance runs. This is specific to Coach Greg, if you pick any of the other coaches the programs vary a bit on the type of sessions.   

The first step in the program is to do a bechmark, this will set your baseline on to start the program. The results will adjust the training pace, distance, etc. I started with easy runs of short distances of 3~4 km,  and then slowly adding, distance and stride repeats (basic intervals at higher speeds),  and longer runs on the weekends.  So far I’ve gone from averaging 4km per run to 7 km per run and have improved my pace by 30-40 seconds in 9 weeks.  

If find that the increased in distance and pace over time is gradual enough that you almost don’t notice it. I ran 9.9 Km in one of the session, and I didn’t realized until I was almost done. I also kicked my PR since 2017 in 5 km distance. So I can speak for the progress I have seen with this plan.

Conclusion

The training has had a positive impact on my running performance. I find the workouts really easy to follow as compared to other sessions, even by a different coach in Garmin connect or other plans I’ve seen online.  The app does all the tracking and the plan adjusts based on your performance.    You can’t see the whole program from the beginning since lots of the workout will change base on the completion and performance as you go through it. Which is good as you are getting a program tailored more towards your performance ensuring success at the end.

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