WHY IS THIS BEGINNER 5K TRAINING PLAN BETTER?

This is the first plan in our series of nine-week, free beginner 5k training plans, created using modern sport science and training monitoring techniques. They’ve been designed so that completing one plan prepares you for the subsequent plan.

If this plan seems too challenging, check out our Couch To 5k plan.

If this plan seems too easy, check out our Beginner 5k Training Plan (Sub 26 Mins).

Bookmark our training plan so you can follow it throughout your training and let us know how you get on #caffeinebullettime

Here’s 5 reasons our training plans are better than the rest:

1. Our plans obey the 80:20 principle – this means that around 80% of your training week will be performed at an easy intensity. Consistently spending less than 80% of training at an easy intensity can increase injury risk and lead to poorer race performance. Analysing training intensity distribution in other training plans was key when designing our plans as it is extremely common to see training weeks fall significantly below 70% easy intensity training.

2. Our plans are easy to adjust –  They’re kept simple and the progression patterns are easy to recognise. We understand the variability in response to training between individuals, so we want you to be able to easily modify our plans to suit YOUR needs and get the most out of your training.

3. No plans start too hard –  Assuming you start the plan with the appropriate level of fitness and experience, no plan starts too hard or too fast. As large jumps in weekly training workload can drastically increase injury risk. Therefore, our plans aim to ease you in to ensure you’re able to reach the start line as well as the finish line. If the plan is too hard you can change to an easier plan and if it’s too easy you can either adjust it or move up to the next plan.

4. We prioritise recovery – All of our plans have deloads/recovery weeks built into them to limit the risk of overtraining. They are clearly marked and can be adjusted by the user to suit their recovery abilities. Don’t be afraid to reduce the mileage of these weeks even further if you feel the need to.

5. We listen to your feedback – We want to hear from anyone using our plans so we can make them even better. All we care about is making sure you get a new personal best!

THE TRAINING PLAN

WEEK MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT SUN WEEKLY MINUTES EASY %
1 Rest 15 min Easy run Rest 15 min Easy run Rest Rest 20 min Easy run 50 mins 100.00%
2 Rest 10 min Easy run, then 5 min @ 5k pace Rest 15 min Easy run 15 min Easy run Rest 20 min Easy run 65 mins 92.31%
3 Rest 15 min Easy run, then 5 min @ 5k pace Rest 20 min Easy run 10 min Easy run, then 5 min @ 5k pace Rest 25 min Easy run 80 mins 87.50%
4 Rest 20 min Easy run, then 5 min @ 5k pace Rest 25 min Easy run 15 min Easy run, then 10 min @ 5k pace Rest 25 min Easy run 100 mins 85.00%
5 (Recovery) Rest 20 min Easy run Rest 20 min Easy run 15 min Easy run Rest 20 min Easy run 75 mins 100.00%
6 Rest 25 min Easy run, then 5 min @ 5k pace Rest 25 min Easy run Intervals:
4 x 1 min @ 1 mile pace (2 mins Easy run recovery in between)
Rest 30 min Easy run 112 mins 84.82%
7 Rest 25 min Easy run, then 10 min @ 5k pace Rest 25 min Easy run Intervals:
5 x 1 min @ 1 mile pace (2 mins Easy run recovery in between)
Rest 35 min Easy run 125 mins 80.00%
8 Rest 30 min Easy run, then 10 min @ 5k pace Rest 25 min Easy run Intervals:
6 x 1 min @ 1 mile pace (2 mins Easy run recovery in between)
Rest 35 min Easy run 133 mins 78.95%
9 Rest 20 min Easy run, then 10 min @ 5k pace Rest 20 min Easy run Rest Rest 5k Race n/a n/a

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS TRAINING PLAN

A common way new runners end up injured or in too much pain to finish their plan is because they run too fast or too hard in the running intervals of their sessions. To get better results with a much lower risk of injury we recommend running at an “easy pace”.

Easy runs are run at conversational pace at an effort level of about 3-4/10. To find your easy pace you can start with running at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate or at a pace 5-10% slower than your marathon pace. Check out our article on easy runs to find out all you need to know about easy running.