Progressive 5K Speed Session

Workout - Progressive 5K Speed Session

• 10min @ 6'00''/km
• 7 lots of:
  • 400m @ 3'50''/km
  • 1min 30s rest
• 3 lots of:
  • 400m @ 3'40''/km
  • 1min 30s rest
• 10min @ 6'30''/km

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Intro

Want to know when to step up the pace on your speed work? StrengthRunning tackles that exact question in When do I increase the pace of my speed workouts? The core ideas are below so you can run this workout today. The full video has more context.

Key points

• Race-driven pacing. Ground your workout speeds in recent race results: 5K, 10K, marathon, whatever you’ve done. What you’ve actually raced says more about your fitness than any calculator.
• Update paces as you improve. If your 5K drops from 25:00 (about 8:05 min/mi) to 24:00 (about 7:40 to 7:45 min/mi), bump your 400 m repeats from around 2:00 per rep to 1:55 to 1:56.
• Tempo runs. Use a pace calculator with a recent race time, or judge by feel. Aim for a comfortably hard effort you could sustain for about an hour. Adjust for heat, sleep, and fatigue.
• Stay flexible. You don’t have to hit goal pace every session. Let how you feel and what’s happening around you set the bar for that day.
• Negative-split strategy. Start the session at current race pace, then shift the final 2 to 3 repeats to goal pace (15 to 60 seconds faster for a 5K). Trains you to finish strong at a new speed.

Workout example

# 5K Speed Session (400 m repeats)
- 10 × 400 m repeats
- Reps 1-8: at current 5K race pace (e.g., 8:05 min/mi -> ~2:00 per 400 m)
- Reps 9-10: aim for goal 5K pace (e.g., 7:40-7:45 min/mi -> ~1:55-1:56 per 400 m)
- Finish with a negative split: try to drop a few seconds per final rep (e.g., 1:54, 1:52, 1:50, 1:49).
- Rest 1-2 min between reps. Adjust rest if you feel fatigued.

Closing note Try this session and adjust the paces to your latest race times. The Pacing app lets you customize it to your current fitness.

References

• When do I increase the pace of my speed workouts? - YouTube (YouTube Video)