Baby Steps 5K Training Plan

It feels strange to “train” for a 5K, but as I posted last week, when I don’t have a plan I tend to skip running. This is the Furman Institute FIRST training plan for a 5K. I like their plans and have used them constantly for different races. The three runs a week format works well for me.

My best 5K was 24:27 but clearly I’m not looking to PR here. I mean, I’ll be 26 weeks pregnant by the time this is all over! Since I have no real baseline of where to start, I am going to initially shoot for a 27:00 28:30 35:00 5K. If I feel like the speedwork and or tempo runs are too much for me at that pace, I will dial it back. I can’t say that I will reach this time goal when all is said and done, but I need a little direction to begin so 27:00 28:30 35:00 it is!

Week 1: 03/09-03/15

KR #1: 8 x 400m w/400m RI
KR #2: 2 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 5 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 13

Week 2: 03/16-03/22

KR #1: 5 x 800m w/400m RI
KR #2: 3 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 6 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 16

Week 3: 03/23-03/29

KR #1: 2 x 1600m + 1 x 800 w/400m RI
KR #2: 2 miles @ ST pace, 1 mile easy recovery, 2 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 5 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 16

Week 4: 03/30-04/05

KR #1: 200m (200m RI), 400 (400m RI), 600m (400m RI), 2 x 800m (400m RI), 600m (400m RI), 400m (400m RI), 200m
KR #2: 4 miles @ MT pace
KR #3: 5 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 15

Week 5: 04/06-04/12

KR #1: 4 x 1000m (400m RI)
KR #2: 3 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 6 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 15

Week 6: 04/13-04/19

KR #1: 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m (400m RI)
KR #2: 1 mile @ ST pace, 1 mile easy, 1 mile @ ST pace, 1 mile easy, 1 mile @ ST pace
KR #3: 7 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 16

Week 7: 04/20-04/26

KR #1: 10 x 400m (1:30 RI)
KR #2: 4 miles @ MT pace
KR #3: 7 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 17

Week 8: 04/27-05/03

KR #1: 6 x 800m (1:30 RI)
KR #2: 2 miles @ ST pace, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 8 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 18

Week 9: 05/04-05/10

KR #1: 4 x 1200m (400m RI)
KR #2: 3 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 7 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 17

Week 10: 05/11-05/17

KR #1: 5 x 1000m (400m RI)
KR #2: 2 miles @ ST pace, 1 mile easy, 1 mile @ ST pace, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 7 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 21

Week 11: 05/18-05/24

KR #1: 3 x 1600m (1:00 RI)
KR #2: 3 miles @ ST pace
KR #3: 6 miles @ LT pace

Total Miles: 16

Week 12: 05/25-05/31

KR #1: 6 x 400m (1:00 RI)
KR #2: 3 miles easy
KR #3: 5K Race!

Total Miles: 11

Warmup/Cooldown Times

KR #1: 10-20 Minute Warm-up Jog/10 Minute Cool-Down
KR #2: 1 Mile Warm-up Jog/1 Mile Cool-Down Jog
KR #3: 5 Minute Warm-up/5 Minute Cool-Down

Training Paces (35:00 Finish Time)

400M: 02:39 (10:36 min/mile)
600M: 04:01 (10:42 min/mile)
800M: 05:22 (10:44 min/mile)
1000M: 06:43
1200M: 08:09 (10:52 min/mile)
1600M: 11:00
2000M:13:49

ST: 11:32
MT: 11:47
LT: 12:02
Easy: 12:17