5K TRAINING PLAN FOR ADVANCED COMPETITORS – 12 WEEK CYCLE
5K races have become the most popular road racing distance. There is a 5K race almost every weekend in most areas. The 5K offers a something for everyone. The relatively short distance makes it achievable for novice runners and the need for sustained speed supplies a challenge for more advanced runners. The need for long distance sustained speed also makes it a perfect “time trial” or training run for longer distances such as 10K’s and marathons. This 5K training plan for advanced competitor is intended for runners with experience racing the 5K distance. It is for both advanced runners and also for upper level intermediate runners that want to move up to the advanced training level.
12 Week training cycle
This is a 12-week cycle that designed to prepare an advanced competitor to peak for a 5K race. The peak developed from this program may be maintained for approximately 1 to 3 weeks. After the completion of the 12-week cycle, there should be a short period of rest and reduced mileage, followed by the start of a new training cycle at a higher level.
An advanced competitor is an athlete that has been racing for at least two seasons and has been following a structured training program for at least two seasons. At this level, the athlete should have built up a good strength base and will be ready to move on to advanced and intense strength training and explosive strength training. The move between the intermediate competitors program and the advanced competitors program will require more high intensity workouts and a bit higher overall mileage. The difference between beginning, intermediate and advanced competitors is not necessarily one of finishing time or position. It more of a state of mind and the dedication to a training program.
This program is general in nature. Feel free to make adjustments in order to accommodate scheduling conflicts and individual goals and rate of improvement.
The Workouts
This program contains rest days, easy runs, long runs, speed training workouts, lactate threshold workouts, form drills and strength training. This training program is designed to build speed, improve speed endurance and increase both general and functional strength.
Easy Runs
Easy runs should be run at a pace that feels fairly comfortable. You should be breathing hard, but should be able to carry on a conversation. If you are breathing so hard that you cannot talk, you are running too hard. If you can sing, you are running too easily.
Rest
Rest is a very important part of any training program. Without proper rest, your muscles and connective tissues will not have an opportunity to recover and strengthen properly. On the days calling for complete rest, do no strenuous activity. On the days calling for rest or cross training, you can rest totally or do some cross training. Cross training can be any activity other than running. You could go for a walk, swim, bicycle or do nothing. It is up to you.
Long Runs
Long runs are over distance runs or runs that are a bit longer than the goal distance. This type of run builds strength, endurance and improves the confidence to complete long race distances.
Speed Training
Speed training is short to medium length repeats that are run at paces that range from race pace to an all out effort. The goal of this type of workout is to improve overall speed and the ability to maintain a quality pace for long distances.
Lactate Threshold Workouts
Lactic acid is a natural by-product of energy production. Normally, excess lactic acid is converted to energy. When the intensity of your running reaches a certain point, more lactic acid is produced than your body can process. This causes a decrease in the efficiency of your muscles. The point at which lactic acid begins to accumulate in your muscles is your lactate threshold. The goal of these workouts is to raise your lactate threshold level.
Strength Training
A proper strength training program will improve your speed, power, running economy and help you avoid injury. Strength training should be performed two or three times per week.
During the initial stages of your training cycle, you should perform your strength training with a high number of repetitions and at a low level of intensity. As your running program progresses, so should your strength training. Gradually increase the intensity and decrease the number of repetitions.
This 5K training plan for advanced competitor includes three types of strength training exercises that you should perform: General strength exercises; running specific exercises and plyometric exercises. General strength exercises will build overall upper and lower body strength. Running specific exercises will strengthen the motions that are specific to running. Plyometric exercises are explosive strength exercises that will improve your running specific strength, power and economy.
For more information see the strength training section and the additional articles in the various race-training sections.
Form Drills
Form drills are designed to improve your running form, technique and economy. Running economy is a measure of the efficiency of your running. The goal is to run efficiently with the least amount of effort.
Standard Warm Up
The following routine, or a similar one, should be followed whenever a warm up is called for: Run easy for 10 minutes or until you feel loose, stretch, run 4 x 100 meter acceleration strides, perform 5 minutes of form drills.
Week 1
Monday – Rest.
Rest is not just a day off; it is an important and planned part of a training program. Rest allows your muscles to recover and strengthen.
Tuesday – 45-minute fartlek run. Fartlek is a Swedish word for speed play. This is a non-structured workout in which you run at a steady pace and add in short surges of faster running. For this workout, alternate running for 5 minutes at an easy pace with 1 minute at 5K pace.
