5k Speed Pyramid

Workout - 5k Speed Pyramid

• 10min @ 6'00''/km
• 2 lots of:
  • 15s @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 30s @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 45s @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 1min @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 1min 15s @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 1min @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 45s @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 30s @ 4'45''/km
  • 1min rest
  • 15s @ 4'45''/km
  • 2min 30s rest
• 10min @ 6'15''/km

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Intro

We’ve put together a breakdown of 5k PB Training Plan from This Messy Happy. The full video deserves a watch for the complete picture, but we’ve extracted the essentials so you can get started with these workouts today.

Key points

• Intended for runners with a solid training history, those who are already putting in 5-10 km runs on a regular basis.
• Four weekly runs combined with two strength and conditioning blocks (stretching, foam rolling, core work, and muscular endurance training).
• The schedule runs: light recovery session after the weekend, a rest day coming into the weekend, Tuesday’s hill repeats or progressive fartlek, and Saturday intervals that lengthen as the weeks go on.
• Weeks 1-3 build the aerobic base, week 4 is an easier week for adaptation, weeks 5-7 raise both the distance and interval intensity, and week 8 tapers the workload with gentle intervals and a short run before race day.
• Measured in kilometers.

Workout example

Week 1 (example)
- Monday: Strength & conditioning (stretch + foam roll)
- Tuesday: Hill Reps – progressive hill repeats (e.g., 5×30 sec hill at hard effort, jog down, repeat)
- Wednesday: Strength & conditioning (muscular endurance / core)
- Thursday: Easy 5 km run at comfortable pace
- Saturday: Interval Session 1 – 30-minute workout:
  • Warm-up: 10 min easy jog
  • Main set: 15 s, 30 s, 45 s, 60 s, 75 s, then reverse (60-30-15 s) at slightly faster than race-pace, 1 min easy jog between repeats, repeat set twice
  • Cool-down: 5 min easy jog
- Sunday: Longer recovery run (easy pace, 6-8 km)

Weeks 2-3: tack on a bit more distance for your base runs and expand the interval repeats (such as 30 s-90 s). Week 4: hold back and keep runs easy. No hard work, focus on bouncing back. Weeks 5-7: push the interval durations up (check Interval Sessions 2-4 in the resource) such as 7-minute efforts spread across Z2, Z3, Z4 with some 5 km-pace bursts, or tiered 1-5 min repeats done at 5 km-pace. Week 8 (taper): scale back to a light interval block (just 1-min reps at 5 km-pace with brief jogging between) and a quick recovery run before you line up to race.

Closing note

Work through this 8-week cycle, fine-tune your paces to where your current fitness sits using the Pacing app, and get set to nail a fresh 5 km personal best.

References

• 5k PB Training Plan - YouTube (YouTube Video)