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.
Started this plan plan 4 weeks ago went out today to run the 3 mile tempo and ended up doing 18.39 for 5K. Oh and Iam 59yrs young
Fantastic, John! Well done.
That’s awesome. What time approx did it take you before starting this plan?
Hi Justine only seen your question now, that time was on first cycle Iam on 2nd cycle now so going to do 5x1k tomorrow and next week hope to attempt the 3 mile tempo again
Hi Matt, is it correct to do 5x1km runs? Just to double check as other plans have less reps. Thanks
Hi Sam, yes that is correct; I’ve found that replicating the target pace and target distance but with the recovery period included after each rep was a great session for making sure you are ready for the PB attempt. My philosophy is that ideally the race/PB attempt shouldn’t be ‘easy’ because you have trained yourself to such a level in preparation.
Thanks Matt. I found them tough, as expected – managed to do 3x below target pace and one at 4:20, plus a couple minutes lying down!
Great programme thanks – faster than I’ve ever been.
That’s great to hear Sam, well done and pleased the plans are working for you.
Hi, was just wondering whether we are supposed to run strides after the easy and long runs since I used to do a lot after every run
Thank you
Hi, running some strides is not something I’ve done after a run before. Sometime before a run as part of the warm up but if it helps with your warm down process and you feel it works for you then you should continue.
Cheers!
Hi, this plan is really helpful and I’m making great progress. I’m currently on cycle 2 of the plan and I’m struggling with a couple of things. After my first cycle, I failed to run a sub-20 and got to around the 2.5k mark before slowing down to around a 6.40 pace. During training, I’m struggling to maintain 7.30 pace on the easy runs without really upping the effort (and then it’s not so easy!) – I usually level out around 7.50. Does this mean I’m not ready for sub-20? I can struggle through the break-through sessions okay but my legs just feel heavy and tired after those sessions and I struggle to do the easy runs at 7.30.
Last question, when should I schedule my sub-20 5k attempt? I’m not doing an official race. Would this be the final Saturday in week 4 or the Sunday of week 3? I want to make sure my legs are fresh but still have the optimal tension to run a fast 5k.
Hi Chris, it’s a tricky one because your first attempt suggests you are somewhere in between the sub 20 and the 22 minute plan. There are arguments for both staying with this one and dropping down to the 22 minute plan.
You obviously have the speed in your legs as you can get through the speed interval sessions which are the real key ones for making the time and it sounds like it’s the speed endurance that you need. As long as you are not putting your body under too much stress and are recovering properly etc., my advice would be to stick with the sub 20 plan for another cycle or two. The speed endurance will come with time. You could perhaps add in one or two more rest days during the plan to aid recovery at the expense of the easy runs.
If you are planning a 5k attempt within the plan I opt for the end of week 3, but drop the Hill session that week and replace with easy run or fartlek session, nothing too strenuous.
Hope this helps,
Cheers
This is really interesting as it’s the situation I also find myself in! I have the speed to complete the intervals but am struggling with the endurance element over the 5km race. @Matt, would it make sense to incorporate some longer speed intervals to aid speed endurance? Ie 3 x 1.6km repeats at the sub20 speed? Or is this a bad idea?
Forgot to say.. thank you Matt for the fantastic plan you’ve provided here. I’ve increased my v02 max on my Garmin by 4 points in just 4 weeks so the plan is definitely having a positive affect already.
Hi Alex, pleased you are finding the plans useful, good to hear. Re the speed endurance element I think to incorporate some longer speed endurance runs into the cyclical plan in these situations is a good idea. Check out the plans for the 10k training on the site and take a couple of sessions from there. The pace might need to be adjusted down very slightly but incorporating a few 1 mile or 2km speed interval sessions should have a real benefit on endurance. Let me know how it goes or if you have any further queries.
Good luck with your training.
Update: Just managed a 20.30 5k – I didn’t feel great today since my legs felt a bit heavy/sluggish and didn’t feel very light/springy. Last month, my PR was 21.30, so I’ve shaved a minute off within one cycle 🙂 What’s your thoughts on when to go for my next attempt? I don’t think I’ve got time to do a full cycle… (will be returning to training for my sport soon and can’t do both unfortunately.)
Hi Chris, if you’ve not time to complete another full cycle then I suggest you follow week 1 and 2 in full, take off a couple of days recovery/taper and then try again. Good luck.
Epic plan! I used to be fit a couple of years ago but haven’t trained much in past two years. Ran a 20.42 (on grass) 5 weeks ago as a test and today I ran 19.24 on grass again after doing this plan. Thanks !
I found this training plan really good. In one cycle of this plan I improved my 5km time from 21:48 to 19:24. I struggled with the first few runs but started to manage things better after a few days. I’ll be starting the sub 18 plan soon. Thanks for the help Matt !