If you’ve signed up for a 5K race that’s a month away and you haven’t been specifically training for it, you still have time to run a brag-worthy race time. This four-week intermediate 5K training program (see below) is designed for intermediate runners who are currently running at least 15 miles a week. (If you’re a beginner runner who wants to run a 5K that’s four weeks away, use this 4-Week Beginner 5K schedule.)
If you’re an intermediate runner and you have more time to train, try this 6-Week Intermediate 5K training schedule or this 8-Week Intermediate 5K training schedule.
Types of Training Runs
Here are the types of runs you’ll see on the schedule and how to do them:
Long Runs (LR): You’re not training for a long distance event, but long runs will help you develop your stamina, which is important in 5K racing. You should do your long runs at a comfortable, conversational pace. You should be able breathe easily and talk in complete sentences. Your easy pace runs (EP) should also be done at this effort.
Tempo Runs (TR): Tempo runs help you develop your anaerobic threshold, which is critical for fast 5K racing. Start your run with 10 minutes easy running, then continue with 15 to 20 minutes running about 10 seconds per mile slower than your 10K race pace, and finish with 10 minutes cooling down. If you’re not sure what your 10K race pace is, run at a pace that feels “comfortably hard.”
Hill repeats (HR): For your hill repeats, pick a hill about 200 to 400 meters long that isn’t too steep. Try to run up at your 5K race effort. Recover down the hill at an easy pace.
5K Interval Workouts: Run your intervals workouts at your 5K race pace, with a two-minute easy-paced recovery in between each interval. You should start and finish your 5K interval workouts with one mile of easy running to warm up and cool down.
Rest Days: On rest days, you can take the day off or do some easy cross-training (CT), such as biking, yoga, swimming, elliptical trainer, strength training, or another activity you enjoy.
4 Week Intermediate 5K Training Schedule
Week 1:
Day 1: 40 min CT or Rest
Day 2: 25 min TR + 2 hill repeats
Day 3: 30 min CT or Rest
Day 4: [4 min @ 5K effort + 2 min EP] x 3
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: 5 miles LR
Day 7: 3 miles EP
Week 2:
Day 1: 40 min CT or Rest
Day 2: 30 min TR + 3 hill repeats
Day 3: 30 min CT or Rest
Day 4: [4 min @ 5K effort + 2 min EP] x 4
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: 7 miles LR
Day 7: 3 miles EP
Week 3:
Day 1: 40 min CT or Rest
Day 2: 25 min TR + 3 hill repeats
Day 3: 30 min CT or Rest
Day 4: [4 min @ 5K effort + 2 min EP] x 3
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: 6 miles LR
Day 7: 3 miles EP
Week 4:
Day 1: 30 min CT
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: 20 min TR
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: 3 miles EP
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: 5K Race!
What’s a Good Time for a 5K?
That’s a tough question to answer because race times can be pretty subjective – what one person thinks is a good time for a 5K race (3.1 miles) may not be considered a good time by others.
An easy way to see how fast people typically run in 5Ks is to look at the race’s previous results, which are most likely listed on the race’s website. You can see the times of the age group winners, those who finished in the middle of the pack, and those who finished in the back of the pack. The number of finishers and the range of finishing times are probably similar from year to year.
You’ll see that finishing times for a 5K span a very wide range because there’s usually a mix of experienced, fast runners and beginner runners and walkers. The winning male may run the 5K course somewhere between 12-15 minutes and the winning female may run it in the 16-19 minute range. Some walkers may take over an hour to finish. Most people feel good about finishing in the 20-25 minute range.
Of course, comparing men to women, and people in their 20s to people in their 50s isn’t exactly fair. Your performance really depends on numerous factors, such as your level of experience, age, and gender.
One way to put all 5K participants on a level playing field, regardless of age and gender, is by age-grading. Age-graded results let you compare your race times to those of other runners in the race, as well as to the standard for your age and gender. You can use this age-graded calculator to figure out your age-graded race time to get a comparison of how your finishing time compares with others.
If you’re running your first 5K, try not to get too hung up on your finishing time. Focus on how you feel during the race, especially that feeling of excitement when you cross the finish line.
Once you gain some more racing experience, you can focus more on your performance, but try not to compare yourself to others. A great thing about running races is that you can compete against yourself.
Many people like to run the same distances every year or every few months so they can try to beat their personal record (PR). They can compete against themselves and measure their own progress rather than worry about what other race participants are doing.
