PB or Race Tactics Running Training & Interval Training

Sub 20 5K Training Plan: A Free Weekly Schedule

22 August 2011
tfk the5krunner
Personalised 6 to 12 week sub 20 5K training plan
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A sub 20 minute 5K means holding 4:00 per kilometre (6:26 per mile) for the whole run. This free plan gets you there with three hard sessions a week, proper rest between them, and target paces you reset every few weeks. It suits someone with about three hours a week to run who wants to take tens of seconds off a parkrun PB. Sub 19 uses exactly the same training; it is just harder to achieve.

This post contains:

  1. A repeatable seven-day plan with target paces (below).
  2. A link to a personalised 5K plan if you want one built around you.
  3. A list of caveats that will stop you getting injured.
  4. Quick answers to the most common sub 20 questions.

If you have a race this weekend rather than a few months to train, read my 100+ tips for a faster 5K instead.

Can you realistically run a sub 20 5K?

For most people, running 5K in under 20 minutes is an achievement. For top athletes, and even for fairly casual club runners, it is a routine time. How hard it will be for you depends mostly on your age and sex, which is why age grading exists: it compares your time with the best possible performance for someone of your age and sex.

Most people can reach a 70% age grade with some hard work and time. An 80% age grade is extremely hard and, if you are averagely fit now, will probably take you several years of steady improvement. If you are a competitive type looking for a 5K goal, an 80% age-graded 5K is a real test.

Here is roughly what a 20:00 5K represents:

Category Approximate age grade for 20:00 How hard?
Men 20 to 24 64% Very achievable from a good fitness base
Men 35 to 39 67% Achievable
Men 45 to 49 71% Achievable with hard work
Women 20 to 24 73% Hard
Women 35 to 39 75% Hard
Women 45 to 49 82% Very, very hard

These figures are approximate. Your parkrun results email shows your own age grade for every run, which is the easiest way to track where you stand. For a fuller answer on timescales, see how long it might take you to run sub 20.

Before you start

If you can’t run non-stop for an hour, however slowly, this plan is not for you yet. You need an endurance base first, and that very simply means you can run at an unchanging speed in heart rate zone 2 for an hour while still holding a conversation.

I’m not claiming this, or any, plan can perform miracles. If you currently run 5K flat out in 25 minutes, this plan will not take you to sub 20 in three months. It will make you faster, but you will soon struggle because you lack the endurance base.

Sub 20 5K plan: the weekly schedule

The three hard sessions (days 1, 4 and 6) all work, and they should all leave you exhausted. If a session isn’t exhausting, go faster or cut the rest periods. If you are short of time but dedicated, do those three sessions and nothing else. Always rest the day after a hard session, ideally for two days. Make every fourth or fifth week slightly easier than the three before it, and take at least two days off before a race. Rest matters far more than you think.

Always start a new week at day 1 and forget any sessions you missed.

The example paces assume your next target is 20:00, or 4:00/km. Set them from your next interim target rather than your ultimate goal (see caveat 4).

Day Session Example pace for a 20:00 target
1 3 to 4 x 1K at 5 to 10 seconds per km faster than your next race target, with 3 minutes rest between efforts. If you can’t hit the pace, your sights are set too high for now. 3:50 to 3:55/km
2 or 3 Optional slow, easy recovery run of 40 to 75 minutes. Focus on technique, for example by nudging your cadence slightly higher. You should be able to hold a conversation throughout. 5:00/km is not slow for you; 6:00/km is. About 6:00/km
4 5 minutes at 30 seconds per km or more slower than race pace, then 3 minutes at about 10 seconds per km slower than race pace, then repeat both with no rest. Rest for 6 minutes, then do all four efforts again (5+3+5+3, rest 6, 5+3+5+3). If you can’t finish it, your target is too ambitious or you ran day 2 too fast. 4:30/km, then 4:05 to 4:15/km
5 Adaptation and recovery day. Do deep stretches to increase your range of motion. No running
6 8 x 1 minute faster than your day 1 pace, with 60 to 90 seconds rest. You can extend the rest to 2.5 minutes if you raise the pace. Aim for the same top speed on every rep. 3:40/km or faster
7 Rest, or a 60-minute run at the edge of where you can just about speak (4 repeats of 10 minutes in heart rate zone 2 plus 5 minutes in zone 3, no rest). Alternatively, do 3 x 15 minutes at race pace plus 30 seconds per km with 5 minutes rest, which approximates a sweet-spot run. If you are tired, which is likely, run 60 minutes entirely in zone 2. About 4:30/km for the 15-minute blocks
Every 5 to 6 weeks Retest your 5K after a three-day taper and reset your training paces from the result. Taper properly for your big race. Race effort

A watch that runs structured workouts makes the interval days far easier, because it beeps you through each rep and rest. Entry-level Garmins such as the Forerunner 70 and Forerunner 170 do this well, and Fit File Forge has a free library of classic interval sessions you can send straight to Garmin Connect. The running watches hub covers the alternatives.

Here’s what Mr parkrun, Mike Trees, thinks: my parkrun masterclass with Mike Trees, one of the very best veteran 5K runners.

Personalise your training

Read the caveats below, otherwise you will get injured. If you are not closing in on 20 minutes after two months on this plan, give yourself a longer timeframe and check that your training paces are right. If your improvement stops on this or any other plan, change your training straight away, because similar inputs always give similar outputs. After two months of continuous hard effort you will probably be mentally tired too. Take a rest, change your approach, and look back at your data to see how hard you really worked and how well you rested.

This plan is a little short on recovery time, and on strength, conditioning and flexibility work.

Caveats

1: Do you think the plan has too few miles and no long slow run? Plodding along in heart rate zone 1 will not help you much, other than for recovery or technique. Zone 1 is too slow even for a long slow run. The plan assumes you already have an endurance base, and it won’t work well without one.

2: If a sub 20 minute 5K is a bigger achievement for your age group, make the day 7 long run a higher priority so that you actually do it every week.

3: If you are a long way off 20 minutes, the long runs will help most, and this plan may not be for you yet. I would say 23 minutes for younger runners and 25 minutes for over-30s is quite a way off. You need to focus more on mileage and running economy, but you probably know best.

4: Your target race pace is your next interim target, not your ultimate sub 20 goal. Set it just a little faster than you can run now, say 10 to 20 seconds off your current 5K time.

5: Ideally, change the stimulus week on week. Make the plan a little harder each week by resting slightly less or running slightly faster. Every four to six weeks, really ease off for a week and rest more, then start again. I left this out of the schedule to keep it straightforward.

Don’t forget to have a look at the best shoes for crossfit training

6: Don’t be swayed by marathon runners telling you to do lots of long slow runs. They are right for marathons, but you are training your body’s systems differently. More long slow runs are of no big, immediate benefit to your next 5K PB, as long as your endurance base is already in place. One way to see it is that long runs put miles in the tank, and this plan spends those banked miles on more intense training. The zone 2 runs above shouldn’t feel that slow either. Long slow runs do build every athlete’s endurance base and several other physiological adaptations, so they have their place.

