Run a 10K Race in less than 1 hour

One of my big health and fitness objectives for 2010 is to run a 10K race in under an hour. It must be nearly a decade since I ran 10K at that speed. So, will my legs still do it.

10K (kilometers) is 6.2 miles.

I'm going to train mostly on a treadmill to be kind to my knees. I've blog'd frequently about my knees but they are not bad at the moment and the intention is to run 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

So how fast do I need to be able to run ?

Running on a treadmill is about 10% faster than on the road; some say 11.5% faster.
10% faster means I need to run 10K in 54 minutes in order to run 60 minutes on the road.
11.5% faster would mean running 10K in 53 minutes 6 seconds.

So can I run the distance at 5 mins 24 seconds for every kilometer ? Translated in miles this means running every mile in 8 mins 43 seconds.

Where am I now in terms of speed?

I can run 3 miles at a speed of 8 minutes 42 seconds i.e. just inside the target speed but I need to run for twice as far at that speed ?

The PLAN

JANUARY 2010 - Build a base of stamina by running the 10K distance every week and sometimes more than once a week but at a slower pace than the target pace (fairly obviously). The idea behind long slow running distance is to build an expanded network of capillaries in the leg muscles and to increase the weight of aerobic enzymes in the leg muscles.

How did the plan workout ?

Mileage in January:
week 1 = 16 miles
week 2 = 17 1/4 miles
week 3 = 18 miles
week 4 = 19 1/2 miles

The longest run was 8 miles and the fastest 6.2 miles (10K) was 62 minutes.

FEBRUARY 2010 - Increase speed by running faster over shorter distances - each week increase speed slightly. The objective is to increase how much blood the heart pumps at each stroke and to improve tolerance to lactate in muscles and blood.

How did plan workout ? 

Ran 3.1 miles (5K) in 26 mins 48 seconds (6.9 mph and faster finish)  (on treadmill)

Ran for 8 minutes at 7.4 mph

Ran for 4 minutes at at 7.8 mph.

March 2010 - Run at February speeds but go longer trying to get to a run of 5 miles at 6.9 mph and try a 5K event i.e. run on road and see difference road to treadmill.