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 contains additional drills and techniques worth exploring.

Key points:

• Warm‑up matters: Don’t skip your warm-up. Start with dynamic leg swings, lateral lunges, and skips before doing a 10‑minute easy jog to prepare your body.
• Figure out your true 5 km race pace: Identify your “red line”—knowing your target pace lets you direct your training with precision.
• Train at several speeds: Speed improvements come from running at different intensities, not just going all-out every session. Mix race-pace intervals, VO₂‑kinetics efforts, and easy/threshold runs. Our guide on Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them explores the science in depth.
• Choose the right gear: Look for gear that’s light and supportive. While shoes won’t make you superhuman, a good lightweight pair can make a noticeable difference in how your feet feel.
• Secret weapon: 100‑m strides run at around 90% effort are excellent for refining form and building top-end speed.

Workout example (can be done in 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 your race pace) with full recovery between each.
4. Race‑pace strides – 8 × 100 m strides at 9/10 effort, 30 s jog between efforts.
5. Cool‑down – easy 5‑minute jog.

Weekly structure (optional):

• Sun: 60‑min long run (extending well past 5 km). A weekly long run creates the aerobic foundation that underpins your speed sessions—whether targeting a 5k PB or 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 efforts. A standard speed workout—though many variations exist. Check out Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time for additional options.
• 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, adjusting paces in the Pacing app to suit your targets. The full video includes additional drills and techniques worth watching.

References

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