This year, I'm planning on running a 5k, a 10k, and a half marathon in 2015. The dates of the races other than the 5k haven't been announced yet. However, based on last year's dates, there will be about 2 months (9 weeks or so) between the 5k and the 10k and about 4 months (16 weeks) between the 10k and the half marathon. I'm also planning on moving from a maintenance schedule to a training schedule after the holidays, leaving me with about 12 weeks of training before the 5k.
I completed a 5k last year, and have ran 10k training runs, but never competed at that distance. My official 5k time is 29:32. I'd like to get that down to 25:00 or less. I'd also like to run an official 10k of less than 1:00:00 (hopefully ~55:00) and a half marathon in ~2:30:00, if those times are reasonable.
How should I manage my training? I see four obvious solutions that seem reasonable:
- Train for the 5k from leading up to the 5k. Follow a 10k training plan in the 2 months between the 5k and 10k. Follow a half marathon training plan in the 3 months between the 10k and half marathon.
- Train for a 10k through the 10k. Switch to a more race-friendly schedule the week of the 5k. Train for the half marathon from the end of the 10k through the half marathon.
- Train for the 5k through the 5k. Follow a half marathon training plan from the 5k until the half marathon. Switch to a more race-friendly schedule on the week of the 10k.
- Train for the half marathon starting in early January. Switch to a more race-friendly schedule the weeks of the 5k and 10k.
Is one preferable over the others, or conversely, is one a worse idea that should be discounted?