Your Speed/Distance Training Zones: 20 minute 5k
| Pace per Mile / Km | Treadmill Pace | 400m / 800m Splits | 5km Race Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:25 / 04:00 | 9.3 mph / 15.0 km/h | 96s / 3:12 | 20min 00s |
Your sub 20 5k training plan
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Rec. Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 30min easy | 30min easy | 30min easy | Rest/Cross-train |
| Tuesday | Reps@4:00 per km/ 6:25p/m (90s rec.) | Reps@93s per 400m/ 6:15p/m (60s rec.) | Examples | Rest/Cross-train |
| Wednesday | 30min easy | 30min easy | Fartlek Examples | inc. 3m @6:40 p/m |
| Thursday | Reps@3:12 per 800 / 6:25p/m (200m rec.) | Examples | Reps@4:00 per km/ 6:25p/m (90s rec.) | Rest/Cross-train |
| Friday | Rest/Cross-train | Rest | Rest/Cross-train | 30min easy |
| Saturday | 30min easy | Reps@3:12 per 800 / 6:25p/m (200m rec.) | 30min easy | Rest/Cross-train |
| Sunday | Long run | Long run | Long run | Rest/Cross-train |
Sub 5k Training Plan Components
Breakeven Sessions – Sub 20 5k training plan
These sessions are used for maintaining fitness & recovery. Preparing you for breakthrough sessions:
- Easy/ Steady Run – this run should be according to how you feel, don't worry about the time, make sure it's no quicker than 08:25 p/m. Concentrate on recovery and form.
- Long Run – slow & steady run, this should be less than 1 hour.
- Fartlek – unstructured training. Example Fartlek sessions.
Breakthrough Sessions – Sub 20 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 6:15 p/m pace (93s per lap) with a 60sec standing recovery.
- 800m Reps – should be reps at 6:25p/m pace (3:12 per 800m) with a 200m jogged recovery.
- 1km Intervals – hit 6:25p/m pace (4:00 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 Sub 20 minute 5k Training Plan
Remember that to consider following this sub 20 minute 5k plan you should already be able to run at a target race pace of 6:25 for at least a mile (3:59p/km) and/or have a PB under 22 minutes.
The core work for the sub 20 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 sub 20 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 my PR was 20:39 on February. And ran two other 5K races after that at 21 sub. But I started following this plan two weeks ago. And by the end of second week. I had a 5k on Saturday. And I did my regular schedule the same week. I didn’t think I would do good but I ran at 19:36! I surprised myself. I did another race night time same day and ran 19:07 but the course was short , it was 3.0 miles. So since I didn’t finish one cycle. Do I start a new cycle with 18 sub? Or transition to 18 sub starting from 3rd week since Ive only done 2 weeks on sub 20?
Hello Matt
Thanks for posting this training plan. It give me the idea how to incorporate this plan to my running schedule to get the sub 20 5K. I’ve just passed the trial run 21 min 5K 2 days ago.
Thx for plan. Curious – I live in Florida. I calculated the nearest “hill” is highway overpass, which is probably 3-4% grade! Can still get 40sec uphill, but not same as steep hill.
What are your thoughts of bleacher workout instead?
Hi Matt,
I ran a sub 20 minute 5k last September, but can’t seem to recapture that form (could be because I am 40). The easy runs at 7 mins per mile aren’t that easy. Running at that pace would give you a close to 21 minute 5k, which isn’t that far off the Holy grail of a 20 minute 5k. Surely running alternate days at that pace would just wear you out in a couple of weeks?
Thank you for the training plan. I am really enjoying it and have completed one full cycle plus a week. What pace do you suggest for the easy 30 minutes runs? More importantly, what is your recommendation for tapering before a Saturday 5k? I have a race in a couple weeks so won’t be able to finish another cycle. Is the fourth week how you would treat race week?
Hi Chris, pleased you are enjoying the plan. The fourth week is largely how I would treat the race week, you don’t want to go too hard in that week but then again you want to do enough to keep things ticking over.I find that tapering is quite a personal thing so this is how I do it and it works for me but you might need to experiment a little. Good luck with your race, let us know how it goes.
Re the pace, don’t worry too much about that just something around the 07:00 min mile mark.
I actually think you should run your slow/easy runs slower than suggested – like 8-9 minute pace or slower. I ran a lot of fast 5K’s in college and our easy days were about 8 minute per mile pace, speedwork was faster than this and my PR was just under 18 minutes, ran a lot of 18:0-somethings. Currently I’m just getting back into this, have been marathon training and now that the marathon is over a fast 5K is my goal, and I’m planning to keep my easy runs at 9 minute pace actually. Just another perspective if you feel around 7 seems too fast. Read Matt Fitzgerald’s book 80/20 running to understand why running a good amount of mileage slower while running 20% faster is the optimal mix of training to increase speed. otherwise I think the speedwork sessions in this plan are right-on to get you where you want to be.
I have great news! I finally broke the 20 minutes barrier. My Garmin had me at 19:51. Course was a little longer but finished in 19:59:57 🙂 The training plan really helped a ton. For those flirting with the 20 minute mark, here’s a few things I’d like to share that helped me:
– Don’t neglect the mental aspect. I wrote down 20 steps outlining the entire morning of race, starting from when I planned to wake up to how I’d run the race, and visualized myself at certain points in course. Breaking down the course into sections (i.e. miles), instead of focusing on the end result worked wonders.
– I increased mileage to a max of 30 per week over the course of this training plan. Since January, I’ve average 20 miles per week, but only had ran 28 miles in all of February due to an injury. Soon after it healed (no running/hiking for 2 weeks) I started Matt’s plan in early March.
– Diet and sleep was good. Eliminated all processed sugar for all of March.
– My easy day pace was closer to 7:50-8:25 most weeks, but adjusted based on how I felt.
– Race fell on a Saturday. I ran two days before including a day of slightly easier 4 x 400s, and long run afterward on Sunday. Legs felt great. Will kick a little earlier at next 5k in May.
Good luck everyone! Train hard and you can do it! Thanks again Matt!
Hi Matt, just about to get started on your sub 20 plan next week!
I’ve been using your sub 22 plan since the end of February and have brought my parkrun down for 23.30 to 20.54, and managed to run a 5mile pb of 35.27 off the back of the plan, so a huge THANK YOU!❤️ Looking forward to what the next training cycle has in store . What’s your best recovery/ injury avoidance advice?
Hi Kitty, well done on improving your times so much, that’s a great effort! My best advice for recovery/ injury avoidance is really boring and sensible and is just to make sure you factor in the breaks and recovery periods into your training. This is something I have struggled with in the past and subsequently learnt from experience that they really are crucial not just for your body to recover but also for the mind.
Good luck with the next plan! Let us know how it goes.