10k Training: Mastering Your Running Pace

Running pace is the secret sauce of race day success. Get it right, and you’ll glide through the 10K like a well-oiled machine. Get it wrong, and you’ll be gasping for air at kilometre two!

So, let’s break it down: how to train at the right pace, find your ideal speed, and track progress without turning every run into a near-death experience.

Not all runs are the same. Some are slow, some are fast, and some will make you see God.

🟢 Easy Runs (Aka: The Runs You Shouldn’t Hate)

🔥 Tempo Runs (Aka: The “Comfortably Uncomfortable” Runs)

⚡ Interval Runs (Aka: Sprint, Die, Recover, Repeat)

🛑 Long Runs (Aka: Your Weekend Plans Now Involve Suffering)

💡 Pro Tip: Mix all these into your training plan. If every run is all-out effort, your legs will throw in the towel before race day.

Race pace is that magical speed where you’re going fast enough to hit your goal time but not so fast that you need the Order of Malta halfway through.

🎯 How to Find Your 10K Pace:
1️⃣ Run a 5K as fast as you can (don’t collapse, please).
2️⃣ Add 15-30 seconds per kilometre to that pace. That’s your estimated 10K pace.
3️⃣ Train at that speed so your body gets used to it.

📌 Pace Guidelines:

Running without tracking your progress is like baking without measuring ingredients, the end result might alright, but the smart money is on it being a disaste.

📊 How to Track Your Progress:
✔ GPS Watch or App: Track pace, distance, and how often you stop to “tie your shoe” (aka, catch your breath).
✔ The Talk Test: If your easy runs feel easier over time, you’re improving. If they still feel like torture… maybe reconsider life choices.
✔ Race Simulations: Try running 10K at race pace before the actual event. If you survive, you’re doing great. If you don’t, adjust accordingly.

If you:
✅ Train at different paces,
✅ Find your ideal 10K speed,
✅ Track progress so you know you’re improving,

…then race day won’t feel like an execution—it’ll feel like a victory.

Or at the very least, you won’t be that person gasping dramatically at kilometre four while rethinking their life choices.

See you next Monday for "Fueling Your Runs: Nutrition Tips for Runners, or as I like to call it, "How to Eat Like an Athlete Without Actually Becoming One."