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.
Hello Matt,
What do I do if I have skipped one run in a schedule? Dump it? Repeat the week? Or drop a rest day in the next week?
Hi Magnus,
It depends largely on which session it it. If it is a breakeven/ receovery type run then I wouldn’t worry too much about it; just carry on as normal or try to juggle the week around a bit to fit it in somewhere. If it is a breakthrough (intense) session then I would probably repeat that week. Those interval sessions are key and it’s important to get through them all in a cycle. Cheers.
In my case it was “Long Run”. Does the same rule as with “Easy/Steady Run” abide to this one?
Cheers, and thanks for the great web-site you have doen with all these wonderful plans!
Hi Magnus, yes you’re correct, I would apply the same thinking here as to the steady run. I’ve found that for specific 5k training the long run is probably the one to miss if you have to miss any of the sessions during the week (slightly different if you are following a 10k plan).
Thanks for your feedback, always nice to hear. Good luck with your training and let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Hi Matt, just finished reading your training plan it looks hard and honest. I ran 21:30 about amonth ago with an Achilles problem. For the last month i have been cross training and slowly coming back. I ran the 1k test and was able to complete it in 3:57 but was running hard. I am a bit older at 51 so I am wondering if I could do this plan. I am thinking about building my miles the rest of this month with the 1km test once per week, and in Dec starting the plan and continuing it through the winter. Also I usually run my long run on Sun with a group where we mainly run about 10 miles but it’s at an easy pace. What do you think?
Long run? how long and at what pace please
Hi, the long run requirement can vary slightly depending on what other training you are doing which is why it’s a little vague in the plan. If you are focusing solely on 5k’s then I don’t think the long run needs to be any longer than an hour and a half max. Because the week’s sessions can be quite intense my focus is to just enjoy the slower steady pace of a long run and whether than is for 60 mins or 90 mins it’s not an exact science. Just run naturally and don’t worry about pace so much. Personally my long run is an hour, when I’m 10k training as well I’ll go a bit longer and it’s usually 20-30 seconds slower per mile than the speedy miles during the week.
Matt, I followed your sub 20min plan for one cycle. I went from 21mins 33secs to 20min 06 seconds. Annoyingly just missed out on sub 20. Would you suggest another cycle of this training before attempting sub 18min plan? The times for that I think would be a stretch right now or modify and aim for sub 19 min training?
Hi Harry, that’s annoyingly close! Well done though. I would probably opt for another cycle of the sub 20 min plan if I were you; another go at that and considering your progress already, I’d be confident you’ll nail it in 3-4 weeks time and then you can move straight onto the 18 minute 5k plan. Let me know how you get on. Cheers.
Giving this a try!
hi Matt, i’m stuck at 21:50 since 1 month. I’m starting your Plan next week. After these 4 weeks i would like to try 5k race. What kind of warmup routine and pace from start to finish do You suggest?
Cheers from italy
Bonjourno Matteo! I would suggest a warmup jog of at least 15-20 minutes that includes a mixture of sprints and strides. You want to prepare you body for running at your target race pace so ideally you want to include a short piece of running in your warm-up at that race pace; then it won’t be such a shock to the system when you start the race.
You should aim to start the race at your target race pace of 06:25 and repeat until the end 🙂
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
Hi matt, started today with 5×1. Im struggled to keep 4 min / km pace, these was my splits:
04:03
04:14
04:13
04:14
04:16
AVG 4:12 min per km
Hope to improve in these 4 weeks, thanks
today 6×800, splits:
3:56
4:00
4:03
4:04
4:06
4:03
AVG 4:02
i skipped the 30 min easy yesterday because im doing bike on indoor trainer.