Your Speed/Distance Training Zones: Sub 60 minute 5k
| Pace per Mile | Treadmill Pace | 400m /800m Splits | 1km Pace | 5km Race Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:40 | 6.2 mph / 10 kmh | 2:23 / 4:46 | 6:00 | 30:00 |
Sub 60 minute 10k Training Plan
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | 4 (rec week) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 45mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train |
| Tuesday | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | ||
| Wednesday | Rest/ cross-train | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train |
| Thursday | @9:39 p/m (5:58 p/km) 2 min Rec | @9:39 p/m (4:46 p/km) 90s Rec | Rest/ cross-train | |
| Friday | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train | 30mins easy |
| Saturday | 45mins easy | @9:39 p/m (5:58 p/km) 90s Rec | 45mins easy | Rest/ cross-train |
| Sunday | Long run, gentle pace: 60-75 mins | 45mins easy | Long run, gentle pace: 60-75 mins | Rest/ cross-train |
Sub 60 Minute 10k Training Plan Components
Breakeven Sessions – sub 60 minute 10k
These sessions are used for maintaining fitness & recovery. Preparing you for breakthrough sessions:
- Easy Run – this should be no quicker than 11:40 p/m.
- Long Run – this doesn't need to be any longer than 60-75 minutes.
Breakthrough Sessions – sub 60 minute 10k
These sessions are meant to be challenging intense efforts, treat them as mini-milestones towards your target:
- Tempo Run – hard but sustainable effort, usually about 30 mins in total and aim for 10:10 p/mile pace for 3 miles with a 1 mile warm up/down either side.
- 800m Reps – should be reps at 9:39 p/m pace (4:46 per 800m) with a 90sec jogged recovery.
- 1km Intervals – hit 9:39 p/m pace (5:58 per km) with a 90sec jogged recovery.
- 2km Intervals – hit 9:39 p/m pace (11:56 per 2km) with a 2min jogged recovery.
- 5km Time Effort – run a 5k race/training run at your maximum, try and aim for a sub 29:49.
Notes on the Sub 60 Minute 10k Training Plan
The sub 60 Minute 10k plan has been put together so it is cyclical and can be used over a period of weeks until you feel you are ready for your 10k event. At the end of each cycle you can repeat from the beginning or tweak the plan to suit your current ability and time commitments etc. As you improve you'll maybe want to incorporate some sessions from our other 10k training plans.
If after a couple of rotations you want to make the plan harder, you could slowly increase the number of reps for the breakthrough speed sessions. Introduce changes slowly and over a few weeks, i.e., Week 1 = 3x2km Reps, Week 5 = 4x2km Reps, Week 8 = 5x2km reps, etc. Obviously there is only so far you can go with this, there would be no point in extending these way beyond the 10k distance. The other way of making the plan harder is to adjust the pace slightly and run faster!
It is recommended that after three months of using the sub 60 Minute 10k plan that you reduce your training for a period of one to two weeks to allow your body time to recover from the impact of running. This should mean more time cross-training with a couple of nice easy runs every few days to keep the legs ticking over.
To realise improvements it’s worth remembering that training is cumulative and it takes time and dedication to follow any training plan and achieve the results you want.
Very doable
I also think there is a mistake on Thursday week 3
Mile and I’m pace don’t match
I think there is a mistake on Thursday, 3rd week – shouldn’t it be ~ 6 minutes per km? Also below in a description at “800m Reps”?!
I love how you set up your 4 week cycles. My thoughts are wether these programmes carry over to off road trail/fell running as that is 90% of events in my area. I appreciate split times will be a lot harder to achieve due to elevation etc.
Hi Steve, in terms of the approach to the training cycle then I think they do carry over, i.e., having the intense interval type sessions mixed with the base/ recovery sessions. The difficulty is as you suggest, with factoring in the required paces per mile. This is much easier on the road as there are probably less hills and things to run and jump over than when fell running!