10K Tinman Critical Velocity
Tom "Tinman" Schwartz
About the plan
Twelve weeks built around Tom "Tinman" Schwartz's critical velocity, applied to the 10K — the distance where the concept is most direct, because CV pace sits almost right on top of race pace. The CV session is the backbone of the week and appears in all twelve: blocks of 1 to 2 km with short rest, which add up to a lot of volume at a strong pace without the wear of a VO2max workout. Around it, truly easy runs, strides in alternating weeks and a long run that reaches 13 miles (21 km). From week nine a second session comes in, now at race pace, to dial in the pointer for race day. Volume ranges from 36 to 50 miles (58 to 80 km) per week. For advanced runners who are tired of alternating between destructive workouts and recovery weeks, and want to progress with a high, steady stimulus. How to read the paces: Tom Schwartz's critical velocity (CV) is the pace you could sustain for about 30 minutes — in practice, close to your 10K pace and a few seconds per kilometer FASTER than classic threshold. The platform has no dedicated zone for it, so the CV sessions appear as @threshold: run them at the upper end of that range, controlled, with a "strong, but not hard" feel. What defines the session is the short rest — it is what keeps the aerobic stimulus high without turning it into a VO2 workout.
The plan in numbers
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Runs per week
- 6
- Weekly volume
- 37 mi · 5 min → 50 mi · 6 min
- Longest run
- 14 mi
Week 1 starts at 37 mi · 5 min and volume builds to 50 mi · 6 min in week 7, the heaviest of the plan.
A typical week has 6 runs, and the longest session reaches 14 mi (Long, week 7).
Over the final 5 weeks volume drops from 50 mi · 6 min to 18 mi · 4 min so you arrive at the race rested.
Race day (9.3 mi) falls on Sunday of week 12; the week holds 18 mi · 4 min of running before it.
There are 3 tune-up races on the way to the goal race.
Key workouts
The quality sessions that come up most in this plan:
- Threshold12 sessions across 12 weeks
- Long11 sessions across 11 weeks
- Repetition4 sessions across 4 weeks
Who it's for
Advanced level. To start safely you should already be running about 37 mi · 5 min per week and be comfortable with a 11 mi session — that is what week 1 asks for.
Week 1 — workout preview
37 mi · 5 min this week
6.2 mi · 5 min
5.6 mi
6.1 mi
5 mi
3.7 mi
11 mi
Week 7 — the heaviest of the plan
50 mi · 6 min this week
6.8 mi · 6 min
8.1 mi
8 mi
6.8 mi
5.6 mi
14 mi
Plan Structure
12 weeks · 71 workouts · 13 rest days
See the full plan
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