The 5K Plan

After last month’s marathon, a few people have asked me about getting started with running. Perhaps they’ve never ran an official race and want to give it a shot; or it’s been a while since they’ve laced up a pair of shoes and they want to dust off the cobwebs and get back on the road. Either way, the Running Through Life crew would like to help get you back into run shape and on the path to a better running you. Nothing crazy – we’re not trying to get you to run a marathon next month; but we suggest you begin your running journey with a 5k race. Five kilometers is approximately 3.1 miles and a good race for a beginner runner, or a runner who’s getting back on the road after some time off. And with a solid two-month program, it’ll be an easy run come race day for you.

A 5k program is actually perfect for January Cut Month – a few miles a week helps burn that unwanted fat off your body. I’ll admit that in Hawaii, there’s at least one 5k race every single weekend so signing up for a race two months from now is no problem at all. I actually recommend that step one of this program is putting a race date on the calendar and building your plan to reach that date. Step one is always the hardest right? But, if just getting out and running a 5k at whatever pace is your goal, maybe you do not need to read any further.  Maybe you do; if you have a goal of dedicating about 30-45min a couple days a week in order to improve your run time, burn some extra calories, and just feel good about yourself (and feel good period), then let the crew here help you get to a better running you.
 
The 5k plan will incorporate both speed and endurance training, as well as some serious stretching. That’s some serious very important stretching. I’d also argue that a weight lifting regime is necessary as well and I’ll elaborate on that and stretching to avoid knee injury a little more later. First, let’s get started. Pick a 5k run date (official race or not) then let’s start with Week 1. You gotta start somewhere. The first week of running should include three run days and a stretch to recovery day. Like I said, we’ll take it slow.…Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
 
For the sake of generalizing this plan for the masses, we’ll establish a plan that looks to help an individual reach a goal of accomplishing a 5k in 28 minutes (that’s a little over a 9min/mile pace). The program will consist of short runs, long runs, sprints, and days dedicated to deep stretching (**disclaimer** although some days are dedicated to stretching, we recommend that you stretch prior to, and after every run – take the time to avoid unnecessary injuries). We’ll also look at two weeks at a time so that you can plan accordingly and adjust the run days as you see fit – this is merely a suggestion, you know you best.
 
Week 1:
Monday – 1 mile (10min) [10min/m]
Tuesday – 2 mile (22min) [10.5min/m]
Wednesday – REST
Thursday  – Stretching Day 1
Friday – 2 mile (22min) [10.5min/m]
Saturday – REST
Sunday – REST
 
Week 2:
Monday – 2 mile (22min) [10.5min/m]
Tuesday – REST
Wednesday – Stretching Day 2
Thursday  – REST
Friday – 2 mile (20min) [10min/m]
Saturday – 6x 200meter sprints (1min rest between)
Sunday – REST
 
If you jump on this plan, do us all a favor and comment on your progression. Let us know how you’re doing; what parts of the plan are the most difficult and what parts are not challenging enough. Or reach out to the team if you have any questions or would like a more tailored running plan.
 
We’ll post the plan for Week 3 and Week 4 next week. So click the follow button so you’re updated on when the plan is updated and discussed.