5x1000m w/60s rest, is this a fair indicator for a 5k and 10k or just 5k?

agreed

while it may be true OP can hold the avg pace of this workout, 3:55/km, for 5000 there is no objective measure of how hard they were running, thus the conservative estimate is that OP can sustain that pace for 60% of the volume of the workout given the relatively short rest intervals between the reps

if it were me or i was advising an athlete, i'd say they are in at least 11:45 3000 shape or 20:10 5000 shape, so take the first 3k out around 4:00/km pace and then if you're in better shape a significant negative split is likely, whereas if not quite in shape to break 20:00 they'll barely tail off and still be close: win-win situation in terms of staying motivated for the next races and/or block of training

I only had 60s rest, so it was very hard. I think it's a good predictor after reading these...I'll use it from time to time before a 5k.

You're definitely in sub 20 shape. I do 5x1k with 90 seconds walking rest at 3:35 as a low 18's guy. Not sure I'm in sub 18 shape or not.

No. 1x5k is a better indicator

I did a similar workout recently about a week out from my 5k, only difference was 75s jog rest.

My splits were 3:55, 3:50, 3:51, 3:46, 3:47.

I ran a slightly disappointing 19:25 after way overcooking the first mile.

It's a good strength based workout for an 800 runner.

I agree.

5x1k with just 60s rest is an extremely hard workout at 5k race race pace. Most athletes will race the 5k at a faster pace than they can execute this workout on such short rest.

5x1k with 90s rest in a workout should map well to what pace you can do in a fully dialed-in race context.

Meanwhile, 5x1k with 2:00 rest on 5k pace should feel very substantial, but manageable.

(This is all assuming the workout is done in a normal training week without specific rest etc. Of course physiologically it is possible to run a broken 5k at race pace, especially if you really target it. But as a test I find that 90s rest is right where this gets hard but still doable out for non-elite athletes doing 5x1k in training.)

Indeed. This is nobody's "gold standard."

4x1600 at 5k pace on 60s rest would be absurdly hard if not a run to failure. This is just physiology.

You are proposing going 6400m, 28% over race distance, with only 3:00 of rest within the 25-minute effort (at the OP's pace)!

If you finish this workout at "5k pace", the only thing you have proven is you have underperformed in your 5k races.

That's encouraging! I didn't really know how I'd go, was hoping for 4:05-4:07-ish but was surprised to hit the 3:50-3:55 range to be honest...

Next time, I'll try 5x1000 w/90s rest instead of 60s, and see how that goes. Thank you so much.

I usually go with a rest interval of around 75% of the work interval for 5k paced reps, so for your 4 min 1000s, I'd have you taking 3 min rest. I like switching this around throughout the season by using sets or making intervals longer, but I'm not a fan of the short-rest 5k work that some runners/coaches like. At some point, the workout gets hard enough you might as well just run a race. The purpose of workouts, vs races, is that you can repeat them every 48-72 hours without needing to taper or take any extremely easy days. There are a lot of different philosophies about the relative intensity of various training elements, but I've gotten good results with this approach.

That's a good point...I'd be curious how this exact workout would go with 3 mins. rest, same track, same time of day, etc. (and close as possible to same weather).

I did 6x1k w/200 meters in 60 secs rest and ran the same pace for my 10k.

But 200m in 60s kept the 1k parts very honest.

Walking/standing in place... maybe not.

This is why you shouldn't do predictor workouts with 90 seconds walking.

Keep moving at a decent clip and gives you a great indication of race potential.

Walking/standing just ruins the whole thing.

I wasn't really doing the workout as a predictor, just as an interval training workout. If I want to know what shape I'm in for a 5k, I just race or time trial a 5k.