Running
5K Time Goal Builder
Race-pace sharpening and advanced 5K specificity. 14 weeks, six runs a week.
- Distance
- 5K
- Length
- 14 weeks
- Runs per week
- 6
- Level
- Advanced
- Goal
- Time goal
Who it's for
You run most days and are used to structured workouts. It is built around a specific 5K time you want to hit.
How the weeks work
It runs for 14 weeks with six runs in each.
If life gets in the way you can stretch it to 20 weeks, or tighten it to 12 if you are already fit.
The last 10 days are a taper: less running, a little intensity, so you start the race fresh.
- Blocks at your goal race pace, so it feels familiar when it counts.
- Intervals: repeats a little faster than race pace, with easy jogging in between.
- Threshold runs of 15 to 30 minutes at a comfortably hard pace. You could say a few words, not hold a conversation.
Setting your paces
Start with a 3 km time trial. Your result sets the paces for the rest of the plan, so run it honestly and on fresh legs.
Later benchmarks: a 5K time trial. Use them to adjust your paces rather than to chase a number.
Making it stick
- Protect the key sessions. The easy running around them can move.
- Compare each benchmark with the last one and adjust your paces, up or down.
- Keep strides in the week even when you are tired; they are what keep you sharp.