7: Take on protein, carbohydrate and water straight after every session. Protein repairs, carbohydrate refuels and water rehydrates. A glass of milk and a banana will do nicely, and whey protein is even better. A sensible diet will take seconds off your 5K more easily than extra training.

8: Running technique matters, but don’t try to change it much in the next three months or you’ll get injured. Over the longer term running efficiency is very important. If you are currently below 85 steps per minute per foot (170 total), you could aim to raise your cadence towards 90 (180) over a few weeks.

9: If the sessions are nearly impossible even with the maximum rest, base your paces on your last PB instead. Many plans set paces from what you have recently achieved rather than what you want to achieve, and that is no bad thing. Sessions also become impossible when you leave less than two days between hard efforts, or run the other sessions too fast.

10: This is a hard plan. Keep it up for longer than two or three months and you may well get injured, and your body will adapt to the fixed stimulus. Lengthen your timeframe, perhaps with just two hard sessions a week and some easier runs, and be realistic.

Personalised sub 20 5K training plan
Get a personalised 6 to 12 week sub 20 5K plan

I never said it was an easy plan, just a straightforward one.

More free plans are here.

Quick answers

What pace do I need for a sub 20 5K?
You need to average faster than 4:00 per kilometre, or 6:26 per mile. Holding exactly 4:00/km gives 20:00, so aim for about 3:58/km to leave a few seconds in hand.


How do I train for a sub 20 5K?
Build an endurance base first, so that you can run for an hour non-stop. Then do three hard sessions a week: 1K repeats slightly faster than race pace, a broken tempo session just slower than race pace, and short one-minute intervals well above race pace. Rest the day after each hard session, ease off every fourth or fifth week, and retest your 5K every five to six weeks.


What intervals help you run a sub 20 5K?
The key session is 3 to 4 x 1K at 3:50 to 3:55 per kilometre with 3 minutes rest. Add 8 x 1 minute at 3:40/km or faster with 60 to 90 seconds rest to build speed.


How long does it take to get from 25 minutes to sub 20?
For most runners it takes longer than three months, because the gap is mainly an endurance gap. Build mileage and running economy first, then use this plan once you are within a minute or two of 20 minutes.


Is a sub 20 5K good?
Yes. For a young man it is an achievable club-runner time of about 64% age grade, while for a woman aged 45 to 49 it is roughly an 82% age grade, which is very hard.

Last Updated on 30 September 2026 by the5krunner

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372 thoughts on “Sub 20 5K Training Plan: A Free Weekly Schedule”

  1. Quick question about the 5 X 1k reps. Is it better to increase the speed of the reps or reduce the recovery time ? Which would be more beneficial ?

    1. Good question. I would say do 1-2 more reps AND reduce the recovery time, ultimately down to 2 minutes or lower if you can. Your speed per each rep will be faster than your are able to translate into race speed. You could get a bit more out and out speed with strides at the start of some sessions perhaps. Maybe re-test your 5k to make sure that you haven’t got faster if you feel the reps are too easy.

      But then this comes back also to knowing how good your endurance base is and your earlier question.

  2. Thank you. I did 5 X 1k yesterday at 4:03 per km with 2:30 recovery. I was exhausted but I will try to squeeze out another rep next time or reduce the recovery to 2 mins.Not sure I can do both just yet.
    It’s such a hard session but I guess it’s the bread and butter of improving over 5k !

    1. try 7x 1km @4:05 with 3:30 recovery next time. Whilst that might translate now to a 20:30 5k don’t forget that would be in a fatigued state. the right taper for you could readily knock off 30 secs.

      2. I decided to give this a go tonight and I’m pleased to report back that I completed the 7 reps as above. Felt pretty strong too. I think the longer recovery helped me manage the extra 2 reps as normally once I get to 5 I’m done in.

        2. I did this session again on Tuesday but I dropped the recovery to 3 mins and it felt ok. Well it was tough but that’s the idea, what I mean is I managed it and didn’t really notice the 30 seconds less recovery.

        3. Conclusive proof that you are getting fitter 🙂 Ideally you have 3-5 weeks of making the same exercise a bit harder then a week of dropping back to what you were doing a couple of weeks previously to help recovery.

          Tip: get a massage and see what hurts and free it up. You wouldn’t want anything snapping now would you?

        4. I forgot to mention that I did a 5 mile race 2 days before the session so my legs wouldn’t have been that fresh. It was very windy for the race and I didn’t get a pb but I was only 20 seconds away and I think I would have sneaked a pb if conditions were better. I did 34:32 with splits of 6:50/6:54/6:44/7:05/6:45. As you can see the 4th mile was tough as the wind was smack in my face and there was a hill.
          Will book in for a massage soon as haven’t had one for a while.

      3. No the race was 2 days before the 7 X 1Km !
        I wouldn’t dream of doing a hard session like that 2 days before a race 🙂

  3. Entering the home stretch, but had a setback: 2 weeks ago I cut my Friday workout short due to unignorable left hamstring soreness and right foot soreness (the latter had been lurking for a few weeks) and decided to take a week off. Then ran out of gas halfway through last Monday’s return workout and spent the rest of the day home sick with a stomach flu thing. Wednesday’s workout felt better but still had lost a step from 2 weeks prior.

    I had planned to do a 5K today before my setback and decided I’d still do it and just use it as a workout. I tried to run at 20 minute pace knowing I wouldn’t be able to maintain it but wanting to see how long I could go, and then write off the rest of the race as an exercise in continuing to run against the will of my physical being.

    I only made it 1 mile before I started dropping off the 20-minute pace and ended up with an underwhelming 21:47. Not completely surprising considering my time off and suboptimal race strategy but obviously not an encouraging result. My takeaway is that for my final race, in 4 weeks, I need to make sure I pace myself for a realistic time goal, because as this race demonstrates (as others in the past have), I don’t do well with “going out fast and holding on”. So I’m thinking I’ll go out at a ~20:30 pace and after 10 minutes see if I’m up to picking up the pace and getting closer to 20 or if it will be a struggle just to break 21.

    Of course I’m going to push myself as hard as I can the next 3 weeks before my taper and perhaps I’ll regain some optimism as I dig myself out of my hole. The good news is my leg and foot feel fine so it was a good idea to lay off, and I’ve lost at least 5 pounds, helped in part by my stomach flu thingy! And for what it’s worth today was pretty warm, high 70’s for the race, so there’s still hope that it’s in the 50’s on 11/3!

    1. constant pace on the day for you will work I suspect. 3:57 tops for the first Km. The great thing with illness is that your body will be able to adapt to all that hard work you were doing previously. I think many of us need to think about flu jabs now to avoid illness.

  4. Oops – this is kind of embarrassing: official race results from Saturday were online this morning and I actually ran 20:48, not 21:47. I must have been so fried that I read the time wrong when I finished. So just like that I’m back in the game! Today’s workout, with 4 minutes rest: 3:49/3:52/3:54/3:54/3:57. The 3:57 was a struggle!

  5. Well done LM ! And that looks like a good session today. I think you are close to that magical sub 20. I did session 2 today which has always been my least favourite. I managed it but I got my timings back to front so I ended up doing the 5 mins part too fast and the 3 mins too slow. It was still a good workout though !

  6. This is a great website.

    I am really close to breaking 20 mins – did 20.05 at the weekend.

