Can I get a sub 20 min 5k in 3 months?

Yes I believe you can get some 20 in 3 months. Don't entertain any negative comments on here.

Do you have any extra weight you need to lose?

How many days a week do you want to train? And there's no right or wrong answer on that last question.

I’m 5’9 142lbs. I don’t really need to lose much weight, Im going to get to around 133lbs because I prefer being that weight anyway. Does that make a difference? I’ll train however and whenever just want to improve as efficient as possible. I’m mainly just curious to whether that goal is silly or not and how’s the best way to go about training? And if the goal is achievable how far away are 18mins and 16 mins realistically?

Who knows man, you might be inside of 18 in three months?! Just start running pretty much every day, like build up to 5 miles each and every day. Take a day or two off in the beginning but get to the point where you are running daily. Don’t hammer every run, just run by feel. Once you’ve established running that amount, start adding some workouts, like one fartlek & one tempo. Maybe a longer run like 8 miles. Don’t overthink it.

In high school, my very first season of track, not serious, I ran 4:46 for 1600. One month after track season was over, I did a fast road 5k in 18:11. Still pretty slow. Then, once August came along, I started running EVERY day and getting serious. I ran 15:29 on a fast xc course eight short weeks later. The point is, if you just start training consistently, you will get much better. So, why limit yourself and put a timeline on everything?

So you might do something like this… run M, Tu, Wed, then Thurs off, then run Fri & Sat then Sun off. Then week two run M-Sa, take Sun off, then week three start running every day. As long as you keep it easy, you should be able to do this. Maybe starting with four miles per day. Then, by week four, you can probably start doing some workouts. You will get under 20 pretty fast.

The answer is yes

I suggest a Bi-weekly shedule

Week 1:

Mo Easy 30-45 min

Tu Wu, Hill 6x 90 sec up Hill Fast, jog down , Wd (R pace workout)

We Easy 30-45min

Th Easy 60-90 min (Longrun)

Fr rest

Sa Wu 5km +15 seconds/km slower the the average of your best 5km race result Wd (T pace workout)

Sun Easy 30-45 min or Swim /bike

Mo Easy 30-45 min

Tu wu Track: 8x400m Fast / 400m jog wd (R pace Workout)

We Easy 30-45 min

Th Easy 60-90 min (Longrun)

Fr rest

Sa wu race 5km all out wd

Su Easy 30-45 or Bike/Swim

Repeat shedule, should get you to 19 min 5k by Sep

In my opinion the fastest way to improve quickly and ultimately break 16min if that’s your goal is to join your local running club and start training with some guys who are say sub 20 runners. Then if necessary change training groups to some sub 18 runners and so fourth. Either that or get a coach who can give you the guidance and/or other runners to train with. You need some structure to your training and also runners who are faster than you to push you. I remember when I first broke 16 for 5km I was able to drop my PB from 16:38 in less than 4 months by doing the above. Other guys who joined the group were all able to improve similarly.

You should chronicle your journey here. People can give feedback, but, mainly it will be interesting to see you progress. Like I said, it’s great to have goals but don’t set a timeline. Just start training consistently (daily). You just might surprise yourself. One year from today you will be so much faster if you commit.

Thanks a lot for the replies.

Okay I was going to say do you guys want me to document the journey and progress etc, I didn’t think anyone would be interested but if you want I update this thread.

Im going to take notes from the few replies about training and see how my body reacts next few weeks.

Glad to hear sub 20 in a few months sounds very possible because I had no clue how far away it was.

If you're committed to training properly - that means training the right energy systems, being consistent and disciplined - then I give you a greater than 50% chance of running under 20 within 3 months.

Under the same conditions, the chances of breaking 18 within the next year, I'd put at 20%. For breaking 16 within the next 5 years, I'd put at less than 5%.

Also, be wary of people throwing training plans at you. The best thing to do is to incrementally increase your volume or intensity (not both at the same time). If you are only running 3-4 times a week, try running 5 times a week for a month and then slightly increase again. Once you're at 6 days, add in a speed workout (as has been detailed in some of the posts above).