Hi would anyone have advice on training for a sub 20 minute 5km. Im 20 , run 30-35 miles a week and have been running for a year. I did a time trial this week and ran 22:08 which was solo i would of hoped to run 21:00 and feel if i was to go to an actual race i would be around that level of fitness. Does anyone have any sample training plan?
thank you!
Hello! I am a high school runner (female) with a PR of 19:38. First of all, I'd like to say that a 22:08 vs a 21:00 5k is a pretty large difference, even if you are soloing it. To give you an idea, when I ran a 21:04 5k (on a difficult, hilly course), I was running my 30 minutes tempos at about 7:00 min/mile, which equates to approximately a 21:45 5k... that is when I was doing a 4+ mile tempo. However, it may have been an off day, and the point of this post isn't to lecture on how close or not you are to sub20.
My number 1 tip for sub 20 is train at sub 20. During interval workouts, be sure to be running at least at 6:25 pace, and if you cannot do that cut down the reps or the length. The point is that to run a 5k at 6:25, you must be comfortable (ish) running at that pace. As you get more fit add more reps or length. If you cannot do 3xmile at 6:25, it is very unlikely that you will be able to do 5k at that pace. The last workout I did before the first time I broke 20 (19:54) was a 2x2400 at 6:15 pace. My 4 mile tempos were at about 6:50. My easy runs were almost always 6 miles at 7:45 ish pace (remember easy pace should be easy). That's just to give you an idea. Also add hills if you are running it on a course (I only ran XC5Ks), if you are running on a track, it should be easier to go sub 20 :)
Thank you! Yes I think it’s a big jump my training paces equal to sub 21 but it’s still a big jump so I’ll have to work on taking smaller amounts of time off each time I race!!
Hello,
I recommend the Colorado Track Club website.
Simple approach: There is a tab for free training plans that discusses a lot of info and paces that pertain to what you are trying to do. It will help you build your own training plan.
A little more complicated: read the training philosophy page. It is a little more academic, but it has the info that will help.
And yes... I am biased.
Coloradotrackclub.com
I’m a f sub-20 5K runner (19:40) with a sub 1:30 half (so I’m not lacking in endurance) and fwiw I run my easy runs much slower than 7:45 min/miles. I run usually between 8:00-8:40 min/miles most days.
I can do my tempo at 6:40 min mile for 4 miles. Mile repeats at 6:35 x 6.
I got my mile to 5:50 and that really helped drop the 5K time.
katerunning123 wrote:
Hi would anyone have advice on training for a sub 20 minute 5km. Im 20 , run 30-35 miles a week and have been running for a year. I did a time trial this week and ran 22:08 which was solo i would of hoped to run 21:00 and feel if i was to go to an actual race i would be around that level of fitness. Does anyone have any sample training plan?
thank you!
How long is your long run? I would increase your mileage to 40+ and lengthen your long run, perhaps to as long as 10 miles. Run it progression style if you feel good. This will really help you build strength in addition to the other advice on here about pacing on your reps & tempo runs. Good luck.