Wednesday – Run 4 miles easy. Avoid the temptation to increase your pace on these easy run days. You will have many opportunities to run hard. Run 3 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 6 x 800 meters at 5 seconds per mile faster than your current 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 6 x 200 meters at full, but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters between the two sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 4 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 4 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 3 miles at 15 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace, or if you do not do 10K’s about 30 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.
Week 2
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up, run 6 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 6 x 200 meter repeats at full but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters between the two sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 4 miles easy. Run 4 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 8 x 400 meter repeats at 15 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 6 x 200 meters at full but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters between the two sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 4 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Run 4 miles at 15 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace or about 30 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.
Week 3
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 4 x 1600 meter repeats at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 10 x 400 meter repeats at 15 seconds per mile faster than your current 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 5 x 200 meter repeats at full but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 5 miles at 15 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace or 30 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace.
Week 4
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up, run 8 x hill repeats. Find a hill that is fairly steep and at least 100 meters in length. Run up the hill at a pace that feels like 5K pace. Run 20 meters past the top of the hill and jog back down. Repeat this 6 times.
Wednesday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 3 x 400/800 meter repeats. Run 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, then slow down to 5K pace for 800 meters. Do not rest between the two distances. Run at an easy pace for 800 meters between the sets. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.
Friday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 6 miles at 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K pace or 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.
Week 5
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 3 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Run 6 x 400 meters at 15 seconds faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 200 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters between the two sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 8 x 2 minute repeats at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 2 minutes between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 20 minutes at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.
Week 6
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up, run 10 x hill repeats. Run the repeats at what feels like 5K pace. Run 20 to 50 meters past the top of the hill. Jog back down.
Wednesday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 10 x 2 minute repeats at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Run at a fast, but controlled pace. Concentrate on maintaining proper form. Jog for 2 minutes between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 7 miles at 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K pace or 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.
Week 7
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 4 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 3 x 1200 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Run at an easy pace for 400 meters between the repeats. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.
Friday – Run 6 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 2 x 2400 meter repeats at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Run at an easy pace for 800 meters between the repeats. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.
Week 8
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up. Find a trail that is gradually and fairly consistently uphill. Run up the hill for 3 miles. Run at a pace that feels hard, but not maximal. Jog back down as a cool down. If there are no uphill trails in your area, you can do this workout on a treadmill elevated 3 to 5 degrees.
Wednesday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 5 x 3 minutes at about 20 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 3 minutes between repeats. This pace should roughly equal the minimum velocity at which you reach your VO2 max, or the maximum amount of oxygen which your body can process. If you find yourself having trouble completing 5 repetitions, slow your pace slightly. If you feel you can do more repetitions, increase your pace slightly. Jog for 800 meters to cool down.
Friday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 2 x 3200 meter repeats at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Jog for 5 minutes between repeats.
Week 9
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 5 x 1600 meter repeats at 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 3 x 600/1200 meter repeats. Run 600 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, then slow down to 5K pace for 1200 meters. Run for 800 meters at an easy pace between the repeats. Cool down with 800 meters at an easy pace.
Friday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 5000 meters at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.
Week 10
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up, run 1 x 400/800/1600/800/400 super sets. Run 400 meters at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, 800 meters at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, 1200 meters at 5K pace, 800 meters at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace and 400 meters at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace with no rest in between. Jog 800 meters to cool down.
Wednesday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 5 x 3 minutes at about 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 3 minutes between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 8 miles. Run the first 6 miles at an easy pace. Speed up to 15 seconds per mile less than 10K pace for mile 7 and then speed up again to 5K pace for mile 8.
Week 11
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up. Run 5 x 1600 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 4 x 400 meters at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Run for 200 meters at an easy pace between the repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 5 x 3 minutes repeats at about 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 3 minutes between repeats. Jog for 800 meters to cool down.
Friday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Sunday – Standard warm up. Run 7 miles at 15 seconds per mile slower than your 10K pace or 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace.
Week 12
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Standard warm up, run 8 x (2 x 400) meter repeats. Run 400 meters at 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, jog for 200 meters and repeat. Repeat this set 8 times with 400 meters of jogging between each set. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Wednesday – Run 5 miles easy. Run 4 acceleration strides.
Thursday – Standard warm up. Run 6 x (2 x 200) meter repeats. Run 200 meters at full but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters and repeat. Repeat this set 6 times. Jog for 400 meters between sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
Friday – Run 4 miles easy. Run 5 acceleration strides.
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – RACE DAY!
Congratulations! You have finished the 5K training plan for advanced competitor. Now that you have successfully completed your race consider moving up to the half marathon distance or continue your improvement in the 5K distance with the same 5K training for advanced competitor plan.