    Have spent the summer doing 35-40 mpw mostly at 9 mins+ per mile with one session of 6 x800 (90 secs recovery) and a parkrun per week. Realised that lots of slow running makes you a slow runner.

    An now basically following this schedule doing hard/easy alternate days and really feeling the benefits.

    At 16st 3lbs I know I need to lose a couple of stones and am working on my diet. I have just done 5 x 1k with 2 mins recovery in:

    3.51
    3.53
    3.54
    3.56
    3.53

    I’m guessing that I need to get these all under 3.50 to beat 20 mins.

    Good luck to everyone in beating the 20 minute barrier.

    1. hi phil you are close, well done so far. you don’t need any more training to get those 5 or 6 seconds. look at my post https://the5krunner.com/2011/06/18/5k-pb-how-can-i-get-a-parkrun-5k-pb-this-saturday/ any one or two of those ideas will do it. it should be as simple as having an easy week/taper this week.

      returning to your original comment regarding slow running. Well running at 9 min/mile will probably help your body metabolise fat better. But fat as a fuel for a short race like 5k is not super relevant. I have said to many other people that slow runs DO have a benefit BUT how slow is slow? you need to be running with a purpose to each session – pace, technique, recovery, whatever. Also the benefits from the slower runs stay a long time so you are actually in a very good position for some serious FASTER training over the rest of the year to get down to 19:30 😉

      At 16st you must have very powerful legs and energy delivery system! Be careful not to blindly diet and lose that muscle mass and the power/endurance that is there with it.

      thank you for the compliment on my site.

      1. Thanks for your encouragement.

        I wish all my weight was muscle but sadly a lot of it is not. I have cut out alcohol and cakes and lost 5lbs in the last two weeks but am not starving myself. If I was disciplined, I should probably weigh about 14 stone.

        I’m hoping that the 2 seconds per pound per mile theory works.

        I think I might need to do more tempo runs as I find I’m struggling in the last kilometre of a 5k. I did six miles at 7.30 per mile at the weekend and am looking to extend this to an hour. I have started doing some three mile tempos at 6.55 pace too.

        I have cut the running to 4 quality sessions per week plus one hour of circuit training with 2-3 days of complete rest. The physical and mental effects of this are very positive. I feel that I’m training with a proper purpose now instead of doing too many junk miles to bump the weekly total up.

        Will have another go at the 20 minute barrier on the 19th.

        1. i’m sure there is truth in the theory or 2secs per pounds per mile – other things being equal. The other issue, that I alluded to, is that when people diet they tend to lose muscle mass more readily than they would like. So you could get lighter but weaker and that wouldn’t necessarily make you faster. Normally the advice for athletes would be to try to get stronger as that is easier.

        2. After getting myself into good condition for a crack at sub 20, i went down with a heavy cold and have not run for three weeks. Went out today and ran 4 miles and felt like I was starting from scratch. With the weather getting wetter and colder I’m tempted to go back to building up again for next year. This plan was hard but definitely worked and whilst I’m disappointed not to have cracked the 20 minute barrier I hope I’ll do it in the spring.

          Good luck to everyone.

        3. Phil, sorry to hear about the cold. With 3 weeks off you probably have lost a bit of fitness and a fair bit of freshness. Aim to have another crack in 2-4 weeks time, you’ll get that all back sooner than you think. You’ve most probably lost the speed rather than the endurance despite how you felt today. Use sporttracks/training load…that will tell you how much fitness you have lost.

  7. Greats tips.

    Actually i’m trainning for sub 42min on 10k, but i feel that i’m close to sub 20min (my PB is 20:50).

    Today i did 6x1k at 3:57 with 75sec recovery.

    Trying to make sub 40min and sub 20min at end of year.

    Good lucky for everyone.

    ps. Sorry for my english, i’m brazillian

    1. Pedro…good luck. Once you can do 42 you can do 20 and hopefully the other way too. Good luck with both. Must be harder in sunny Brazil. Your 6x1k is good. try 10x1k @4:10/km with 2:30-3:00 mins rest.

        1. after a 1 hour bike ride I would take that performance as a success ! you should be able to run much faster than 20:50 I reckon…look at tapering properly for your next PB attempt. that will make the most difference if you train a lot

  8. I’m doing well with the training and I’m planning to test my 5k time next weekend (28th) and I have a question if you don’t mind ?
    I normally do sessions 1,2 or 3 on Mon and Thurs so next week I will obvs drop the Thurs session but should I also drop Mondays ? Or do a shorter one ? Or is there sufficient time to recover ? I want to have fresh legs for the Saturday but want to stay sharp also. Thanks.

  9. Well I’ve been doing my active taper and I’m now primed and ready to unleash myself at parkun on Sat. The weather though isn’t looking great, forecast says windy but I’ll give it a bash anyway. I’m hoping to get back down to around 21 mins for now and then work towards pb territory again.
    Anyone else going for it this weekend ?

  10. 3:53/3:55/3:53/3:55/3:55 with 2 minutes rest this morning. Last workout Saturday then taper week. Also ran with new racing flats this morning – a little boost to help me meet my pace goal. If I don’t break 20, it’s on me: your little training plan that could has gotten me in position to succeed!

  11. Job done today, did 20:56 which is a seasons best so I’m happy with my progress. Will test again in about 4 weeks and hope to be around the 20:30 mark.

      1. Well I tested my fitness again today at parkrun. I was hoping for about 20:30 following on from 5 weeks of training since the 20:56 I did on Oct 26th. I managed 20:20 today which is a pb for me (last pb was 20:22 in Sept ’12) so I’m really pleased with that. I still have to find over 4 secs per km though so lots more hard work to do !

        2. My club has started a hill reps session which I’m doing once a fortnight. I’m not sure if this will help my campaign but I guess it adds a bit of variety. Weaknesses as ever are the 3rd and 4th km ! Can smash out 4 mins on 1,2 and 5 but lose it on those other 2.

        4. I know. It’s stupid. It’s just all in my head I guess. I get to about half way and it starts to get really hard and I think I just can’t keep this pace up. So I allow myself to slow a bit as I’ve convinced myself that I can’t do it. Then I get to the glory km and tell myself to stop being so lame and speed up to limit the damage from the slower kms.

        5. If it’s any consolation most people have the same or similar problems!

          In the end your 1km/1 mile reps will sort you out. Try a park run where, if your target pace is 4:00/km (ie 20 mins) then you run at these paces: 4:20, 4:20, 3:55, 3:55, 3:55 ie practice what you are bad at (bad being relative). Ie practice the end of the race but obviously you have to be a little fatigued to make that meaningful. You might think it is the waste of a parkrun but you have to do these things to progress to the high level that you are aspiring to (and that you can do for sure)

        6. Thanks that sounds like a good plan actually. I do parkrun most weeks anyway (usually pacing if not going flat out) so I don’t mind wasting one. Now that I’m down to 20:20 do you think my next target in relation to the training paces should be sub 20 ?

