Drop Your 5K Time By 5 Minutes With This Simple Training Plan! - Lee Grantham

Aug 13, 2025

Intro: This is a quick summary of “Drop Your 5K Time By 5 Minutes With This Simple Training Plan!” from Lee Grantham. It’s a great watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points:

Train in kilometers – a 5K is 5 km, so all paces and intervals are easier to calculate (e.g., 4 min/km for a sub‑20 min 5K).
Two key sessions per week: Wednesday interval work and Sunday long run. Everything else (recovery, easy runs) supports these key workouts.
Performance boosters: 7‑9 h sleep, low stress, and proper nutrition dramatically improve recovery and speed.
Race accountability: schedule a race or time‑trial to keep motivation high.
Progressive 9‑week plan: three 3‑week phases that gradually increase interval volume and add zone‑3 work in long runs.

Workout Example (Weeks 1‑3 – Phase 1):

Wednesday interval – 12 × 500 m repeats with 60 s rest (≈6 km total). Run each 500 m at roughly your current 5 km pace (≈5 min/km for a 27 min 5K) or slightly faster, but stay in control so you can recover for the Sunday run.
Sunday long run – 12‑14 km at a conversational pace (zone 2). Keep the effort easy (perceived effort 3‑4/10) to build aerobic base.

Progression:

Week 2: 6 × 1 km repeats (60 s rest). Same long run.
Week 3: 3 × 2 km repeats (60 s rest). Same long run.
Weeks 4‑6 (Phase 2): increase volume (e.g., 14 × 500 m or 7 × 1 km) and add zone‑3 efforts into the long run (e.g., 3 km easy, 6 × 1 km at perceived effort 5‑6/10, 3 km easy).
Weeks 7‑9 (Phase 3): further increase reps (e.g., 16 × 500 m, 8 × 1 km, then 4 × 2 km) while maintaining zone‑2 long runs with intermittent zone‑3 bursts.

Practical Tips:

Sleep: Aim for 7‑9 h/night to reduce stress and improve recovery.
Recovery runs: Keep them easy (zone 2) to accelerate recovery between hard sessions.
Race‑test: Run a time trial at the end of weeks 3, 6, and 9 to gauge progress.
Customize paces: Use the Pacing app to convert the suggested paces to your own current pace.

Closing Note: Give this 9‑week plan a try, adapt the paces to match your current fitness in the Pacing app, and watch your 5K time drop. You’ve got the plan—now go make it happen! 🚀