Sample 5K plan - 12 weeks to increase speed
This is an example of a 12 week 5k plan. In this case, the runner has run a few 5k races and is looking to improve her speed. She wants to run 3 days a week with one day of strength training and one day of cross-training (she’s choosing to do bicycling as a cross-training activity). She asked for Saturday to be open since she has a lot of family activities that day. So we decided on Sunday as being her long run day.
Your plan would be customized to fit your weekly schedule and your goals. This is what the plan looks like from the beginning, but each workout is analyzed using TrainingPeaks and the plan is adjusted to increase or decrease in intensity as appropriate.
Definitions:
Easy run - running at a low heart rate and slow pace
Pacing test - a time trial to measure current fitness and set training “zones” for pace and heart rate of the other workouts
Short interval run - a warmup followed by a set of short intervals at slightly above 5k race pace and then a cooldown
Tempo run - a warmup followed by a set time at slightly below 5k race pace
Long interval run - a warmup followed by a set of longer intervals at slightly above 5k race pace and then a cooldown
Long run - a longer distance run at a steady pace below 5k race pace
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 0 | Rest day | Strength train | Easy run (30 min) | Cross training (30 min) | Easy run (30 min) | Rest Day | 20 minute pacing test |
| Week 1 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (5 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (30 min) | Tempo run (10 min) | Rest Day | Long run (4 miles) |
| Week 2 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (5 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (30 min) | Tempo run (15min) | Rest Day | Long run (4 miles) |
| Week 3 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (6 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (30 min) | Tempo run (15 min) | Rest Day | Long run (5 miles) |
| Week 4 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (3 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (30 min) | Easy run (30 min) | Rest Day | Long run (3 miles) |
| Week 5 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (6 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (45 min) | Tempo run (20 min) | Rest Day | Long run (5 miles) |
| Week 6 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (8 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (45 min) | Tempo run (20min) | Rest Day | Long run (5 miles) |
| Week 7 | Rest day | Strength train | Long interval run (3 x 3 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (45 min) | Tempo run (25 min) | Rest Day | Long run (6 miles) |
| Week 8 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (4 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (30 min) | Easy run (30 min) | Rest Day | 20 minute pacing test |
| Week 9 | Rest day | Strength train | Long interval run (3 x 3 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (60 min) | Tempo run (25 min) | Rest Day | Long run (6 miles) |
| Week 10 | Rest day | Strength train | Long interval run (4 x 3 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (60 min) | Tempo run (30min) | Rest Day | Long run (7 miles) |
| Week 11 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (8 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (60 min) | Tempo run (30 min) | Rest Day | Long run (7 miles) |
| Week 12 | Rest day | Strength train | Short interval run (4 x 1 min, 2 min recovery) | Cross training (30 min) | Easy run (30 min) | Rest Day | 5K race |