  12. Finally did it..
    ran in a race today and finished in 19:50. I think I can do better cause I did it on a morning race at times which I usually sleep (that’s why I only slept 3 hours the night before the race. I think my progress was verrrry slow but I guess every person is different..
    I am 18 years old (man):
    I started running before a year when I did around 23:00. after 7 months I did 20:45. then after another 2 months I didn’t improve the 20:45. that’s when I started this plan with another day of hill running (total of 5 sessions per week) and 3 months later (today) I did 19:50.
    now I want to break the 19:30. is there any chance I can do this with only 1-2 hard speed work a week?

    1. Hi Nimrod

      well done!

      sleep: I find sleep hard sometimes. Try CHERRYACTIVE (essentially pure concentrated cherry extract). Works for me as does laying of caffeine after 6pm as does not exercising in the evening.

      19:30 yep. Start working on maintaining decent speeds for longer than you currently are. Perhaps incorporate STRIDES into many of your workouts at the start to improve technique? Perhaps look at drills and/or plyometrics and/or strength training – i’d focus on one of those 3 rather than a ‘core’ session for example, they are quite important.

      So that’s couch to sub20-5k in 2 years? Is my maths correct. If so, that’s a pretty awesome achievement (I envy your youth, make the most of it)

      1. Thanks!
        I’ll try to make a plan which includes this new things (without a weekly plan I’m just lost).
        And no, sub 20-5k in 1 year. I probably didn’t explained myself well (sry, english is not my native language).
        I started runing last year (october 2012), at that time (when I started running) I did 23:00.
        so:
        started training october 2012 (initial 5k test- 23:00).
        may 2013 – 20:45
        july 2013 – still didn’t break 20:45, and then I started this plan
        today- 19:50 🙂

        I honestly thought it’ll be faster to do the sub-20 5k because I’m doing sports from a very young age (not running but ball games). but I guess I didn’t work hard enough before I started this plan.

        1. even better…and you have probably annoyed everyone here trying to do the same thing 🙂

          you probably had a great endurance base and this plan put the icing on the cake. precisely what it is meant to do.

          oh yes, and you are 18. which helps! great job

  13. Well done Nimrod. At 18 I’m sure you will get a lot faster and sub 20 will seem like a walk in the park. Not so easy for us more mature runners however….

  14. 20:16. Everything was perfect and I gave it my all, but the course had more elevation changes than I had expected, and it was a very windy day (and as always, the wind always seems to be against you). There were 4 “hills” that each took at least a minute to climb. Even so, I was actually just on pace about 2.5 miles in but sure enough there was another climb and I didn’t quite have it in me to stay on pace. But, 20 is an arbitrary number: the facts are that I dropped over a minute and a half off my personal best with this training program. I only did 3 workouts a week and took a week off to heal a sore foot and hamstring. And I’m more than sure that I could run sub-20 on a flatter course.

    My plan was to be done for the season after this race. But, there is a local race next Sunday that *is* very flat. What’s the best way to maintain peak performance exactly one week later? 90% effort workouts on Tues/Thurs then rest until Sunday? I’ll search your blogs as I believe you’ve written about this fundamental question. Part of me accepts the original plan and is happy to leave sub-20 as a motivational tool for next year. The other part says “woulda coulda shoulda – put up or shut up”!

  15. don’t leave it. do it. do it while you can. maybe you can do 19 next year. maybe you get injured and you can’t do 21. MAYBE. But you CAN do 20 next week.
    you say that you seemed on top form etc etc. so you peaked correctly. do the same thing again this week. exactly the same, don’t get side tracked by theory. you were frustrated by the elements and the course not ability.

  16. Sorry if I have missed this in the comments. I have been concentrating on marathons for the past few years and now I want a break. My current 5km pb is 20mins 14s.

    You have 4 exercises. Are you doing these on, for example Mon, Weds, Fri, Sun. so with a rest day in between?

    For exercise 2. I don’t really understand what you are doing here. You list 2 pace-time intervals followed by a rest. It then says do all 4 effort periods again. Just to be clear do you mean to 4 x ( 5mins x pace1, 3mins x pace2, 6mins rest) so 5 of those in total?
    Thanks

  17. I’ve been following your blog for sometime and the sub-20 goal has always been in my sights. I did a 21:35 in June after some interval training with my running club but I turned my attention to my first half-marathon that I did a few weeks ago (1:54:17). After some rest, I’m planning on building back up and targeting the sub-20 goal once and for all with your training plan.

    I’ll let you know how I get on and as my local parkrun seems a “short” one, I’m aiming for a decent time to be sub-20. I know that I have it in me, I just need to get there.

  18. Speaking of short courses…19:34 this morning! First caveat – my GPS watch showed 2.91m at the finish (even when the race is called a 5K we still can’t help measuring in miles over here…) so it was a *very* short course and clearly I would not have broken 20 otherwise. First caveat to the first caveat: the setup was very unfavorable and I spent a good 3 minutes at the start tip-toeing around runners who themselves were tip-toeing through an undulating grassy field until we got to the pavement. I was a good 30 seconds or more behind pace from the beginning and wasn’t able to make that up (except by moving the finish line up several hundred yards…). So, I’m counting it! My biggest takeaway for next year is that I need to have enough margin built in to my training to account for the realities of race day conditions, if I’m aiming for a specific time goal. Thanks for all the guidance – looking forward to many more times in the 19’s and beyond!

    1. Good stuff. It’s all relative. If you had done it on a race track you would have been maybe 30secsonds faster! I was going to say next target 19:30 but it seems like 18:59 is a more appropriate one ! (Starts getting hard then!!)

  19. Hi, I’ve just started running 2 months ago I only run once a week so far, I know it’s pretty slack. My last 5k I did in 22.29, I’m a 39 yo male. I do enjoy running so i hope I can motivate myself to continue on and incorporate it into my life permanently. I want to try the plan but I need some motivating, please help inspire me to give it a real go. Thanks Adam.

    1. To do that time after just starting running is very good. You must do other sport. Either that or you are naturally gifted. The sky is the limit, go for it. I do coaching if you want specific advice, exercise planning and encouragement.

      1. Thanks, I don’t do alot of sport now days.I think naturally i do have good cardio, I’m a skinny fella, 70kg at 180cm so that probably plays a part. The coaching would be pretty good. I’ll get stuck into the plan over the next few weeks and ill let you know how I’m going. Thanks again.

  20. i have a problem with morning runs..
    Unfortunately, I had to start running in the mornings instead of the regular evening runs.
    a month ago I did session 1 in the evening and I did 4:00/km with 3 mins rest.

    I continued doing this plan (only in the morning) so I did session 1 four times in the past month (in the morning). and the best session I had was 4:20/km with 3 mins rest.

    What can I do?

    1. The time of day should make no difference other than psychological.

      If you have done 3-4 of the exercises each week for a month then I guarantee you will be fitter and faster BUT your state of fatigue WILL slow you down quite a bit. Before trying for a PB or good time then you either need to taper properly or have a couple of days off or a week doing things more easily.

      If you are unwell that too will slow you down

      1. Are you sure?
        cause I can’t find any other explanation..
        I sleep 8 hours, wake up and after 30 minutes go for a run and I just feel bad+my knees hurt.
        But when I run at 16:00-18:00 PM I feel easy and great.

