Running
Improve Your 5K Time
Classic threshold plus VO2 5K development. Eleven weeks, five runs a week.
- Distance
- 5K
- Length
- 11 weeks
- Runs per week
- 5
- 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 5K.
How the weeks work
It runs for eleven weeks with five runs in each.
If life gets in the way you can stretch it to 16 weeks, or tighten it to 10 if you are already fit.
The last 10 days are a taper: less running, a little intensity, so you start the race fresh.
- Threshold runs of 15 to 30 minutes at a comfortably hard pace. You could say a few words, not hold a conversation.
- Intervals: repeats a little faster than race pace, with easy jogging in between.
- One long run a week that grows slowly. Run it easy; the time on your feet is the point.
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
- 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.
