Running
Treadmill-Only 5K Plan
Indoor 5K plan built for treadmill execution with incline intervals. Ten weeks, four runs a week.
- Distance
- 5K
- Length
- 10 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 5K.
It is built to work on limited time, with fewer and shorter runs than most plans for this distance.
Every session works on a treadmill.
How the weeks work
It runs for ten weeks with four runs in each.
If life gets in the way you can stretch it to 14 weeks, or tighten it to 8 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.
- Easy runs make up most of the week. Keep them slow enough to talk in full sentences.
Setting your paces
Start with a 5K 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.