        1. I’m not a morning person either.

          I can’t imagine any physiological condition that would cause you to run better in the afternoon Try caffeine, try beet-it concentrate shots Try getting up earlier Try warming up fully or return to running in the afternoon

          I am 100% positive that if you followed this plan you would be fitter after 4 weeks. You might not be able to translate that fitness into performance because you might be fatigued from the cumulative effects of training.

  21. I find running much harder in the mornings too. I always run better in the evening so I try to do the harder ones then if I can.

  22. Hi I’ve just started running (18 days since I started, 39yo male), I’ve been running every other day (no walking, ever) mostly a flat course with one hill lap style course thrown in once per week (3.13 miles). I originally started at 42:18 for a 3.45 mile course and I’m down to 34:13 now (9:55 mi/mile), how well am I doing so far? I really would like to try this plan but wanted to see what you all think first. For run 1 (5-10secs faster than target race pace) would that translate relistically for me around 9:45 9:50 mi / mile or would you aim for a faster pace? what do you think about me going for this plan, if not do you have another plan to recommend? I want a challenge and ultimately to bring down my 5k pace to this kind of time for starters. Thanks

  23. PS The 9:55mi/mile course is not all flat, there is a bridge (I know its not a hill) I have to cross the highway – 72ft climb and then descend and then the same on the way back (out and back course) also there are 4 gates on the bridge (adjacent square bars like a slalom) I have to run between which slows me down along with the hairpin as the climb / descent up / down the bridge (its a ramp) turns back on itself one side), so I think I could go faster without that kind of obstacle on a consistent course. Faster faster faster! 🙂 I spent 5 years time trialling (cycling) where my resting heart rate was 38bpm (but I was 20ish back then, way back then!) so hopefully that will help a little!

    1. Hi Martin

      the post/plan gives an indication that you should be better than 23mins for a 5k and with a good endurance base. If I were you I would focus on lots of miles at a comfortable pace. With one tempo run per week.

      Sub40 resting HR, a history of athleticism will definitely help.

      There is a section on my site where there are quite a few plans. Take your pick!

      If you want me to help with a customised plan I would of course be glad to help…but there’s a charge for my time to do that 🙂

  24. Hi there, thanks for your reply – I am too eager, apologies 🙂 would you be so kind as to recommend a training plan on your site that may help with improving my 5k time (and endurance) at my level? You have so many to choose from 🙂 (which is great). I’m actually aiming for trail based runs and mountain (MM style) long term but just wanted a solid base fitness. Again, thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

  26. I have nothing to report I just wanted to say that session 2 is evil and I find it so hard. I can see the advantages of doing the other sessions but what does this one do ? Is it to train us to run hard on tired legs ? I know the speeds are not super fast but it’s the length of the session that’s the killer. Just curious…

    1. Ah that makes sense now. So it doesn’t feel like it’s benefiting me but it probably is. Thanks. Feeling pretty fit at the moment, shame Christmas will probably slow me down a bit !

    1. It all went Pete Tong for me. I was away in Ireland for 2 weeks over xmas and the horrendous storms meant I only trained on 3 of the days. To make things even worse, I came down with a sore throat/cold virus on new years day which I am still fighting off. I tried to keep up some running but I just wasn’t recovering so I came to the conclusion that exercising was hindering me fighting this virus.
      I stopped running on Sunday and have rested and slept loads and today I am finally starting to feel a bit better. I am gutted I have missed so much training as I was in top form just before xmas and very close (I feel) to breaking the sub 20. I think it will be several weeks before I will manage the hard sessions again.

  29. Hey, Thanks for this post, it’s fun to read everyone’s comments and seeing their progress. I’m currently at 21:45-22:00. I’m a 44 female. I’m just getting started, as in, this is the first year I’ve been able to run consistently without getting injured (knock on wood!). Dec to April I followed the Pete Pfitzinger 55/18 plan for Boston, then since June I’ve been using the Hanson’s method for a half in Sept and then Hanson’s for a series of 5ks up until last week. I’ve been running 6 days a week with a mileage of about 45-50 mpw.

    This past week I tried a couple of your workouts and substituted the third with hill repeats, since I think that’ll work on one of my weaknesses. Yesterday I felt pretty depleted after doing the 5,3,5,3 x 2 w/6 min RI. I was tired to start with so it was hard! But it felt good to do it and I felt pretty hardcore telling my husband about it 😉 I’ll do the long run tomorrow.

    My question is, for rest days, do you mean no running at all? I’ve been doing short (4 to 6 miles) easy slow runs on the rest days.

    Also, every other week you’d only be able to fit in 3 workouts in order to keep the every other day pattern, correct? So: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun, Tues, Thurs, Sat, etc

    I’m only going to do this plan (with the hill repeats) for maybe a max of 4 to 6 weeks, because it’s pretty intense and I’m injury prone! I’ll let you know if I improve with it.

    Thanks again!

    1. The sessions are hard (or should be) so you need to fully recover. I recommend complete rest With the longer session you could probably get away with something the following day to fit into a week.

      You’ve been doing lots of miles. Endurance should not be your limiter if you were doing them at the right speeds. So if 5k is your target these session will get you to go fast in relatively short order

      Good luck

      1. Sounds good. Thanks! You’re right, endurance is no problem, it’s the faster speeds that make the sessions more intense for me.

        I’ll take your advice. It’s hard for me to take a day off on days I’m used to running.

        Thanks again!

        1. Instead then try weights or stretching or pilates or something else on the day off. But your run sessions need recovery..search for ‘adaptation’ in relation to running. It’s true honest!!

        2. I’ll do some strength. I haven’t been doing enough because I’ve been running so much. What do you think of a spin class, as long as I keep resistance down?

  30. So I’ve made some solid improvements on this plan, but the time has come to take a break. Unfortunately, that break is coming due to a 10 month trip to Afghanistan. I’m looking for some resources to put together a maintenance plan for those 10 months, or to work on something else while I’m there if I end up in a spot with no good place to run. Any suggestions that would dovetail with picking this plan back up when I get back?
    Thanks!
    Bill

      1. We did stop off at Bastion on the way down for them to kick off some pallets and Marines, but I’m elsewhere. Do you have any pace target guidance for the intervals mentioned in the reply?

  31. Hi,
    Thanks for such a clear and well laid out plan! Looking to run a sub 20 5k in the near future and this plan fits the bill nicely. A bit about me:
    – 26 YO male
    – Reasonable level of fitness, not a great runner
    – Current treadmill 5k PB 21m40s, but could have gone a little faster.

    Have tested the plan for 1 week and my sessions looked like this:
    Session 1: 5x 3m50s kms with ~3m break in between, felt pretty tired by the end but could have pushed a little harder
    Session 2: 5m at 4m30s pace, 3m at 4m10s pace x2 then rested 6 minutes, repeated but didn’t manage the final 3min at 4m10s
    Session 3: 12x 3m40s kms, 1 min rest in between, felt easy
    Have given myself at least 1 day off between each run, cross training with swimming and gym.

    Given the above, do you think i’ve picked the right pace/rest periods?
    Also wondering what your thougths were on treadmill running? Given the intervals i’ve found this a lot easier to do on treadmill to make sure i keep my pace constant.

    Any feedback most appreciated!

