As a beginner the 5K is a good race to start with. It's just the right distance to test out your fitness. If you're running for 30 minutes without stopping you can finish a 5K.
Enter with a few friends, enjoy the race atmosphere and mingle with the other runners. Aim to cross the finish line feeling good and you'll have a time that you can work on improving.
Get going with this 5K Beginner 12-week plan after you've completed the
beginner running program
and have run regularly (3-4 days a week) for six months. Notes on the Program Calculating Your Mileage
To follow the mileage suggestions measure your run course with your car odometer. Websites like MapMyRun.com and gmap-pedometer.com allow you to open a free account to track your running routes. There are GPS watches that give readings of your mile pace and total distance covered. Otherwise, go to a track and time yourself running an easy mile (four laps) or 1K (2 and half laps). Calculate your run on time e.g. a 12 minute mile pace runner would take around 24 minutes to run an easy 2 miles. Covert Mileage
The workouts are in miles.
Click here for distances in kilometers.
Flexibility
Some days we feel tired, other days we feel good. With the ranges in this 5K training program choose what's best for you. Swap the running and rest days so they fit into your life. If you need extra days off take them, don't feel pressure to hit the mileage totals every day or week. Running Together
Training with others can help you get out the door or finish a workout. Adjust this 5K Beginner program so you can run together and all get to your goals. Some days you might run a few miles with a running partner who's having a shorter run, and then keep going. Hard/Easy Rule
You'll see that harder days e.g. faster workouts are followed by a day of easy running. Sticking to this habit will help you recover from these workouts and stay injury free. Rest Days
Giving your muscles a day off from running helps them get stronger. These days are important to prevent injuries. If you want to do something on the rest days try a
low-impact cross training workout.
Warm Up and Cool Down
The daily distances include your 5-10 minutes of easy running to warm up and cool down. Begin with some
warm up exercises.
Remember to spend some time
stretching
after your workouts. Run Easy
You'll run most of your runs at a relaxed and conversational pace. If you can't talk to your running friends you're probably moving too fast. Top of Page Fartlek Training
You'll begin your faster workouts in this 5K beginner program with fartlek runs.
Read these tips on fartlek training.
Here are some sample fartlek workouts to try:- 4x2 minute effort with 2 minute easy jog recovery plus 2x1 minute effort with 1 minute easy jog recovery.
- 1x3 minute effort with 2 minute easy jog recovery, then 2x2 minute effort with 2 minute easy jog recovery plus 3x1 minute effort with 1 minute easy jog recovery.
Hill Running
To build strength and endurance you'll include some hills in your 5K beginner program.
Follow this advice on how to run hills.
Intervals
Click here for the run down on interval training.
For your 400m (one lap of the track) intervals run one at a good hard effort (for you). Then walk and/or jog an easy lap to recover and start again. Finding a balance between running fast but not so fast that you can't finish your workout takes time. You'll get the hang of it as you do more of this training. With your 200m intervals walk and/or jog an easy half lap to recover. For your 800m intervals recover with an easy walk and/or jog for at least the same amount of time as it took for you to run the 800m. Time Trial
A few weeks before your 5K race you'll get ready with a time trial. You want to run this comfortably hard but not all out. It's easier if you enter a low-key fun run so you have others to run against. This will give you a chance to get a feel for racing. You can also practice getting ready, eating, warming up, etc. Otherwise ask some friends to run some or all of the time trial with you in a training session. Top of Page
5K Beginner 12-week Running Program| Week | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Frid | Sat | Sun | Total Miles | | 1 | Rest | Easy 2-3M | Easy 2M | Easy 2-3M | Rest | Easy 2M | Easy 4M | 12-14 | | 2 | Rest | Fartlek
DT=3M | Easy 2-3M | Easy 2-3M | Rest | Easy 2M | Easy 4M | 13-15 | | 3 | Rest | Fartlek
DT=3M | Easy 2M | Easy 2-3M | Rest | Easy 2M | Easy 4-5M | 13-15 | | 4 | Rest | 4-5xShort Hills
DT=3M | Easy 2M | Easy 3M | Rest | Easy 2M | Easy 4-5M | 14-15 | | 5 | Rest | Fartlek
DT=3M | Easy 2M | Easy 2-3M | Rest | Easy 2M | Easy 5-6M | 14-16 | | 6 | Rest | Intervals
2-3x400m
1-2x200m
DT=4M | Easy 2M | Easy 3M | Rest | Easy 2-3M | Easy 5-6M | 16-18 | | 7 | Rest | Fartlek
DT=4M | Easy 4M | Easy3-4M | Rest | Easy 2-3M | Easy 5M | 18-20 | | 8 | Rest | Intervals
6-8x200m
DT=4M | Easy 3M | Easy 3-4M | Rest | Easy 3M | Easy 5-6M | 18-20 | | 9 | Rest | Intervals
2-3x800m
DT=4M | Easy 3-4M | Easy 4M | Rest | Easy 3M | Easy 4-5M | 18-20 | | 10 | Rest | Intervals
2-3x400m
2x200m
DT=4M | Easy 2M | Easy 3-4M | Easy 2-3M | Rest | 5K Time Trial DT=5M | 16-18 | | 11 | Rest | Fartlek
DT=4M | Easy 2-3M | Easy 3-4M | Rest | Easy 2-3M | Easy 4M | 15-18 | | 12 | Rest | Intervals
2x400m
DT=3M | Easy 3M | Rest or easy 2M | Easy 2M | Rest | 5K Race | 8-10 plus Race |
DT=Daily total of miles
Try the
Basic 5K running program
if this 5K Beginner seems too easy.
Subscribe to our Running Shorts ezine for more free advice.
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