5K Training Program for Beginners

Week 1

Workout 1

Workout 2

Workout 3

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of Then alternate 60 seconds of Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking jogging and 90 seconds of walking jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. for a total of 20 minutes. for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes) Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes) Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3

Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)

minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.

Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

7 8

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

5K RUNNING TRAINING PROGRAM FOR BEGINNING COMPETITIVE RUNNERS

Week 1

Monday - Rest. Rest is not just a day off; it is an important and planned part of a training program. Rest allows your muscles to recover and strengthen. Tuesday - 30-minute fartlek run. Fartlek is a Swedish word for speed play. This is a non-structured workout in which you run at a steady pace and add in short surges of faster running. For this workout, alternate running for 5 minutes at an easy pace with 1 minute at 5K pace.

Wednesday - Run 3 miles easy. Avoid the temptation to increase your pace on these easy run days. You will have many opportunities to run hard. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 4 x 400 meters at 15 seconds per mile faster than your current 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Friday - Run 3 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 3 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 3 miles at 30 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace, or if you do not do 10Ks about 45 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.

Week 2

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up, run 2 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Wednesday - Run 3 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 5 x 400 meter repeats at 15 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Friday - Run 3 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 3 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Run 4 miles at 30 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace or about 45 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.

Week 3

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up. Run 3 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Wednesday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 6 x 400 meter repeats at 15 seconds per mile faster than your current 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Friday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides.

Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 5 miles at 30 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace or 45 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.

Week 4

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up, run 6 x hill repeats. Find a hill that is fairly steep and at least 100 meters in length. Run up the hill at a pace that feels like 5K pace. Run 20 meters past the top of the hill and jog back down. Repeat this 6 times. Wednesday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 4 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Run at an easy pace for 400 meters between the repeats. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace. Friday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 6 miles at 30 seconds per mile slower than 10K pace or 45 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.

Week 5

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up. Run 2 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Wednesday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 6 x 400 meter repeats at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 200 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. Friday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run for 20 minutes at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Cool down with 1 mile at an easy pace.

Week 6

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up. Run 8 x hill repeats. Find a hill that is fairly steep and around 100 meters in length. Run up the hill at a pace that feels like 5K pace. You actual pace will be slower due to the added stress of the incline. Run 20 meters past the top of the hill and jog back down. Repeat 8 times.

Wednesday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 20 minutes, alternating between 30 seconds at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace and 30 seconds at an easy pace. Cool down with 5 minutes at an easy pace. Friday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 6 miles. Run the first 5 miles at an easy pace, then speed up to 5K pace for the last mile. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.

Week 7

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up, run 2 x 1600 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of easy running. Wednesday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 2 x 400/800 meter supersets. Run 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, then slow down to 5K pace for 800 meters. Do not rest between the two distances. Run easy for 400 meters between the two sets. Run one mile at an easy pace to cool down.

Friday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 4 miles easy. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 2 x 2400 meter repeats at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Run easy for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of easy running.

Week 8

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up. Run 3 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K pace. Recover between the 3 repeats with 800 meters at an easy pace. After the last 1200 meter repeat, run 800 meters at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Do not rest between the last 1200 meter repeat and the 800 meters. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.

Wednesday - Run 4 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run for 20 minutes alternating between 30 seconds at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace and 30 seconds at an easy pace. Cool down with 1 mile at an easy pace. Friday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 6 miles at 30 seconds per mile slower than 10K pace or 45 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.

Week 9

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up, run 3 x 1600 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. If you are having trouble maintaining your pace, increase the distance of your recovery jogs. Wednesday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 3 x 400/800 meter supersets. Run 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, then slow down to 5K pace for 800 meters. Do not rest between the two distances. Run easy for 400 meters between the three repeats. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.

Friday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 5 miles easy. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 5000 meters at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.

Week 10

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up. Run 2 x 1200 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Recover between repeats with 400 meters of easy running. Cool down with 800 meters of easy running. Wednesday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 3 x 400/800 meter supersets and one mile at 5K pace. Run 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, then slow down to 5K pace for 800 meters. Do not rest between the distances. Recover between the three sets with 400 meters at an easy pace. Run 400 meters at an easy pace and then run 1 mile at 5K pace. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.

Friday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 5 miles easy. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 6 miles. Run the first 5 miles at an easy pace, then speed up to 5K pace for the last mile. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.

Week 11

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up. Run 3 x 1600 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters to cool down. Wednesday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. Run 2 x 400/800/400 super sets. Run 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, 800 meters at 5K pace and 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Recover between the two sets with 800 meters at an easy pace.

Friday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 6 miles at 30 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace or 45 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.

Week 12

Monday - Rest Tuesday - Standard warm up, run 4 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, jog for 200 meters between repeats. Then, run 2 x 400 meter repeats at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 200 meters between repeats. The, run 4 x 200 meter repeats at full, but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Jog for 400 meters between each of the three sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.

Wednesday - Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Thursday - Standard warm up. 2 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K pace. Run 200 meters at an easy pace between the repeats. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace. Friday - Run 3 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides. Saturday - Rest Sunday - RACE DAY!