    1. Rest interval is as little as it can be whilst still being able to complete all the effort periods. So at the start it will seem like too much rest but less so by the end.

      You ‘day off’ is not a day off if you are cross training; having said that what you are doing shoud be beneficial.

      Treadmill is good as it forces constant pace but often easier than the real world that you will encounter of race day if you use it too much

  32. After getting to 20.05 back in October, I’m readying myself for another crack at sub 20. Have gone back to base work of 35 miles per week but am also doing two gym sessions a week which have really improved my power, plus I’ve lost about 10 lbs in weight.

    My 6-8 mile runs at c148 bpm are now inside 8 mins a mile pace from 8.45 previously. And I’m getting a 10 mile run in once a week.

    I’ve just started interval training again and alternate every week between 12 x 1/4 mile with a minutes rest and 5 x 1k with 2 minutes rest. I don’t feel ready to do two hard sessions a week yet.

    I’m averaging 6.05 mile pace for the 1/4 miles and have just done the 1k session tonight with 3.56, 3.57, 3.51, 3.51, 3.42. My HR was about 5 bpm lower than it was in October for this session which is hopefully a good sign.

    With a bit of luck I hope to get under 20 soon.

    Good luck to everyone.

    1. Good luck to you.

      The closer you get to your PB attempt the more your training needs to be like your race. The endurance stuff will not be so effective neither will the weights.

      Def a VERY good sign re your HR, assuming fatigue states were the same.

      Sounds like all you need is good weather and proper tapering.

      1. Thanks for your encouraging words.

        19.51 this morning despite a boggy course in parts. Was hanging on a bit in the last 1k but am so pleased to have done it.

        Losing a stone in weight has been a big factor as I haven’t done much interval training yet. Also I have been doing a lot of core strength work in the gym which means I have gained some power too.

        I’m aiming to get another stone off and push on with more intervals and see what I can do when the weather gets warmer.

        This website has been a great source of advice as have your generous comments.

        Thank you.

        1. You must be the only person in the UK to d a PB today…awful conditions.

          Very well done. I suspect beer or wine may be called for tonight and tomorrow has to be a full rest day?

          Just got to get another 22 secs off now 🙂 Keep up the gym work. Core is OK…make sure you are doing leg strength as well.

  33. I’m still here but going nowhere fast. After my illness in January I picked up a calf strain on my first run back (even though it was a very easy, short run). I have tried resting it and it seems fine, then as soon as I run it flares back up so I’m benched again. It’s been weeks and weeks now since I did any proper training as all I can do is biking and rowing at the gym.
    I have booked a sports massage for next week to see if this will help.
    I really want to get back in shape for some summer racing but at the moment it’s not looking too promising!
    I hope everyone else is having more success than me and I will be back on this plan as soon as I can

    1. a strain sounds curable – don’t let it get worse. as well as strengthening your ‘calf’ (calf raises) also strengthen your glutes and stretch your hamstrings. Roller your IB/ITB. Rest usually stops the symptoms for a while without correcting the cause.

      1. Thanks for your comments. Am mindful of not letting it get worse as I tore my calf muscle (the other leg) a few years ago and was out for months. Hope to report back more positive news soon!

  34. Hi, I’m 56 and with a 5K PB of 22:16, I’d like to get to 21:00 this year. I’ve recently bought a HRM (no gps yet, optional pod).

    I’m glad I came across this plan as I’m having real trouble with low HR runs (the low %zones don’t match my training plan paces. I’ve tested for MHR/RHR), I’ve been assured that I’ll get used to it and will get faster at the same HR, but I mainly run 5K (10K also this year) and am concerned that the slow running will kill my 5K times.

    I know the site is 5K specialist, but would this plan be fine for 10K, as the average pacing is similar?

    Thanks
    Laurence

    2. look at a RPE scale as a sanity check against your zones.
      foot pod is fine compared to gps
      slow running will not kill your times BUT you need to do faster stuff as well.
      stretching and gym work will help a lot too

      1. Thanks for the quick reply.

        I’ve found the Borg RPE scale, and will do a check on my next run (Tuesday).

        I know you don’t use the Pfitzinger zones, but I’ve just added them to my HRM as they give me a few extra beats which may help towards pace.

        I used your spreadsheet and checked my pace at 70% HR (spreadsheet prediction is around 9:37 (not open so I’m remembering) my time at 70% 10:23. After a 60min run I feel as though I’ve done light exercise (feels rather easy)

      2. Took a while to check my HR against your spreadsheet

        The upshot is my tempo and Interval pacing at recommended HR zones are within the ranges. It’s my Easy and long runs which are slower.

        Checking against perceived effort I naturally want to run faster than my 70%. I’d be happier at 75% which just creeps into your spreadsheet prediction at 9:34,

        So not sure if I should stick at 70% and wait for improvements (apparently you do get faster) or run at 75%

        Doesn’t seem that bad after all. Cheers

        1. Sorry I don’t quite understand the question. Make sure you have done the tests properly and worked out your zones properly. The Sub20 5k straightforward plan is based on pace, so I don’t see why zones are a problem. If you are following a plan and trust that plan then do as the plan says. If it says run ‘slow’ then do that. You might then question WHY someone is advising you to run at a certain pace….but that is a different question.

        2. Sorry for the confusion. Basically I’m not sure which plan to do, your HR Plan or the VDOT plan.

          It was my understanding that HR zones dictated pacing. I have my HR zones worked out and have been trying to match my HR zones with your pacing from the VDOT plan. The intervals and tempo runs match very well, but my HR zone for your easy pace (9:27 for a 22:15 5K) doesn’t. It’s about 10 secs slower.

          From your last reply I now understand that I should be one or the other, not trying to match them up.

        3. zones should broadly match up, but welcome to the real world. Personally I find HR is good for anything over 30 minutes and pace for anything (faster) below that. But, as I said, if you are going to follow any plan you must trust the source and you should follow the plan, don’t try and second guess. Sure ask questions.

  36. I am following the sessions on here and think they are good. Do you think that we should be looking to reduce the interval between efforts instead of increasing speed?

    Say you are doing 5 x 1k in 3.50 with 2 minutes recovery. Should you be looking to cut this recovery to a minute or even less whilst maintaining the pace? This means you would cover 5k in total with 4 minutes rest rather than 8 minutes which makes it a more realistic test for a 5k race.

    I’ve been reading some stuff by Frank Horwill who used to train his 5k runners with sessions such as 6x 800m with 30 secs rest.

    I’d be interested to here your views.

    Thanks

    2. depends how good Frank’s pupils are really, I guess.

      I would say get recovery down to 1 minute (not lower) and then increase the speed/pace and increase recovery.

      You aren’t trying to make it a ‘test’ for a 5k race you are trying to stimulate bodily adaptations to exercise that will subsequently benefit you in a 5k.

  37. Am down to 19:27 now. I followed three of your tips which really helped me.

    A proper taper. I did 4x400m with 2 mins recovery, then 3×400 and 2x 400 on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before the race respectively. Rest on Friday.

    Bought myself a pair of lightweight racing shoes

    2 cans of Red Bull 90 minutes before the start.

    Thanks again for a great website.

