Running
Improve Your 1 km Time
Speed-endurance emphasis with aerobic support. Seven weeks, four runs a week.
- Distance
- 1 km
- Length
- 7 weeks
- Runs per week
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Goal
- Run it faster
Who it's for
You already run a few times a week. It is built to help you run a faster 1 km.
How the weeks work
It runs for seven weeks with four runs in each.
If life gets in the way you can stretch it to 10 weeks, or tighten it to 6 if you are already fit.
The last 7 days are a taper: less running, a little intensity, so you start the race fresh.
- 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.
- Strides after some easy runs: four to six relaxed 20-second pickups with a full walk back.
Setting your paces
Start with a 1 km time trial. Your result sets the paces for the rest of the plan, so run it honestly and on fresh legs.
Making it stick
- Keep easy days slow. Most plateaus come from running them too fast.
- Put an easy day or a rest day after every hard session.
- If you miss a week, pick up where you left off instead of cramming the sessions in.
