How I Ran A Sub 20 Minute 5k after TWELVE Years of Trying - RUN SDJ

Intro

This is a quick summary of How I Ran A Sub 20 Minute 5k after TWELVE Years of Trying from RUN SDJ. 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

• 8‑week, 5‑run‑per‑week plan built to hit a sub‑20 min 5K (≈4:00 min/km pace).
• Weeks 1‑4: hill repeats, two easy runs, a steady/progression run, and a long run.
• Weeks 5‑8: hill work swaps to intervals, progression runs become tempo runs, plus the usual easy runs and long run.
• Flex the paces – the plan’s suggested easy‑run paces felt “hot”; the creator lowered them to true recovery effort.
• Listen to your body – after a knee injury he cut back volume, added extra rest days, and took a light week (skip 3 of 5 sessions) before race week.
• Race‑week routine: Monday easy run, Friday 2‑mile shake‑out, sports massage the day before, and a final 5K race pacing strategy (first 4 km at 20‑min target pace, finish hard on the last km).

Workout Example (Typical Week 6)

Monday – Hill Repeats: 6‑8 × 90‑sec uphill at hard effort, jog down recovery
Tuesday – Easy Run: 5‑6 km at comfortable conversational pace (≈5:30‑6:00 min/km)
Wednesday – Interval Session: 5 × 800 m at 5K target pace (≈4:00 min/km) with 2‑min jog recovery
Thursday – Easy Run: 5 km easy
Friday – Tempo Run: 6‑8 km at steady “threshold” pace (≈4:30 min/km)
Saturday – Long Run: 12‑14 km at relaxed pace (≈5:30 min/km)
Sunday – Rest or optional cross‑training

Adjust distances and paces to match your current fitness; the key is the mix of hill work, interval/tempo quality, and adequate easy mileage.

Closing Note

Give this plan a try, tweak the paces to suit your own numbers, and track everything in the Pacing app so you can fine‑tune each session. You’ve got the tools – now go break that 20‑minute barrier! 🎉

References

• How I Ran A Sub 20 Minute 5k after TWELVE Years of Trying - YouTube (YouTube Video)

Workout - Sub-20 5K Pace Repeats

• 15min @ 5'52''/km
• 5 lots of:
  • 800m @ 4'00''/km
  • 2min rest
• 12min @ 6'00''/km

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