    1. Phil – it makes me happy to hear that people achieve their goals. Of course now you realise that 20 is quite easy really and you have new goals. which is great too!!! 2 cans of redbull though…ouch – I might try that myself next time. Try and go without caffeine for a week and THEN have the redbull on raceday. but yes the taper, people just don’t realise how much difference that makes and it is SO hard to cut back on training when you have been doing lots of it. Let me know which weekend in June you hit 18:59 (then it starts getting hard 🙂 ) actually its important to completely rest on the Thursday if you race on Saturday…maybe something light on Friday. if you are 50+ (sorry) then an even lighter taper might help.

      1. Thanks for your comments. Am aiming for sub 19 which would be ok i think for a 42 year old. Am currently weighing in at 100kg though so need to probably get 6-7kg off over the next 2-3 months.

        Will let you know how I get on.

        1. yep don’t focus on the weight loss. just let it happen. if you try to lose weight you will lose muscle mass and power….you will get slower :-(. A gym session at least once a week would be good to mitigate against that risk

        2. I agree. Have been in the gym twice a week over the winter and this has helped massively. Will cut back to once a week over the summer. I am just going to concentrate on cutting bad things out of my diet and be more disciplined.

  38. To say I love this program would be a misstatement…the intervals HURT. I do, however, love the results. I’m a 43 year old male. I’ve been running and participating in triathlons for several years. My best 5k was 21:30. I started this straightforward plan 5 weeks ago. This morning I ran a 20:39. A few more weeks on the plan and a favorable course might let me go sub 20. Got to be willing to suffer through some hard work to get the prize.

    1. great Jimmy, keep up the good work and thank you for your kind comments. give it 2 more weeks 100%. then taper for a week and get that PB. after that try something different for a while and maybe come back to this later. try going to the gym THIS COMING WEEK ONLY get some strength &flex in there.

  39. Hi, I’m a 43 year old male. I’m 6′ and weight around 11 st 8. I’ve always ran but over the last year or so have stepped it up. Like many others I’ve set targets and would now like to go sub 20. As you say no big deal for some, but a huge milestone for others including me. My 5k pb is 20.10, ( 20.35) this year. I run 10k in 43.30.
    At the moment I’m running one 10 k a week, three 5k routes where I run flat out for a period then jog and repeat and then a race on Saturdays. Rest Friday and Sunday.
    I have been training this year for around two months, my initial times were around 24 mins. Should I now switch and follow your plan rigorously or adapt what I’m doing?

    1. doing the same thing will only get you so far. yes, try my plan for 4-6 weeks. you might benefit from longer runs AS WELL. you might want to do some research into TEMPO runs and do your weekly 10k at a tempo pace. 2-3 days rest before you go for a PB as well please!

  40. I do a parkrun every Saturday (just because I love it) – is it possible to work this into the weekly plan for speed increase? Want to go sub 20 (20,50 currently) so plan looks great but don’t want to sacrifice my weekly parkrun fix.

    1. make parkrun day DAY7. Do the session I say as your parkrun and a bit afterwards (or before). otherwise you could fit it in only as a part of a recovery run. the plan is hard and much more load will probably get you injured or overtrained pretty quickly.

    2. to go sub20 you will probably need to take running a tad more serious. it’s not easy for most people.

  41. That’s great – I sort of assumed that the parkrun as the Day 7 session – it’s the only way I could see that fitted the plan best – so thanks for confirming! Yup, I’m well prepared for a bit of hard work – I do quite a lot of endurance MTB stuff so I like a bit of a suffer fest 🙂 I did some Day 1 intervals yesterday as a start and completed at 3.50 kilometers – hard but no major problems. I’m absolutely convinced that sub 20 is within my capabilities with a bit of focus and sweat

  42. In fact I’ve been substituting quite a bit of cycling training with running over the last few months as it seems to be building my stamina nicely and it’s a good cardiovascular workout. For the last 6 months I’ve been running about 4 times a week including the park run. I’m down to 21.50 on general fitness (I wouldn’t call myself a runner) so I just wanted to add a bit more structure in a bid to sharpen my times up more ‘scientifically’. It’s fair to say that I’ve caught a bit of a running bug. The parkrun helps as it provides a weekly focus as well as being a nice inclusive event to participate in. My biggest problem is that I’m uber competitive at everything (mad) so I run the risk of overdoing things or concentrating on the wrong things. Thanks for your advice!

    1. regarding training a lot: Look at ithelte or bioforcehrv products (I’ve done a review of one) – they tell you if you are ready that day for a VO2 session. If you are not ready and you do the session your body will not fully realise the adaptation/benefit of training. you should look at that sort of thing maybe. read the review, it should get you thinking at any rate.

  44. I followed this plan for 6 weeks and just bested my previous PR this morning by more than a minute! Was at 20:35, now 19:22. I’d never really done targeted 5K training before — I generally focused on half or full marathons — but I definitely recommend this plan to somewhat experienced runners who want to improve their 5K times.

    Three hard speed workouts each week definitely started to take its toll on my legs. I’m going to back off the speedwork for about a month, then maybe shoot for sub-19!

    1. Thanks for the feedback Jeff. I’m delighted you improved so much..sub 19? what’s another 35 seconds amongst friends. Maybe gets some weights in there as well?. Everyone should note your comments about ‘experienced runners’. This plan is not for the 30 minute 5k runners (yet)

  45. Hi, I wrote earlier in June. I have adapted my plan recently. Have been doing some speed work for around 6 weeks but haven’t seen my 5k times improve yet. Am stuck 20.30. Am still doing one 10k due to time constraints but started doing 12reps flat out for a minute with a min recovery and five 1k reps with 2 min recovery at 10s quicker than race pace. Have also been doing 18 reps of 150 meters on 10 % hill training with a 1 min recovery. What I have noticed is my power and sprint speed improve but with impacting my overall time. In fact running recently with Sub 20 runners who run at even pace suggests I loose speed in the final third of the five k. Does this suggest I do need to do more mileage? / need more endurance?

    1. I would need to look in some detail at your issue to come up with a definitive answer. ie with much more detail than you provide. (I wold charge you for doing that, sorry, as it would take me quite some time). However if you are doing the 10k at tempo pace that should be fine, your 12 reps are fine although you don’t specify pace – but it’s probably fast enough, change your 1k reps to 1 mile reps or reduce recovery further to 60 or 90 secs. maybe it’s just that you are not recovering sufficiently? have a look at my page for ‘getting a 5k pb this saturday’…use some tricks for quick one-off gains.

      1. Hi, thought I update you. Decided that my pace was actually ok. Having checked lap times and noticed a significant tail off in races and also noticed by running with even paced sub 20 runners, whom I couldn’t stay with, i concluded that what I was doing wasn’t working and as you guys say, if it isn’t working change it. I could run at sub 20 pace, but I couldn’t sustain it. So, I added more longer runs. Three weeks of including a 15k @ comfortably hard pace and bingo. 19.47 yippee chuffed. I’d made the fundamental error of assuming that my endurance was good enough, it wasn’t. Big lesson.

