How do I run a faster 5k?
Every week has four runs: one fast session, one tempo, one long and one easy. That mix is the point. The fast work raises your top speed, the tempo teaches you to hold a hard pace, and the long and easy runs build the aerobic base that both of those depend on.
Skip the easy ones and the hard ones stop working. Four runs a week with a rest day between most of them: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday works well.
How fast should my training runs be?
Your week 1 time trial sets your targets. Divide the time by five to get your 5k pace per kilometre; everything else is set from that pace, from effort (RPE) or from heart rate zone.
| Session | Effort | Pace guide |
|---|---|---|
| Intervals | RPE 8 to 9 | Your 5k pace, or a few seconds per km quicker |
| Hill repeats | RPE 8 | Hard, by effort. The hill sets the pace, not your watch. |
| Fartlek | RPE 8 / 3 | Fast sections near 5k pace, easy sections as recovery jogs |
| Tempo | RPE 7 · Zone 4 | Comfortably hard. Roughly 15 to 25 seconds per km slower than 5k pace |
| Long run | RPE 3 to 4 · Zone 2 | Conversational. Well over a minute per km slower than 5k pace |
| Easy run | RPE 2 to 3 · Zone 1 to 2 | As slow as you like. If in doubt, slower |
Example: a 25:00 time trial is 5:00 per km. Intervals at about 4:55 to 5:00 per km, tempo around 5:15 to 5:25, long and easy runs at 6:15 or slower. The pace calculator does the sums.
What does the 8-week plan look like?
Weeks 1 to 4 build the engine; weeks 5 to 8 sharpen and race. The fast session and the long run each week:
| Week | Fast session | Tempo | Long run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 km time trial | 20 min | 60 min |
| 2 | 5 × 800 m at 5k pace | 25 min | 65 min |
| 3 | Fartlek: 1 min fast, 1 min easy, 30 min | 30 min | 70 min |
| 4 | 6 × 800 m at 5k pace | 35 min | 75 min |
| 5 | 8 × 400 m hill repeats | 30 min | 80 min |
| 6 | 7 × 800 m at 5k pace | 35 min | 85 min |
| 7 | Fartlek: 2 min fast, 1 min easy, 40 min | 40 min | 90 min |
| 8 | 5 × 800 m, sharp not tiring | 20 min | Race: your 5k PB |
Every week also has an easy run of 30 to 45 minutes. The 800 m reps have 2 minutes of easy jogging or walking between them.
How do I taper for a 5k PB?
Week 8 drops the volume and keeps a little speed: five 800 m reps that should feel sharp rather than tiring, 20 minutes of tempo and a 30-minute easy run for fresh legs. Then race, on the same course as your week 1 time trial if you can. Go out at your target pace, not faster.
What are tempo runs, intervals and fartlek?
- Tempo run: a sustained run close to threshold, the hardest pace you could hold for about an hour. Builds the ability to hold a hard pace.
- Intervals: short, fast repeats with rest between. Builds speed and VO2 max.
- Fartlek: Swedish for speed play. Fast and easy running alternated, without stopping.
- Hill repeats: hard efforts uphill, jogging down to recover. Strength and power for running.
Never skip the warm-up before the fast sessions: that is when most running injuries happen. The guide has the full warm-up, with strides before intervals and hills.