Your Speed/Distance Training Zones: 18 minute 5k
| Pace per Mile/ Km | Treadmill Pace | 400m / 800m Splits | 5km Race Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:45 / 03:35 | 10.4 mph / 16.6 km/h | 86s / 2:52 | 17min 55s |
Your 18 minute 5k Training Plan
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Rec. Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 30mins easy | 30mins easy | Examples | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Tuesday | Reps@3:35 per km / 90s 5:45p/m (90sec rec.) | Reps@84s per 400m/ 5:35p/m (60s rec.) | Reps@3:35 per km / 90s 5:45p/m (90sec rec.) | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Wednesday | 30mins easy | 30mins easy | 30mins easy | to include 3miles @6:00 p/m |
| Thursday | Reps@2:49 per 800m /5:40p/m (200m jog rec.) | Examples | Examples | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Friday | Rest/ Cross-train | Rest | Rest/ Cross-train | 30mins easy |
| Saturday | 30mins easy | Reps@2:49 per 800m /5:40p/m (200m jog rec.) | 30mins easy | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Sunday | Long run | Long run | Long run | Rest/ Cross-train |
18 Minute 5k Training Plan Components
Breakeven Sessions – 18 minute 5k training plan
These sessions are used for maintaining fitness & recovery. Preparing you for breakthrough sessions:
- Steady/ Easy Run – this run should be according to how you feel, don't worry about the time, make sure it's no quicker than 07:45 p/m. Concentrate on recovery and form.
- Long Run – slow & steady run, this should be less than 1 hours work.
- Fartlek – unstructured training. Example Fartlek sessions.
Breakthrough Sessions – 18 minute 5k training plan
These sessions are meant to be challenging intense efforts, treat them as mini-milestones towards your target:
- 400m Reps – these need to be at 5:35 p/m pace (84s per lap) with a 60sec standing recovery.
- 800m Reps – should be reps at 5:40p/m pace (2:49 per 800m) with a 200m jogged recovery.
- 1km Intervals – hit 5:45p/m pace (3:35 per km) with a 90sec jogged recovery.
- Hills: Kenyans/ Hill Sprints – alternate between Kenyans and Hill Sprints to get a balance of power and endurance training. Example Hill Training Sessions.
About this Plan
Remember that to even consider following this 18 minute 5k plan you should already be able to run at a target race pace of 5:45 for at least a mile (3:35 p/km) and/or have a PB under 20 minutes.
The core work for the 18 minute 5k training plan is set over a 3-week period with the addition of 1 week's recovery. At the end of the first 4-week cycle you can repeat and/or tailor the plan to your individual needs to focus on your particular 5k event.
It is recommended that after three months following the 18 minute 5k 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.
So what pace should I run for a 18 5k race??
5:45, READ!
Hi Matt, would it have any impact if I take more rest days between runs? I’m finding I need more time to recover, only for mild tendinitis after some runs (the long run especially). My question is, will I benefit less from the program if I take more rest days?
Hi Joe, no you won’t benefit less, you are doing the right thing and listening to your body. Take more rest and make sure you can complete the break out/harder speed sessions would be my advice.
I’m 13 and currently have a pr of 19:43 do you think I could break 18 after doing this workout for 6 weeks
Hi,
With fartlek training days I was planning on doing a peramid session, 4 mins hard 1m recovery, 3 mins hard,,1 recovery, 2 hard 1 recovery then go back up until hit 4min hard again
Is this any good?
This plan works fantastic! I started this with a PR of 19:05 and hit 17:54 in my race yesterday. Thank you for helping me break 18, highly recommend this plan for anyone looking to do the same!
Thanks for the comment, Todd. Well done!
Hi Matt,
On the Tempo run for the 18min 5k plan, how long would you suggest it should be? I.e pace/distance before and after the 3mile at 6min per mile pace?
This is a great site by the way, I can’t wait to give the plan a go!!
Hi. I find running at sub 7 min/mile on easy runs really beats my legs and feet up and I start getting mini injuries after a about 2 weeks. Whilst I haven’t tested myself in a race for a long time, I believe my current 5km time would be around 18:30 (I recently randomly ran 2 miles at 5:50 pace during a long run which felt hard but ok). Most of my running is done on the fells – so really hard up and down hill, followed by relatively slow flat sections). I would like to break 17:30 for 5km and fancy a mini project. Question: do you think running the easy sessions at around 7:40 – 8 min/mile would hinder progress?
Great plan BTW, thanks.
A lot of the time running slower on easy runs is better than going too fast. The purpose of them is to build your aerobic system and to help you recover. If you go too quick, there is no additional aerobic benefit; it will only hinder your recovery and possibly subsequent sessions. I would recommend running by feel instead of focusing on a desired pace. This way you can concentrate on recovery and build your endurance with little risk of injury.
Yea that’s definitely too fast for an easy run. I’m doing my easy run around 8min/mile and it definitely helps recovery and even endurance. Medium runs are not super helpful. Run easy runs easy then go smash the hard ones.
I’d like to see a reply from Matt on this to confirm. I have the same feedback as many others here – the suggested pace for the easy/long runs seems way too hard. I researched it (ok I watched a bunch of you-tubers) and Matt’s advice on this pacing is an outlier. Everything else is in line with the advice given by most. FYI – I’ve followed the fundamentals of this plan (ignoring the pace guide for the easy runs and just doing two speed sessions and a long one each week due to time constraints) and dropped my 5k from 20:30 to 19:10 in a month, having started running the month prior (I’m 43).
The pace says no quicker than 7:30…so anything slower