5k Speed & Strides

Workout - 5k Speed & Strides

• 12min @ 6'00''/km
• 30s @ 4'00''/km
• 1min rest
• 30s @ 4'00''/km
• 8 lots of:
  • 100m @ 4'00''/km
  • 30s rest
• 7min @ 6'00''/km

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Based on How Anyone Can Run A Faster 5km from The Running Channel, here’s a concise breakdown you can put into practice right away. The full video has additional drills and techniques worth watching.

Key points

• Warm-up matters. Don’t skip it. Start with dynamic leg swings, lateral lunges, and skips, then a 10-minute easy jog.
• Figure out your true 5 km race pace. Identify your “red line”. Knowing your target pace lets you direct training precisely.
• Train at several speeds. Speed comes from running at different intensities, not going all-out every session. Mix race-pace intervals, VO₂-kinetics efforts, and easy/threshold runs. Our guide Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them covers the science.
• Pick the right gear. Light and supportive. Shoes won’t make you superhuman, but a good lightweight pair makes a difference in how your feet feel.
• Secret weapon: 100 m strides at around 90% effort sharpen form and build top-end speed.

Workout example (one session)

1. Dynamic warm-up: 12 leg swings per leg, 8 lateral lunges per side, 20 m of skips.
2. 10-minute easy jog.
3. VO₂-kinetics: 2 × 30 seconds at a hard pace (≈10% faster than race pace) with full recovery between.
4. Race-pace strides: 8 × 100 m strides at 9/10 effort, 30 s jog between.
5. Cool-down: easy 5-minute jog.

Weekly structure (optional)

• Sun: 60-min long run (well past 5 km). The weekly long run builds the aerobic base your speed sessions depend on, whether targeting a 5K PB or seeing Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance.
• Tue: 8 km easy + 8 × 100 m strides.
• Wed: 5 × 1 km at race pace, with 2 min recovery between. A standard speed workout. See Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time for variations.
• Fri: 8 km threshold run broken into 1.5 km easy, 5 km at marathon pace, 1.5 km easy.

Closing note

Try this warm-up, stride, and interval combination today. Adjust paces in the Pacing app to fit your targets.

References

• How Anyone Can Run A Faster 5km - YouTube (YouTube Video)