  46. Well, I’ve read this entire comment thread and I really want to know… how is Wendy doing now? 🙂 I’m not sure I’m ready for a sub-20 5k myself… currently at 21:22 but not tested for quite some time. I’ve been doing similar sessions with my club – just over 4:00 pace for 5x1100m. Also 12x1min10 at 3:40 pace. Both on grass… Do you think running on grass (with some very slight inclines) makes it harder? Is it beneficial to make it more difficult or would it better to run on completely flat road and achieve a higher pace? I’ve not done anything similar to the 5/3min session for a while but agree it looks evil!

    1. do you think the world 5k record was set on a grassy incline 😉 Sorry for that! The harder and flatter the surface the ‘easier’ it will be to go faster. There are some benefits to running on inclines and grass.

      1. Ha! I guess what I meant was: if you’re looking for a PB in a flat road race, is it best to train on flat roads to achieve the same pace as you’re aiming for or can you get the same results by running slightly slower on more difficult ground? I’m staying off-road to try to lessen the impact on my joints, but I wonder whether I’ll actually be able to go any faster when I race on-road… There’s probably no good answer to this…

        1. slightly slower on more difficult ground is fine.

          if you train by HR zones then that will help as your hr will be elevated on harder terrain. then do the really fast stuff based on perceived effort

          if all that makes sense.!

  47. I’ve recently become like totally addicted to running. I am 31 right now.

    To put things in perspective, during the last 4 months I’ve lost around 18kg (went from 116kg to 98kg). The weight loss has more to do with nutrition than just running, but that’s another story.

    During the last five weeks i’ve been running around 50-70km every week.

    Last week I decided that it’s actually time to start measuring my performance. Last time I measured my running speed was during highschool…. Therefore I went to the local stadium to run a 5k. I ended up finishing in 21:57. I also had run a 60min or so 10k that morning.

    In last few days I’ve learned that I also need interval training to increase my anaerobic threshold. I’ve really never done anything like that before.

    I am also learning about REST days. Is a slow 30-60min jog (like 7min/km pace) OK during a rest day? Since I am really used to running at least something daily for last 5 weeks. So I will find it hard to just sit still during the time of the day I’ve

    Anyway, I hope I can break the 20:00 barrier until end of September.

    The ultimate goal for me right now is a sub 35:00 10k, but that should take a good year or so.

    1. OK. You need to find a plan and follow it.
      Don’t do anything extra it will be counter productive.
      You only get better/faster WHEN YOU ARE RECOVERING/RESTING/ADAPTING to the exercise. If you continually exercise you will not allow this to happen. So do the rest that the plan prescribes.
      20:00 will be hard by September. Keep at it, maybe don’t set your sights too much on September.
      35:00 is a good 10k time. I’m sure you can do it with perseverance but that sort of performance is not achieved by many club athletes.
      Also be careful with your weight loss. You are probably degrading your muscle mass quite a bit rather than just your fat stores. The single extra thing that you could do wold be weights once or twice a week (as part of a training plan). Muscles bun pretty much all the fat your body burns AND they make you faster. Muscles are good. Go build some. (calfs, glutes, hamstrings, quads, core)

      1. Having said that Steve Way started out at a similar age to you and he’s just come 10th in the Commonwealth Games so what do I know !!! 🙂 Ignore the grumpy old so an so’s and go for your dreams!! Seriously though if you REALLY are committed then start working on your technique as well. Get it right now as it will be harder to re-learn later. (Join a running/athletics club)

      2. I am really careful with my weight loss. I do body composition measurements weekly (muscle mass, fat %, bone mass, water % etc). I’ve only lost 3kg of muscle mass, the rest is 15kg of fat. So I think it’s fine, since I needed that extra muscle mass back then to carry all that fat around 🙂

        I know that the whole journey is more important to me than the destination. Even if I don’t beat 20:00 until October, I want to have that feeling that I’ve done everything I could to move towards the goal.

        1. is that 3kg normal (compared to the 18kg total)? Sounds like a lot to me. make sure you keep eating quality protein especially after hard sessions.

          go for it!! good luck

        2. Those 3kg were mainly lost during first month or so, when I cut on the protein way too drastically, which was a mistake. Now I am slowly even regaining the muscle mass.

          The good news is that I am getting my pace where it needs to be for a sub 20min 5k. This morning I ran 3k in 11:45! I did not run more, because I wasn’t really recovered enough for a full 5k time trial. So it was more like a workout.

  48. Do you have any thoughts on the effects of cross training on the rest days? If I bike or swim on those days, will it be counter productive to my running gains?

    1. it depends exactly what you mean by x-training. swimming probably won’t have that much of an effect as it is mostly upper body based. however cycling is probably for your distances going to be endurance/aerobic based and on your lower body so it will definatley impact your running. it can impact positively or negatively depending on how the whole lot is pulled together in a training plan. if you do a VO2 bike session one day don’t expect a good or useful VO2 RUN session the next day. You are asking what appears to be a straightforward question but actually can be quite complicated to answer correctly without me adding LOTS of caveats. for example it is actually quite hard to put together a 3-sport )triathlon) training plan to balance all the various factors.

  49. Thanks mate!
    I have come just back from an injury, and decided i would focus on speed for a while rather than mileage. This plan has taken me from 21:30 to 20:00 in less than a month, very happy when i achieved it! Technically, not yet under 20 of course, but presumably it’s just a matter of time (and more effort!) now.
    So thank you very much for taking the time to think it all through and helping us out. Next goal: get it down to 19:30 and start training to a 40min 10k (still a way off, i realise!)

    1. Good news, I’ve cracked 20 now. I’m down to 19.47 for a 5k parkrun. I’ve managed 3 sub 20 runs and threaten it pretty much every time now. Aim is to stay below 20 all the time and have a go at 19.30. Followed the plan in spirit focusing on the harder intervals with hill reps thrown in for good measure. Excellent plan though, add a bit of hard work and it’s a sure fire winner – thanks!

      1. Really good to hear that. Well done. 19:30 (and the half minute sub-20 times) are milestones for those who are not there yet…mainly because they are generally hard to get to!! It’s great the plan is working. Top Tip: It won’t work forever. Do something different. Weights? Core? Plyo? 60 minute tempo runs.

        1. Cheers mate, great advice! I think 19.30 is very doable with hard work. I’m able to run much further as a result as well, so entering longer trail races from time to time. What’s tempo running?

    2. I’m sure it was a rounding error on behalf of the timekeepers 😉 Well done. It really is great for me when I hear of all your successes. (Makes me happy!) One factor with the 10k is that you will probably have to plan for it more and choose your race more precisely (unlike the convenient handy 5k). Having a proper plan and timeframe should also help your build up. Whereas the parkruns (whilst great) can sometimes detract. Good luck. I have a sub 38 10k plan on here somewhere try following that. Don’t focus too much on just the speed.

      1. a bit over 3 months on, and I’ve just made 19:32! Hurray 🙂
        Thanks again, and will be focusing less on 5k from now on, and aiming for the 10k!
        Keep up the good work!!

    1. wahoo!! onwards and upwards. Awesome (as the kids say these days) Was that beer-assisted during the week or not 😉 either way have one from me tonight to celebrate. tonight the dream of 19:29 will pervade your sleep 😉 very well done. don’t stick with it. keep changing it.

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