Training for/maintaining 10k

[taybert]

Hi all,
I've done little bit of running over the last couple of years but not managed to progress very far due to pregnancies, lack of sleep with young children etc. At Christmas I decided this was the year I wanted to move on and I signed up for a 10k road race in August.
Now, things have gone a bit better than anticipated. On 29th Dec I ran 3k and 2 weeks ago I ran 10k. Between 5 and 10 I didn't really do very much, just 8k once which was fine so then next time I did 10. I'm not very fast but it feels fine.
I've signed up for a trail 10k at the end of May but I'm not really sure how I should be training now. So far I've been doing a shorter (5-6k) twice a week in the evenings with 10 at the weekend. 10k 3 times a week feels a lot, just due to the time commitment after work (it's 7 at the earliest before I start running). 10k after an 11 Hour work day also feels like a very different prospect to doing after my breakfast on a Saturday!
Any ideas? I'm trying to go faster on my short runs and trying to incorporate some off road and building that up. Is it enough or do I really need to be trying to get to 10k 3 times a week?

Thanks for any advice!

Hi
If you can run three times a week I would suggest two short runs ( maybe 5k, with a some faster sections , or find a hill and go up and down a few times ) and at the weekend get your weekly long run in. As you have now done runs of 10k, the long run could increase in distance by 1km each week. If you can get to running 12-15km a few times as a long run, the 10k race won't feel so much of a distance challenge and will get you fitter. Basic rule of thumb is increase weekly mileage by 10% a week, no more.

If you are short of time IME even a 15- 20 minute run is worthwhile doing.
Also try to fit in some stretching / Pilates /yoga if possible.

I'd say one long run is of most benefit, supported by shorter, faster runs or cross training. Some mornings I can put on a short DVD like 30 day shred for complimentary strength work, which is more time effective than getting out to run.

I've found intervals have had the biggest impact on my overall pace. I've been doing 0.5 km slow/0.5 km fast twice followed by 0.5km at an incline. I've been using a treadmill but plan on shifting outside now the clocks have changed. Only takes 25 minutes and I've been doing once a week. I've been astonished how it's helped. Other than that I do a long run on Sunday's and parkrun on Saturday, I'm training for a half marathon at the moment. I probably will do more now in the evenings but I've noticed a real improvement, although I am slow so there's a lot of scope

Thanks! I'm slow too . Think I'll try to make my shorter runs faster or do hill stuff then increase my longer one. Good to know I don't need to be going the full distance every time in order to improve.
Thanks again.