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.
It’s my first year running XC (last year I ran track) wish I found this over the summer cause now I’m playing catch up I just ran a 19:10 5K (not really thrilled my last mile was REALLY slow) hope to see gradual improvement as the year goes on!! (Also how many cycles do you think it’ll take to get to 18:25-18:30ish)
hey mat my 5k time is 19:42 min and i want to do sub 5 min mile for military run test can you suggest me some training plan.
Hey Matt. The table stopped being available today. Can you post it back up? Thanks!
Hi, folks. Hopefully the training plan table is back up now, please let me know if there’s any problems. Couple of Gremlins in the system but should be good now. Cheers.
Thank you! I appreciate what you’re doing here.
The training chart for a sub 18 5k isn’t showing up anymore. In place it’s saying “[table “” not found /]:. Could we get that back up?
Hi!
Just started this plan! My PR on a 5K is 18:48 min. Achieved two times in two races… can you believe it? I just nailed it… I hope these is not a ceiling record for me, as I intend to hit a sub 18. That is my absolute goal! I managed the 4x1Km @ 3:35 but lets see the 6x800m … that one seems challenging! Sometimes I need extra time to recover, especially the last intervals. I guess thats better than giving up the traininig! Well thanks again for sharing this plan. I feel quite inspired ! Cheers!
So I broke 20, but how do I transition from 19:57 to 18 minutes?
Hi Christi-Anne, congrats on breaking 20 minutes. The plans have been put together so you can transition from one to the next once you’ve hit the previous target. You should be good to start the sub 18 minute plan now, just don’t expect yourself to be running at exactly the right pace yet, it’ll probably take a couple of cycles.